If I have both the Swollen Pickle and the MXR Carbon Copy delay pedal on at the same time, and I turn the volume on my guitar all the way down, I can listen to 960 AM through my guitar amp...so bonus, I guess. :/
my guitarist used to run a bass and guitar amp in stereo, and his guitar chain had a wah+flanger+ hm2 and it would do the same thing. always thought it had something to do with the gain in the chain? i dunno.
This is really important for any SP users to watch! For several months I had the Scoop and Filter too far to the left, and I didn't like the tone because it would get lost. But I would watch videos of people using it and the SP sounded so good! I didn't understand the controls well, but this video cleared up so much! Can't wait for my next band practice!
I've had one of these since they came out. Freaking awesome. It sounds great with single coils or humbuckers and it REALLY shines with a dirty amp (all the way up to a cranked Recto). The internal controls are VERY powerful. I like them in the 4 or 5:00 position he shows them in near the end.
excellent demo and this pedal is one that needs and deserves it. i recently did a shoot-out between EHX Green Russian RI, Ram's Head RI, and a Moen big box Fuzz Moo (older version with through hole construction), and the Way Huge Swollen Pickle MkIIs. fwiw, the Moen is (IMO) closer to a triangle version Muff. While they all sounded great in their own right, the Pickle was by far the most versatile and with all the tone shaping controls and some patience I was able to get it very close in tone and response to any of the other in the line-up. definitely the the most versatile fuzz I've ever played through and one of the greats of fuzz pedaldom. a definite keeper.
Thanks for this great video. I just got one of these and have been initially disappointed with it but seeing what can be done with the internal controls makes a huge difference! Looking forward to some more tweaking now.
The internal voice pot was set almost all the way to the right when I bought it used and I had no idea, but now that I got in there and set it back to factory, I’m definitely happier with the tone I can get from the swollen pickle
@@dickvalentinesillegitimate1059 I believe the internal pot would be set in the middle if you want it at factory but I'm not too sure to be honest I haven't messed with it in a while
I want through all of them at S-A and this one out of sheer tone and versatility won hands down. It was also one of the last ones if not THE last one I tried
damn after you cranked up the crunch at 3:18 i instantly thought of how amazing this would sound when paired with that dry mahogany pluck of a gibson explorer 😤 i love explorers so much...
I run the plexi in front using the blue light mode, and i set the gain on blue channel to 9oclock and the volume to 3oclock (these are the plexi settings). And then the swollen use as a boost essentially. Im kind of using the plexi as a clean boost, and then the swollen pickle acts as the second channel on the plexidrive. I always thought the red channel on the plexi was lacking, so i pretty much just use the plexi blue and swollen together. Rad setup, try it out. Ill turn off the pickle and use the red channel on the plexi for a typical lead tone, or ill use the pickle for a super lead basically. A lead with grime.
How well does this work when used in a distortion stack setting? I bought a jhs s3 fuzz hoping to run into my earthquaker plumes to get the stoner rock sound but it just sounds like a fart lol
I tried out this pedal earlier today and it got me excited. Not as an awesome hard rock pedal. But more for fuzz experimentation. But the way you finessed it for straight up rock/blues soloing was impressive. I'm not going to sell my OD pedal just yet, because I'm guessing the Swollen Pickle isn't strictly an OD (hard rock) pedal.
Would this fuzz work for chunky palm mutes? I have an ehx opamp big muff and it sounds awesome, but the palm mutes are really floppy and loose I also have a rat 2 and a boss DS 1 and those two together have great chunkyness but not enough gnarly fuzziness on the open chords that the opamp easily achieves
I know this is a pretty old question , but I had this and would say it really shines for chunky palm muting. The ability to really dial in the fuzz characteristic front fizzy to smooth makes it perfect for this.
How will the Swollen Pickle play with my Green Rhino? Which should be first in the chain: SP -> GR or GR -> SP? Do you have any suggested settings to get the best from both pedals? FYI, I'm a Strat guy.
