Menatone Foxy Brown

this is an old 3 knobs Foxy Brown (#4 i think), with gain, pres, and vol, plus mine has 2 internal trim pots to adjust the bias of each transistor. you can go to a fairly clean boost to fuzz. the key for a nice, uncompress, realistic tube overdrive are the trim pots, and that can be a little tricky tu adjust.

i've been using this pedal as my main overdrive for years. this is no smooth tube sreamer type of sound, but a grainier tweed like OD, with slighty muddy bass if you're using medium output humbuckers. here again the trim pots are vital in getting the right sound. the presence can help a bit too, but had some fizziness some might not like.

using it with a strat on the neck pu, great '60s R&B rhythm sounds. with the bridge PU on a Strat or a Tele you get cool tweed Champ on 5 sounds, and like the Champ, it gets fuzzier as you crank the gain. too much gain though yield to muddy,compressed fuzz that lack of mids.

i've been using it for years, giging, and doing session with no problem,
until now, were the pedal sounds like a tube amp discharging (you know when you shot up your tube amp but keep playing? that sound!) only in reverse. the pedal has no sound, and while strumming the guitar sound comes gradually.

i email Brian Mena about a month ago, but still waiting for an answer...

as an OD i like this pedal very much, it fits my style, but it's not for everyone... definitely not a bedroom type of pedal, but cut through a band live perfectly. as a clean boost it works good, but a lot of cheaper pedal can do as well. some might like it as a fuzztone, i did not. you can hear it with my blues/rock trio, on live tracks that were recorded through an old camcorder in Mono (but you'll get the idea!)but stay tuned for full stereo recording in the very near futur (were in the mixing process), were the pedal is all over the place.

This is the new model with battery drawer and Sag control. Very easy to dial it in.

I play a Strat with a Duncan '59 and 2 single coils. My amps are a modded Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and a Crate VC5212. This pedal does a great Hendrix-ish "wind Cries Mary" type sound but I prefer to use it with more gain for Blues/Rock. Some call this unit "Billy G. in a Box" and that about describes it. Sounds great from low to full gain. The Sag feature adds lots of sustain when dimmed but there's a little of the Sag felt when it's all the way down. Not a bad thing for Me as I love the way it feels like a cranked old amp.

Built like a tank. Looks and feels like a quality unit.

I've only called Brian once. He answered the phone and very politely answered all My questions.

I've been playing blues and Classic Rock for about 30 years. This unit is fun and inspiring to play. It gets Me as close as I've been to "My" sound.

Very easy to use.I start with all controls at 12:00 o'clock.No manual needed.

Various Custom Shop teles and Strats,Gibson Les Paul Special TV Yellow with Fralin's>Fulltone Clyde Deluxe Wah>Menatone Foxy Brown>Menatone Red Snapper>Keeley mod Rat>Dunlop Rotovibe>Digitech X-Series Delay>Fender Deluxe Reverb '65 with NOS tubes and Tone Tubby Hempcone speaker

Built like a tank. No backup and the battery lasts forever.

Very friendly.

Rock and Roll,Blues,Beatles,C.S.N.&Y,Tom Waits etc...
I have been playing for 34 years.I'm 44
I would buy one again in a minute.I have many other very nice clean boosts/overdrives,like the Keeley Time machine Boost(awesome),Klon,great pedal,one of the best...

Very easy,no manual and none needed.

Great boost and natural OD...more of a 'gig volume' pedal,as with other Menatone stuff-i was using a Red Snapper for a while(also really nice)but this is even more neutral sounding(no mid honk) for my tastes,plus i have a Blue Collar which is close enough tone wise to the Snapper but with more gain. The FB is nice with a Deluxe or similar low to medium watt tube amp you can turn up a little...i keep the presence knob on the pedal at or near minimum with this setup,as the amp is bright enough on it's own.

Menatone pedals are made really well-what they cost is not that much,considering the lack of a printed circuit board inside...not to say PCB's always mean a cheap product,but these are in a different class.

