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Wolf Tone Machine

  • Features:
  • Sound Quality:
  • Reliability/Durability:
  • Ease of Use:
  • Customer Support:
  • Overall Rating:
  • Brand:
    Retroman
  • Model:
    Wolf Tone Machine
Tags: tax#aqb brand#retroman

Reviews

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Reviewer Background:
Have been recording and touring internationally for 10+ years.  I have played every big festival you can think of. 
Purchased From:
Direct for Retroman
Price:
$170.00 USD
Features:

If you are looking for an octave fuzz then this is the one to get.  It is a clone of the Foxx Tone Machine octave pedal but it adds a bunch of features that the original missed.   With the octave off it is really wooly with the tone off or really nasal (in the best way) with the tone all of the way on. 

 

I have been using this as my primary gigging and recording fuzz for several years.  I try to choose my pedals on the amount of bang I can get for the amount of space they take up; this guy has never left my board until recently (more on that in a minute)

Sound Quality:

I have used this on stage with Public Enemy, The Roots and the Phenomenal Handclap Band.  I have used it on the soundtrack to the video game "Red Dead Redemption" and Aloe Blacc's "Good Things" album.  Basically, this pedal can cover a lot of sonic territory if you are willing to work with your volume knobs and pickups. 

 

It can scream Morricone for you or it can sound like an eagle screaming.  It is the best kind of pedal; one that lets you decide what it can do.

Reliability/Durability:

I have used it for every show and every recording that I have done for 5 years.  It didn't give me any problems until it recently started cutting out intermittently.  (but wait until you read what retroman did to fix the situation)

Ease of Use:

3 knobs: Volume, Tone, Sustain (fuzz)

2 switches: On/Off (true bypass) and Octave On/Off

 

It couldn't be easier.  However, there are so many sounds waiting for you with a little experimentation.

Customer Support:

As good as the pedal is it cannot match the customer support offered by Retroman. 

 

As I mentioned in the "Reliability/Durability" section, I started having problems with the pedal recently.  I wrote to Retroman and asked if he would look at. He agreed.  This is without my receipt or anything, just the pedal.  I sent it off to him.

 

He got the pedal and began checking it.  He swapped out the transistors and the capacitors before realizing that it was just a problem with the batter clasp.  He fixed it up and it is on it's way back to me. 

 

HE REBUILT THE ENTIRE PEDAL and just charged me shipping!?!!  Who does that?  Incredible customer service.  I wish I could give him a better than 10 rating. 

Overall Rating:

Incredible product, Incredible Service, Incredible Company.

0 Comments Tags: tax#aqb brand#retroman fuzz octave foxx

Wolf Tone Machine

Review By:
Rich-.Nk-T
Rich-.Nk-T on 6/20/04 1:00 AM
Reviewer Background:
Purchased From:
Price:
$165.00 USD
Features:
Sound Quality:
I am using this pedal as one of two fuzz type effects in my pedal board. I use a Frantone Peachfuzz very lightly as an overdrive and the Wolf Tone Machine for crazier over the top sounds. The Wolf Tone puts you in the sonic teritory of 1960's era Jeff Beck and Hendrix. I have used it through my 1964 Princeton Reverb, a 1964 Deluxe Reverb and a 1957 Tweed Deluxe amp as well as a Matchless and a Top Hat. All my old amps have good replacement speakers for giging and that is a good point to bring up with this pedal. This type of fuzz has a fair bit of low end boost. I would use caution with an old and valuable speaker.
Reliability/Durability:
I haven't had it very long but so far so good. Seems to be built very well.
Ease of Use:
A very straightforward fuzz pedal. There are quite a variety of sounds available by just tweeking the knobs a little.
Customer Support:
Have not needed customer support.
Overall Rating:
I play as a sideman with several artists in the NYC area as well as on tour. I do some Rock and "alt-country"(sorry!) type gigs as well as Bebop and more straight ahead Country gigs. I need alot of variety in my pedal board because I'm too lazy to switch pedals for every different type of playing situation! I mostly use a couple of 1950's Telecasters as well as a great repro Tele style guitar made by Rick Kelly. Other pedals include a Carl Martin compressor, an older 2 knob Frantone Peachfuzz, an old Ibanez analog delay, an Ernie Ball volume pedal and a Diaz Tremodillo. I'm  trying not to be too over the top about my review of this pedal but I am very pleased so far. I have recorded with the old Foxx pedal that this was modeled after and always wanted to be able to get this sound on stage. Those old pedals are very fragile and noisy so it seemed unlikely that I could find one good enough for live applications but now I have. This pedal is certainly not for every one but I believe it is worth consideration.
0 Comments Tags: tax#aqb brand#retroman

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