The Way Huge Pork & Pickle is a bass overdrive and fuzz pedal that puts two of the company's circuits in one box: the warm, soft-clipping tones of the Pork Loin Overdrive and the rich, fatty tones of the Russian-Pickle Fuzz1. A toggle switch selects which of the two you hear, and a clean blend lets you mix unaffected tone back in, which is what makes it a bass pedal rather than a straight fuzz box: your fundamental stays in the signal while the drive or fuzz sits on top231.
Way Huge, now sold through Jim Dunlop, introduced the Pork & Pickle at NAMM in January 2018 as the first bass pedal the company had ever made214. It was designed by Jeorge Tripps, Way Huge's founder, who described it in a 2018 interview as "the first Way Huge bass overdrive"5. In 2020 the pedal moved into the smaller Way Huge Smalls housing with the same tone circuits and controls6.
Overdrive or fuzz, with a clean blend
The core idea is a two-mode dirt pedal for bass. Flip the OD/Fuzz switch and the same Drive, Tone and Volume knobs shape whichever side you have chosen7. Dunlop describes the overdrive side as the Pork Loin's warm, soft-clipping tones and the fuzz side as the Russian-Pickle's rich, fatty tones1.
What sets the pedal apart from a plain two-in-one is the clean channel. It is not simply your dry signal: it is the Pork Loin Overdrive's clean channel, a modified classic British-style preamp, and it works with both the overdrive and fuzz modes7. MusicRadar's reviewer Trevor Curwen put it this way:
"The clean sound that you can mix in is not your dry guitar sound but the same sweet tone as found in the original Pork Loin"2
For a bassist, that means the blend knob brings back low end that drive and fuzz circuits often thin out, while the clean signal itself has some character of its own. Guitar.com's review called the result "a cool two-mode bass-friendly fuzz/overdrive combo" that "can go from subtle to saturated"8.
The controls
The manual for the Smalls version (model WM91) lists the front-panel controls4:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| CLEAN BLEND | Mixes clean signal with OD or fuzz |
| VOLUME | Sets output level |
| DRIVE | Sets overdrive or fuzz intensity |
| CLEAN TONE | Adjusts clean signal from mellow to bright |
| OD/FUZZ switch | Selects overdrive or fuzz mode |
| FOOTSWITCH | Toggles effect on/bypass, blue LED indicates on |
MusicRadar's review describes the same layout from a player's angle: a central switch selects overdrive or fuzz, with Drive and Tone knobs to shape the sound, and two smaller knobs that blend in the amount of clean tone and sculpt its tone2.
Inside the pedal there are internal adjustments. The manual lists an OVERDRIVE OUTPUT trimpot that adjusts the mix of the OD signal1, and Guitar.com's coverage of the Smalls version notes three internal controls that shape the level, curve and presence of the effect3. Gearnews speculated at launch that designer Jeorge Tripps had hidden them inside deliberately, "as he has a thing about having 'extra' hidden controls"9.
Power
The Pork & Pickle runs on 9 volts DC and draws 18.5 mA1. It can be powered three ways: a single 9-volt battery, a 9-volt adapter such as the Dunlop ECB003, or Dunlop's DC Brick, Iso-Brick and Mini Iso-Brink power supplies41.
The power input is a 5.5mm x 2.1mm jack with the positive voltage on the outer sleeve1. That is the opposite polarity to the center-negative standard most pedalboards use, so a generic daisy chain set up for Boss-style pedals will not work without a polarity-reversing cable. Dunlop's own adapters and power bricks match it.
Other specifications from the manual: input impedance greater than 1MΩ, output impedance under 25 kΩ, signal-to-noise ratio 90 dBV A-weighted with all controls at mid, and a noise floor of -96 dBV1.
Where it came from
Way Huge was founded by Jeorge Tripps, whose earlier designs, the Swollen Pickle, Red Llama, Green Rhino and Aqua-Puss, appeared, as Premier Guitar put it, "in the rigs of everyone from bedroom tone snobs" to touring players10. The company was temporarily shut down when Tripps took a job with Line 6, and the brand now lives under Jim Dunlop11.