Very helpful and willing to answer questions-any problems would be taken care of.

Simple,but versatile-this is a good pedal for anything where you'd want some 'more',regardless of style-this 3 knobber one is fine,although the newer version has an extra tone control...yes,i'd but it again.

volume, tone, presence, gain - how hard is that?

Love It!!!!! I 'm using this pedal as a lead boost. I run a G&L ASAT Classic into a Marshall JMP 5o watt head. I keep the tone set to a rhythm crunch, not too overdriven. It's more percussive this way, but definitely does not have the sustain to play singing leads. The Foxy Brown adds just the right amount of meat for my purposes. It was the only one of the pedals I compared (HBE Powerscreamer, Menatone Blue Collar and Workingman's Blues) that didn't make the tone sound too compressed and saturated. The result is a very Billy Gibbons kinda thing, raunchy and punchy, but not at all harsh or ice-picky. It makes my ASAT bridge pick-up sing and sustain, without making you forget it's a single coil. I haven't tried this pedal as a stand alone overdrive, so I don't know how it would do for that, and it's definitely not for metal guys, but it's definitely for me!

Seems solid, Menatone stuff has a good rep.

Haven't had the need yet.

For my boost needs, it's perfect. I play bluesy, rootsy rock - ass kickin' but not "hard rock", with a bit o' twang. This pedal enhances the tone I have, adding meat but not compressed saturated gain. It's a bit grittier than a tubescreamer type sound. Should cut through great for live situations.

Easy to use, no manual, none needed.

I use an ES335 and a boutique Holland 50 watt "Lil Jimi" amp (6L6s, GZ34 rect, 12AX7s etc...). My amp is really clean unless you dime it and I was looking for something to give it an extra kick. Basically the Foxy Brown adds some "meat," as I call it, to your amp etc... A very rock and roll type of pedal, which is cool, but I was mostly looking for a clean boost or an amp enhancing pedal (zvex super hard on), and then use a ts9 for overdrive. If I played rock all of the time the foxy brown would be sweet, but I also play some jazz fusion-ish stuff also, so I need a good clean sound which I was unable to achive with the foxy brown. Overall it has a good sound with a great deal of output and reacts great with my amp. I have the 4 knob version- vol,pres,tone,gain. The presence knob was cool for adding some high-end to my es335...

Seems solid, Menatone stuff is pretty kick-ass.

I dunno

I play rock, jazz, blues, whatever. Some of my favorite bands are Tortoise, John Scofield, Shellac, Isotope217, Flaming Lips, Neil Young, Shipping News, Joe Morris, Miles Davis (late 60s), My Morning Jacket, Kinks, The Who, Modest Mouse, Built to Spill- you're getting the picture. I've been playing about 12 years, if it were stolen I wouldn't get it again. In my opinion, the foxy brown is like a prescription electronics germ without the clean boost(1st switch). I personally like the Menatone red snapper with a zvex super hard on... Later-Mike

Simple to use...it should be for what it is! Menatone pedals don't have manuals. This is one of the few manatones that hasn't actually been "updated".

I use this with many FX (including several Menatones), a Tele, Alamo Tonemonger Strat and mainly a Carr Slant 6V for the amp. It's not noisy...no more than should be expected. It will provide clean boost or a light overdrive. The presence knob is nice. It's good to be able to compensate for different guitars. Plus, this unit is not too bright to be used with a Tele...thank you!

The Anonymous guy at the bottom of the page (I'm sorry, but it's a little obvious) doesn't understand dynamics very well. When you try to use a booster for super high gain tones that aren't dynamic in any way you just hear it mush out or compress more. This should be obvious to most of you, but some people don't grasp it. Learn about dynamics within equipment, your hands and playing style!! The Menatones have a huge amount of boost available, but only if a person actually uses them right.