A friend of mine told me to chain the overdrive before the fuzz, so that you can bring the fuzz over the overdrive. But you should definitely try out the two options and find your favorite setup.
Agreed. demoed both recently. Put the Green Rhino after the Swolen Pickle and it definitely muffled the sound quite a bit. The other combination will definitely bode better dynamics,
Dominic von Riedemann Not sure if it matters now, but a lot of fuzzes don't like to see anything in front of them in the chain... All of my fuzzes squeal if I put anything in front of them, and they lose any dynamics they had previously. So fuzz > overdrive > distortion is the order I always use.
Grim Samedi That's a tough answer, and really comes down to your goals and rig. I, almost always, run my drives hard into an already cooking amp, so it's not a huge deal where I put it. I think for the most controllable and consistent wah tone, you'd put it in front of everything you can, aside from the fuzz pedals I mentioned before. If you want a more dramatic wah, I'd put it after all of your drives, but it'll get very piercing and nasally with the toe down. I don't think that's a very good sound, but many disagree. So, for me fuzz > wah > overdrive > distortion > cranked amp (optional).
Excellent review. Great sounding fuzz. I swear there's a phaser or something moving the sound. Starting at 7:18 give a close listen. Something is turning/phasing the sound. Also notice at 1:29. Is this truly just fuzz + amp?
this pedal will literally blow the front end of your amp if you not careful ... I own one and let me tell you most powerful dirt pedal I own. I even prefer this over my distortions as its like a two in 1. Must go to for Stoner rock & 90s alternative
bought based on this demo..however this is a very noisy fuzz box..with unpleasant ticking noise that can be smudged out with a noise gate but you lose clarity
would like to see this started with a cleaner sounding set up. the axe with the vibrolux already has some grit before the pedal is even engaged. single coils woulda been nice.
I might sound strange to many but I cant get a decent sound out of this box, playing with a sg on a vaporizer, no mater what I do, this pedal is always too farty ou too thin or some weird stuff goes on, I just cant get her to sound somewhat around a big muff. I get this pedal to fine tune the muff's sound but I can't do, the sound is not even close. Does anyone have a setup I can start on to get a muffish sound?
“You can also be too abrasive” that’s all I needed to hear, sold
YAAAS
Whoever used this pedal and couldn't get the ultimate fuzz tone didn't work enough. This pedal is great.
Agreed. So many controls to set the fuzz how you like it.
I personally like more the big muff (the original one, not the little big muff, big muff pi...)
Or they use a line 6 spider III amp
Very true. With the use of the internal knobs you can almost go into FF land, which is how I like it.
@@joeytruelove hey mate, could you share your settings? I just bought this pedal but I'm a bit busy to really tame it, and really curious as well
If I have both the Swollen Pickle and the MXR Carbon Copy delay pedal on at the same time, and I turn the volume on my guitar all the way down, I can listen to 960 AM through my guitar amp...so bonus, I guess. :/
I use both pedals and don't have that problem
Do you have a radio station that broadcasts at 960 kHz?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/960_AM
I can do that with my old Fulltone Ultimate Octave.
i get radio signals from my 4x12 cabinet and 150 watt bugera head
my guitarist used to run a bass and guitar amp in stereo, and his guitar chain had a wah+flanger+ hm2 and it would do the same thing. always thought it had something to do with the gain in the chain? i dunno.
You forgot the box!!! This pedal comes inside one amazing box!!! the art work is fantastic!!!
Hands down the best Fuzz Pedal demo! Thank you I feel like I actually know the capabilities of this pedal!
This is really important for any SP users to watch! For several months I had the Scoop and Filter too far to the left, and I didn't like the tone because it would get lost. But I would watch videos of people using it and the SP sounded so good! I didn't understand the controls well, but this video cleared up so much! Can't wait for my next band practice!
I've had one of these since they came out. Freaking awesome. It sounds great with single coils or humbuckers and it REALLY shines with a dirty amp (all the way up to a cranked Recto). The internal controls are VERY powerful. I like them in the 4 or 5:00 position he shows them in near the end.
