The Area 51 A51 Wah Kit is a DIY, solder-it-yourself version of Area 51 Tube Audio Designs' popular A51 wah kit, made for players who want to rewire a wah pedal themselves rather than buy a finished unit1. Instead of a complete pedal, the kit supplies the core parts needed to rebuild the switching and wiring inside an existing wah shell: a circuit board that the maker tests and voices before shipping, a 3PDT footswitch, and the hardware to wire it all up1.
What's in the kit
The maker lists the following parts as included1:
- Circuit board, tested and voiced
- 3PDT footswitch
- Area 51 Icar taper pot
- Set of Switchcraft panel mount jacks
- Battery snap
- Wire
- Powered By Area 51 logo plate
The kit includes a 3PDT footswitch1, and the Switchcraft jacks come in both round and rectangular types. The maker notes that rectangular jacks are the right choice for imported Vox type shells with a rectangular DC jack hole1.
Power
Out of the box the kit is set up for battery power, with a battery snap in the box1. Players who want to run the pedal from a power supply instead can add the A51 dc power kit upgrade, which allows the wah to be powered from a 9 to 12V, 2.1mm center negative (industry standard) supply1. That same upgrade is available separately as the Area 51 DC jack kit.
Where it sits in the Area 51 range
Area 51 Tube Audio Designs sells several approaches to building or rebuilding a wah. The A51 Wah Kit is the solder-it-yourself rewire version; players who prefer not to solder can look at the Area 51 Drop In Wah Kit, and those wanting a complete finished pedal can consider the Area 51 Wah Standard or the Area 51 Rev 10a All Options Wah, which adds an input level/impedance control and a selectable bypass and buffering system1. For deeper customization, the maker also offers the Area 51 Wah PCB, Area 51 Inductor Kit, Area 51 Range Control Kit, Area 51 Wah Output Buffer Kit and a wah pedal refurb kit.
Sources (1)
- Area 51 Wah Kit, Area 51 Tube Audio Designs, 2020
