Fulltone CLYDE Wah Wah

Although this unit has been technically "upgraded" by the Deluxe Clyde, I'm perfectly happy with the good ole' regular Clyde. Right out the box, it was easy to get a good sound no matter where I put in my effects loop. It's just got so a tremendous sweep and the definition is always right there. Indeed, I feel that this one (at least for me) is easier to use that the Deluxe (which I've also tried recently) because it's one sound (but, oh, that sound) and I don't spend any time turning that knob that says "Shaft" etc.

I use the Clyde with an ES-335. I run it out of a VHtT Valvulator and before the rest of my effects (there's nine of them, including a Fulldrive 2). The wah is just wonderful. It's not noisy at all and I find it compliments almost every pedal in my rig, save for my phaser.

The pedal is built like a tank. Nevertheless, I had a few strange issues clicking it in and out. At one point, I had to really stamp on it to get my signal back. However, after making an adjustment to the clicker, it works like a charm and I've never had the problem again. If anything, I'm sure I'm the one who busted it in the first place.

Fuller answers the emails personally far as I can tell.

Very Easy. Getting inside to adjust the Resonance control is also easy. If you're used to the feel of a Vox or a Crybaby pedal, the Clyde's greater sweemp range will take just a bit of getting-used-to, but depending on how you use wah, we're talking minutes or hours, not days or weeks.

Background noise-wise, the Clyde is perhaps 5% quieter than the Crybaby.
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There is an internal "Resonance Control" which is a trimmer, that adds Bass and gain as you turn it. This control lets you adjust the wah's tone (somewhat). I found two useful settings ("default" and "Vox") You may find more than I did.
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With the default factory setting, the Clyde's low end (at the full back pedal postion) was silkier than the Crybaby's. i.e. there was more guitar tone and less wah tone. At the full forward position, there was a bit more high end on the Clyde than on the Crybaby. When playing on the high E, it's not quite ice-pick-in-the-ear, but it was getting close. If you have a trebley sounding guitar, you may have to adjust the control to compensate.
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At the Vox setting, the Clyde gets this wonderfully rude, quacking, honking, best-Vox-you-ever-heard type of tone. High and low end now VERY much more like my Crybaby, but with more tonal sweep range in the low mids.

It's still new, but the Clyde is built like a tank and looks pretty bulletproof, inside and out. Easily the best build quality of any wah out there.

Cannot comment yet.

20 years ago, it used to be you had to play between 10 and 15 WILDLY inconsistent Crybaby's, pick the best sounding one, and then have it modded it for true bypass. Now all that grunt-work is done for you. You get that situaion straight out-of-the-box from the the Clyde Standard. Plus you get a noise reduction cuicuit and a bit of adjustment capability.
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I play rock/metal and use the wah for tonal color ala Michael Schenker. The Clyde is a good match for that because basically, it's designed to be everything a GREAT Vox or Crybaby should be.

There are AT LEAST two usable sounds available from the Clyde Standard Wah. That alone makes it an upgrade over even a great-sounding, true-bypass Crybaby. While you couldn't really adjust the Resonance Control during a song in a live performance, you could can adjust the settings (without any tools) in a matter of minutes and this could be fun/useful in the context of a recording session. If you want that resonance nob on the outside of the pedal, you have to get the more expensive Clyde Deluxe. But in that price range, and if I wanted ultimate tweak-ability, I'd probably go with the RMC. But I'm more of a "set-and-forget" guy, so the Clyde suits me fine.

Step on it and go. You can also adjust the tone with the pot located inside, but why mess with perfection?

Tried 'em all, the Buddas, the Voxes, the RMCs, the Morleys blah blah blah in the35 years I've been playing. This wipes out the field hands down. Turns your guitar into a living, fire breathing, screaming animal. There are an infinite number of sweetspots on this sucker. Notes leap from your amp.

Built like Fort Knox.

Haven't had to contact them

Hendrix, Clapton, Beck, Stevie Ray tones are a breeze to pull out of this mofo. Pricey, but you won't find a more worthwhile, bang for the buck addition/upgrade for your rig. I'd get a peplacement if needed in a minute.

Like others have said, it is a wah pedal. But this pedal is so expressive, it casts another dimension on ease of use. Is it easy? Sure. But it's sensitivity is so broad that you will want to pay attention to its position when you don't have it bypass and leave it in a fixed spot.

