There has long been some confusion as to when the Big Muff first went into production. Some sources state that the pedal debuted in 1969, while others list 1970 as the first year.From information I’ve gathered over the last 30+ years, along with conversations with other Big Muff collectors, the general consensus has always been that the earliest examples appeared in mid to late 1969 into 1970, with full-scale production beginning in 1970 with the new printed boards. My personal opinion is that this seems to be the most likely scenario. If anyone has additional information or evidence regarding the original start date, please feel free to let me know.
I still have links to several sources where Mike Matthews himself refers to the Big Muff as a 1969 design:
Electro-Harmonix: The EHX Story
https://www.ehx.com/the-ehx-story/
Guitar-Muse: Interview with Mike Matthews of Electro-Harmonix
https://guitar-muse.com/interview-with-mike-matthews-of-electro-harmonix-ehx-2511
MusicRadar: Interview with Mike Matthews, E-H Founder
https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/interview-mike-matthews-electro-harmonix-founder-546155
Guitar Player: Electro-Harmonix Big Muff History
https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/electro-harmonix-big-muff-history
Because of this, I’ll probably continue referring to those earliest perf-board versions as "1969 Big Muffs.
Whatever year you choose to assign them, those earliest Big Muffs remain some of the best-sounding examples ever made.
Wooly, gnarly, gritty, smooth, violin-like sustain, and rich harmonics are some of the words most often used to describe Big Muffs, and those characteristics had to start somewhere. These early '69 versions have them all.
The low end has a wonderfully gnarly, wooly character on the lower strings, while lead lines have a sweet, smooth sustain that almost seems to sing.
Another interesting aspect of these pedals is that they contain several component values that were used only in these earliest perf-board versions. Once the circuit went into full production, many of those values were changed, making these first examples unique not only in construction but also in sound.
V1: The tone is very balanced with just a touch of extra low end throughout. On the lower strings, there is a loose, wooly breakup in the fuzz that blooms at the tail end of the notes.
V2: A little more open sounding and extremely balanced, with tighter bass notes while still retaining that classic gnarly, wooly character. Lead notes are exceptionally smooth with beautiful sustain.
V3: Very close to V1, but with more low end throughout, giving it a slightly darker voice and a little more breakup in the fuzz.
V4: Similar to V1, with a touch more low end, but tighter on the lower notes. There is also a slight grit mixed into the wooly fuzz character that gives chords a little extra attitude.
V5: Featuring significantly different capacitor values than the previous versions, V5 has an extremely open feel with a massive, wooly grind and an almost unruly character. Due to the different parts used, this does seem to be the transition into the production versions.