MWFX 8 Bit: 15

The MWFX 8 Bit, 15 is a fuzz pedal from British maker MWFX, one of a numbered series of re-releases of the company's 8 Bit pedal, which dates from 2007/8¹. Despite the name, there is no digital processing inside: MWFX describes it as converting the guitar signal to a square wave using an analog, transistor based circuit¹.

What comes out is unusual even by fuzz standards. In MWFX's own words:

So a note does not simply decay: as the signal fades, the square wave's pitch slides downward, giving each note a falling, synthesised tail. MWFX says the pedal suits guitar and bass¹.

A square wave fuzz that falls in pitch

The 8 Bit works by converting the guitar signal to a square wave, the stark on/off waveform associated with early video game and synth sounds. Because the conversion is done by an analog, transistor based circuit rather than a digital converter, the result behaves like a fuzz in how it tracks your picking, but the timbre is a synthesised square wave rather than clipped guitar¹.

The distinctive part is what happens as a note dies away. Instead of the note simply getting quieter, the pitch falls as the signal trails out¹. Played chords and single notes alike take on a downward sliding tail, which sets the 8 Bit apart from ordinary fuzz boxes and from synth pedals that hold pitch steady.

MWFX posted setting examples for the pedal when it went on sale, tagged with names including slapback, pitchshift, timewarp, gated echo, tape echo, chorus, doubler, repeater, sample and hold, and arpeggio¹. These are starting points for dialing in the effect rather than separate modes of the pedal itself.

Controls and bypass

The control surface is minimal. On the outside there is a volume control; further adjustment lives inside the box¹.

The pedal is true bypass, so with it disengaged your signal passes through without buffering or loading¹. MWFX describes the internal construction as off board wired with mPPE wire, kept separated to minimize noise and crosstalk from clocks and switching⁶.

The original pedal and its re-release

The 8 Bit is an MWFX pedal from 2007/8, which MWFX has nicknamed "our square egg"⁷¹. The 8 Bit, 15 is one of a series of individually numbered re-releases of that original design. MWFX says each of these re-releases is individually handpainted and finished in oak wood¹, and the page for the 8 Bit, 15 shows handpainted boxes with laser engraving¹.

The 8 Bit, 15 is a re-release of the original 2007/8 pedal, and like the others in the re-release series it is individually handpainted and finished in oak wood¹. The current listing shows it at £175.00⁵.

The numbered re-releases share the same core circuit and feature set, differing mainly in their handpainted finish. Related versions include the MWFX 8 Bit, 1, the MWFX 8 Bit, 3, the MWFX 8 Bit, 5, the MWFX 8 Bit, 16, the MWFX 8 Bit - 18, and the MWFX 8 Bit, Pride⁸⁹. All are listed as true bypass, analog, transistor based, and suitable for guitar and bass¹⁵.

What reviewers said

There are no published reviews of the 8 Bit, 15: the maker's product page carries no reviews, and no press verdicts appear for this specific unit¹. Players evaluating it are working from MWFX's own descriptions and demo material rather than independent review coverage.

Questions