Vox V845

CONTACT: Korg UK PHONE: [phone] WEB: www.voxamps.com
CONTACT: Adam Hall Ltd PHONE: [phone] WEB: www.adamhall.com
136 Guitarist March 2010
QUICKTEST
MISCELLANEOUS
The history of the wah and its
uses is widely available, but it’s
certainly true that the first
recognisable wah pedal
introduced into the
mainstream was by the Thomas
Organ Company, who owned
the Vox brand, in 1966.
Vox still produces a pedal that
echoes that classic design and
tone, the V847, and this new
unit is unashamedly intended
to give players on a budget – or
those looking for their very first
wah – the chance to own a piece
of g uitar history.
The tone is intended to be the
same, with the differences
between the two pedals being
mostly cosmetic. The V847’s
chrome treadle and die-cast
zinc chassis is replaced here by
a lighter aluminium
construction daubed in black,
which leads to the V845
weighing in at 731g less than its
more illustrious sibling.
Probably the most notable
distinction is the V845’s lack of
a buffered input and, as it’s best
to have a wah at the front of
your signal chain, this may be
an issue. Still, if you’re a wah
virgin, this shouldn’t
compromise your tone to any
noticeable extent.
Sounds
This wah has one of the widest
sweeps of any comparable
pedal out there, which allows
for a wholly satisfying wacka-
wacka and associated funk
styles. The mid notch is
especially honky, which lends
itself nicely to Vai-style human
voice effects – all in all, a
perfectly usable wah.
The Bottom Line
We like: Price; tone;
all-black livery
We dislike: No buffered
input; quite light
GUITARIST RATING
Verdict
If the non-buffered input is an
issue, then we suggest dropping
£82 on a V847, but if money is
too tight to mention, the V845 is
an admirable companion with
which to begin your journey
towards super-wahdom. [SB]
The Bottom Line
We like: Compact, untainted
sound quality, ground switch
We dislike: No mixer out jack
GUITARIST RATING
A wah with which to cut your teeth…
Vox V845 £58
Palmer Daccapo £44
A clever new re-amping tool
If you’ve recorded a guitar, but
decide later that you don’t like
the sound too much and want to
change it, there are a couple of
options. The first is to scrap it
and start again, or you could do
what’s known as re-amping.
One option is to use amp
simulation software as a plug-in
on the recorded track, the other
option is to physically send the
recorded signal to an amp so it
can then be re-recorded with a
different tone, which is where
Palmer’s Daccapo comes in.
The Daccapo is designed to
take care of any impedance
matching issues, so the signal
from a mixing desk or audio
interface is at the right
impedance for the amp’s input.
In use
About the size of two fag
packets stuck back to back, the
Daccapo has an XLR
input with a pad
switch for attenuating
too hot levels. Output
to the amp is via a
6.4mm jack socket
coupled to a small knob
for setting the level. The
Daccapo eliminates ground
loop humming thanks to the
use of a transformer, but it also
features a ground switch in
case you need to lift the earth
when connected to a particular
piece of gear. This was
something that proved
extremely useful when sending
our recorded dry guitar from a
Pro Tools rig to a Fender combo,
resulting in the amp being fed
with a signal of excellent
quality.
Verdict
If you need an interface for
re-amping, the Daccapo does
exactly what it’s designed for
with no problems. [TC]
GIT326.rev_quick 136 29/1/10 10:39:59 am