Swollen Pickle
WayHuge Swollen Pickle. First released by Way Huge in 1997, the Swollen Pickle is Jeorge Tripps' (the founder of Way Huge) take on an Electro Harmonix Big Muff. We suspect he probably built the Swollen Pickle as the Big Muff that he always wanted to have, but could never buy.
Controls
- Knob 1 - "Loudness": Volume. Fully clockwise is full volume.
- Knob 2 - "Filter": Tone control. Fully counter-clockwise has all the treble frequencies rolled off.
- Knob 3 - "Sustain": Fuzz or distortion level. Fully clockwise is full fuzz/distortion.
- MiniKnob 1 - "Scoop": An additional tone control. Setting this fully counter-clockwise sets the midrange frequencies scooped; fully counter-clockwise sets a flat frequency curve.
- MiniKnob 2 - "Crunch": This sets the level of compression in the fuzz.
- Footswitch 1 - "On/Off": Toggles the pedal on and off.
If the pedal is opened you will find the following additional internal controls on either side of the footswitch:
- Internal Knob 1 - "Clip": Sets the texture of the fuzz or distortion anywhere between "smooth" and "rough", with fully clockwise being maximum "rough".
- Internal Knob 2 - "Voice": Fully clockwise sets a very deep Scoop control, fully counter-clockwise is a shallow scoop.
General Information
As you can see, unlike the usual Big Muff there is a whole lot more available with respect to tone shaping than any EHX Big Muff ever allowed. Way Huge considers the Swollen Pickle to be the flagship for their [[fuzz] tones, whereas the Fat Sandwich represents the Way Huge vision for a distortion pedal. Rounding out the selection are the Red Llama, Pork Loin, and Green Rhino, which for Way Huge, represent overdrive tones.
There are a couple of additional nice features built into the pedal:
- If you're operating the pedal with a battery instead of using an AC adapter, the pedal will automatically go into bypass mode if the battery lacks sufficient voltage. (Yes, this means it's time to change the battery or use an AC adapter.)
- There is some power-protection circuitry to help prevent damage in the case of an incorrect power supply being attached.
Pedal Manual
WayHuge Swollen Pickle Owners Manual
Phase Inversion
From our examination of the schematic below, the Swollen Pickle does not appear to invert phase on the output as compared with the signal that goes into the pedal.
| Schematic ID | Electronic Part | Action | Phase State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 2N3904 | Inverts | Inverted |
| Q2 | 2N3904 | Inverts | Reverted |
| Q3 | 2N3904 | Inverts | Inverted |
| Q4 | 2N3904 | Inverts | Reverted |
This will need to be borne out by testing and observation.
Schematic
From:
Artists
- Additional Sources
