Soviet Russia was communist—politically
communist, but also economically so.
No outside goods came in and out of
the Soviet Union, so the Soviets had to
create all of their own products; and
not only that, they also had to create
all their own components for those
products. So, a Soviet era toaster was
made with 100 percent Soviet parts,
from the sheet metal all the way down
to the resistors, all produced within
its borders. In today’s capitalist driven
world economy, it’s a little hard to
imagine something that doesn’t have
parts from China or Taiwan, but only
30-plus years ago it was all but grim
reality for some.
Fast forward to the present day, my
friend across the pond recently heard
a Civil War Muff that he absolutely fell
in love with. One thing led to another,
and about a week later I was greeted
with a gloriously beat-up piece of Soviet
history on my doorstep. It was perhaps
the biggest pedal I have ever seen,
and I was positively blown away by the
sound of the unit. For a short moment,
I understood the addiction behind
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acquiring vintage effects. It held this
mystique and this character, this smell
and this vibe to which no clone could
ever come close. I played feverishly until
the skin on my fingers peeled and my
ears rung; I was convinced that this was
the endgame, that I would be doomed
to a life of chasing eBayers and biting
bullets. In the middle of Muff-riddled
ecstasy I was having an existential crisis,
until a little lightbulb flashed in my head.
I’m sure most of you know my esteemed
colleague, Nicholas Kula. He’s our
resident electronics genius at Tone
Report Weekly, and I bet quite a few of
you are fans of his awesome DIY articles.
I approached him with a challenge;
clone this specific pedal exactly, down
to the very last component, and see if
our readers can tell the difference. Now
when most people clone pedals, they
go to great lengths to try and emulate
exactly each component, while spending
a lot of money in the process. Nicholas
and I decided to take a different
approach, by getting the cheapest,
crappiest off-the-shelf components you
can possibly find. This is both a social
The Battle of Muff Mountain: The Tone Report Civil War Re-Enactment