Fulltone Clyde Standard Wah

The Fulltone Clyde Standard Wah is a hand-wired wah pedal built by Mike Fuller of Fulltone Custom Effects as an unofficial reissue of the 1960s Vox Clyde McCoy wah¹. Where the original Clyde wahs are scarce and hoarded by collectors², the Fulltone version recreates the circuit with comparable components: carbon composition resistors, Polypropylene WIMA .01 capacitors, and a tuned-core handwired inductor made from the same type of wire, with the same inductance, as the original³. Later versions employ a hand-made halo inductor, with an internal resonance control to adjust bass and gain⁴.

The name goes back to the wah's beginnings. The Clyde McCoy wah was the original 1967-68 wah design⁵, the result of a collaboration between Vox and Clyde McCoy, a jazz trumpeter who had asked the company for a device that could simulate the sound of a muted trumpet for use with a keyboard⁶⁷. McCoy was well known for using the mute to create wah'd effects⁸, and the pedal carried his endorsement⁹. The early pedals were manufactured in Italy and have a picture of Clyde on the bottom⁷.

A hand-wired take on the Clyde McCoy wah

Fulltone's handwired circuit incorporates a design similar to that of the original Clyde McCoy and uses comparable components, including the tuned-core handwired inductor wound from the same wire type and inductance as the 1960s part¹. Delicious Audio's buying guide notes that an improved Halo inductor and potentiometer make the pedal quieter and better sounding than the original¹⁰.

The pedal itself is solidly constructed, with a rubber slip-proof surface on top of the treadle and four large rubber feet on the bottom³. One practical detail Vintage Guitar's reviewer highlighted: the Clyde stays set in whatever position you select and does not automatically depress all the way when your foot is removed, which is not always possible on well-worn wah pedals³.

The Clyde Standard sits in a range alongside the Fulltone Clyde Deluxe Wah, which adds three selectable modes (Wacked, Jimi and Shaft) and 10-step variable input levels¹⁰, and the Fulltone Clyde itself. All three versions sport a fuzz-friendly circuit that does not alter the wah's original sound¹⁰.

The controls: treadle, resonance trim and tension

The Clyde Standard keeps its controls minimal, with the adjustments that matter on a vintage-style wah.

The resonance control is the one voicing adjustment: MusicRadar lists it as the pedal's internal control for adjusting bass and gain⁴, and Delicious Audio describes it as an added "Resonance Control" for bass and gain adjustment on the Clyde range¹⁰. Set it fully back and you have the stock vintage voicing; turn it up and the effect reaches further into the lower-mids and bass with more gain³.

The treadle tension is adjusted by tightening or loosening the nylock nut on the side at the pivot point, so you can set the pedal to stay put under a light touch or rock freely³.

Bypass, fuzz and power

The Clyde uses a true bypass switch³. For players running fuzz pedals, the latest versions of the Clyde Standard boast a switchable booster/buffer control for fuzz-friendly operation⁴. This addresses a known problem: fuzz circuits are high impedance, and many wahs screech and crackle in front of them. On the Clyde Deluxe, Delicious Audio's review describes a buffer that helps ensure the wah plays nice with other pedals on the chain, particularly fuzz pedals where noisy screeching and crackling tends to be an issue¹.

Power is simple: the Clyde operates on a single 9-volt battery and can also be used with an optional AC adapter³.

Versions and finishes

The original Fulltone Clyde shipped in three finishes: Powder-coated White, Hammertone Black, and Hammertone Gray³. Later versions of the Clyde Standard added the switchable booster/buffer control for fuzz-friendly operation⁴, and the range grew to include the Clyde Deluxe with its Wacked, Jimi and Shaft modes¹⁰.

The Clyde McCoy design has also been carried forward by other makers. Dunlop's CM95 Clyde McCoy Cry Baby wah draws from decades of wah design to represent the original tone¹², and Wilson Effects builds a Clyde Signature Wah designed next to an original vintage Clyde wah, using NOS components¹³.

What reviewers said

Vintage Guitar reviewed the Clyde in April 2001, comparing it against two original Vox Clyde McCoy wahs and a Dunlop Crybaby. The review found the Fulltone had the widest tonal range, the best pot taper, and no volume loss, with a sweep range a bit wider than the vintage pedals and noticeably more bottom and top-end³. The magazine judged it the best of that selection for tonal range and control.

On JHS Pedals' history of the wah, Josh Scott called the Fulltone Clyde "pretty much industry standard when it comes to pedals that are handbuilt in America. This is a super well-made piece of gear and it just sounds awesome."¹⁴

The Clyde Standard was also one of five classic wahs compared on That Pedal Show in January 2019, in an episode that put the pedals through their paces with plenty of Fuzz Face fun¹⁵. Delicious Audio's review of the Clyde Deluxe went further, judging that "the Fulltone pedal offers the most functionality in a wah pedal on the market"¹, and that Fulltone held the reins in that niche with the Clyde Deluxe¹.

Where the Clyde McCoy sound came from

The original Clyde McCoy wah was designed to help guitar players sound something like a trumpet player manipulating a mute on their horn¹⁶. Vox produced it with McCoy's endorsement⁹, and the early Italian-made units carry his picture on the bottom plate⁷. Original Clyde wahs are now scarce, and pros and deep-pocketed collectors have hoarded them like gold², which is the gap a reissue like the Fulltone Clyde fills: the 1967-68 circuit⁵, hand-wired, with the resonance trim and the heavy-duty Fullrange pot as the working upgrades³¹¹.

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