Product: Way Huge Purple Platypus Overdrive
Price Paid: US $160
Submitted
12/19/1998
at
07:45pm
by
Eamonn Aiken
Ease of Use
:
7
It's a little tricky (as far as pedals go, anyways!) to get the right sound, but once you find the right track the sounds are all over the place. I have figured out a few things to help get a better sound out of the box; you'll see them below. Patience is really the key to any pedal that's not a simple OD or distortion.
Sound Quality
:
9
Super cool! It's nasty and disgusting sounding, but in a great sort of way... It's fuzzy and gargles and has these spooky octave up tones that aren't really consistent, but that's where the magic is! The gripes- it's really noisy. I guess this is forgivable though, cause making an effect like this that generates no noise just seems kinda,... wrong? The amount of volume boost it creates at the "normal" 12:00 position is scary, too. The volume issue had me a little worried at first. When used with a clean amp, it basically tripled the volume, in a really harsh/shrill way, too. However, if you use it into an already distorted amp, the volume surge seems to fade and you get a "sweeter" octave sound. I hesitate to use the word "sweeter" with an octave/fuzz though. What I am doing is I have an overdrive pedal set behind this pedal feeding into a clean Mesa Tremoverb (for the more complete outline of my setup, check my review of the WayHuge GreenRhino.) I have the OD on as my rhythm sound and when I kick in with the octave, teh OD pedal smooths out the sound/volume level while still retaining the octave up and all it's scathing nasty raspy goodness! Then if I want to REALLY get into it I kick off the OD so it's the Platypus alone- a louder, nastier sound that really cuts and gets the point across. It's an awesome pedal when used at teh right times- you are either wishing you were Jimi and playing the Purple Haze solo (ok, I did too... it's just got that sound!) or using it to create your own really out-there sounds... great for sonic perverts! Oh yeah, teh octave effect sounds "better" (more distinct) with your neck pickup. A cool thing about that is it has teh warmth of your neck PU ther with the bright sharp octave attack- like having neck and treble at once!
Reliability
:
8
WH products look like all pedals should on teh inside... I had a problem with my Green Rhino, but htat was probably my fault and I don't expect any more.
Customer Support
:
10
They are great- see my review for the Green Rhino
Overall Rating
:
9
It's not a pedal you're going to use all the time. Or on every solo/song. Maybe not even once in every set. But when you do use it, there's nothing else that will compare. It's not a "necessity" pedal like OD, distortion, or even delay, but teh kind of add-on gear piece that becomes a part of "your sound;" one that people will associate with yourself (yeah, and Hendrix. But just cause you have a pedal like his does't mean you sound like him. Though maybe you wish you did, eh?) I am very glad I bought it and though it's not a pedal you can really use too much, it's great watching the heads turn that occasional moment when you do turn it on. Way Huge makes some great stuff, this is no exception.
Product: Way Huge Purple Platypus Overdrive
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted
09/16/1998
at
01:37am
by
Anonymous
Ease of Use
:
10
simple to use, like all the way huge stuff. you'd pretty much have to spend weeks trying to get a crappy sound from it.
Sound Quality
:
10
awesome. ture bypass when off, so it's super quiet. When on, it's kind of like an octavia crossed w/ a bigmuff w/ the option of turing the octive effect on or off while the fuzz remains on. Hendrix, anyone?
Reliability
:
10
all way huge stuff is totally solid.
Customer Support
:
10
excellent, but you won't have any problems w/ it.
Overall Rating
:
10
if you want a killer octave-up fuzz, find one of these. good gain boost, too, so you can be louder than the other guys in the band.
