What's your wah pedal?

[KuruPrionz]

My Tech 21 Killer Wail seems to be dead.

At the least, it is in need of some refurbishment and rewiring. I had a problem with the input jack, carefully replaced it and now it seems to be dead.

Bummer cuz it's a great sounding wah.

 

I might just get the expression pedal for the Katana and call it good but sometimes an actual wah pedal is in order.

 

So, what's your wah pedal? Why do you like it?

Cheers, Kuru

[desertbluesman]

I haven't used a Wah pedal in many many years, probably since the late 1960's, All I use is a Digitech Digiverb Reverb Pedal, and a Friedman Motor City Overdrive pedal. Plus a Boss Blues Driver only for tone control and boost for my Strat Clone. That is my road board, in my house board I use another Digitech Digiverb and a Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Classic as well as a Digitech RP pedal for harmonies (which I am going to take out of the house board). I also have a volume pedal but I took that out of the board several years back also another Boss Blues Driver in the house board.

 

[KuruPrionz]

I haven't used a Wah pedal in many many years, probably since the late 1960's

 

I use them off and on. Was in a Motown tribute band for a couple of years, our first tune was Poppa Was A Rolling Stone.

So I had to have one.

 

Playing a reunion gig with my old band Money, Gun and Car on April 5th, it's been 33 years. I used a wah in that band too.

[Danzilla]

For guitar, I have a Vox 487 wah. Overall, I like it, but I don't particularly like the switch; having to stomp it on and off before going into action. Sometimes, in transportation, it may be on, and you don't know it. So you plug in and all of a sudden either too bassy or too trebly. Fortunately, it's become a sound-check item that I know I have to make sure I test.

 

For bass, I have a Crybaby 105Q, with the sweepable Q range and a boost or cut (I usually boost a little bit). This does NOT have a switch; it's on when you step on it; off when you're off. Some songs, I just stomp on it and hold for a treble boost.

 

If I were to swap the Vox for something else, it would probably be the Morley Bad Horsie 2. It's optical, so like the 105Q, it's on when you step on it and off when your foot is away. The only problem would be if you are one of the people who like the "parked wah" sound; can't just leave it at a certain frequency unless your foot is VERY stable and you have good balance. My prior judgement had been that I liked the feel/sweep of other Morleys; but he sound of the Crybaby & Vox pedals. With the Bad Horsie, you can tailor the contour to sound more like the Crybaby.

[Dannyalcatraz]

I was never too much into wah as a player. So I didn"t own one...until I composed a song for which a wash was crucial. Then I wanted to make sure I had the right wah for me. Considering how little impact that effect had on my personal playing style up to that point, I PROBABLY should have gotten something like a Plutoneium ChiWah Wah mini-Wah as a practical matter.

 

But instead, my oddball side triumphed, and I bought a T-Rex Gull Wah.* I should note that they discontinued the Gull, but replaced it with the functionally identical but aesthetically more mainstream Shafter.

 

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* actually, two, but that"s a story of silliness.

[J. Dan]

My favorite way pedal was one I designed and built from scratch years ago. Initially it was just on breadboard at home using a volume pedal tapped into the circuit for control. My friend really liked it, so I gutted a crybaby way he had and just used the case/pedal, jacks, and pot and filled it with a permanent version of my own circuit. Only problem at the time was that my design needed a bipolar power supply which meant (2) 9V batteries instead of one, but now they have stuff that will achieve the same results from a single ended supply. Wish I would have saved the schematic I came up with. This was probably late 90s. I think there are a lot more options available now, but one think that was unique about it at that time was I added a resonance knob so you could dial in severity. I think the Magic sauce was that it ended up having a bit of overdrive to it at high resonance which gave it some nastiness.

[CEB]

I switch between my Tech 21 Killer Wail or one of my Morley Bad Horsies. I have both BH 1 and 2. I don"t use the the Contour control so they are about the same. I like the Morleys due to its switchless touch and go design. I like the Killer Wail for its size and sound.

 

I"ve repaired the Tech 21 before. It"s serviceable. It"s a pretty standard inductor Wah. You should be able to get it going again. Mark Tate at the Luthier Shoppe does my repairs.

[Caevan O’Shite]

I've been very happy with my Fulltone Clyde Deluxe; I have a newer one, that has a buffer and boost, in addition to the other features that the Clyde Deluxe is known for. It can be very easily tweaked and tailored to your wants needs; and it's built VERY well. It's very versatile, low-noise, and sounds GREAT, whether I use it the typical way evoking Clapton and Hendrix, as a 'parked-wah' mid-boost a la Mick Ronson and Michael Schenker, or as a quasi 'treble-booster' for tones reminiscent of Jimmy Page. I'd highly recommend one!

[GuardiansGuitar]

I like switchless wahs because I'm a dork with clumsy feet. My Vox wah is a favorite for its classic, vowel-like tone, but it has a switch, so I seldom bring it out live. I'm been using the Morley DJ Ashba wah onstage for a year or so, and it has been bulletproof. The frequency sweep is good, as well.

[Larryz]

I haven't used a Wah pedal in many many years, probably since the late 1960's

 

I use them off and on. Was in a Motown tribute band for a couple of years, our first tune was Poppa Was A Rolling Stone.

So I had to have one.

