Anyone here played anything made by MWFX?

Jake of Bass · #1 09-28-2009, 05:37 AM

Just found this company and there's very little on the net about them. Just wondering if anyone can post a review or any experince they've had with them, they look interesting.

http://www.mwfx.co.uk/

**grygrx** · #2 09-28-2009, 05:50 AM

Not familiar, but thanks for introducing me!

Jake of Bass · #3 09-28-2009, 05:58 AM

They look nice and all handmade, even the paint is handmade (as in handpainted, not handmade paint lol).
I'm at work without speakers so I can't hear their audio examples.

fightthepower · #4 09-28-2009, 06:03 AM

I just listened to some samples on the site; the '8 bit' sounds like a Blue Box clone or similar (just -1oct im assuming), and the 'Wave Machine' sounds more like a fuzz with a filter and different gate settings to emulate waveforms, than the 'multiple VCO...modeled on the Mini Korg and Minimoog's oscillators... three wave shapes, Saw, Triangle and Square" it advertises.

They have an interesting design though and don't seem too expensive.

Jake of Bass · #5 09-28-2009, 06:07 AM

Could the Wave Machine audio samples just be due to mp3 compression so it streams well from their site?

You're probably right though, but I'm hoping till proven otherwise these are genuinely good synth sounds so I can snap one up asap.

xplorer · #6 09-29-2009, 07:01 PM

The 8-bit has piqued my interest. I wonder how it would compare to a Devi Ever Bit.
I've been looking for a atari-esque pedal for a while, and I think I'll have to add this to my list of possibilites.

I sent the owner an email regarding shipping to the US and he got right back to me. Seemed quite friendly and asked if I needed any other help. Always nice to see an owner take an interest in his customers.

Mingus Addict · #7 09-29-2009, 10:42 PM

Honestly all of those pedals, I'm most intrigued by 'The Tape'.

Jake of Bass · #8 10-01-2009, 11:58 PM

If anyone gets one could they post some audio samples please?

joshualhoffman · #9 01-06-2010, 08:35 AM

So, these pedals sound amazing, but the quality of the construction of the pedal is very poor.

I received the pedal in the mail and when I opened the back a small piece of metal fell out. Needless to say the pedal did not work. I sent it back to MWFX and he "fixed" it. The pedal worked for one show and then craped out.

After numerous email, he will not respond to my requests for a refund or to fix it ... he also lives in England - and it's $10 bucks everytime this pedal goes out.

Luckily, I live in Gainesville, FL and know a few electrical engineers. One of them, who is also a sick amp builder, took a look at it and agreed that they sounded great(internet sample), but the construction - especially the housing construction - was very poor.

I will get a fixed pedal - due to this firend - with the frequency knob on the outside - with expression pedal CV control - not on the inside, corrected BIAS in the inside - and a freekin' light to indicate if its on or not.

Do not buy these pedals.

gnasher1993 · #10 01-06-2010, 09:14 AM

That's such a shame.

Out of interest, which pedal did you buy?

basswrecka · #11 01-14-2010, 11:33 AM

I've not purchased yet but this guy seems pretty impressed

http://stompboxes.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4457

joshualhoffman · #12 01-22-2010, 09:47 PM

I bought the 8-Bit.

I will get a rundown by the guy that is rebuilding the pedal for me ... but he couldn't say enough bad things about it. I asked MWFX to put a 9v adapter on the pedal - which he did, but neglected to make it so when the adapter is engaged the battery cover is inactive. Needless to say it shorted components of the pedal (which is a lot of frayed wire in a box too small - that is also missing a light).

I look at the pictures from the link and it reinforces what careless construction is put into the making of the pedal and circuit side of this company.

tomcorneill · #13 10-15-2010, 05:11 AM

Hi all. I'm sorry to hear that a couple of you have had a bad experience with this site. I've bought several now and I have to say I absolutely love them. I did have a slight issue with the build on one of them which I raised with the manager and it was fixed promptly (and thoroughly) with a big apology. He also went out of his way to explain that it's a young company and that they're still ironing out creases which I thought was fair enough, especially given the awesome prices!
I'm over the moon with mine, just bought the new 'Russki' and it is absolutely superb!

bongomania · #14 10-15-2010, 12:34 PM

The internetz is a weird place. The one guy who had a terrible experience joined up just to tell us about it, and hasn't made one post since. The one guy who had a super positive experience joined up just to tell us about it. It's a testament to how well TB is optimized for Google, since obviously these people just Googled "MWFX" and found this one thread.

MWFX · #15 10-18-2010, 09:57 AM

The internet is a weird place bongomania, people can vent their spleens about practically anything without fear of being tracked for libel charges etc. (Germaine Greer are you listening?!). Which is great in some ways, but grossly unfair in others.

I didn't want to sign up and reply to this post when I read it in February, although many of my colleagues and friends have encouraged me to. It doesn't really seem appropriate for me to discuss customer issues on a forum. However, testament to TalkBass's presence on the net, this is pretty much the first port of call for anyone researching my pedals and to have someone actively encouraging people not to buy my pedals is very damaging. I've survived 8 months of aggravation but now I feel it's time to have my say.