This, the fuzz face, and the fuzz factory are my all time favorite fuzz pedals
Have you ever tried the mastotron?
excellent demo and this pedal is one that needs and deserves it. i recently did a shoot-out between EHX Green Russian RI, Ram's Head RI, and a Moen big box Fuzz Moo (older version with through hole construction), and the Way Huge Swollen Pickle MkIIs. fwiw, the Moen is (IMO) closer to a triangle version Muff. While they all sounded great in their own right, the Pickle was by far the most versatile and with all the tone shaping controls and some patience I was able to get it very close in tone and response to any of the other in the line-up. definitely the the most versatile fuzz I've ever played through and one of the greats of fuzz pedaldom. a definite keeper.
This pedal can put out some massive sound. Absolute beast, great for Doom Metal
OCD + Swollen pickel = heaven
In what order would you put them?
Cue Zephyr I’d put the drive before fuzz personally. I think of it as adding hair onto the chest of my tone
Can you share your OCD and Swollen pickle settings?
@@FItnessAmbition it depends on the amp
Best demo I've seen, of any pedal. Very well done!
Thank you for demoing this on a slightly dirty amp. I wish more fuzz reviews were like this.
Best fuzz on earth! I have 2 of them. It can do the silicon thing AND the germanium thing very well! Just great!
Coulda, shoulda, woulda, got this over the Big Muff tone wicker. I like how you could add mids. Damn. I'll be in my room if you need me.
Thanks for this great video. I just got one of these and have been initially disappointed with it but seeing what can be done with the internal controls makes a huge difference! Looking forward to some more tweaking now.
anyone else think that 5:38 was the best sound?
+Patrick Kennedy (same) Yep, I agree
+Patrick Kennedy (same) that's a giant sound.
that part got me excited!
I like the tone @2:54. If it was a bit louder of course. It sounds really sour like a pickle, with the crunch function all the way down
sounds really fat at this time, but to my ear it sounds very robotic. I like it at 6:55
About to snag one of these used in a trade.. I have 2 fuzz pedals but after watching this... I’m sold. Sounds killer for the price.
For me the best sounding and most flexible Fuzz on earth....it is awesome!!!
THE BEST fuzz pedal out right now. worth the price. try amazon new/used if youre on a budget
Very comprehensive video on how to learn to dial this thing in - Thank you!
The amp on it's own sounds great
The internal voice pot was set almost all the way to the right when I bought it used and I had no idea, but now that I got in there and set it back to factory, I’m definitely happier with the tone I can get from the swollen pickle
So what setting is “factory”? Thanks
@@dickvalentinesillegitimate1059 I believe the internal pot would be set in the middle if you want it at factory but I'm not too sure to be honest I haven't messed with it in a while
@@judsonruddick5240 Thanks man
I want through all of them at S-A and this one out of sheer tone and versatility won hands down. It was also one of the last ones if not THE last one I tried
Just grabbed this thing used for $99CAD, didn’t even try it. Knew the hype and grabbed it immediately. Finally found my second mainstay OD 🤙
I just picked a used one of these up yesterday. The sound is gigantic, going through my 40 watt Pignose. Like Godzilla gigantic. LOVE it!
Why do I like this pedal so much all of a sudden?
Awesome. I've ordered one ! I love the sound, the color and the name !
Awesome video. Was a very helpful tutorial. Especially in understanding the internal controls.
This makes me want to hook my oscilloscope up to my amp now.....
Swollen Pickle into a Rat is a thing.
Just don’t say you put your pickle in a rat.
Your band mates will spit beer out of their noses
damn
after you cranked up the crunch at 3:18
i instantly thought of how amazing this would sound when paired with that dry mahogany pluck of a gibson explorer 😤
i love explorers so much...
THIS IS THE BEST EFFECTS PEDAL THERE IS.
FIGHT ME
You here cause of frank too? 😂
skatewithkate Frank?
