Real McCoy Custom RMC3

The Real McCoy Custom RMC3 is a wah pedal built by Real McCoy Custom, the company of Geoffrey R. Teese. First created in 1994, the maker describes it as "the world's first (and only) fully tunable self-contained wah," meaning its sweep can be reshaped through controls inside the pedal rather than by swapping parts¹. Where most wahs give you a fixed voice, the RMC3 is built around adjustment: open the back plate and the internal trimmers let you set how the sweep behaves².

The pedal is housed in a standard sized case topped with a black footpad, with a heavy-duty true-bypass on/off switch and a low-noise inductor¹. Pedal of the Day, reviewing a 2005 unit, called the build quality out directly: "They're all hand-built and the attention to detail is second-to-none"².

Power and setup

The RMC3 runs on a 9V DC regulated Class II AC adapter, and the maker is specific about what to feed it: the adapter requires a 5.5/2.1mm coax plug with a negative center post, and an adapter with 20mA to 200mA maximum current output¹. The pedal itself draws under 10 mA¹, so it is a light load on a pedalboard power supply.

There is no battery compartment to manage and no polarity puzzle beyond the standard center-negative plug, which matches most modern pedal power supplies. The maker also covers the pedal with a limited one year warranty¹.

Controls and tunable voice

The RMC3's defining feature is its adjustability. The controls live inside the pedal, and each one shapes a different part of the wah response. The LOW control, for example, sets the amount of low frequencies present in the wah's sweep³. The manual goes further and gives concrete starting points: it includes settings for SRV, Hendrix, Clapton, Santana, Colorsound, and Thomas organ sounds, so a player can begin from a known voice and adjust from there³.

Pedal of the Day's reviewer, Mike B, found the pedal works straight out of the box and rewards digging deeper²:

He also noted that the review unit, a 2005 model by its serial number, had fewer trimmers than current production: "the newer ones have more specs and 2 more trimmers to play with"². So a used RMC3's adjustability depends on when it was built.

History and versions

Teese released the RMC3 to the public in the winter of 1994³¹, and the maker notes the model "has had many faces since 1994"¹. The early years brought steady changes to how it was sold and housed:

That last change matters to anyone shopping used units: RMC3s from before summer 1996 were built into cases made by another manufacturer, while later units use Real McCoy Custom's own enclosure⁴. The current version sits in a standard sized case with a black footpad¹.

The RMC3's development continued through the mid-1990s. Late in the summer of 1995, Europe came on board, with distribution based in Germany⁴. In the summer of 1996, the RMC3 began to appear in its own original case, instead of being housed in pedal cases made by another manufacturer⁴. Its low-noise inductor¹ and its LOW control, which sets the amount of low frequencies present in the wah's sweep³, carried across the pedal's run.

How it compares with the RMC5 Wizard Wah

The RMC5 Wizard Wah shares several specifications with the RMC3: true bypass, a current draw under 10 mA, and the same limited one year warranty⁵¹. It also adds an easily adjustable rocker tension (as of October 2006) and an AC adapter jack⁵. Where the RMC3's identity is full tunability of the sweep, the Wizard Wah is a distinct voiced model in the same hand-built line. A player choosing between them is choosing between a wah they can reshape extensively and one with its own preset character.

What reviewers said

Published coverage of the RMC3 is sparse but consistent. Pedal of the Day's 2014 review praised both the build and the sound, calling it "one of the absolute most customizable wahs you'll ever see" and saying it "comes roaring out of the gates with tone and quack"². The same reviewer found the wah voiced well and reported that it "works on a great level with other pedals"², which is a practical point for anyone running a wah alongside drives or fuzz.

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