Wah before Fuzz Face - foxrox buffer alternatives?

[alange5]

I've got a modified Vox V847 wah with a foxrox buffer on the output going into a Fulltone 69 clone.

First off, I simply don't like the sound of the wah after the fuzz. I'd really like to use it on the front end. Before installing the buffer, I didn't get any squeal, but I barely had any wah. After installing the buffer, I get some wah, but it's not very musical. The heel to toe sweep happens rather abruptly, and there's a notch in the middle where the sound spikes and is pretty distorted. Hard to describe, but the sweep sounds more like "whack whack" than "wah wah".

Dropping the "bias" knob (input impedance adjustment) on the fuzz helps a little, but also brings the fuzz down. Adjusting the trimmer on the buffer also helps a little (definitely a sweet spot on the lower end of the turn), but puts the wah at slightly less than unity volume. Using the bridge pickup and playing closer to the nut also helps a bit. Even with these adjustments, the sound is "better", but not ideal.

By itself and with other pedals, the wah sounds great.

I know this is a topic that has been beaten to death, but I'm wondering if there are any FF users (specifically the '69) that have had better luck with any other wah buffers.

[GibsonGM]

All I ever did was add a (IIRC) 1K resistor to the input of a FF, and it seemed to make the wah come thru a bit better (no buffer).  Just an idea, YMMV...

[Elijah-Baley]

Maybe with a trimmer you can find the right value.

[Pete W]

Here's an idea...

I had the same problem. I put a Foxrox Wah Retrofit in my Vox V845 but it didn't help much when running it in front of my Fat Fuzz Factory. However I've found a reasonable solution. I put the Wah after the FF and used a Boss Line Selector to so I could blend the Wah wet/ dry signal. That way you don't get that horrible OTT wah after fuzz sound. It sounds different but good in my opinion, so I'm going to put a blend pot in the Wah to save board space. Well worth a try anyway.

[pinkjimiphoton]

try ditching the active buffer for a passive one.

i've had good luck with a 50k pot inline with the output of the wah board. works better than all the buffers... and i mean i built every damn one i could find... did.

then you can sweep the pot until it plays nice. or put a 47k resistor in line and be done with it. but the pot lets ya dial it in for other pedals, too.

[imaradiostar]

All of my wah pedals end up with a resistor in series with their output to make them fuzz friendly. It doesn't seem to change the sound with high z effects and it helps the tone with the fuzz face immensely.

Jamie

[pinkjimiphoton]

All of my wah pedals end up with a resistor in series with their output to make them fuzz friendly. It doesn't seem to change the sound with high z effects and it helps the tone with the fuzz face immensely.

Jamie

+1

thats what i called a passive buffer. makes a huge difference. i built every damn buffer for wahs and fuzzfaces i could find, and a damn resistor (or in my case, a 50k pot in line with the output of the wah board) worked better than any of them.

that said, i still put my fuzz first