Copilot Fx Mantis

The Copilot Fx Mantis is, in the maker's words, "a multivoice octave down square wave fuzz": a fuzz pedal in the fuzz family that generates square wave octave-down voices alongside a straight fuzz voice. The revamped version offers three voices: straight fuzz, one octave down, and two octaves down¹. Copilot FX describes it as an octave and fuzz pedal whose controls set "amount of octave fuzz to the overall balance of the output"².

Controls

The manual also describes a RANGE control that sets the pulse width of an octave down voice and is disengaged when an expression pedal or CV source is plugged in. The two documents in the manual disagree on whether this knob governs the one octave down voice or the two octaves down voice, so both readings stand².

Power and connections

The Mantis is powered only by a DC 9V power jack with center negative polarity, and there is no battery option¹. The manual specifies a supply of 15mA or higher². Connections are straightforward:

1. Input jack: signal from your instrument or output from another pedal²
2. Output jack: signal to your amplifier or input to another pedal²
3. Exp/CV jack: TRS expression pedal or 0 to 5V CV signal¹

Because there is no battery option, the pedal needs a 9V center negative supply rated for at least 15mA on your board's power supply².

Expression and CV control

The Exp/CV jack gives external control of the pulse width of the octave down voices, accepting either a TRS expression pedal or a 0 to 5V CV signal¹. The manual names the Copilot FX Broadcast, Broadband or Bandwidth as compatible external controllers for control and modulation of this function². For players who want their octave voices to sweep and move under foot control rather than sitting at one fixed pulse width, this is the Mantis's main performance feature.

Tracking

The manual is direct about how the pedal behaves with chords and note changes: "Tracking: the pedal is monophonic, so it only tracks one note at a time." It advises muting strings and notes when starting the next note so previous harmonic content does not interfere, otherwise the pedal will glitch². That gated, glitchy character is part of the design rather than a fault: Parasit Studio, whose related one-knob design the Thundering Mantis is described as "a glitchy and gated octave fuzz in a simple to use one-knob format," markets the same trait openly³.

The Mantis and the Thundering Mantis

The Mantis shares its family tree with the Parasit Studio Thundering Mantis, a DIY fuzz pedal PCB build document. Parasit Studio calls the Thundering Mantis "a simple one-knob octave fuzz"⁴, and its build document describes a gated octave fuzz with a mix of one octave down and one octave up, "perfect for playing synthy leads, without having to tweak so many kno[b]"³. The Copilot FX Mantis is the finished pedal take on the octave-down square wave fuzz idea, with more voices and external control.

How the new Mantis differs from the five-knob version

Copilot FX describes this Mantis as the revamped version, offering the straight fuzz voice, one octave down voice and two octaves down. On the earlier five-knob Mantis, the maker says: "This version can get into the territory of the previous 5 knob version but it performs with more stability"¹. In other words, the newer pedal narrows the controls down but reaches similar ground with steadier tracking.

Support

Copilot FX publishes the Mantis manual at http://copilotfx.com/mantis.pdf, and the manual directs further questions to adam@copilotfx.com².

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