Way Huge Doom Hammer Review

Fire Breather

Though it’s not hard to hear Big Muff lineage in the Doom Hammer, it can sound vastly different from most Muffs at identical fuzz, output, and tone levels. I didn’t have an op-amp Big Muff on hand for comparison, but in my experience with that circuit, I’ve found they have as much in common with other Big Muffs as they do differences. But Tripp’s recipe puts extra distance between them.

The Ram’s Head and Sovtek Muffs I used to A/B with the Doom Hammer, for instance, each exhibited the creaminess in low-midrange frequencies that makes David Gilmour obsessives ecstatic—particularly with the tone control at more modest levels. The Doom Hammer, however, sometimes has a buzz-saw aggressiveness that evokes a 1960s transistor fuzz swinging on a wrecking ball. And at low output and advanced fuzz levels it can quite convincingly play the part of Tone Bender. More modest fuzz and tone settings strike a more even balance between classic, buttery Big Muff sustain sounds and buzzier ones. And here it’s great for cooking up Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin’s questing lead tangles and Robert Fripp’s snaky synth-like lines. Indeed, the Doom Hammer, for all its midrange emphasis, can be flexible and adaptable.

The Doom Hammer, however, sometimes has a buzz-saw aggressiveness that evokes a 1960s transistor fuzz swinging on a wrecking ball.

Playing a bit more in the spirit of the Doom Hammer’s name (with an SG in drop-D, ’natch) I was still struck by how much less bossy it is in the bass range than a Ram’s Head or Sovtek. But again, this can be an ideal recipe for adding punchy contrast to the bass bomb coming from your bandmate’s Rickenbacker 4003 and Orange stack. It lends snarling aggression to big dumb rock riffs and drones, and detuned guitars sound less buried in blunted, washy overtones.