Way Huge Geisha Drive

The Way Huge Geisha Drive is a limited edition overdrive pedal from Way Huge, an arm of the Jim Dunlop brand. The original run, first made available in 2020, was limited to just 40 pieces, each assembled, dated, serial numbered and signed by designer Jeorge Tripps, and it sold out quickly¹². Inside is the Way Huge Drive's limited edition circuit, and Way Huge describes it as offering "potent, versatile OD and distortion tones that can be moved and shaped by the intensity of your attack and the" guitar's volume knob¹.

The design returned in February 2024 as the Way Huge Smalls Geisha Drive, a smaller limited edition version in a white painted enclosure, with the circuit appearing untouched from the 2020 original³². The pedal is known as the Geisha Drive for the subject matter of its artwork, which features Japanese katakana writing from the early prototype stage¹⁴.

Where it came from

Jeorge Tripps built the original Geisha Drive while sheltered at home over the weekend of April 4th and April 5th, 2020, during the first part of the Covid pandemic¹⁸. The 40 pedals shipped in brushed metal enclosures with sakura and geisha graphics and katakana text on the front, and the jacks were mounted on the top of the pedal⁵. That first batch also had Blue and Red color variations, which gearnews notes makes it "a bit of a collector's piece now"².

The pedal was only available from jimdunlop.com, and Way Huge's product page is blunt about its finality¹⁵:

At NAMM 2024 Way Huge brought the design back as the Smalls Geisha Drive. The brushed metal of the original was replaced with an all white painted enclosure, and the graphics were slightly changed, both the motif of the geisha itself and the lettering²⁵. Gearnews reported that "The circuit itself appears untouched, which may upset collectors"². The Smalls version became available on February 18, 2024, with its price listed as TBC at announcement²⁶.

The controls: Drive, Tone and Volume

Both versions share a straightforward three knob setup, and the controls stayed the same on the 2024 Smalls reissue⁷. The manual describes the Smalls Geisha Drive as creating "a wide range of dynamic, touch-sensitive tones that can be dialed in from overdrive to distortion territory by adjusting your guitar's volume knob"⁹.

The Drive knob covers a wide sweep, and Way Huge describes each region of it¹⁸³:

• Low settings: "a warm, buttery sound with a bit of velvet around the edges"¹
• Midway: "thick, tubey overdrive"¹
• End of the range: "gnarly thunder and lightning distortion"¹

The manual adds that the pedal works well into an absolute clean amp or an already overdriven amp on the edge, with gritty, grinding tones shaped by the intensity of your attack and the volume of your guitar⁹.

How it differs from the Way Huge Drive

The Geisha Drive is a special edition of the Way Huge Drive, built around the Way Huge Drive's limited edition circuit¹. The functional difference is the edition itself: 40 hand signed pieces versus a standard production pedal. The rest is cosmetic, the geisha artwork with katakana writing that gave the pedal its name, carried over from the early prototype stage¹⁴. The 2024 Smalls version keeps the circuit but revises the artwork, with the geisha in a changed kimono and lettering that is no longer in Japanese².

What reviewers said

Pedal of the Day reviewed the original in February 2021 and called it a true piece of history⁸:

Guitar Pedal X, covering the 2024 Smalls release, ranked the design among the brand's most popular, calling it "one of the best-loved Way Huge pedals on account of its vast dynamic range and superior guitar volume knob gain" cleanup⁴. Guitar World's coverage of the Smalls version noted that the midway Drive point "will start to conjure a thicker, tube amp-inspired overdrive"⁶.

Where to get one

The original 2020 run is gone: it was sold only through jimdunlop.com, sold out quickly, and no more will be made¹². The 2024 Way Huge Smalls Geisha Drive is the current route to the circuit, in its smaller enclosure with the updated artwork³⁷.

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