I have this pedal with nothing more than a PRS Santana II and a Huges and Kettner TriAmp. Very clean stuff. Anyone who knows anything at all about the TriAmp knows how sensitive this amp is to artifacts. So if this pedal had any problem at all, it would definitely come through. But right out of the box it was clean and clear. No noise, no hiss, nada. As to the effect itself, well I just got the pedal but after taking my Budda and giving it away because it was so crappy on my gear, I was pretty skeptical even with this pricey pedal. But I was wrong to doubt. This pedal right out of the box with its longer throw of the treadle gives you a much broader tonal sweep than the B*. I found that mine hits just the right range on the highs but I'm curious about adjusting down a little towards the bass end. I also noticed that on a really, really slow sweep of the treadle, like dead slow, there's a little jump or hitch in the sweep. But speeding this up to a normal sweep, it performed great. And I mean great. This thing is so damn expressive you'd think someone's kid was inside crying. I play mostly Santana and Hendrix, I'm pretty much old school in my tastes. This thing just nailed the wah in "Put Your Lights On" as the first song I played with the pedal so for you Santana fans out there, check out this pedal. I think you'll be pleased. As I said, I haven't tried adjusting the pedal and there are some ways to tweak it to your own tastes but I'm definitely happy with my first impression. The B* on the other hand...don't waste your money.

Can't say really other than I'm impressed with the steel housing. Definitely sturdy. As for the moving parts, that remains to be seen.

Actually I was a little disappointed here. I contacted Fulltone by e-mail and by phone. I never got a response. However, their website was very helpful in locating a dealer. I sent e-mail to all the dealers listed with e-mail addresses. I got responses from most of them. But the one where I bought the pedal from was really outstanding (fatsoundguitars.com) If you go there, in person or virtual, ask for Stu. Man these guys were beyond great. I needed the pedal before Saturday. I ordered the pedal late Tuesday, 30 minutes before overnight shipping cutoff. Stu shipped out the pedal after we hung up even though there was a problem with the card I gave him. Tell me that isn't something to write about. We got it squared away the next day but these guys are great. They had the pedal in stock, they gave me a great price, and gave me excellent service. Check 'em out.

If you like vintage rock (before I was bald on top and gray around the temples we called it acid rock - Hendrix, Clapton, Santana) and that's the sound you want, even in creating your own stuff, you will probably like this pedal. Different pedals sound different with the gear you have but this pedal is perfect with my gear. I've been playing now for about 33 years but mostly acoustic so maybe I'm not the best judge. But like I said, this pedal nailed that vintage sound and is just so damn expressive. No bull. I think I understand some of the less than glowing reviews because I have to say I had the same experience with the Budda and yet all the reviews on the B* were great, you know, great pedal and all that crap. I guess you just have to chalk it up to what people are looking for and the gear they are using. But the B* for me, and at a friends house too, only went "winky winky" and only when you moved your foot so fast you thought you'd get carpal tunnel in your ankle before the night was out. This pedal wahs and cries like none other. I spent a lot of time researching this pedal out. I almost went for a couple of other high end pedals but after hearing some sound files off the net comparing different pedals, I knew this pedal was the one I wanted. Where I live, I don't have stores that carry high end pedals in stock so I was limited to what I found on the web. What I got at home was even better. I thought about going for the Clyde Deluxe to be honest but I just decided to stay more vintage. I'm glad I did. I'm sure the Deluxe will be a fine pedal and I might even buy that one too to compliment the standard Clyde. But for now, the Clyde is just fine. I hope this helps.

simple, use a carbon b attery, set the internal trimmer to 2 o'clock for a vintage wah sound and plug it in.

this is what a wah should sound like. i have at least 12 wahs---2 teese wahs, a jen, 4 thomas organs, 2 boss rocker wahs, a electra italian wah/fuzz, a vox/thomas organ italian wah and the clyde. this wah sounds great clean or distorted, fat, sweet---it's all there!!

yes.

very helpful and friendly.

i play blues and classic rock. i have too many pedals, but my favorite setup is my custom relic strat w/lindy fralin hot pickups into my top hat club deluxe. in my pedalboard with the clyde are a fulltone choral flange, VL analog chorus, barber tone pump, guyatone overdrive od-2, mxr microamp, bixonic expandora set to forbidden setting, a fulltone supatrem and a ibanez ad-9 analog delay. i have marshall and matchless amps as well as a fender pro jr., a jerry jones single cut, a custom relic tele w/ bardens, a fender robben ford, a relic strat, a hamer 25th anniversary and a tokai love rock. I f thi were stolen i'd probably buy the clyde deluxe--hard to imagine it's any better than the clyde!!
I have 2 teese wahs, a rmc3 and pictur. the picture wah is not as sweet as this, the rmc3 is ruder and more aggressive. my thomas organ wahs with the stack o dimes inductors are very vowelly and rude. my vox/thomas organ made in italy ia almost as nice as the clyde. in order of preference: i like the clyde, rmc3, thomas organ w/ stack of dimes inductor, vox/thomas organ made in italy, picture wah, thomas organ w/ tdk inductor and fulltone pot, electra wah/fuzz w/ fasel inductor and boss wah

Very easy just plug and play. Uses a 9 volt battery, has an adapter input, but does not come with an adapter.(I would not use the adapter anyway.) Comes with a manual that I did not read.

