Warm Audio just took some of its best-selling analog pedals and made them a whole lot more pedalboard friendly.
The new MOD Series takes the circuits behind some of Warm Audio’s larger pedals, dramatically reduces their footprint, adds top-mounted connections, and introduces some useful new features along the way.
For this review, I’m checking out two of the new models: the Warm Audio Centavo MOD and WA-C1 MOD. The Centavo MOD delivers Warm Audio’s take on the legendary Centaur-style overdrive circuit, while the WA-C1 MOD packs analog chorus and vibrato into a much smaller enclosure. I kept my testing simple, focusing on what’s changed and, most importantly, how these pedals actually sound.
What’s New With the Warm Audio MOD Series?
The most obvious change is size. Both pedals have been significantly reduced compared with Warm Audio’s previous versions, making them much easier to fit onto a crowded pedalboard. Warm Audio has also moved the connections to the top of the pedals, another welcome change for anyone trying to maximize pedalboard space.
But these aren’t simply smaller enclosures. The Centavo MOD retains its familiar analog circuit and controls while adding a MOD switch for an extended low-frequency response. The WA-C1 MOD gets an even more substantial redesign, with chorus and vibrato, independent controls, stereo output, Vintage and Modern modes, and selectable input impedance.
Warm Audio Centavo MOD
The Centavo MOD is Warm Audio’s compact recreation of the legendary Centaur-style overdrive circuit. Warm Audio’s original Centavo was already designed to recreate that classic circuit, but it came in a fairly substantial enclosure. With the MOD version, Warm Audio says it has dramatically reduced the pedal’s size without changing the underlying circuit or components.
That means you’re still getting a fully analog Centaur-style circuit with the familiar three-control layout: Gain, Treble, and Output. If you’ve used the original Centavo, the basic experience should immediately feel familiar. The biggest practical difference is that you’re now getting it in an enclosure that’s considerably easier to integrate into a modern pedalboard.
Centavo MOD Switch
Warm Audio has also included a MOD switch on the pedal. This is designed to extend the low-frequency response, giving you a little more from the bottom end of the Centavo circuit.
With my particular setup, I found the difference to be fairly subtle. That’s one of those features where I’d rather let the sound speak for itself than tell you that you’re supposed to hear a dramatic transformation. Depending on your guitar, amp, and the rest of your signal chain, you may notice the extended low end more than I did.
How Does the Centavo MOD Sound?
I started the demo with a clean signal using a PRS on the bridge pickup before engaging the Centavo MOD with the gain turned all the way down and the remaining controls around noon. From there, I gradually explored the pedal’s gain range before eventually maxing out the gain and testing the MOD function.
The Centavo MOD gives you the familiar character you’d expect from this style of analog overdrive. At lower gain settings, it can be used to push and shape your existing guitar tone without completely changing its character. Increasing the gain brings more of the pedal’s own overdrive into the signal, giving you considerably more flexibility than simply using it as a clean boost.
Most importantly, Warm Audio hasn’t sacrificed the basic Centavo experience simply to make the enclosure smaller. If you liked what the original pedal offered but couldn’t justify the amount of pedalboard real estate it occupied, the Centavo MOD addresses that problem directly.
Warm Audio WA-C1 MOD
The WA-C1 MOD is Warm Audio’s recreation of a legendary analog chorus ensemble circuit, combining both chorus and vibrato in a significantly smaller enclosure. Like the Centavo MOD, the circuit remains 100% analog, but Warm Audio has reworked the physical design and control system to make the pedal much more compact.
One of the biggest changes is the footswitch layout. The previous design used two footswitches, while the WA-C1 MOD uses a single switch. A normal press turns the currently selected effect on or off, while pressing and holding the switch changes between chorus and vibrato.
The impressive part is just how much space Warm Audio has saved. Put the Centavo MOD and WA-C1 MOD next to each other and the two pedals together take up surprisingly little room, especially compared with Warm Audio’s original chorus/vibrato enclosure.
Independent Chorus and Vibrato Controls
Despite the smaller enclosure, you’re not simply getting one set of controls shared between two effects. Chorus and vibrato have their own independent controls, allowing you to dial in each effect rather than compromising functionality to save space.
The press-and-hold switching system takes the place of the second footswitch and gives Warm Audio enough room to retain the functionality of both effects. Once you understand how the switch operates, moving between chorus and vibrato is straightforward.
