Review: Way Huge Smalls Supa-Lead

The Saucy Box. The Camel Toe. The Swollen Pickle. The, the... Smalls Supa-Lead? What in the F is going on, Way Huge? Are you growing soft on me? I mean, sure, it’s getting harder and harder to name gain pedals but, c’mon, was The Nether Rod turned down? Well, I’m the forgiving kind, and I also know this is the diminutive “Smalls” version of the very rare, limited-edition Supa-Lead that Way Huge made for a Japanese retailer a few years back. But now, the Way Huge Smalls Supa-Lead is a full-on production model, and that, my friends, is a very cool thing — because what a shame it would be to not have this velvety-smooth, plexi-style overdrive available on our shores as well.

The Smalls Supa-Lead is... well, small. You can practically hide it in the palm of your hand or easily tuck it onto a crowded pedalboard. Its controls are as clean as its name, with volume, tone and drive, and the pedal is powered by a 9-Volt battery or 9-Volt power supply.

You’d think that because the Smalls Supa-Lead is a puny version of the full-sized pedal that it would sound wimpy, but hold on there, Goliath — it’s me, David, the stone-slinging killer, in a pedal. It’s a muscular, full-sounding overdrive with less crunchiness and more liquid grind, and even more detailed smoothness that sounds quite voluptuous in its focused mids. It reminds me of the characteristic gain found in a late-Sixties, four-input Marshall. Whether I used it as an overdrive through a clean amp or to goose the preamp of an already turned-up head, the Supa-Lead handily enriches the overall drive tone. It’s a supa-pedal for sure, and I could go on about how touch sensitive the unit is, but I’m done exhausting these kinds of puns.

STREET PRICE: $129.99
MANUFACTURER: Way Huge, jimdunlop.com