Fixed-Wah Filter · One-off prototype
Pop Rocks
A fixed-wah — all the vocal, quacky bite of a wah pedal, but you dial in one sweet spot and leave it parked there instead of rocking a treadle. Built on the PedalPCB Park and Ride circuit and dropped into an orange-fizz speckled box.
- TypeFixed / parked-wah filter
- ControlsVolume, Zone, Peak (+ internal trim)
- CircuitPedalPCB Park and Ride
- Power9V DC, center-negative
- StatusAvailable — one of a kind
⚠ Fine print from the void tap to expand / collapse
Not guaranteed new, not guaranteed to be any specific “clone,” and not even guaranteed to be from this universe — it might be cursed. What it definitely is: hand-built, one-of-a-kind, and straight off my bench. It's worn out its welcome here and it's time it found a new home — imperfections included.
Hand-built and one of a kind — and I stand behind it. Stops working within 30 days → full refund or free repair (I pay shipping back to me); free repairs anytime after that. Full returns & repairs terms »
What it does
Pop Rocks is a fixed-wah (a “parked” or “cocked” wah). A normal wah sweeps a resonant filter as you rock the treadle; this one lets you set that filter to a single sweet spot with knobs and leave it there. The result is that nasal, vocal, quacky voice on tap all the time — the sound of a wah frozen at its tastiest angle.
It's a tone-shaping filter more than a big obvious effect: nudge it subtle to add presence and help a part cut through, or crank it into a sharp, honking, funk-rhythm quack. It plays especially well with fuzz and drive in front of it — the filter carves and focuses all that harmonic mess into something vocal and alive.
Demo
Demo video coming soon.
Controls
- Peak
- Sets the filter's center frequency — the “parked” wah position. Turn right for a brighter, higher quack; left for a darker, lower one.
- Zone
- Emphasizes the filter's harmonics across the range, from low to high — how much of that vocal character comes through.
- Volume
- Output level, to match or boost against your bypassed signal.
- Trim (internal)
- A set-and-forget trimmer that fine-tunes how sharp and intense the peak / resonance is.
Under the hood
| Circuit | PedalPCB Park and Ride — a fixed-wah / filter design |
|---|---|
| Op-amps | TL074 + TL072 |
| Controls | Volume, Zone, Peak, plus an internal peak-intensity trimmer |
| Enclosure | 125B, hand-painted — orange-fizz speckle finish |
| Power | 9V DC, center-negative (standard pedal supply); no battery |
| Bypass | True bypass, 3PDT footswitch |
| Build | Hand-soldered and finished by Onion Madder — a one-off prototype |
What builders say about the Park and Ride
Heads up: these are verified-owner reviews of the PedalPCB Park and Ride — the circuit this pedal is built on — collected from PedalPCB's product page. They're here to show how the design behaves, not as reviews of this specific hand-built unit.
“Works! Love it.”
“Easy build and a great pedal. Might not seem too flashy, but goes from subtle to intense and can really help dial in parts to fit in a mix.”
“Fun pedal to play. Throw a fuzz pedal in with it and really have some fun with it.”
Circuit design: PedalPCB Park and Ride (based on the Dunlop Q-Zone). Enclosure art, build, and finish by Onion Madder. Reviews © their respective authors, via PedalPCB. “Park and Ride,” “PedalPCB,” and “Q-Zone” are used for identification only.