When I started this blog nearly 20 years ago, I stated that it was a "Bicycle and guitar oriented elixir....". Well, the "guitar" part sort of got pushed out by the bicycle stuff, but I've always been playing. In an Easter post, several years ago, I mentioned playing my '90 Strat, and someone suggested I detail the fleet,which I have done in the past. (Just search "the Six String Side" in the search box in the upper left of the header to find those older posts) This post is a review of an effects pedal. Enjoy!
While it may seem useless to some to write a review on an effects pedal with no sound samples, that's what I am going to do here. Hey! "Back in the day" all we had were written reviews. Besides, there are a ton of You Tube videos on this pedal out there for you to listen to, if that is your bag. So, here we go...
The Kittycaster Mohair is a fuzz/distortion box that has its roots in the Big Muff from Electro Harmonix. Designer of the circuit in the Mohair, Howard Gee, stated that he did not get on with the Big Muff circuit and he wanted to see if he could make something similar that he did want to play. Okay, this grabbed my attention, as I have had zero luck getting a Big Muff to sound good to my ears. Now before you get all in a huff and hit the comments, I happen to love a lot of players work that used Big Muffs. Gilmore, J. Mascis, and Billy Corgan, who are probably the best known Muff users, are players who have a tone and sound that I do like. It is when I play a Big Muff that I don't like the sound. And I've tried it. With every combination available to me, in two different eras.
My first Big Muff was bought from the Mandolin Brothers' catalog back in 1980. Back when all I had to go on were magazine articles that stated what people were using. To say I was bitterly disappointed in the sound is an understatement. I sold it in short order. Or did I give it way? Can't remember. I do know I hated the way it sounded.
Same thing in 2010 when I bought another Big Muff thinking that now I would get it. But.....I didn't. Same hate, different decade. Big Muffs sound cool when other people play them, just not when I do. So, when Howard Gee stated he was going to make a Muff circuit for himself, a person who apparently didn't get on with a Muff, I was intrigued.
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| Upon opening the box. That's a bandana, by the way. |
I followed the Kittycaster social channels and waited to see how this was going to come out. Fuzz is an interesting effect, maybe the most popular form of distortion for guitarists, if what I see being proffered out there by builders is any indication. Fuzz circuits are fairly simple, so getting a fuzz to sound like something interesting probably is pretty hard to do now. This made me even more curious as to just how Howard Gee was going to pull this off.
A typical Big Muff sounds buzzy, with a lot of lower frequencies, and Muff's don't poke out from a mix well due to the lack of midrange. Perhaps this is what makes them hard for me to like when I play the Muff. But I've always been bothered by the graininess and "broken" quality to the sound. The very thing a lot of players say they love about a Muff. Yeah, a Muff just is not for me, right? But this begs the question: How is it that I love the tones these other artists are getting who use a Big Muff? What is the secret? You know, I still don't quite get it.
I tried eq'ing, using a Rangemaster in front, and other things, but to no avail. Then when I heard that Howard Gee was going to put a Rangemaster circuit into his new pedal I figured it wouldn't work, unless......
Maybe Howard knows what he's on to. Maybe.
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| The pedal. The 'case candy'. |
Then the official release came out with a long You Tube video of Howard demonstrating the pedal. (The video can be seen on the Mohair page HERE) And I liked it, but of course I did. I wasn't playing it! Still, the boost circuit seemed like it was the saving grace, and the demonstration showed some really wide-ranging tones.
Maybe.....
Then Kittycaster ran a sale, and I jumped on and purchased the Mohair back in September of last year (2024) Since then I've played it off and on using it in front of my Roland JC-40 and in front of a Fender Deluxe Reverb RI.
So..... Was it the same ol' - same ol' or? Well, it was both. The Mohair does a fair interpretation of a Big Muff. Howard Gee wanted the pedal to retain pick attack and clarity, and to some extent, that was successful in my mind. I can hear that when I play just the Mohair side of the pedal. I can dial in a smoother, less raspy/broken distorted tone too. Just the type of thing that maybe some would argue is 'less Big Muff, more something else', and I cannot deny that. But the Muff sound, or a pretty close approximation of the sound, is still in the Mohair.
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| Gut shot. |
The Boost circuit is based on a Rangemaster, according to Howard Gee, and is accessed via the right foot switch. You can add the Boost to the Fuzz, or not, but you cannot get just the Boost. I feel that is a bit of a miss, but hey..... I did not design the pedal. I wish I could have just the boost though.
I will say that it is the Boost that makes this pedal something quite different from most Muffs out there. In fact, it 'un-Muffs' the circuit and turns the Mohair into a distortion box that can be mild or gritty and mean. It probably does what a lot of distortion boxes do, but then you can go back to a Muff at the push of a foot switch, so, maybe this is what makes a Mohair a worthwhile pedal.
It is not a pedal that "cleans up" with a lowering of the volume control on your guitar like a Fuzz Face type circuit. It does clean up a little, and maybe that's enough for you. But if you are looking for a fuzz that does that glassy-clean thing with a tiny bit of hair? This is not that pedal. I happen to have a Reeves Electro 2n2 Face, a silicon based Fuzz Face design, and that does do the clean up thing magnificently, so I know the difference.
Conclusion: So, did Howard Gee get to the finish line with a design that does Muff but with clarity and definition? Yes, but the Boost circuit makes this something else altogether, and to my ears, the Boost + Fuzz is where I would live. So, it doesn't make me love a Muff based circuit any more than I did, which was not much! I am still exploring ways to use the Mohair, and it is on my board for now.
From a 'Big Muff family sound' point of view, I think this is more a Muff-adjacent design than something a person who loves a Big Muff would like to hear. Maybe you would like something a hair off center from a true Muff? On the other hand, if you never liked Muffs, but want to? This might work for you.
It's well made, the presentation of the product is great, and it has Howard Gee pedigree, if that appeals to you. It should be said that Gee left Kittycaster shortly after I bought this pedal and is currently trying to start another company. His first product will be another fuzz design. Surprise, surprise! Maybe that will be something I'd like, but we'll see. The fuzz quest continues!
Note: Kittycaster did not pay for this review, nor sponsor me in any way. I paid for the Mohair out of pocket. Kittycaster were totally unaware that I was going to write this. All opinions are my own.
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