Specifications

Manufacturer:
Way Huge Electronics, jimdunlop.com

List Price:
$254.61

Originally published in Guitar World, August 2010

If you lust for the most lush and luscious analog delay tones known to man, the Aqua Puss will make you feel all wet, warm and wonderful.

The Aqua Puss analog delay pedal was one of the most popular products manufactured by Way Huge Electronics during the company’s first incarnation, from 1992 to 1999. When founder Jeorge Tripps ceased production of Way Huge products during the new millennium, prices for original Aqua Puss pedals soared into the stratosphere. Recently, Jim Dunlop hired Tripps and resurrected the Way Huge line, and guitarists bombarded the company with requests for the Aqua Puss. Tripps initially hesitated to bring back the Aqua Puss because he felt he improved upon its design with the MXR Carbon Copy analog delay, but late last year he relented and announced the Aqua Puss MkII.

FEATURES

Unlike other second-generation Way Huge pedals, which add features to the original designs or are entirely new products, the Aqua Puss MkII reproduces the features, performance and tone of the original pedal. Controls include a delay knob that lets you dial in delay times from 20 to 300 milliseconds, a feedback control with a range from a single repeat to infinite repeats that swell into dub-approved self-oscillating lunacy, and a blend knob that provides everything from subtle background delay to repeats that match the level of the input signal. About the only difference between the MkII unit and the original is a conveniently located battery hatch that allows you to change the pedal’s single nine-volt battery without a screwdriver.

PERFORMANCE

Although the 300ms maximum delay time is relatively short by modern standards (just barely enough to produce Edge-style dotted eighth delays at a fast tempo), players love the Aqua Puss because its delayed tones are extremely fat, rich, creamy and seductive. This is true analog delay tone, where each subsequent repeat loses high frequencies as it becomes more distorted and degraded, resulting in natural-sounding echo effects. The Aqua Puss MkII produces none of the white noise that makes vintage analog pedals difficult to use in the studio and is almost as quiet as a digital delay pedal. If you love unconventional effects, crank the feedback and blend knobs all the way up until the signal screams then tweak the Delay knob to make your guitar sound like a chainsaw or NASCAR racer.

THE BOTTOM LINE

If you lust for the most lush and luscious analog delay tones known to man (and can live with the short 300ms maximum delay time), the Aqua Puss will make you feel all wet, warm and wonderful.

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