The OD it can provide can be reminiscient of Vox flavors if you turn up the drive and presence. Otherwise, it's really transparent. With units like these I recommend steering away from using a compressor. If you like compression pedals then you'll find they sound fine with this pedal, of course, but if you can live without a compressor then you'll find the tones that much more satisfying. Just my opinion...I've shied away from compressors for live work. (and I even do chickenpickin' stuff!!) For all the styles I play this pedal works great. The addition of the drive knob means that he obviously meant for this pedal to be either an overdrive or clean boost. In that case, he could have added a little gain to have on tap. Doesn't bother me, of course, but you see my point. (I have plenty of other pedals for that) However, I'll deduct 1 point for the aforementioned reason.

Reliability with Menatones? Fuhgettabattit!! They're solid as can be.

No need to deal with Brian thus far.

I play country, blues, rock, jazz, funk, blah, blah. I use this for sessions and tour/gig work. I'd replace it if need be. Every Menatone I've tried is great. The only one that didn't work well with my main guitar (a Tele) is the WMB. It's a great pedal, but not EVERYTHING works, right?! Give it a try!

I just want say that Brian has been nothin' but helpful in tone questions, helping me figure out, fix, customize and inform me on different pedal issues I've had with his pedals and vintage pedals. he's always given his time to me on the phone. I own 4 of his pedals and love them all. the Red Snapper, the Blue Collar, the Pleasure Trem 5000 and the Mail Bomb. Brian keep up the great work!

Three knobs Gain, Presence, and Volume. Very easy to use. I hate how the footswitch is on the far right, for that I must deduct

Here's my current setup. Guild bluesbird Goldtop or Fender Jazzmaster 62' reissue USA > VHT Valvulator > EB volume > vox wah with TB > Fulltone Soulbender > Line 6 FM-4 > Maxon CS-550 chorus > Prescription Throb > Maxon Analog Delay Reissue > Line 6 delay > A/B switcher (channel B to Foxy Brown to LO input, channel A to high input) > VHT Pittbull Classic Head.

I'm using the foxy Brown as more of a light OD than a boost. It has minimal noise, with a good deal of output. It is very transparent and just adds gain and volume to my original tone which is all I really want an OD to do. It couples very well with my amps clean channel and boosts lower gain tones on my rhythm channel. It doesn't do so well when adding it to an already high gain tone. It is great for doing Edge-esque echodrive tones. I get close to cranked AC-30, El-84 type tones with my El-34 amp when using this pedal. It will suffice until I join the EL-84 club.

Menatone pedals ar so tough. I'm sure this can sustain much more abuse then i'll ever give it. I can and do gig without a backup.

This is not really cool. Brian Mena (maker and creator of the Menatone pedals) won't talk with his customers directly. He designated musictoys.com to speak for him. This really sucks, because personal interaction with these small boutique companies provides much of the appeal for these products (at least for me). Well, I bought his pedal anyways so that must say something.

It's sort of hard to define exactly what style I play, but here's some bands I dig: U2, Radiohead, Kent, Stavesacre, Violet Burning, HUM, Spiritualized, and Lift to Experience. Somewhere in the rock mish-mesh of all of those bands is where you can find the music I write and play. I've been playing for 6 years and have been writing songs for 5.

I would buy this pedal again if something bad happened. I still hate the footswitch placement, but the pedal sounds to good to let that sway me. I compared this to a few pedals including: Zvex SHO, MMFX DTD-1, and Prescription Germ). This won. I'd like a bit more gain on tap, just to know it's there. This pedal is discreet in sound, but greatly increases the amount of tones I'm able to achieve. I think this will be a rig mainstay (even when I get an EL-84 amp).

This unit is very easy to use.

It sounds good until you try it with the rest of the band. I use an SG standard into a soldano hr 50 one channel head. I thought the Foxy Brown would boost my signal for solos but it was impossible to hear any difference in the sound when it was switched on. It did add a lot of noise.

I think this pedal is well suited for people who play at home or maybe as something to use in the studio. On stage it is totally useless for heavy rock type stuff.