I dealt with Joshua Hoffman over Xmas and sent two pedals out to him. It's not very often I have to do aftercare for the pedals as they work, but sadly the first one didn't and it arrived back to me in England, it had been dismantled and all parts were bagged up in a resealable bag. It's not very easy for me to refund a pedal in this condition because I do not know of whats happened, but I did and the second pedal was sent to him.

I have no idea about this second pedal. I have no idea about Joshua Hoffman. I've only received a complaint saying it wasn't working, I've offered several times to work something out but don't hear back. During this time he wrote telling everyone not to buy. I've drawn my own conclusions from this, as I'm sure you will. But it's irrelevant now as the damage has been done.

I can only put a note on here to say that I will always provide a refund if you're unhappy. Also please listen to the positive reviews that get posted on other forums, check out the ebay feedbacks, and don't feel it is a risk to buy from us cos of this one guy. Our build quality is the thing that is most important to us, check out our photos, a lot of effort goes into these. LED indicators, power jacks etc are add ons designed to keep prices down and all our pedals are solid core wired now, no more untidy wires for Joshua to lose sleep about.

Email me at infoATmwfx.co.uk if you want more info on Hoffmangate! It'd would be wrong to discuss the more interesting aspects of the case on here. And Tom, thank you for sticking up for me.
Matt

joshualhoffman · #16 12-16-2010, 02:46 PM

MWFX

I declined to send back the second pedal because of the hassle and on the advice of the engineers.

I really think that MWFX has some amazing, if not inspiring sounding pedals, but the quality of construction was just poor. In a competitive market, especially with the Fuzz effect, there are plenty of substitutions and I felt that my time and money would be better spent elsewhere (which is what I did).

What I am wondering about is the "the more interesting aspects of the case on here" and the "without fear of being tracked for libel charges" quip. What are those?

I would be willing to give the company a second chance - in fact, I would love to give a positive endorsement of MWFX - they are creative, grass-roots, out of the box "sound" designers - I just disagree with all of the "building" design choices.

Sorry to start such a sh!t storm - but as a touring musician with lots of pedals I feel that my assessment was valid.

Explorer · #17 12-16-2010, 08:33 PM

Thanks, Joshua! It's nice of you to check back in after so long!

Er... since you've only posted three times here on TalkBass since registering almost a year ago, and it was all about this pedal, I can imagine that you've been rather busy. Still, why not drop in a bit more often?

I've got to admit, when something doesn't work, I normally don't disassemble it. (What was *that* about? *laugh*) However, since Matt said that he was willing to work something out, he might still be willing to. If so, I really hope he posts pics if it comes back substantially altered or, once again, completely disassembled. *laugh*

I've got to say, I am now thinking of writing to MWFX and asking about how the Wave Machine works. I have a lot of different synth pedals, and am always willing to try another. If it looks like it might at least be interesting to have around, what could it hurt? If I do so, I might even post pics, since the issue of the build quality has been raised, and it would be good to have a review by someone who has been a little more... let's say, a little more *present* on TalkBass. People could read my other posts and decide if my opinions might carry some weight for them.

I'm in the middle of something right now, but I'll try to send out an email in the next few days.

(And here I was, thinking of picking up a used Microsynth again. Decisions, decisions!)

joshualhoffman · #18 12-17-2010, 09:08 AM

I got in touch with Matt and we are working to resolve the problem.

I don't contribute to the talkbass forum a lot, although I recently downloaded the iphone app, so I will try to more in the future.

I work full time and play in a touring psychedelic grunge/funk band in the South East part of the USA.

I will save Matt the trouble of posting the dismantled pics, as I will post that embarrassment my self (i tried to rework the shorted circuitry and move the electronics in to a more preferable housing).

I understand that my lack of *presence* may lead to some being suspicious of the quality or even validity of the review.

Here is my pedal set up:
Everything goes through a "Loop-Master!" (http://www.loop-master.com) to preserve the tone of my 2004 American Jazz Bass with an S-1 switch, custom wiring and Bartolini 9J1 (http://www.bartolini.net/) pick-ups.

the order of the pedals is:
Fulltone Bassdrive Mosfet
Acorn Fuzz (Custom)
EBS Octabass
Boss BF-2 (japan)
Moog MF-103 Phaser
Moog MF-102 Ring Mod
Moog MF-101 Envelope
TC Electronics ND-1 Nova Delay

I also have a Moog MP-201 controlling the 101 and 102 and a expression pedal controlling the mix of the 101 - I also run a few patches between the 102 and 103 and 101 and 103.

I will post pictures soon.

Gozu · #19 12-17-2010, 10:06 AM

this is a really odd thread....

i like the look of the pedals though

shikawkee · #20 09-03-2011, 08:12 PM

Hey gang-

Sorry to bring this thread back but I ordered a pedal from MWFX about six or seven weeks ago and was wondering how long did it take you to get your pedal in the first place? I've e-mailed Matt at MWFX several times but have received no response though he was very helpful when I e-mailed him before ordering. Thanks a lot.