I mainly play Fender Stratocaster and sometimes Gibson Les Paul with Marshall JCM 800 or AVT50. This pedal is unbelievably quiet, and produces the best wah sound that can be achieved. It gets that Trower, Hendrix, SRV sound accurately. There is no comparison in the quality of the sound it delivers.

Fulltone products are built to last.

I have never dealt with them. The web page is informative with a few sample tracks that you can listen to.

I have been playing over 30 years, and I still have an old chrome Morely and an original Cry Baby that were bought new. I have also used the Vox, and I must say the Fulltone Clyde is the ultimate wah pedal. It is expensive for an effect that is not used much, but there is no replacement for the best. "Hit it Carl"

It's a wah. You plug it in and it doesn't change your tone (because of the true-bypass), you turn it on without having to mash it down too hard, but you also don't accidently turn it off either. It's the perfect wah, that's if you're into good tone.

The Clyde is the best wah I've ever used. I played through a vintage vox that was cool, (Messy 60s tone, it was cool, but not clear) but nothing compares to the clarity and how little artifacts you hear. It sounds like a studio EQ, only faster. I play rock and roll, mostly heavier Clapton, and Hendrix with beefed out Beatles covers and alot of original music. It is very clean. Not a perfect copy of 60-70s tone, but so clear and modern, I can't say anything bad about it. I play through a mesa with an RG 570 and a strat with an evolution in the bridge (the evolution is alittle much, but...) I can't overload this pedal. I can use it as a filter in certain spots and it just gives my guitar a new tone. You can't tell if it's on, but you can hear a boost at 3k. Unlimited tonal options. One thing that I've been noticing recently is that the volume seems to get ever so slightly quieter then the pedal is on. That could just be in my head, but it is enough to address.

One time the switch didn't switch all the way and I had to stomp it again to get it to come on, but I think that was my fault and it only happened once. I've got a back up. I've replaced it with all Fulltone parts. I've never had to use it.

From everyone I've talked to they're great to deal with. I don't know personally.

For any style of music you'd use a wah on, this is the cleanest most beautiful wah I've ever heard. I've been playing for 10 years and gigging for 7 and through all my amps I've gone through While I had this pedal(Mesa Nomad, Dual Rectifier, Fender Princeton Chorus) it has been perfect. For one show I had my crybaby 535q and the fulltone on my pedal board, and after the first set I packed up the 535q. The volume boost was kinda nice and the variable sweep on the outside was cool, but the fulltone was so clean and pure I couldn't get enough of the tone. I'd buy another one. If it had a boost function that might be nice, since most times I use wah for solos, but most wahs don't have that, so that's not so fair.

Wah pedal...easy to operate yet difficult to master. Anybody reading this should be somewhat familiar with using one. The manual was cool and informative about the parts and pieces used in the CLYDE.

I am currently using the CLYDE with a modidied 91 American Standard Strat, Marshall 50-watt SL-X head into Marshall 2x12 cab, BOSS DS-1 Distortion and OC-2 Octaver. This pedal is so quiet it's surprising. The newer ones as of June are made with a new switch that is TOTALLY silent. No pops, crackles, hiss. Very important when playing with a loud high gain setup. The sound of this thing is so superior to any other wah out there that any serious wah addict should do himself a favor and save up that paper route money to get this thing. I've played the VOX re-issue and the Crybaby and I was satisfied (like most folks) with the VOX. The Cybaby has such peircing highs, it's almost unusuable. The VOX is so vocal and expressive, that I thought I had a great wah. But I decided to give the CLYDE a chance because of all the raving that goes on about it. Unbelievable. Makes the VOX sound like lo-fi trash. All the nasaly vocal stuff is in there. The sound is so complex. With a wider sweep, it does take a tad bit of getting used to, but as you ease your foot forward, you will be amazed at the richness and complexity and just sheer tone quality. Amazing. I never thought a wah could sound this good.

