Green Carrot Comfortably Plum
Two circuits combine to give you Gilmour-inspired drive tone in a box
The recent reissue of the ElectroHarmonix ‘Ram’s Head’ Big Muff made that particular early-70s iteration of the pedal available from the original manufacturer for the first time in more than 40 years. And it was no doubt welcomed by David Gilmour fans looking to get close to the classic tones he got when using one. Anyone of that inclination, though, can now get even closer courtesy of Yorkshire’s own Green Carrot Pedals and its beautifully named Comfortably Plum. It features two classic, independently switched circuits in one pedal. So we have a Ram’s Head Muff-style channel followed by one based on a Colorsound Power Boost, a pedal designed in the late 60s by Gary Hurst of ToneBender fame and used by David from 1972 onwards, both separately and in combination placed after the Big Muff.
The Muff circuit here sounds typically Ram’s Head-like with the smooth sustain and string clarity that it’s noted for, but for extra tonal versatility there’s a toggle switch supplementing the three knobs to add a midrange boost (4dB or 10dB) to the classic Muff scooped sound.
The original Colorsound Power Boost (rejigged as the Overdriver in the US), one of the earliest overdrive pedals, was essentially a preamp with treble and bass tone shaping and a high output used to drive the high-headroom amps of the period. Here, the circuitry has been supplemented by a Volume knob to tailor the output and you can dial in anything from a clean boost through natural drive that gets all fuzz-like at the extreme of its Drive knob. It is eminently responsive to picking dynamics and guitar volume, and features a Treble knob that delivers a delicious singing top-end if you want it.
Both channels have many uses individually, but the intrigue lies in combining the two. A noted Gilmour method is to subtly use the Power Boost to enhance the Big Muff ‘s tone for a touch more sustain and increased presence – as good a starting point as any for exploration.
PROS Two classic vintage circuit sin one box; extra Big Muff mid range options; solid buildquality CONS Nothing really, although away of changing the effect order would have increased flexibility