build your own clone
The Large Beaver is a vintage muff clone with an extra feature. The kit comes with parts to build to "Triangle"
era and "Ram's Head" era specs. These are the earliest versions of the muff and they are pretty much
unanimously considered by those who know to sound much better than the NYC reissue or any of the other
versions. Complete sets of both NOS 2N5133 and BC239C transistors are supplied.
There are a lot of conflicting opinions regarding the actual specs for the early muffs. This is because the
component values used by E. H. in the early days were very inconsistent. So one person opens up their
vintage muff and posts a schematic based on their findings. Then another person opens up their vintage muff
and posts a different schematic based on their findings. Would it really even matter if Mike Matthews himself
posted the official schematics if they were never even followed that closely?
So rather than opening up another random vintage muff and basing a schematic off that, we decided to take a
more scientific approach to the latest version of the BYOC Large Beaver. We examined dozens of Triangle era
and Ram's Head era Muffs and recorded the component values used in each. We then took this data and
determined what the most commonly used values were for each component. What we came up with is a
comprehensive bill of materials that we consider to be the closest to actual intended specs and which also
produces the most consistently familiar vintage tone.
We then added some major flexibility to the tone knob by giving the Large Beaver a 4 position EQ voicing
switch.
era and "Ram's Head" era specs. These are the earliest versions of the muff and they are pretty much
unanimously considered by those who know to sound much better than the NYC reissue or any of the other
versions. Complete sets of both NOS 2N5133 and BC239C transistors are supplied.
There are a lot of conflicting opinions regarding the actual specs for the early muffs. This is because the
component values used by E. H. in the early days were very inconsistent. So one person opens up their
vintage muff and posts a schematic based on their findings. Then another person opens up their vintage muff
and posts a different schematic based on their findings. Would it really even matter if Mike Matthews himself
posted the official schematics if they were never even followed that closely?
So rather than opening up another random vintage muff and basing a schematic off that, we decided to take a
more scientific approach to the latest version of the BYOC Large Beaver. We examined dozens of Triangle era
and Ram's Head era Muffs and recorded the component values used in each. We then took this data and
determined what the most commonly used values were for each component. What we came up with is a
comprehensive bill of materials that we consider to be the closest to actual intended specs and which also
produces the most consistently familiar vintage tone.
We then added some major flexibility to the tone knob by giving the Large Beaver a 4 position EQ voicing
switch.
- Position 1: Mid Scoop - This is the stock setting we all know and love. Sweet bedroom/studio tone. Not so hot
with the band - Position 2: Flat Mids - You'll find this on a lot of modern muff clones. This gives the distortion a more natural
sound and helps you to stand out more in a live setting - Position 3: Mid Hump - The classic trait of the definitive overdrive. Stand out even more and add some
dynamics to the distortion by giving it some bite and bark when you back off on the guitar's volume knob for gritty
grind tones rather than the flabby flub you typically get when you try to cop OD tones with a muff. - Position 4: Tone Bypass - this removes the tone stack from the signal path completely. Just like you'd find on
some of the later Version 3 and IC muffs, but never before on the Triangle or Ram's Head era muffs. This is pure
unadulterated vintage muff tone. It allows the 4th transistor stage to add to the clipping as well, rather than just
compensate for the volume loss caused by the passive tone stack. And it also gives you a HUGE volume boost so
you can punish your preamp tubes as well.
The Large Beaver
We Gladly Accept
| Click Here to purchase the fully assembled B.Y.O.C. Large Beaver. This link will redirect you to www.axeandyoushallreceive. com, the official builder for fully assembled B.Y.O.C kits. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| New version with more components and 4 way EQ voicing switch! This kit has Video Instructions! |