Red Llama MkIII - Way Huge Finally Gets It Right After 30 Years

[JoeNeri]

I have loved the Red Llama tone for 30 years. Played but never owned the original, but I have had the MkII Reissue, the 25th Anniversary (silver, 3 knobs), and a dozen or more clones over these three decades. And, with every single one of them, I loved the tweedy-fuzzy-overdrive (tube sound fuzz?) tone but absolutely hated the fairly high noise floor and the ridiculous, staggering and unusable amount of volume on tap (unity volume at or below 8 o'clock).

With much trepidation (!), I recently broke down and purchased the MkIII Smalls version that was released last year, feeling like Charlie Brown trying to kick Lucy's football and fully expecting to be disappointed yet one more time. One last try. And, it worked.

Finally, a genuine Red Llama with all of the legendary tone, a very low noise floor, and unity volume somewhere between 10 and 11 o'clock. Both volume and drive controls are fully usable through their entire sweeps, and very interactive. A really sweet and creamy overdrive happens with volume at 2 to 3 o'clock and the drive down at about 9 to 10 o'clock. But no bad tones at any settings. I'm playing a Tele (Rio Grande Dirty Harry pickups) straight into a '70 Bassman - no other effects.

Happy, happy.

 

[Peegoo]

This is good news! Dunlop makes these things now (they own the brand name).

Back in the 80s I had a Way Huge pedal called a Camel Toe, which was a dual pedal with the Red Llama and Green Rhino overdrives in it. It was beat up but still working fine when I gave it away to a pal who liked it more than I did at the time. The originals are worth more these days.

 

[tele_pathic]

I've owned several Way Huge pedals in the past: Swollen Pickle, Camel Toe, Green Rhino, Pork Loin, Blue Hippo. All were great. I eventually sold them and moved into different areas of gain. I would love to build a WH only pedal board. Maybe that will be my next project.

 

[Daytona.57]

I have a few:

Fat Sandwich

Swollen Pickle

Saucy Box, pink

Green Rhino MKII

Red Llama MKII

Red Llama 25th


At one point, I had them all on my board. My favourite combo is the Green Rhino MKII stacked into the Red Llama 25th, with a Telecaster.

 

[D_Malone]

The Smalls Red Llama is indeed killer. I love the loose tweed character, and it’s got tons of available boost.

I’m also a big fan of the Fat Sandwich. It’s a bit much with humbuckers, in my experience, but it’s just awesome with single coils. The other guitarist in our band is using mine with his Strat and it sounds huge.

 

[FenderLover]

Got the Camel Toe MKII. The Llama side has a tone control, pretty useful, not noisy at all.

 

[mabinogeon]

I have a bunch of Way Huge pedals myself, but I haven't picked up any of the Smalls yet. Not sure if I will. But I was excited to see they reissued the Red Llama without the third knob.

 

[JoeNeri]

I have a bunch of Way Huge pedals myself, but I haven't picked up any of the Smalls yet. Not sure if I will. But I was excited to see they reissued the Red Llama without the third knob.

Impressive collection. I never liked that tone knob, either.

 

[ABetterTelePlayer]

I have loved the Red Llama tone for 30 years. Played but never owned the original, but I have had the MkII Reissue, the 25th Anniversary (silver, 3 knobs), and a dozen or more clones over these three decades. And, with every single one of them, I loved the tweedy-fuzzy-overdrive (tube sound fuzz?) tone but absolutely hated the fairly high noise floor and the ridiculous, staggering and unusable amount of volume on tap (unity volume at or below 8 o'clock).

With much trepidation (!), I recently broke down and purchased the MkIII Smalls version that was released last year, feeling like Charlie Brown trying to kick Lucy's football and fully expecting to be disappointed yet one more time. One last try. And, it worked.

Finally, a genuine Red Llama with all of the legendary tone, a very low noise floor, and unity volume somewhere between 10 and 11 o'clock. Both volume and drive controls are fully usable through their entire sweeps, and very interactive. A really sweet and creamy overdrive happens with volume at 2 to 3 o'clock and the drive down at about 9 to 10 o'clock. But no bad tones at any settings. I'm playing a Tele (Rio Grande Dirty Harry pickups) straight into a '70 Bassman - no other effects.

