The Way Huge Penny Saver Royale Modulation & Overdrive is a two-in-one pedal made with Joe Bonamassa, released on March 2, 2021. One side carries the punch, grit, and tweakability of the Overrated Special Overdrive; the other carries the lush tones of the Blue Hippo Chorus primary mode, with a custom delay time chosen to suit Bonamassa's taste12. Each effect can run on its own, or the overdrive can feed into the chorus for what Way Huge calls thick, soupy textures1.
Way Huge's product page marks the Penny Saver Royale as a legacy product that is no longer in production1. It was sold through jbonamassa.com and select retailers in the UK, Australia, and Japan2, so finding one now means the secondhand market.
Two pedals in one housing
The idea behind the Penny Saver Royale is simple: it unites two of Bonamassa's own Way Huge pedals, the Overrated Special Overdrive and the Blue Hippo Chorus, into a single unit with a single power source13. Guitar World described it as composed of Bonamassa's own Overrated Special and Way Huge's Blue Hippo3, and guitar.com called it the latest pedal collaboration between the artist and the brand4.
The overdrive side keeps the full control set of the Overrated Special. Guitar Player's report lists drive, tone, volume, and frequency knobs on the right side, offering what the site called serious grit5; gearnews.com summed the same controls up as Volume, Drive, Tone and Frequency, making it nice and simple to work with6.
The chorus side is a trimmed-down Blue Hippo: it carries the pedal's primary mode only, with a custom delay time specially suited to Bonamassa's playing rather than the full control set of the standalone chorus2.
Running the two sides together
Each side works independently, and both can run at once with the overdrive feeding the modulation1. That ordering matters: the drive stage sits before the chorus, so the chorus smooths the driven signal rather than the other way around.
"They tend to melt more into the tone giving it a very organic yet unique sound that was not there with the two singular units by themselves."
Way Huge's own copy for the pedal invites players to luxuriate in the thick, soupy textures created when overdrive charges into the viscous chorus1.
What reviewers said
The press response at launch was broadly positive on the concept. gearnews.com's Jef wrote that the combined pedals make a lot of sense and that this could be a neat all-in-one solution for many players6.
The pedal also found its way onto a working pro's board. In a 2023 rig rundown, Opeth guitarist Fredrik Åkesson named it among his favorites7:
"It works nicely for both clean and heavier tones. Normally, I'd pick something like the Dunlop Echoplex Delay, but this..."
How it fits the Way Huge range
Way Huge has a long line of overdrives, from the Green Rhino MKIV to the Pork Loin and the Conspiracy Theory, and the brand had previously worked with Bonamassa on the Overrated Special itself3. The Penny Saver Royale is the only one of these that folds a chorus in alongside the drive; players who want the overdrive circuit alone can look at the standalone Overrated Special, and those after more chorus options can browse the site's chorus pedal type page. For a broader look at drive pedals generally, see Overdrive Pedals.
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Questions
Is the Way Huge Penny Saver Royale still in production?
No. Way Huge's own product page marks the Penny Saver Royale as a legacy product that is no longer in production. It was released on March 2, 2021 as a collaboration with Joe Bonamassa and was sold through jbonamassa.com and select retailers in the UK, Australia, and Japan, so any unit you find now is secondhand or leftover stock.
Can the overdrive and chorus run at the same time?
Yes. Each effect can run independently, or the two can run together with the overdrive feeding into the modulation. Way Huge describes the combined sound as thick and soupy textures created when overdrive charges into the chorus. Joe Bonamassa said the two effects tend to melt into the tone in a way the separate pedals did not.
Which Way Huge pedals are inside the Penny Saver Royale?
Two: the Overrated Special Overdrive on one side and the Blue Hippo Chorus on the other. The chorus side carries the Blue Hippo's primary mode with a custom delay time chosen to suit Joe Bonamassa's taste. Both circuits share a single power source in the one housing.
Which side does the overdrive come first on?
The overdrive feeds into the modulation. Way Huge's description of the pedal has the overdrive charging into the chorus when both sides run together, so the drive stage sits before the chorus in the internal signal path.
What did the Penny Saver Royale cost at release?
The street price at the March 2021 announcement was $299.99, and Guitar Player reported it as available now for $299. It was sold through Joe Bonamassa's online store and select retailers in the UK, Australia, and Japan.
Sources (7)
- WAY HUGE® PENNY SAVER ROYALE® MODULATION & OVERDRIVE, Dunlop (jimdunlop.com)
- Joe Bonamassa & Way Huge Launch Penny Saver Royale, Premier Guitar, 2021-03-02
- Way Huge and Joe Bonamassa join forces for new Penny Saver Royale Modulation and Overdrive pedal, Guitar World, 2021-03-03
- Joe Bonamassa teams up with Way Huge on the Penny Saver Royale OD/chorus pedal, guitar.com, 2021-03-04
- Way Huge Unveils New Joe Bonamassa Signature Penny Saver Royale Modulation & Overdrive Pedal, GuitarPlayer (guitarplayer.com), 2021-03-03
- Way Huge and Joe Bonamassa announce Penny Saver Royale OD/Chorus, gearnews.com, 2021-03-03
- Opeth and Ghost guitarist Fredrik Åkesson reveals what's on his pedalboard, Guitar World, 2023-03-02
Joe Bonamassa
