No experience with Vox wah - feedback please

[PhiloB]

There is a stock Vox Wah on CL for $30.  Seems like a good price for like new condition.  Is it worth the $?  Would definitely be interested in modding it.  Any recommended mods if I do this?
Draw back is I haven't really missed having a Wah since I sold mine back in 1992!

[haveyouseenhim]

Get it   that's worth it even for just the shell.

[PhiloB]

That's what I was thinking.  I was curious as to whether I should expect to replace all the electronics or if it sounds ok with minimal mods.  Anybody experienced with Vox Wah's?

[atreidesheir]

They are really good stock.   

[PhiloB]

Dude just got offered $40 for it.  Oh well.

[rullywowr]

I saw a new one for $50 here on CL. The enclosure is almost worth it.

[joegagan]

3 major variants floating around. not sure what vox was making prior to dunlop taking over mfgring them in late 80s or early 90s, but here are the three types , from then to now:

1. dunlop made v847 , 80s or 90s , possibly into early 2000s, - two transistor, no power supply input hotpotz1 or hotpotz2 after around 95-ish. the hotpotz2 got a snazzy aluminum cylinder cover on the pot, unique to the voxes. they sound damn good stock and are ripe for modding since the board is very close to the 60s vox classic wah (no buffer or board mount jacks etc).
2. sometime after 2000, they just gave up and made the voxes the same as  3 trans gcb95 dunlops. power supply input etc. pretty rare.
3. post 06 or 07 , the vox company moved production to china. these are called V847a, can be distinguished from the US made ones without opening the pedal by the rectangle power supply jack hole on the output jack side. savvy sellers avoid showing that side to make buyers think they might be getting a US one. these sound pretty good also, the inductors are pretty nice, but the pots SUCK and there are tons of smd parts under the board, making modding really tricky, compared to US made 2 trans models.the v847a has an input buffer and is not true bypass.
they came out with an all black, no chrome budget model in the china series called v845, which is similar to the 847a , but with no buffer, back to the 2 trans! ha! same board and smd extra parts as the 847a.
all chinese voxes have stand alone jacks.
the shells are nice and light on these, possibly alum as opposed to zinc, so lighter to ship.
the v845 is a nice candidate for making your own wah if you can find one for 25 used, but also be warned that the PCB mounting holes are not the same as the classic dunlop vox/ crybaby shells.

[PhiloB]

Thanks Joe!  That was some really informative info.

[joegagan]

the factory document that first mentions dunlop for vox wah is 'rev A' and has a 93 date.

cool, i never saw this one. it mentions the type of dunlop inductor spec and other cool stuff:
http://www.voxamps.com/downloads/circuits/wahwah93.jpg

[Kinki fuzz]

For that price you all the expensive parts in a wah, the box, the pot and the inductor. Then build whatever you want.

[Cortexturizer]

wow joe that's some fantastic info!