Review: Electro-Harmonix Cock Fight Pedal

GOLD AWARD

When it comes to fat-sounding, expressive solos that really cut through a mix, midrange is where the magic is. For years guitarists have used a half-cocked wah pedal with the treadle locked to a sweet spot to generate the ideal midrange. However, dialing in the desired tone when playing live can be a challenge as it involves engaging the wah and manually moving the pedal to the exact setting you want.

Electro-Harmonix’s new Cock Fight pedal provides a cocked wah effect that delivers the desired midrange tone every time. However, it’s much more versatile than that, also offering a choice between standard wah and talking formant filters, a fuzz section, and more precise tone shaping capabilities.

FEATURES

The Cock Fight’s impressive variety of controls makes it easy to dial in your ultimate guitar solo tone. The Frequency knob is essentially a manual wah or talking pedal effect. After selecting Cry (wah) or Talk, it’s the first control users should adjust to find their desired midrange or vowel character. The Bottom control boosts low frequencies often lost by wah effects. The remaining controls all function when the Cock Fight’s fuzz section is engaged and include Tone (to make the fuzz effect brighter or darker), Drive, and Bias, which adjusts the fuzz effect’s voltage from full-on blast to dying battery sputter. A switch allows users to place the fuzz effect before (Pre) or after (Post) the wah/talk filter. An 1/4–inch expression pedal jack allows guitarists to use an optional expression pedal to manually adjust the frequency like a traditional wah pedal.

PERFORMANCE

Because the Frequency control is essentially a wah, the best midrange tones lurk between 9 and 3 o’clock while anything beyond may be too muddy or shrill. The talking filter is a cool bonus that produces funky, voice-like vowel sounds with outrageous expressive potential. The fuzz section adds just the right amount of grit to take your solos over the top.

LIST PRICE $148.90
MANUFACTURER Electro-Harmonix, ehx.com

THE BOTTOM LINE: With wah and talking filters and a full-blown fuzz section, the Cock Fight is a one-stop solo tone machine with everything you need to cut through the mix with a single stomp on a footswitch.