The Vox V846 is a wah-wah pedal that Vox sold from the late 1960s onward, built in Italy by the manufacturer Jen. It is the pedal most players picture when they think of a vintage Vox wah: a floor rocker with a single pot that sweeps a frequency peak up and down as you tilt the treadle. TONEHOME describes the Italian-made V846s as "unquestionably the benchmark pedals for generations of guitarreros"1.
The V846 name has since lived several lives. Vox brought it back in 2011 as the hand-wired V846-HW, and again in 2024 as the V846 Vintage, a recreation of the original 1967 model. This page is about the original Italian production pedal, with notes on how the later versions relate to it234.
The Vox V846, made by Jen in Italy
The V846s players find on the used market were made in Italy by Jen, the company that built wahs under the Vox name. TONEHOME documents examples from 1972, 1973 and 1976, all Italian-built1.
There was also an American counterpart. Analog Man's history of the wah, drawing on Eric Kraft, Geoffrey Teese and Mike at Analog Man, records that Vox and Thomas Organ introduced a model designated V846 that used a Japanese inductor made by TDK instead of the Italian-made part, and that an additional Italian-made, non-Clyde McCoy chrome-top Vox wah existed before the V846's introduction8. In their comparison, "The American Vox V846 and King Vox Wah sound good but lack the range and richness of tone of the others, probably due to the inductor and caps"8.
Vox also tried variations on the wah theme around this era, such as the bass wah and the fuzz wah9.
What changed inside between 1973 and 1976
The components inside the V846 shifted during production, even though the sound stayed close. TONEHOME's teardowns show the differences1:
| Part | 1973 unit | 1976 unit |
|---|---|---|
| Inductor | Red Fasel1 | TDK1 |
| Pot | ICAR taper 100 kΩ1 | Centralab, code 13476091 |
| Transistors | Two CDIL BC109B (silver can)1 | FBC 318B and MBC 239C1 |
| Capacitors | Tropical fish caps1 | A mixed set; one 1976 unit had a pretty random set with just one tropical fish cap, a later unit a more consistent set1 |
Despite those changes, TONEHOME's owner found his 1972, 1973 and 1976 pedals sit "within a (felt) tonal corridor of >95% of similarity," and that "though components like inductors, transistors and caps changed over the course of production the specific sound of the V846" stayed largely consistent1. For a player, that means the year on the sticker matters less than the condition of the pot and the inductor inside.
What reviewers said
Published opinions on the V846 have been consistently warm. Vintage Guitar's 2001 wah survey, comparing original Vox wahs, wrote that "our favorite (because of its almost human vocal quality and vomiting sounds) was an excellent sounding V 846"9. TONEHOME calls the 1973 unit's sound "just killer"1.
The modern recreations have drawn their own reviews. Guitar World's Paul Riario, reviewing the V846 Vintage alongside the Real McCoy wah, found "assertive and vocally expressive vintage-style wah tones" and "easy plug-in and play," noting that "the soul of both wahs is the Halo inductors, which replicate the distinct nasally voice of the Real McCoy or the more assertive expressiveness of the V846 Vintage"5. MusicRadar's review of the V846-HW concluded "this pedal is a quality piece of gear"10.
"our favorite (because of its almost human vocal quality and vomiting sounds) was an excellent sounding V 846"
The V846 name after the original
The V846-HW, introduced in 2011, is a hand-wired rebuild of the original. Vox says the V846 "has been reborn as the V846-HW Hand-Wired Wah over forty years after the original VOX Wah forever changed the sound of rock music"3. Premier Guitar reported its hand-wired turret board construction at its 2012 introduction11.
The V846 Vintage, announced ahead of NAMM 2024, is a recreation of the original 1967 model, which Vox describes as "a faithful recreation of the second legendary VOX wah, celebrated for its wider sweep and aggressive high end"46. Guitar World and Guitar.com both describe it as an "authentic recreation" of Vox's second-ever production wah76. Riario reports the new models were 3D-scanned from prime vintage examples to recreate the exact body mold, "even the p" fonts, script and flathead screws on the bottom5. Vox says the V846 Vintage employs distinct resistance values and potentiometer curves from the VRM-1, its companion recreation of the first Vox wah412.
Vox describes the V846 Vintage's voicing as having "an extended frequency sweep and a strong emphasis on hi" frequencies, suited to pairing with fuzz for classic rock tones4.
The original Italian-made V846 is long out of production and only available used. Anyone buying one today is shopping vintage stock, so pot condition and original components are the main things to check in listings.
Videos
Michael Banfield
The Riff w Nik Sevigny
Dens Session
Questions
Where was the original Vox V846 made?
The V846 wahs players collect today were made in Italy by Jen, Vox's Italian manufacturer. TONEHOME's examples from 1972, 1973 and 1976 are all Italian-built. There was also an American V846 made for Vox and Thomas Organ, which used a Japanese TDK inductor instead of the Italian part.
How do the 1973 and 1976 V846 wahs differ inside?
The 1973 unit has a red Fasel inductor, tropical fish capacitors, an ICAR taper 100 kΩ pot and two CDIL BC109B transistors. The 1976 unit has a TDK inductor, a Centralab pot (code 1347609), FBC 318B and MBC 239C transistors, and a mixed set of capacitors.
Do old V846 wahs sound different from each other?
Not by much. TONEHOME's owner found his 1972, 1973 and 1976 pedals sit within a felt tonal corridor of more than 95 percent similarity, even though inductors, transistors and capacitors changed during production. Analog Man's review found the American V846 lacks some of the range and richness of the Italian wahs.
What is the difference between the V846 and the V846-HW?
The V846-HW is a modern hand-wired wah Vox introduced in 2011, more than forty years after the original. It rebuilds the V846 circuit with hand-wired turret board construction. The original V846 was a production pedal made in Italy by Jen in the 1970s.
Is the V846 Vintage Wah a reissue?
Yes. Vox introduced the V846 Vintage at NAMM 2024 as an authentic recreation of its second-ever production wah, the original 1967 model. Guitar World reports both new models were 3D-scanned from prime vintage examples to recreate the body mold, fonts, script and flathead screws.
Sources (12)
- TONEHOME, TONEHOME
- Zero to Sixties in Five Pedals: Five Modern Effects that Conjure Far-Out, Vintage Tones, Guitar World, 2015-06-29
- V846-HW Wah Pedal, Vox Amps, 2025-09-30
- VOX V846 Vintage Wah Pedal, Vox Amps (voxamps.com), 2025-09-30
- Vox V846 Vintage and Real McCoy Wah review, Guitar World, 2024-09-10
- NAMM 2024: Vox unveils recreations of first-ever wah pedals that are built “as they were”, Guitar.com, 2024-01-23
- Vox's Real McCoy & V846 Vintage recreate early wah pedals, Guitar World, 2024-01-19
- Wah Wah Pedal article, Analog Man Vintage guitar effects (analogman.com), 2015
- Wah-Wah Pedals, Vintage Guitar magazine, 2001-06-05
- Vox V846-HW review, MusicRadar, 2012-03-02
- VOX Introduces the V846-HW Wah Wah Pedal, Premier Guitar, 2012-01-30
- VOX Real McCoy Limited Edition Wah Pedal, Vox Amps (voxamps.com), 2025-09-30
Eric Clapton