This thing is definently built to last. No backup necessary

Have talked to and e-mailed Mike Fuller. The switch on mine wasn't tightened enough from the inside, and he talked me through a quick tightening. Very nice on the phone, very polite, didn't seem to want to quit talking about wahs and he gave me a great crash course in the history of wahs and Mr. Clyde McCoy. But I had to let the guy go because he wouldn't drop the quarter for the long distance call.

Overall, this is the ultimat in hi-fi, no nonsense wah tone, control and feel. Carrying a $300 price tag, I'd say this is only for someone who is serious about his wah and his tone. A $69 Crybaby is hard to pass up if you only play guitar every now and then. But if your head hurts day and night because you can't find the ultimate wah....you've found it.

It's a wah. It's easier than the Dunlop to tell whether the switch is engaging. There's an internal trimpot but it sounds best in the factory position. One thing on use: The treadle has a different feel and a wider sweep than all the ones in the Vox/Crybaby type housings. This is part of the Clyde's good design but takes a bit of getting used to; you don't get as much sound change for each increment of foot movement. But when you do get used to it, you get better control, particularly of the stationary tone-notches available. I call it a plus but you have to work it awhile and get used to it. There's a nylon nut that lets you adjust the treadle resistance.

Do we need another review of the Clyde? I'm old enough now that the pedals I got when I started out would be considered vintage. I bought, in 1974, a Thomas Organ Cry Baby. I just thought it sounded like a wah at the time, but after 16 years of heavy service, it just fell apart. Then I went through two Dunlop reissues and killed both of them. Then I went wah shopping. Here's what I found.

I tried all these wahs, most of them in brutal a/b testing. Several Charlie Skinner foot-shaped wahs, the Vox V-847 reissue, the Crybaby 535 multi-sound wah, the Kern tube-powered wah, the Colorsound reissue wah, and maybe one or two others. The 535 had a lot of different tones but no one tone knocked me down. The Kern tube wah looked promising but sounded wimpy. The orange Stringer pedal had definite possiblities. The Colorsound was kind of a one-trick pony. It came down to the Vox reissue or the Fulltone Clyde. I actually took home the Vox for a while, but came back and spent another $125 for the Clyde. Why? It just sounded better. Played into a clean amp it is very quiet and mellow and vocal. I never play it into a clean amp. Into a Fulldrive or 808 it sounds articulate and very musical. I played it outdoors with the Fulldrive and a 70s Marshall and it absolutely nailed the Cream tone. You just can't get a bad sound out of it. I know it sounds cheesy to give a 10 rating, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Here's what you're paying for. Other reviewers have mentioned this, but we need to understand about wah construction.

Most wahs new and old come in the standard Vox/CryBaby housing. Contrary to what you read, this is not steel or other durable metal but is cast-zinc. So is the treadle. It can and will crack irreparably if you drop it, or stomp on it over the years. The feet mount via screws into the soft cast metal. These screws can and do break off or strip out (my c-b reissues sure did) and then you're out of luck. Just try to drill and tap out the little screw when it breaks off! I did, and I had no success. The bottom plate is very thin aluminum that distorts and breaks. Now, in the vintage units they had jacks separate from the circuit board, and these jacks could be of good quality and were replaceable if they had a problem. The Dunlop reissue has plastic PC-mounted jacks which can and do strip out, and then you're trying to epoxy the danged thing together. The Dunlop reissues are made cheap and not to last. They are throwaway pedals you can get on sale for $69 sometimes. When you have a problem, don't waste your time like I did, trying to rethread this and epoxy that. Throw it away and buy another one, or get serious and get a Clyde! (The Vox reissue still has separate jacks for reliability. You could easily modify it with a DPDT switch for true bypass. Don't even try this mod with the PC-mount Dunlop.)

ALL these types of pedals, even the vintage ones we bow down before, have tone-sucking SPDT switches.

But the Clyde is made of heavy formed and welded plate steel. I don't know how you'd break it without tools. The switch is a DPDT true-bypass design so it is mechanically switched out of your system when it's off. The thing looks like it was made for Special Forces. Of course I'd use it at a gig without a backup. But then they send soldiers into battle with only one M-16, so any kind of backup at a gig is a luxury. I normally don't mess with backups, preferring to just buy quality stuff and make sure it's maintained.

I don't have a rating here because it's only a few months old. I expect it to last decades with normal abuse.

Fuller answers emails. I never had a problem with any of his stuff.
People complain about him but he's busy making some of the world's finest pedals.

$275 is a lot of money to pay for a doggone wah wah pedal. Especially when you can get a Dunlop cry baby on sale at Mega Guitar Conglomerate for $69 on sale sometimes. You could go through four of the Dunlops for what a Clyde will cost you. The Vox reissue is a serious tone competitor and better built than the Dunlop, and it's still a lot cheaper than the Clyde.

