Aaaaaaand we're back with another kickass Way Huge guitar pedal. What can I say, these are pedals that need no introduction. The shear mystique and popularity these stompboxes carry is enough to send anyone diving into their favorite guitar shop for a go at one of them. Back when George Tripp made his first run of these it was the same thing, everyone wanted one and no one could seem to get their hands on one. Well times they have a changed, now we have access to his killer line of pedals. But for how long?
Way Huge Electronics
Presents
The
Fat Sandwich
harmonic saturator
TOP CONTROLS:
* Volume: produces mucho output for mucho headroom
* Tone: dials in your tonal flavor in cahoots with the Pres & Reso controls
* Distortion: produces a endless roar of dirty greatness
* Presence: shapes your trebles and highs
* Resonance: spanks the bass and lows into place
* Footswitch: see that bright light? hmm what does that mean?
INTERNAL CONTROLS:
(these controls are for fine tuning to your guitar and amp)
* Curve: works to fine-tune the edges of the 1rst gain stage
* Drive: controls the hair of the 2nd stage of dirt
* Highs: sets the highs in the 2nd stage dirt
By now you must be saying to yourself "That is one monster of a pedal! Ooooh doggie!" Well you're right, and this isn't even the craziest of the bunch. Like all the Way Huge pedals the Fat Sandwich is a unique pedal monster with a control panel slick enough to hand you just about every tone in the book. Harmonic saturator is damn right! This pedal dished out the sweetest brown sounds, women tones, and warm, buttery overdrives you will ever hear. You will notice right off the bat the Fat Sandwich is not designed after anything out there, this is definitely an entirely new class of overdrive pedal. It's unique layout of controls, components, and overall design out this pedal into a category of it's own. With the hundreds it not thousands of overdrive pedals available today the Fat Sandwich is a breath of fresh air. How many times have we gone out hunting for an overdrive pedal only to find something that tops it a few weeks later? I know I'm guilty of that sin. This pedal will not only keep you busy for a long, long time, but push you to want to play, write, and perform. Each of the Fat Sandwich's controls are extremely responsive, sounds great in every setting, and capable of covering everything from classic to modern rock. I must have spent two hours tweaking the Fat Sandwich and was happy with everything that came out of it. As someone who spends their life writing in the studio and always hunting for new tones this is the perfect stompbox. In the studio the pedal delivers quickly and the quality it produces behind a mic is fantastic. I also had a chance to take it along to a gig with me and found it easy to match it to the room I played. I guess the easiest way to learn your way around this pedal is to just jump in and go for it, which is exactly what I did. I found a clean amp setting works best with this pedal, just set your eq the way you dig it and fly baby fly. Not that the pedal doesn't sound killer through a sightly dirty tone but you will definitely get the most out of it through a nice, warm clean tone, just my opinion. We plugged it into my modified 4x10 Deville, played it with a Custom Tele, and started with the Fat Sandwich's settings at around 15%. Through the neck pickup the tone was warm, crunchy, and perfect for rocking some rhythm guitar. Every time I dug in the grit would break up a little more, become richer, and more open. Played in the middle pickup position was probably my favorite. I was able to get the perfect balance of highs, lows, and mids. You can hear each frequency clearly without any clashing or interference from the drive. Through the bridge pickup the sound became even more defined, the mids became punchier, and highs stronger but not shrill. Next I tweaked the pedal's Tone and Presence knobs to match my amp, kicked the Resonance to noon, and slowly upped the Distortion. The sound was stunning! It had all characteristics as before only much bigger, thicker, and in your face. It was like the definition of a killer modern tone and warmth/character of a classic rock sound all in one. It really shocked me just how tight the eq stays no matter what level of distortion you're pushing out of it. Some pedals lose their sweet spot once you start turning things up, not here. This is a great pedal for anyone having trouble cutting through a live mix. Chords sound great, notes shine through, and harmonics jump out evenly and balanced. Your amp's sweet spot is instantly enhanced. If you're looking for an instant brown sound this is your pedal. It's insane how responsive the controls are, a flip of any knob and you got a whole new flavor. How many of you need up to two, sometimes three overdrive pedals on your board to get all the sounds needed for your live sets? Lord knows I could use some slimming down on the old board. With the Fat Sandwich all you need to do is mark down a few of your favorite setting and you're home free. I was easily able to dial in a solid Stoned mild crunch, Neil Young grit, and scorching blues lead tones. Opening or fattening up any sound you dial in is as easy as turning the three internal controls. You can also set one tone and use your volume knob to clean it up or tame it. The possibilities are endless with this pedal, Way Huge really did one hell of job.
For more info on Jim Dulop/Way Huge products go to either www.jimdunlop.com or www.wayhuge.com You can also click the Way Huge logo in our sidebar for direct access to their website. Keep your eyes peeled for the rest of the Way Huge gang, we'll be posted another review on these killer pedals shortly.
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