@@skatewithkate4901 “that pedal just, slays” PLSSHSG
Wampler Plexi Drive Delux + Way Huge Swollen Pickle = heaven.
I have both, but never thought to try them stacked. Which do you have first in the chain?
I run the plexi in front using the blue light mode, and i set the gain on blue channel to 9oclock and the volume to 3oclock (these are the plexi settings). And then the swollen use as a boost essentially. Im kind of using the plexi as a clean boost, and then the swollen pickle acts as the second channel on the plexidrive. I always thought the red channel on the plexi was lacking, so i pretty much just use the plexi blue and swollen together. Rad setup, try it out. Ill turn off the pickle and use the red channel on the plexi for a typical lead tone, or ill use the pickle for a super lead basically. A lead with grime.
this pedal is an encyclopedia of fuzz
I wish the clip and voice could be accessed from the outside.
Yea why wouldent it?
They can... if one can use a soldering iron. But yeah, bit of a shame one has to do it oneself.
Definitely my favorite fuzz pedal
That's it. I'm buying one!
Dat woofy tone... very very nice!
Ive had the pedal for a while .Thanks for the video! Should help me get some good tones.Good Camera work too! Thanks
I got this pedal recently for my p bass. It pretty much destroys everything
Borrowed this pedal and accidentally had the volume knob all the way up. I was playing a Thunderbird bass thru a bass cab it was very powerful!
GREAT VIDEO - Very detailed and informative. Kudos.
Holy shit this sounded beast with the strat especially
Really well done video - thanks!
Very versatile and some fab fuzziness!!! Nice demo.
I love the line way huge!!! Great pedals I recommend.
Sounds crazy. I like it. I wonder how awesome this would be as a boost pedal? Right now I have the TS9 as a boost, but this one just sounds crazy.
It would be nice to hear the difference between a real clean sound ans the sound that ran through the pedal...
Just got this monster and combined it with my Peavey 6505 amp. Instant Melvins tone lol
How well does this work when used in a distortion stack setting? I bought a jhs s3 fuzz hoping to run into my earthquaker plumes to get the stoner rock sound but it just sounds like a fart lol
Way cool review! Thank you!
Best. Fuzz. Ever.
Humbucker homies! Where are your internal trim pots set?
I tried out this pedal earlier today and it got me excited. Not as an awesome hard rock pedal. But more for fuzz experimentation. But the way you finessed it for straight up rock/blues soloing was impressive. I'm not going to sell my OD pedal just yet, because I'm guessing the Swollen Pickle isn't strictly an OD (hard rock) pedal.
Does it clean up with single coils and lowering the guitar volume pot
Could be set to sound as an 'octave up' thing. Nice pedal.
Excellent review!
What does it mean when people say "you can get lost" when talking about pedals?
Getting lost in the mix. Whether live or in studio, nobody will be able to hear you clearly.
Sounds like you are taking into an already overdiven amp. How does it do with completly clean amp?
I hate it when they do that
Would this fuzz work for chunky palm mutes?
I have an ehx opamp big muff and it sounds awesome, but the palm mutes are really floppy and loose
I also have a rat 2 and a boss DS 1 and those two together have great chunkyness but not enough gnarly fuzziness on the open chords that the opamp easily achieves
I know this is a pretty old question , but I had this and would say it really shines for chunky palm muting. The ability to really dial in the fuzz characteristic front fizzy to smooth makes it perfect for this.
great fuzz!! im convinced!!
Anyonne know that blues riff he plays around 1:30?
I really appreciate the internal pots not needing a screwdriver.
You should compare this and the Havalina together. And then blend them.
How will the Swollen Pickle play with my Green Rhino? Which should be first in the chain: SP -> GR or GR -> SP? Do you have any suggested settings to get the best from both pedals? FYI, I'm a Strat guy.
A friend of mine told me to chain the overdrive before the fuzz, so that you can bring the fuzz over the overdrive. But you should definitely try out the two options and find your favorite setup.
