J’s Big Muff Museum | Book Feature Preview

Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo has a passion for effects pedals and will say, without hesitation, that his sound has been influenced by decades worth of stompboxes. He was the first artist to participate in the Stompbox book and his incredibly knowledgeable but down-to-earth nature made him the perfect conduit for an interview with an effects pedal master: Dinosaur Jr guitarist/producer J Mascis. While both are connoisseurs with strong opinions on what pedals make their sound, J’s studio is a true wonderland for fanatics – a highly curated cornucopia of well-loved vintage equipment that sounds as cool as it looks. Penned by Lee and photographed in eye-catching detail by Eilon Paz, the Stompbox feature J’s Big Muff Museum is a deep dive into a musician’s fuzzed-out dream world. 

J and Lee go way back, a decades-long friendship with its origins in the post-hardcore, pre-grunge world of mid-1980s New York. The whole of Sonic Youth was entranced with Dinosaur – a debut record of “humble yet ecstatic” rock and powerful guitar work that sounded unlike anything else in the NYC scene. Both were experimenting with a variety of stompboxes, though J’s technique was something to behold, even back then. Sonic Youth and Dinosaur (not yet a Jr) toured together in summer ’86, and J shredded through sets with the help of a small pedal board.”The history of both bands, and the way their career is intertwined, made the connection between J and Lee even more interesting,” says Eilon. 

“J’s got his own road that he works with all those pedals and it works for him. The only other person I would put in that same category who has an equally massive crazy pedal board is Neil Young.”

Fast-forward 30-something years and both groups have achieved legendary status among alternative rock fans. J, now living in Amherst, Massachusetts, has acquired an army of effects pedals and has leveled up in his knowledge 100 fold. The shelves and crates at his bilevel studio burst with rare and long-forgotten pedals with wild names: a Big Cheese and Meatball; Creepy Fingers and Godzilla; a Fuzz Factory, Jangle Box, Dope Priest, a fOXX Tone Machine and a Fuzz Face. Most of them aren’t a specific order, but J knows each one. Lee – whose loyalties lie with a smaller stable of pedals – has watched Mascis systematically deploy effects to create a guitar sound that varies “from searing, overdriven electric leads to liquid, phased-out arpeggios boxes” – often within a single song.

“He’s a master. I think if I had that many pedals I would just be thinking about that more than my presentation in front of an audience,” says Lee. “J’s got his own road that he works with all those pedals and it works for him. The only other person I would put in that same category who has an equally massive crazy pedal board is Neil Young.” J’s touring pedal board is a monstrous 70 pounds, an ongoing project with custom elements alongside a variety of muffs, tubes, and wiring techniques handed down from gearhead to gearhead. With help from J’s tech, the board arrives at the guitarists’ feet with a thud. Both stare silently for a moment; Lee looks a bit overwhelmed. 

While Mascis’ studio is tastefully strewn with all kinds of equipment, its highlight is the Big Muff Museum. Pedal boxes are everywhere, but a downstairs corner of the studio features more than 40 vintage Big Muff distortion pedals with an array of paintjobs, knobs and road scars. J plays docent in his museum, pointing to various boxes (each standing at a tilt behind double paned glass) while explaining their manufacturing history and personal importance in the terse, matter-of-fact tone that belies total obsession and genius.

J’s Big Muff Museum puts you in the room with two legendary guitarists in conversation about the many, many tools of their trade. You’ll be compelled to nerd out on the meticulous detail of a collector’s cavern, as well as the colorful cool of Eilon’s photographs. “It’s not everyone who has barrels of pedals lying around; J Mascis is obviously an extreme pedal collector,” writes Lee. “ But it doesn’t matter if you have 25 pedals or just two…they all have the potential to satisfy your desire for a new sound.”

Check out the full J’s Big Muff Museum feature in the Stompbox Book. Available Now! 

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