A Tasty Combination

The Pork and Pickle by Way Huge is a combination of two of their existing pedal designs which are both extremely lovely in their own right. This pedal melds the two allowing bass players the opportunity to get both the soft-clipping British juiciness of the Pork Loin and the full fat explosive force of the Russian Pickle in one pedal’s footprint. You can switch between the two with the mini toggle switch between the two top control knobs. For a bass player seeking drive, this pedal offers a fantastic way to unlock a vast array of industry standard overdrive and fuzz aggression from one of the best pedal manufacturers currently working.  

Oink

So, first things first. When the central toggle switch is up, you are in the domain of the Pork Loin. This is a pre-existing pedal from Way Huge which produces modern BiFET driven soft-clipping alongside a classic British voiced clean preamp. All of the original pedals functionality and voice have been perfectly preserved inside the Pork and Pickle. With the toggle switch up you’ll have beautiful soft, warm overdrive to sweeten and fill your tone. This overdrive circuitry is complimented by the clean, British-style, circuitry alongside it. This clean British circuitry affords clarity and sparkle to your bass tone.

Comrade

Switching the mini toggle switch down throws you deep into Mother Russia. You now have access to the Russian Pickle. This pedal embodies a huge, thick, driving, smooth fuzz tone. The Russian style of Big Muff fuzz, that Way Huge have so beautifully captured here, has become a standard among bass players worldwide. It’s power and low-end attack made it a must have in the grunge scene of the ‘90s and since then it has only grown in popularity. All of the original force and aggression are present and correct in the Pork and Pickle.

Pork Loin with a Side of Borscht

Now that we’ve covered what each of the sides of this pedal can do, it’s time to talk about how they interact. Predominantly, you’ll be using each mode one at a time. You can switch between them with the aforementioned mini-toggle between the “volume” and “drive” controls. All of the control knobs are voiced in a way to accommodate this switch though. There won’t be any devastatingly drastic shifts in tonality or volume when toggling between each mode. They’re both voiced to compliment one another no matter where the controls are set whilst still being wholly distinct and completely faithful to their predecessors.

One of the cooler features is that the Pork Loin’s British voiced clean section is preserved and shared between both modes. This means that you can incorporate the sparkly British clean preamp into both the Pork Loin circuitry along with the Russian Pickle’s. This means that, not only can you get both of the original pedals' true voices from the Pork and Pickle, but that there are also a slew of new sounds and voicings to discover and explore. Adding the clean sparkle to the smooth, driving assault of the Russian Pickle can create hitherto unknown tonal possibilities and creative enlightenings.

A Miniature Pig in a Ushanka

As if the perfect preservation of two of the more popular Way Huge pedals for bassists plus novel and exciting modes of cooperation weren’t enough. All of this wizardry has been crammed into Way Huge’s new Smalls enclosure. This shrinks the traditionally large footprint of a Way Huge pedal down to something far more manageable and suitable for a far wider array of pedal-boards. None of the tone, circuitry, or quality of either pedals voice has been sacrificed in the amalgamation. If you’re a bassist and interested in world-class drive/fuzz tones, definitely check out the Pork and Pickle from Way Huge.