Agreed. demoed both recently. Put the Green Rhino after the Swolen Pickle and it definitely muffled the sound quite a bit. The other combination will definitely bode better dynamics,
Dominic von Riedemann Not sure if it matters now, but a lot of fuzzes don't like to see anything in front of them in the chain... All of my fuzzes squeal if I put anything in front of them, and they lose any dynamics they had previously. So fuzz > overdrive > distortion is the order I always use.
+Brett Arnold I know this was the other gentleman's question, but if I may ask, where would you place a wah in that chain?
Grim Samedi That's a tough answer, and really comes down to your goals and rig. I, almost always, run my drives hard into an already cooking amp, so it's not a huge deal where I put it. I think for the most controllable and consistent wah tone, you'd put it in front of everything you can, aside from the fuzz pedals I mentioned before. If you want a more dramatic wah, I'd put it after all of your drives, but it'll get very piercing and nasally with the toe down. I don't think that's a very good sound, but many disagree. So, for me fuzz > wah > overdrive > distortion > cranked amp (optional).
What's the best fuzz or distortion pedal to play America Woman or While My Guitar Gently Weeps? I'll apreciete a comment. Thanks.
How many knobs are you adding to this Big Muff styled Fuzz?
WH: Yes.
Just bought one today..can't wait..I have the fat sandwich..and the Atradies..killer
Excellent review. Great sounding fuzz. I swear there's a phaser or something moving the sound. Starting at 7:18 give a close listen. Something is turning/phasing the sound. Also notice at 1:29. Is this truly just fuzz + amp?
Is there any major difference between the Mkll and Mklls? It's just smaller.... That's it?
It's like a big muff but with way more grunt
But can the Swollen Pickle replicate the sound of the Boss HM-2? Inquiring minds want to know.
Chad Kelham I was thinking it sound like a cross between a Big Muff and a HM-2 with the knobs dimed.
Yes. It’s not exactly the same but it’s close
Can I get j mascis tones?
this pedal will literally blow the front end of your amp if you not careful ... I own one and let me tell you most powerful dirt pedal I own.
I even prefer this over my distortions as its like a two in 1. Must go to for Stoner rock & 90s alternative
How does it work with a wah-wah pedal? (if wah before pickle)
Okay but why wouldn't they put the controls on the inside where they could be tweaked on the outside?
How do I get the Hendrix foxy lady fuzz
Crunch control changes eq of low end
Does this pedal offer boost?
Thank you!
Where are these pedals made?
Would this sound good on an ac 30?
It sounds good on everything
It’s just an animal FUZZ. Brilliant!
Same Leo. This thing is awesome though.
Anyone know if the Pickle can run off a power supply or if it has to run off a 9 volt?
+Corvo Attano it can have power supply>
i use voodoo lab
I regret not having the possibility to control the volume on this one.
Anyone using this into a high gain channel ? As a boost or wtv.
now that is FUZZ....
And All this time I Thought I Had Demons living in my Amp! ,Lol!
que reverb usas?
This or super badass variac fuzz?
Awesome pedal. Gonna have to crack the wallet open.!
bought based on this demo..however this is a very noisy fuzz box..with unpleasant ticking noise that can be smudged out with a noise gate but you lose clarity
Sounds fantastic.
This guy sounds like a blend between Paul Reed Smith and Steve Jobs.
Exelente sonido!!!
I sold my Way Fuzz yesterday. Not my sound.
which one did you buy instead?
Cool story bro
vibrolux for the win
would like to see this started with a cleaner sounding set up. the axe with the vibrolux already has some grit before the pedal is even engaged. single coils woulda been nice.
Fuzz pedals always sound great boosting an already dirty sound!
+Cb K It should be illegal to run a fuzz into a completely clean amp.
I might sound strange to many but I cant get a decent sound out of this box, playing with a sg on a vaporizer, no mater what I do, this pedal is always too farty ou too thin or some weird stuff goes on, I just cant get her to sound somewhat around a big muff. I get this pedal to fine tune the muff's sound but I can't do, the sound is not even close. Does anyone have a setup I can start on to get a muffish sound?