Happy, happy.
View attachment 1093287

Oh rlly?

Could you make me a demo so I can see what's so great about it? Please, Mark?

And thanks!

 

[JoeNeri]

Oh rlly?

Could you make me a demo so I can see what's so great about it? Please, Mark?

And thanks!

I’m not any good at making videos. There are several good/honest YouTube videos out there on this pedal. The Jack Fossett demo is true to what I’ve experienced - his first 3 minutes on a Tele take you through a variety of pedal settings. Then skip over the next 10 minutes of his personal story for the rest of the pedal review. As with any pedal, overdrive or other, some will resonate with you and your rig, others won’t. This one does it for me.

Jack Fossett Red Llama Demo

 

[11 Gauge]

I never liked that tone knob, either.

The Red Llama/Tube Sound Fuzz doesn't need a tone knob - IMO, it's the equivalent of a fifth wheel.

Since I build these crude little dirt thingies, I know that the simple little circuit with something like the Red Llama actually needs a bit of extra stuff to make a tone circuit work the way you want (or expect) it to.

 

[IggyT]

I have loved the Red Llama tone for 30 years. Played but never owned the original, but I have had the MkII Reissue, the 25th Anniversary (silver, 3 knobs), and a dozen or more clones over these three decades. And, with every single one of them, I loved the tweedy-fuzzy-overdrive (tube sound fuzz?) tone but absolutely hated the fairly high noise floor and the ridiculous, staggering and unusable amount of volume on tap (unity volume at or below 8 o'clock).

With much trepidation (!), I recently broke down and purchased the MkIII Smalls version that was released last year, feeling like Charlie Brown trying to kick Lucy's football and fully expecting to be disappointed yet one more time. One last try. And, it worked.

Finally, a genuine Red Llama with all of the legendary tone, a very low noise floor, and unity volume somewhere between 10 and 11 o'clock. Both volume and drive controls are fully usable through their entire sweeps, and very interactive. A really sweet and creamy overdrive happens with volume at 2 to 3 o'clock and the drive down at about 9 to 10 o'clock. But no bad tones at any settings. I'm playing a Tele (Rio Grande Dirty Harry pickups) straight into a '70 Bassman - no other effects.

Happy, happy.
View attachment 1093287

Cool; I built a copy years ago and it’s a pretty useful boost/ low gain pedal. Mine had a pretty low noise floor unless I cranked the controls to about 2 or 3 o’clock.

 

[gusmc01]

I have a bunch of Way Huge pedals myself, but I haven't picked up any of the Smalls yet. Not sure if I will. But I was excited to see they reissued the Red Llama without the third knob.

View attachment 1097470

Great collection! I have the opposite...only the Smalls series and none of the full size pedals!

 

[Heartbreaker_Esq]

I have loved the Red Llama tone for 30 years. Played but never owned the original, but I have had the MkII Reissue, the 25th Anniversary (silver, 3 knobs), and a dozen or more clones over these three decades. And, with every single one of them, I loved the tweedy-fuzzy-overdrive (tube sound fuzz?) tone but absolutely hated the fairly high noise floor and the ridiculous, staggering and unusable amount of volume on tap (unity volume at or below 8 o'clock).

With much trepidation (!), I recently broke down and purchased the MkIII Smalls version that was released last year, feeling like Charlie Brown trying to kick Lucy's football and fully expecting to be disappointed yet one more time. One last try. And, it worked.

Finally, a genuine Red Llama with all of the legendary tone, a very low noise floor, and unity volume somewhere between 10 and 11 o'clock. Both volume and drive controls are fully usable through their entire sweeps, and very interactive. A really sweet and creamy overdrive happens with volume at 2 to 3 o'clock and the drive down at about 9 to 10 o'clock. But no bad tones at any settings. I'm playing a Tele (Rio Grande Dirty Harry pickups) straight into a '70 Bassman - no other effects.

Happy, happy.
View attachment 1093287

This is interesting, and may make me give these a shot. I always love other people's Red Llama tones, but the clone I ended up getting (the Rockbox Red Dog) has the same issues you mentioned - lots of noise and a scary amount of volume to tame. Now that they are putting this one out, I might try it to see if I can get the good without the bad.