NPD - Way Huge Pork & Pickle - She's Heavy & Thick

[sludgetail]

Hey TB'er's.

New here, so I hope I'm posting in the correct forum. Been a lurker forever, so this is my second post here after NBD the other day where I posted some pics & a vid of my new bass and practice rig.

Been getting back to playing my basses off of ProTools or without an amp, and it's been a glorious return and just what my ringing ears needed...

Picked up the new Way Huge 'Pork & Pickle' Bass Overdrive / Fuzz Pedal from Sweetwater the other day, got it as a demo for a buck fifty, along with some Hercules hangers for my studio, and thought I'd come back with a tone report. What turned me on about this pedal was how beefy it sounded alongside the fuzz and OD that was coming out of the studio speakers I was listening to the demos on... it didn't not disappoint.

This baby is thick and so much more different than the OD's and Fuzzes of my day, at least I hadn't seen many pedals before diving back into it that offered a great clean signal and mix alongside that boost and overdrive/fuzz. I know Darkglass does it and is in a class all their own, but I'm predominantly a funk and thump (P-Funk) player... though I love me some metal, blues/roots, progressive, thrash and of course rock n roll.

This beauty kicked out a lot of great tones, everything from the old school Cliff Burton to clanky picky sounds when running it with the Way Huge 'Echo Puss' and a Reverb for some Primus's Southbound Pachyderm and Tool baselines, some old school Infectious Grooves guitar lines on bass... all the way to that fat-bellied girth & grit when coupled with the Aguilar Octamizer... it really nailed the Bootsy & P-Funk vibes when running it and the octave alongside the 'Funk Lite' envelope by Solid Gold.

Anyhow, just thought I'd share, it's a really versatile pedal and there are a couple videos of it out on YouTube already, and a great option for bass players who want to keep that girth and dial in their fuzz/od and grit to their liking. I was getting some killer sounds out of this thing and will set up a video review as I grow my channel on YouTube and continue to learn from all of you great folks here as well.

Hope you have a great weekend, and if you're in Mass or the East Coast, hope you're staying safe and warm with the storm hitting. Much love!

 

[stefanb]

Seriously interested in this thing...any drawbacks??

 

[sludgetail]

Hey, yeah for sure, it's a sweet lil' (well, BIG) pedal... but really, it's the only OD I've tried for bass, where I've totally gotten along with it... mind you it's the first day and I'm running it on a small Fender Rumble 100 alongside a jazz bass. It offered lots of different sounds, from polite overdrive, to gritty/clangy tones to heavy fuzz and you can dial-in the amount of bass/clean signal you want with it the entire way...

I do like the amount of knobbies on her... a separate knob for clean signal blend + clean tone, and of course the amount of drive + overall tone of the pedal... there was some feedback of course, but gone the moment I put my hands back on the strings. I'm not sure what to compare her against really, but as far as dialing in a really precise amount of drive and keeping it FAT the entire way, she definitely has it... I know there are other great pedals and pre's from DG and others that do this as well.

Also, forgot to mention, really lovely and heavy 2-note barring on the DG make for some really guitar-like (but still thick) tone -- I was playing a lot of melodies this way and it was pleasing. I'll get a video review together in the next few days here, just gotta set up the camera and mic!

 

[mostvaliant]

Any updates on how you're liking it now?

 

[sludgetail]

Hey brother, still digging her!! Really phat bass on the side of the clean tone with lots of punch coming thru and plenty of options to tweak & blend that tone/volume. Watch out for used/demo units on Sweetwater if you're in the States, got mine for a great price... but yeah, still on the board!

On a side note, SpectraDrive from TC arrived today. Don't plan on using it for the Drive much but the other features... will post it when I get in!

 

[alack]

I used mine on gigs for the first time this weekend. I never used any kind of distortion in my rig. But this pedal sure can fill out the sound of a trio.

 

[sludgetail]

I used mine on gigs for the first time this weekend. I never used any kind of distortion in my rig. But this pedal sure can fill out the sound of a trio.

For sure, and I'm sure everyone's Mileage May Vary, but I have never used distortion in a bass rig before as well, and this one hit the spot. Reason being, for me at least -- this pedal allows for a great clean mix alongside (or powering) that OD/Distortion/Fuzz and that clean tone 'under' that pedal is what I was craving. Most other distortions (talking recent years, not so much the new stuff) either muddied the tone or made it tinny or was simply just a tube-overdrive modeler, lacking in all the other departments that I think makes a good bass od/dist/fuzz worth it's salt...

I haven't played with any of the Darkglass Stuff and it looks top-notch and very cleanly built, I know they are holding the Distortion/OD/Fuzz game tight right now, but for the price and the tweak ability and solid design from a reputable company like WayHuge/Dunlop, I was really pleased too. I was looking for more of a fuzz I could run alongside an octave and envelope filter, less of a metal or modern vibe, but it satisfies on all fronts. It's massive behind the octave on a 4 or 6.

 

[alack]

For sure, and I'm sure everyone's Mileage May Vary, but I have never used distortion in a bass rig before as well, and this one hit the spot. Reason being, for me at least -- this pedal allows for a great clean mix alongside (or powering) that OD/Distortion/Fuzz and that clean tone 'under' that pedal is what I was craving. Most other distortions (talking recent years, not so much the new stuff) either muddied the tone or made it tinny or was simply just a tube-overdrive modeler, lacking in all the other departments that I think makes a good bass od/dist/fuzz worth it's salt...

I haven't played with any of the Darkglass Stuff and it looks top-notch and very cleanly built, I know they are holding the Distortion/OD/Fuzz game tight right now, but for the price and the tweak ability and solid design from a reputable company like WayHuge/Dunlop, I was really pleased too. I was looking for more of a fuzz I could run alongside an octave and envelope filter, less of a metal or modern vibe, but it satisfies on all fronts. It's massive behind the octave on a 4 or 6.

I actually tried a few Darkglass pedals in the store where I bought the Pork & Pickle. The clarity and audiophile quality of their products are impressive. But the P&P just suited me better.

 

[sludgetail]

I actually tried a few Darkglass pedals in the store where I bought the Pork & Pickle. The clarity and audiophile quality of their products are impressive. But the P&P just suited me better.

Good to know man... was definitely curious... on a side-note (and regarding DG rigs/heads, not just their pedals/pres) I recently got back to owning a proper rig; I'd been playing bass just through my DAW and the new KRK V8's to practice, but since I wasn't playing out, didn't have an actual gigging amp. It was a tough choice with all the options out there nowadays... especially since all of them boast 800w and straight up fit inside your pocket.

The Darkglass MT900 I was curious as heck about, though again, I don't really use distortion or OD as part of my regular tone... and I know it can do a lot more... the GK MBFusion 800 and Genzler Magellan 800 were on that short list, but In the end, I went with the Mesa D800+ (and their subway cabs) which sounded absolutely beautiful, articulate and really thick and thumpy -- with plenty of punch and the right kind of colorization I was looking for to complement my tone...

That said, I would love to try out the DarkGlass heads as a second rig -- I can see it's well-thought-out and cleanly built; though again, not sure how much they suit my *personal* playing style (funk/thump)... the Mesa was music to my ears... as was the P&P. Cool to hear you love yours as well man. Have a great weekend.

 

[Daniel Piper]

I actually tried a few Darkglass pedals in the store where I bought the Pork & Pickle. The clarity and audiophile quality of their products are impressive. But the P&P just suited me better.

Oh heck yeah.

Darkglass are awesome, but I'll take me some way huge any day of the week.