Xotic XW-1 Xotic Wah Xotic

Dreaming of that late ‘60’s Vox wah tone but don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a product long past its life cycle and hope it works? One of the newest contenders in capturing that legendary tone is the Xotic Effects XW-1 a relatively featherweight and compact unit that’s sonically derived from the original Clyde McCoy wah but adds a whole lot more tone-shaping versatility. Four small pots on the right side of the unit adjust bias wah Q and +15 dB for both treble and bass. Turning up the bias control tightens bass response and increases overall output. Wah Q widens or narrows the filter peak within the pedal’s sweep. Removing four bottom-plate screws enables access to the 9V battery adapter and four additional frequency-shaping controls. A little red box mounted to the PC board is home to four DIP switches that modify toe-down range input gain presence cut and wah-Q frequency. Activating the toe-down DIP adds emphasis to high frequencies. Presence cut has a smoothing effect on high end. The wah-Q DIP gives the more vowel-like parts of the sweep a deeper heavier feel and tone that can turn into a guttural growl with the right combo of humbuckers and gain. The input-gain DIP meanwhile boosts output by up to 6 dB. All in a frame that’s 20% smaller then traditional wah pedals freeing up valuable pedal board real estate. Xotic Wah is modeled based on the Holy Grail wah 1967-1968 Italian-built McCoy Wahs. With the Xotic Wah you don’t get one or three sounds in one pedal you get unlimited sounds with unique controls that shape and contour your sound the way you hear it! The adjustability and flexibility of the Xotic Wah makes this one of the most versatile wah pedals available today! Self-lubricating nylon bushing pivot for quiet and smooth operation with fully-adjustable rocker pedal tension. Gold contact relay true bypassing which allows for transparent true bypass tone while incorporating ultra reliable switching with minimum one million life cycle. External Controls: BIAS CONTROL — Changing the bias warmer will lead the Xotic Wah to having slightly more output & firm up bass frequencies along with a more pronounced wah through the sweep. A cold bias is common with vintage wah pedals for a very clear voice that is more transparent in tone and smoother in operation. WAH Q CONTROL — This knob adjusts the Q (the width of the filter peak) and in basic terms adjusts the amount of the wah effect for precise filter shaping to achieve vocal-like effects. TREBLE & BASS CONTROL — A two-band EQ with +/-15 dB center-detent potentiometers optimize the voicing for different playing styles and gear. ADJUSTABLE RUBBER STOPPER — Located on the backside bottom of the treadle this rubber bumper can be shimmed to adjust the travel range of the pedal. ADJUSTABLE PEDAL TORSION — Fully-adjustable rocker pedal torsion by adjusting Hex nut on the treadle. LED INDICATOR — The LED indicator is located at the top of the Xotic Wah and lights up when the pedal is on. One unique feature of the Xotic Wah is the LED will flash if the battery power falls below 50% and indicates that it is time to change the battery. DC JACK — 2.1mm x 5.5mm 9VDC — Negative Center. When an external power supply is used the battery is disconnected from the circuit. When using a battery the life of the battery can be extended if you unplug the input when the effect is not in use for long periods of time. Battery access is through the removal of bottom plate (4 screws). Internal Controls: INPUT GAIN — Controls wah input gain– by turning clockwise it adds up to +6dB of Wah Boost. RELAY BYPASS SWITCHING — Xotic Wah uses a relay bypass switching for true bypass switching. INTERNAL DIP SWITCHES — Controls wah resonance frequency range.