The Behringer Real McCoy WahWah is a wah pedal with a 1960s voicing, announced by Behringer on 20 July 2026 as its latest recreation of a classic pedal1. It is an all-analog unit built around a halo-style inductor, the inductor type associated with vintage wah designs, and it carries true bypass switching1. At announcement it was priced at $99, with Gearnews listing it at Thomann for $941.
For a player, the appeal is straightforward: a vintage-voiced, analog wah at a budget price, in an enclosure smaller than the vintage units it echoes1. Behringer states the enclosure is rugged and road-ready, and the pedal has a status LED on the side so you can see when it is engaged1.
A 1960s-voiced wah at a budget price
The Real McCoy name goes back to the original wah: the 1967 Clyde McCoy wah, the design every vintage-voiced wah traces its lineage to. The name now sits on two other product lines this pedal shares it with. The Vox Real McCoy Wah is a meticulous recreation of a mint-condition original 1967 Clyde McCoy wah, one Vox refers to internally as the "Holy Grail" of wahs, with an enclosure redesigned from 3D scans of vintage units to capture every curve and detail of the original23. And the Real McCoy Custom line, built by Geoffrey Teese, covers hand-built wahs such as the RMC1 and the RMC1045.
Behringer's version sits at the budget end of that field. Where the Vox Real McCoy Wah is listed at $2796 and Real McCoy Custom wahs carry a $235 US MSRP671, the Behringer Real McCoy WahWah launched at $99 and was listed at Thomann for $941.
| Wah | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Behringer Real McCoy WahWah | $99 launch, $94 at Thomann1 | All-analog, halo-style inductor, true bypass |
| Vox Real McCoy Wah | $2796 | Recreation of a mint 1967 Clyde McCoy wah, battery-only |
| Real McCoy Custom RMC10 | $235 US MSRP4 | Hand-built by Geoffrey Teese in Oregon |
The Vox Real McCoy Wah is battery-operated only, with no adapter, matching its vintage build6. The Behringer Real McCoy WahWah is more flexible for pedalboard use: it runs from a battery or an external power supply1.
Circuit and build
Gearnews reports that the Real McCoy WahWah has a halo-style inductor and all-analog circuitry1. The inductor is the heart of any vintage-style wah: it forms a resonant filter with the pedal's capacitor, and rocking the treadle sweeps that resonance across the frequency range to produce the wah effect. A halo-style inductor is the type found in classic wah designs, which is consistent with the pedal's stated 1960s voicing1.
Other reported build details:
- True bypass, so the signal passes through unprocessed when the pedal is off1
- Battery or external power supply operation1
- Status LED on the side of the enclosure1
- Enclosure smaller than vintage units, which Behringer states is rugged and road-ready1
By comparison, the hand-built Real McCoy Custom wahs use low-noise inductors, true-bypass switching and adjustable rocker tension, and are built one at a time by Geoffrey Teese in Coos Bay, Oregon45. The Vox Real McCoy Wah goes the other direction on authenticity: Guitar World notes it uses vintage-accurate BC109 transistors and ½ watt carbon film resistors, with newly designed inductors, transistors and potentiometers and hand-selected resistors, capacitors and wiring, and that both Vox models are based on prime vintage examples from 1967 and are 3D-scanned to recreate the exact body mold63.
How it fits among Behringer's wahs
The Real McCoy WahWah is not Behringer's only wah. The company also makes the HELLBABE HB01 and the Behringer WAHWAH, which give players other voicing and control options in the same budget bracket. The Real McCoy WahWah is the vintage-voiced, analog entry, aimed at the player who wants the 1960s Clyde McCoy-style sweep rather than a modern feature set1.
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Questions
Is the Behringer Real McCoy WahWah true bypass?
Yes. Gearnews reports that the Real McCoy WahWah has true bypass, so when the effect is switched off the guitar signal passes through without active circuitry in the path. It also carries a status LED on the side of the enclosure so you can see at a glance whether it is engaged1.
Does the Real McCoy WahWah use an inductor?
Yes. Gearnews describes the pedal as having a halo-style inductor and all-analog circuitry. The halo inductor is the type associated with classic vintage wah designs, and it is part of what gives the pedal its 1960s voicing rather than a digitally modeled wah sound1.
Can the Real McCoy WahWah run on a battery?
Yes. Gearnews reports that the pedal will run from a battery or an external power supply, so it can sit on a pedalboard with a power supply or be used on its own. This differs from the Vox Real McCoy Wah, which Guitar World notes is battery-operated only16.
How much does the Behringer Real McCoy WahWah cost?
At its July 2026 announcement the Real McCoy WahWah was priced at $99, and Gearnews listed it at Thomann for $94. That places it well below the hand-built Real McCoy Custom wahs at $235 US MSRP and the Vox Real McCoy Wah at $279164.
Is the Real McCoy WahWah smaller than a vintage wah?
Yes. Gearnews notes that the Real McCoy WahWah is smaller than vintage units, so it takes up less room on a pedalboard than a full-size vintage-style enclosure like the Vox Real McCoy, whose body mold was 3D-scanned from 1967 originals to match them exactly16.
What classic wah is the Real McCoy based on?
The name points at the 1967 Clyde McCoy wah, the original wah design. Gearnews describes the pedal as Behringer's recreation of a classic pedal with a 1960s voicing. The Vox Real McCoy Wah, which shares the name, is a recreation of a mint-condition original 1967 Clyde McCoy wah12.
Sources (7)
- Behringer Real McCoy WahWah:Affordable '60s-Style Wah!, gearnews.com, 2026-07-20
- VOX Real McCoy Limited Edition Wah Pedal, Vox Amps (voxamps.com), 2025-09-30
- VOX Real McCoy Wah Pedal, Vox Amps (voxamps.com), 2025-09-30
- Real McCoy Wah RMC10, West Coast Pedalboard
- RMC1, realmccoycustom.com, 2022
- Vox V846 Vintage and Real McCoy Wah review, Guitar World, 2024-09-10
- RMC5-WIZARD WAH, Real McCoy Custom, 2024
