MWFX

The company works differently from most pedal brands. Rather than holding large warehouse stock, MWFX does short run productions, which means most pedals are made to order¹. Its line has doubled since the early days, with plans for more¹.

The story: handmade in Bristol

MWFX began designing its own effects in 2008, and every pedal in the range is an original circuit rather than a clone or a variation on someone else's design¹. The earliest pedals in the current catalog date from that first period: the 8 Bit is described by the maker as "an MWFX pedal from 2007/8", and the re-releases of it are individually handpainted and finished in oak wood³.

The company's profile has grown around small, unusual machines rather than conventional overdrives or delays. MWFX describes itself as a maker of unique guitar pedals handmade in the UK, established in 2008, working in short run productions with most pedals made to order¹. Alongside the original designs, the 2007/8 8 Bit pedal has been kept in circulation through re-releases, each one individually handpainted and finished in oak wood³.

One MWFX pedal has a documented place on record: a Digitiser pedal, a Judder relative with a JFET analog to digital sample and hold circuit, made its way onto Wire's album Change Becomes Us in 2013⁴.

What MWFX is known for

The pedal most closely associated with the brand is the Judder, the one effect MWFX's own tagging pairs with the company name⁵. Around it sits a range of original effects, all of which started being designed in 2008, that the maker describes as creating fresh sounds with analog character, combining the old with the new¹:

• Judder: the pedal most closely tied to the MWFX name in the maker's own tagging⁵
• 8 Bit: a guitar effects pedal, re-released from the 2007/8 design in individually handpainted, oak-finished units³
• Glitch: currently out of stock at the maker⁶

The line has since doubled from those beginnings, with plans for more pedals still to come¹.

The Glitch's setting examples on the maker's site give a sense of the territory these pedals cover: slapback, pitchshift, timewarp, skronk, gated echo, tape echo, chorus and doubling⁶.

How MWFX pedals are built

MWFX pedals are built to be opened and fixed. As the maker puts it⁷:

Repairs, requests and replacements remain available while new pedal designs are made⁷. Inside, the wiring is done off board with mPPE wire, which the maker describes as thinner, resistant to melting, and able to stay put without cable ties; wiring is kept separated to minimize noise and crosstalk from clocks and switching⁸.

Bypass practice varies across the range. The 8 Bit and Tremolo pedals are true bypass⁹, and a true bypass version of the Judder exists, with shielded cabling and sockets and a latching footswitch that mechanically bypasses the pedal instead of the original hold footswitch¹⁰. The 2010 Judder also carried a Bypass toggle switch for players who want the signal to fully bypass the pedal¹¹.

Ordering, stock and support

Because MWFX works in short runs, availability moves in waves rather than sitting in permanent stock. The maker has been packaging up back orders and preparing remaining stock for sale, and describes rolling stock as finally looking like a reality⁷¹². Past releases have been announced for specific times, such as a drop of remaining Judder stock scheduled for a Friday in July 2021 across UK, EU and US time zones⁹.

Some items, like the Expression Pedal Remote, are listed as out of stock¹³. That unit works identically to an expression pedal, connects via a 1/4 inch TS or TRS jack cable, and was made for the Judder specifically, though it works to varying degrees with other devices¹³.

Support is direct: MWFX lists a contact number, 44 7751 667 111⁶, and the workshop in Bristol is open for visitors, by contacting the company to arrange a time¹.

The range (14)

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