Analog Man FoxRox Wah Retrofit Pedal

I am not reviewing the standalone Foxrox buffer pedal, but the drop-in Foxrox buffer mod to my existing Teese RMC-3 (same circuit). Couldn't be easier to use -- just adjust the volume trim to taste.

I've used this with the aforementioned RMC-3 in front of a germanium Fuzz Face clone. Here's the deal with this buffer, which I didn't quite understand before I tried it -- it does restore the range of the wah, and yields some really juicy fuzz-wah tones, but it does change the sound and dynamics of the fuzz when it is on. If you're used to touch sensitivity and controlling your fuzz with guitar volume, you lose this when the buffer is on, and the fuzz is driven harder. You can vary this somewhat by adjusting the trimpot, but you still lose the ability to clean it up with the guitar volume. It is still a good improvement, and definitely improves the wah-fuzz interaction. I just think of the fuzz alone and wah-buffer-fuzz as two DIFFERENT sounds, and I think it's a keeper.

Seems solid, should last well.

I think this buffer comes as close as it can to making two finicky vintage circuits interact well together and yields some really good tones.

There were no changes made to the exterior but the interior has a trimpot. Just plug and play

I was disappointed in this mod. It was advertised to be able to be put in front of a fuzz and be able to cut through better than before.

I didn't hear any noticable difference. In fact, the mod made my wah have less range than before, even using it through a clean channel. I thought it would be able to get killer fuzz wah sounds like the audio clips on the foxrox website but all I got was a $200 paperweight.

I will be selling this hunk of junk on ebay SOON.

This just teaches me a lesson wahs and fuzzes don't work well together. . . . never have & never will.

I haven't contacted Mike yet. . . . I will when I get through with this review. He's always been a nice guy to me and genuinely doesn't want to put out a bad product. Don't let this be a reflection on his workmanship.

It just goes to show that you CANNOT use a wah with a fuzz ever. Period. I'm just going to have to get along without it.

Extremely easy to use. Basically 1 switch that turns the effect on or off. There is an internal trimmer for gain which can be played with to add gain or cut gain. I pretty much left it where Analog Man had it setup.

This pedal is designed as a buffer to go in between my wahs and my Captain Coconut 2 fuzz. It brings back the entire range of the wah with the fuzz, which generally is not possible. Without this pedal my wah sounds are basically limited to squeal with NO sweep whatsoever. With this retrofit pedal I have my wah back when I use it with a fuzz pedal. It's also very quiet. I only leave this pedal on when using wah/fuzz combination. If fuzz only is used with this pedal on it the buffer squashes the tone and drive of the fuzz. I just turn it off.
If you are a Hendrix, SRV, Wah Wah fanatic this is a very cool device, indeed.

Seems very sturdy. Mike Piera put it in what looks to be an MXR type box that is not painted, just brushed metal, with a stamp of the AnalogMan insignia. This pedal consists of an LED, High Quality Reann (I think) Input/Output jacks, the FoxRox retrofit and a Fulltone True Bypass Switch. The soldering looks excellent. Just a very simple circuit. No backup necessary.

Analog Mike is always very friendly and helpful. Also, he always responds to emails in a very timely fashion. I had wanted this retrofit from FoxRox Electronics (The maker of the retrofit buffer), but I did not want to solder it in to 1 specific wah. I wanted to be able to use it with any wah that I might have on my pedalboard at the moment. Dave Fox from FoxRox didn?t really seem into making this as a stand alone pedal so I emailed Mike and within hours he had quoted me a price, given me my options and said it was ?No Problem.? We worked out the details and I got this pedal about 1 ? weeks after he got my MO. Very Fast for a custom order.

Overall this is just a very cool device. It really serves only one purpose for me, which is to make wah usable with a fuzz face or clone. It could also be used as a buffer/clean boost to drive a lot of pedals and long cables. The internal trimmer can give a fair amount of extra volume. Great job and thanks Mike!