Why buy a Clyde? It just sounds better, and is built better, than the Vox. $125 better? Maybe it comes down to whether you're a wah aficionado and use it all the time as an integral part of your sound, or just use one occasionally when a song calls for it. I grew up on a steady diet of Cream and Hendrix, and have worn out three wah pedals. For me, it was worth the extra cash the Clyde costs. Now I know I have the best and don't have to worry about it. If you're a kid starting out, that $69 wah is tempting, but I'd still save my bucks from my crummy minimum-wage job and get the Clyde. You'll still be playing it when you're my age.

I have the Fulltone Fulldrive and Deja-vibe, in addition to the Clyde. All this stuff is just top quality. I know I sound like a Fulltone ad, but really, the man makes the best.


I give Clyde only a 9 because it is very costly, although I anticipate that the high initial cost will be partly offset over the years by the replacements I won't have to buy. I'd buy it again.

Pretty easy to use. It's a Wha-Wha pedal which is a easy effect to use but you need to work at it to get exceptional results form it. It's wide sweep takes a little getting used to if you've only used shorter travel pedals like Voxs. The manual is cool at explaining what that little adjustable trim pot does on the inside. Over all it is easy to use.

Simply a GREAT sounding wah. OK I have always felt that Wah's are the most personal of all guitar effects cause you have to make it work. The guy operating it is as important as the device it self. It's not like a Distortion or Chorus where you just hit a button and it does it's thing. You got to work a Wah with your foot and listen to the Frequencies and Tones it is giveing you. Then you have to work with what it is putting out or turn it off. That's the best I can explain it. I've had the Clyde for about 6 or 7 months now and I usally wait longer before submitting a review but every gig I get more and more impressed with it til' I just had to write. I use it with a few different Strats, PRS C22...Deja-Vibe, Fulldrive II, 69' Pedal, Voodoo Lab Proctaiva...into a Soldano Decatone Head and a 4X12 Marshall Cab. Right now I'm Stunt Guitarist in a Ol'School R&B Funk band. They keep me around for when they need that Hendrix/Isley/Funkadelic type vibe. So I get to use the Clyde for a lot of chord type work and the over the top type guitar rides. First thing that I noticed about the unit is how Quite and Clean it is through out it's range. Not a scratch or buzz anywhere in it. Just Amazing! Some of you may have but I have never heard a wha so clean and quite. Freaks me out every time. It's so clear I can turn Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" in to a Wha Wha Tour de Force. I have turned down the internal trim pot a little bit from where Mike sets it. I found it a little easier to control this way. Some of the Extreme settings where interesting and fun to play with. The Maximum setting almost sounds like a Mutron III triggered by your foot. Out of the box I could nail Jimi's "Come On Part2" sound which I have never been pleased with when using other wah's. In one of the older reviews there is a guy talking about knowing the where abouts of Jimi's "Voodoo Chile Slight Return" wah and how superior it was to a Clyde. Well I can't have Jimi's old pedal so this is gonna have to do. I've tried the RMC, Budda, Bad Horsie (Mr. Vai you sure you like that?)Dunlop, and the Vox reissue. Some of these are great sounding products, but to me the Clyde was more of what I was looking for. I find the middle of the sweep is where all the vintage vox type tones live and I can get that " Martian speaking in tongues" type sound going on in this area. It's hard to maintain but I can get a sort of Tremolo effect if I move the pedal fast enough. Pretty cool but hard to keep up for a whole song.

This is like all of Mike's stuff which is pretty reliable. Use it with out a back up all the time. Built sturdy and the inside is a neat wiring job. I'm sure this well be in the set up til I hang it up.

Spoken to Mike on a few occasions. Very helpful and informative. Answers e-mail in a few hours most of the time. Had trouble with a switch on a Deja-Vibe once he sent me a new one free. No Problem. Mike cares about his customers and his product. If I got to give up big bucks for effects to somebody it just as soon be him. Incredibly Kind and Helpful?? Well he is to me and I'm a nobody.

I play various types of music but I'm a Blues,Rock R&B, Jazz sort of guy. Always been a big Jimi fan and so is Mike. When I read that he started building his products to get Jimi's sound I said " Dat's da stuff fa me." Never been disappointed since. On the Clyde it may be fun to have a knob on the side so you can turn that trim pot but I guess I'd just be fooling around with it alnight instead of playing my guitar. But it's something to think about. I just don't know if it's a fantactic value so it only gets a 9 but to me it's worth every penny.