Vintage and Modern Modes
Warm Audio has also added a Vintage/Modern switch. Vintage mode keeps the analog preamp in the signal path, giving you more of the character associated with the original circuit. Switching to Modern bypasses that portion of the signal path for a cleaner output.
This is a useful addition because it lets you decide how much of the original circuit’s character you want influencing your overall sound. Players chasing the more traditional experience can stick with Vintage, while Modern provides an alternative when you want the modulation without as much additional coloration.
Selectable Input Impedance
Another interesting feature is selectable input impedance. Changing the input impedance alters how the WA-C1 MOD interacts with your guitar and other pedals in the signal chain, giving you another way to fine-tune how the pedal behaves within your rig.
Combined with the Vintage and Modern options, stereo outputs, and separate chorus and vibrato controls, there’s considerably more going on here than the smaller enclosure initially suggests.
How Does the WA-C1 MOD Sound?
For the sound demo, I started with the chorus effect in Vintage mode and switched the guitar into a single-coil configuration. From there, I explored the different settings before switching modes and eventually moving over to the vibrato side of the pedal.
The WA-C1 MOD can cover the lush analog modulation you’d expect from this style of circuit while giving you enough control to move between more traditional sounds and cleaner modern applications. Having chorus and vibrato available in the same enclosure also makes it considerably more versatile than dedicating pedalboard space to two separate modulation pedals.
The stereo output is another important feature for players running stereo rigs or recording direct. Combined with the compact dimensions, it makes the WA-C1 MOD equally interesting for a traditional pedalboard or a studio setup.
Two Analog Pedals With Much Smaller Footprints
The biggest appeal of both of these pedals is pretty straightforward: Warm Audio hasn’t abandoned the analog circuits that made the original versions interesting. Instead, the company has focused on making them more practical for modern pedalboards.
The Centavo MOD takes the familiar Centaur-style formula and puts it into a significantly smaller package while retaining the same basic controls and adding the low-frequency MOD option. The WA-C1 MOD is arguably the more ambitious redesign, packing chorus, vibrato, independent controls, stereo output, Vintage and Modern modes, and selectable input impedance into its compact enclosure.
Warm Audio Centavo MOD & WA-C1 MOD Price
The Centavo MOD is priced at $189, while the WA-C1 MOD comes in at $199. Neither pedal is positioned as a bargain-basement effect, but you’re getting fully analog circuits based around classic pedal designs with significantly more pedalboard-friendly dimensions.
For existing Centavo or Warm Audio chorus users, the biggest reason to consider these new versions is probably space. If you’ve avoided the previous pedals because of their larger footprints, the MOD Series makes them considerably easier to work into a pedalboard.
Final Thoughts
Warm Audio’s approach with the MOD Series makes a lot of sense. Rather than completely reinventing these pedals, the company has taken circuits people already know and dramatically reduced their size while adding features that make them more practical in a modern rig.
The Centavo MOD is the simpler of the two updates. You’re getting that familiar analog Centaur-style circuit, the same basic control layout, and the additional MOD switch in a much smaller enclosure. The low-frequency MOD was subtle with my particular setup, but the reduced footprint alone makes the pedal considerably easier to integrate into a board.
The WA-C1 MOD packs a lot more functionality into its enclosure. Having analog chorus and vibrato with independent controls, stereo output, selectable input impedance, and Vintage and Modern modes gives you a lot of flexibility without taking over your pedalboard.
If you’ve wanted Warm Audio’s takes on these classic circuits but didn’t want to dedicate that much space to them, these new MOD versions solve that problem while retaining the analog designs that made the originals interesting in the first place.
Warm Audio Centavo MOD Pros & Cons
Pros
Much smaller footprint, analog Centaur-style circuit, top-mounted connections, simple three-control layout, useful MOD option, pedalboard-friendly design, $189 price
Cons
MOD switch was very subtle with my setup, players who already own the original Centavo may not need to upgrade unless pedalboard space is important
Warm Audio WA-C1 MOD Pros & Cons
Pros
100% analog design, chorus and vibrato in one pedal, independent effect controls, significantly smaller footprint, top-mounted connections, stereo output, Vintage and Modern modes, selectable input impedance, $199 price
Cons
Single footswitch requires press-and-hold to change effects, additional switching options add a small learning curve compared with a simpler chorus pedal
Disclosure: Warm Audio provided the Centavo MOD and WA-C1 MOD to Music for Miles for review. This review was not sponsored, and Warm Audio did not pay for the video. Affiliate links may be used to support Music for Miles at no additional cost to you.
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