Let’s have a look at the Foxcatcher V2 from Wampler Pedals, which is essentially an evolution of their very well-regarded Bluesbreaker-style circuit.
So, what’s new? Well, they’ve significantly expanded its utility while maintaining that core, transparent overdrive character. The headline feature is a three-mode gain switch. You’ve got:
- Low mode for that classic, touch-sensitive breakup,
- Medium mode for richer saturation,
- a new High mode that pushes into proper distortion territory, which was apparently a frequent user request.
They’ve also added a lot more control over the voicing. The Tone knob has a wider, more refined sweep, and there’s a new three-way Shape switch that directly manages the low-end response. This lets you tighten it up for a modern, punchy feel or let it bloom for a fatter, vintage sound—very useful for matching different guitars and amps.
Under the hood, it’s packed with pro features. It can run at 9 or 18 volts for different headroom characteristics, and it uses their SMART Bypass system. That’s a relay-based true bypass with configurable options, including momentary operation and a fail-safe that defaults to bypass if power is lost.
In essence, it’s taken a beloved, somewhat traditional circuit (which still was able to take home a Premier Guitar award in 2017 – see below) and given it a significant feature boost, transforming it from a specific-sounding overdrive into a much more versatile gain platform that can cover a lot more ground on a modern pedalboard.
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Coppersound Foxcatcher Overdrive V1
Congrats to the folks at Coppersound Pedals for landing the Premier Guitar’s prestigious Premier Gear award for their 2-in-1 OD & Boost, the Foxcatcher.
The pedal, which was recently featured in our list of affordable overdrives with a boost footswitch, received a “5 picks” ratings under the “Tones” category with the following praise: “Beautiful, bright mid-gain tones. Flexible tone controls. 18V option. Can be quite transparent.”
Charles Saufley also said in the review that “Foxcatcher works for me because I like extracting AC30-style tones from my Fender amps. Few pedals manage this trick like the Foxcatcher.” You can read the full review here.
Check out the video of the Foxcatcher by Shnobel (Signal chain, guitar into the Foxcatcher then into a TC Electronic Alter Ego X4 into the 1974 Marshal JMP 100w Super Lead):