The Pork & Pickle is a direct pairing of two of those designs: the Pork Loin Overdrive, whose soft clipping and British-style clean preamp form one half, and the Russian-Pickle Fuzz, a fuzz based on the Swollen Pickle with the sound of the mid-nineties Russian Big Muff, which forms the other146. MusicRadar's reviewer described the fuzz side as "Muff-style fuzz with low-end thump and a solid midrange"2.
What reviewers said
MusicRadar's Trevor Curwen reviewed the pedal and found the overdrive side "offers warm-toned, girthy drive sounds," with the fuzz providing the Muff-style character noted above. His overall verdict: "Bass players shouldn't have all the fun with this tasty pedal"2, a nod to the fact that the clean blend and tone shaping work well beyond bass.
Guitar.com's 2026 review, comparing it against the Electro-Harmonix Bass Big Muff Pi, called it "a cool two-mode bass-friendly fuzz/overdrive combo" with a clean blend that "can go from subtle to saturated"8.
Premier Guitar's demo video, presented by Bryan Kehoe and John Bohlinger, walks through both modes and the clean blend, and notes that "George Trips, who was the owner of uh Way Huge and the designer" is behind the pedal's circuits12.
!Premier Guitar Pork & Pickle demo10
Videos
Andertons Music Co
Premier Guitar
Premier Guitar
Questions
Can you use the Way Huge Pork & Pickle on guitar?
Yes. Although Way Huge introduced it as its first pedal for bass, MusicRadar's reviewer concluded that bass players shouldn't have all the fun with it, and Guitar.com described it as a two-mode bass-friendly fuzz/overdrive that can go from subtle to saturated. The clean blend and tone controls work the same way with a guitar signal.
Does the Pork & Pickle take a battery?
Yes. The pedal runs on a single 9-volt battery, or on a 9-volt adapter such as the Dunlop ECB003, or on Dunlop's DC Brick and Iso-Brick power supplies. Current draw is 18.5 mA at 9VDC, so a battery lasts a reasonable while at typical use.
Is the Way Huge Pork & Pickle true bypass?
Yes. Jim Dunlop's manual lists true bypass for the pedal, and Guitar.com's news coverage described a true hard-wire bypass that ensures the signal retains its original character when the effect is off.
What is the fuzz in the Pork & Pickle based on?
The fuzz side comes from the Way Huge Russian-Pickle Fuzz, which MusicRadar describes as offering Muff-style fuzz with low-end thump and a solid midrange. The Russian-Pickle itself is a fuzz based on the Swollen Pickle with the sound of the mid-nineties Russian Big Muff.
Who designed the Way Huge Pork & Pickle?
Jeorge Tripps, the founder of Way Huge and its designer, created the Pork & Pickle, which he described in a 2018 Guitar.com interview as the first Way Huge bass overdrive. Way Huge was later shut down temporarily when Tripps took a job with Line 6, and the brand now operates under Jim Dunlop.
Sources (12)
- WM91.pdf, Jim Dunlop, 2020
- Way Huge Pork & Pickle review, MusicRadar, 2018-08-13
- Jim Dunlop unveils the new Way Huge Smalls Pork & Pickle, Guitar.com, 2019-11-28
- WAY HUGE® SMALLS™ PORK & PICKLE™ OVERDRIVE & FUZZ, Dunlop (www.jimdunlop.com)
- Interview: Jeorge Tripps on his perennial relationship with pedals, Guitar.com, 2018
- All killer, no sandwich filler! Way Huge cooks up the Pork & Pickle bass overdrive/fuzz in a smaller enclosure, MusicRadar, 2019-12-05
- Way Huge Smalls Pork & Pickle Bass Pedal Review, Premier Guitar, 2019-12-04
- Electro-Harmonix Bass Big Muff Pi 2 review: elevates the original formula, Guitar.com, 2026-07-20
- NAMM 2018: Way Huge debuts its first bass effect pedal, the Pork and Pickle, gearnews.com, 2018-01-19
- Way Huge Supa-Puss Pedal Review, Premier Guitar, 2013-01-09
- ARE MASS PRODUCED PEDALS GOOD?, JHS Pedals
- Dunlop - MXR EVH Modern High Gain Pedal, and More! I NAMM 2026, Premier Guitar, 2026-01-25









