Review: Way Huge Smalls Supa-Lead

(Image credit: Way Huge)

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.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**

Join now for unlimited access

US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year

UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year

Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Prices from £2.99/$3.99/€3.49

Paul Riario has been the tech/gear editor and online video presence for Guitar World for over 25 years. Paul is one of the few gear editors who has actually played and owned nearly all the original gear that most guitarists wax poetically about, and has survived this long by knowing every useless musical tidbit of classic rock, new wave, hair metal, grunge, and alternative genres. When Paul is not riding his road bike at any given moment, he remains a working musician, playing in two bands called SuperTrans Am and Radio Nashville.

Latest

Keith Richards (left) and Bill Wyman onstage at the O2 Arena in London on November 25, 2012

“It was just full of guitars, and there was no air in it. No spaces, no gaps”: Bill Wyman reunited with his old Rolling Stones bandmates on their Hackney Diamonds album, but didn't like the track he played on

See more latest ►

“We made a handwritten tab book. I wanted to make some sort of DIY zine, and I had all these guitar solos from the EP that people were asking about”: Musical polymath Luna Li on blending harps with Fender Jaguars – and the art of arrangement

“I remember watching Jimi when I was younger, while he was in the room with me. I’d have my social studies book, but I was listening and watching him”: Ernie Isley lived with Jimi Hendrix – then took his place to write hit after hit in his brothers’ band

“We wanted to carry the torch of the guitar duo – Friedman/Becker, Gilbert/Bouillet – and pay homage to the golden era of shred guitar”: YouTube virtuosos Pete & Vinnie Play started with Racer X covers – now they’ve released their own classic shred single

“I always liked bluegrass a lot because the tempo is a lot closer to a NOFX beat”: Meet the Bad Ups, the Philadelphia punks inspired by country-and-western, reggae and Chet Atkins

“David Ellefson told me, ‘You got the gig. Oh and by the way, Dave told me to tell you that you played many of the wrong guitar parts’”: Marty Friedman tells the inside story of his auditions with Ozzy Osbourne and Madonna – and landing the Megadeth gig

“I don’t like brand-new guitars. I’ll see a new guitar and I’m like, ‘That’s gonna look good after I drag it across the driveway’”: Alter Bridge’s Myles Kennedy spills his tone (and drop tuning) secrets

“We have no problem with sampling. If it hadn’t been for that you probably wouldn’t be interviewing us today”: Cymande bassist Steve Scipio on how the funk pioneers were almost buried before crate diggers like De La Soul and the Fugees brought them back

“Delay isn’t something you really think of when you think of an acoustic guitar, but it works quite well when you’re adding a top line to a loop”: How Yamaha evolved its TransAcoustic tech to create an acoustic guitar with an onboard delay and looper

“I don't look at the fingerboard, I listen to it. All of my fretless basses have no fret lines. I can't play on a lined fingerboard”: How Bakithi Kumalo’s swung, fretless bassline helped create one of Graceland’s defining sounds

“When I was growing up, everyone said, ‘Oh, bass is just a second guitar.’ Bull! It's an art, man!” How Matt Freeman became one of punk’s most iconic bassists – bringing bass solos, jazz band and Carole King to Rancid

“We try to schedule shows around school, and if we can’t, we’ll end up skipping… The band is our first priority”: The Linda Lindas are too punk-rock to stay in class – but they’re learning all the time

Get The Pick Newsletter

Most Popular