 

Playing a reunion gig with my old band Money, Gun and Car on April 5th, it's been 33 years. I used a wah in that band too.

 

+1 Back in the 70's I had a Cry Baby but never really got much use out of it. There are those that can really make them sound good covering stuff like Poppa Was a Rolling Stone, or like a Los Lonely Boys, SRV, etc., tune. Then there are those that abuse them by using them too much on tunes where they just don't fit in.

 

[p90jr]

The only good Wah pedal is a dead Wah pedal.

[p90jr]

(Just going for laughs here)

[surfergirl]

I have a pawn shop Cry Baby that I bought in middle school, tried it a few times and put it away. Now I'm afraid to open it because I don't think I took the battery out and it's been about 7 years. The battery is probably corroded.

[BiC]

Although I have the Fulltone Clyde Deluxe, I prefer to use my classic, mint condition DigiTech WH-1 Whammy instead. I snagged it on eBay 6 years ago.

[Caevan O’Shite]

The only good Wah pedal is a dead Wah pedal.

 

Just 'cause yer Dad was trampled under foot in a white room with black curtains by a voodoo chile an' given the shaft (HUSH y' mouth- I'm jus' talkin' 'bout) when Ronson (from Mars) and Schenker (another U.F.O. pilot) just parked it instead of putting the pedal to the metal DON'T mean ya gotta be such a cry baby...

 

TwoowF.

[Scott Fraser]

I used an original early 70s Thomas Organ Cry Baby into the 80s. Put it away & haven't felt the need for wah wah since.

[KuruPrionz]

Thanks everybody!!! And, keep 'em coming! :- D

Starting to wonder about this "O'Shite" fellow though, his last post felt like "pun"ishment... lol

 

After some thought, my first step is going to be taking another look at my Killer Wail. It uses the classic inductor for the wah sound but unlike so many, it has a humbucking circuit

I had one go at it and then I had a ton of other things that needed done and gave up quickly.

 

The Cry Baby type pedals I've used have all picked up the radio when cocked back. I dislike that, extremely. The Killer Wail does not pick up radio signals and the three way voicing switch is nice.

I don't mind the switch.

 

If I can get the KW up and running I'll just get an expression pedal for my Katana and call it good.

If not, I would still like a classic wah for the occasional and inescapable cover and also for the profound madness that one can generate with such a device if it is your ish.

 

I tend to use it once per set, maximum. Less is more, wahing away is just as boring as leaving chorus on or flatlining your dynamics with excessive gain settings. I don't do these things.

If it serves the song, it gets used...

Cheers, Kuru

[Danzilla]

Now I've got an inclination to seek out what I once thought was the dream wah for me - the Snarling Docs Whine-O-Wah. Sure, part of it was aesthetics (foot shaped pedal; dog's eyes light up...) But I thought they were cool. Then they went out of business.

[picker]

I have a Kinnetone modded Dunlop GCB95 Cry Baby. They made it rather like the 535Q wah, but without the volume boost. It sounds pretty good to me.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Starting to wonder about this "O'Shite" fellow though, his last post felt like "pun"ishment... lol

 

[CEB]

I used an original early 70s Thomas Organ Cry Baby into the 80s. Put it away & haven't felt the need for wah wah since.

I still have mine. Also my huge chrome Morley Power Wah.

 

[surfergirl]

I have a pawn shop Cry Baby that I bought in middle school, tried it a few times and put it away. Now I'm afraid to open it because I don't think I took the battery out and it's been about 7 years. The battery is probably corroded.

I opened it and amazingly the battery is not corroded. Under the pedal on the other hand is a mess, don't know if I could clean with compressed air or if I'll have to take it apart to clean? I guess that yucky stuff is lubricant. So guess I'll have take it apart to lubricate it.

[DinoMike]

Years ago I bought a standard Dunlop wah. Then I opened the back and adjusted what the pot was adjusted to in order to give it a voice I liked. Then I removed the rubber bumper from swivel part of the pedal to extend the range a little more and that is what I have used for years and years.

[Caevan O’Shite]

I opened it and amazingly the battery is not corroded. Under the pedal on the other hand is a mess, don't know if I could clean with compressed air or if I'll have to take it apart to clean? I guess that yucky stuff is lubricant. So guess I'll have take it apart to lubricate it.

Where exactly do you mean this "mess", "under the pedal"... ?

 

Chances are, a clean dry cloth or paper-towel should be fine, and you may not need to apply any additional lubricant at all. If the pedal seems to move alright and doesn't make any loud squeaking noises that interfere with playing, using any mics, and/or recording, it should be alright.

[Winston Psmith]

I have a pawn shop Cry Baby that I bought in middle school, tried it a few times and put it away. Now I'm afraid to open it because I don't think I took the battery out and it's been about 7 years. The battery is probably corroded.

I opened it and amazingly the battery is not corroded. Under the pedal on the other hand is a mess, don't know if I could clean with compressed air or if I'll have to take it apart to clean? I guess that yucky stuff is lubricant. So guess I'll have take it apart to lubricate it.

 

If it's a white-ish messy substance on the gear, that's the lubricant. Fortunately, you probably get it at Guitar Center.

 

Like many who already replied, I've never really been a Wah user. Hendrix owned the Wah sound, as far as I was concerned, with Clapton's opening to "Tales of Brave Ulysses" being the only other contender.

 

I did have a Snarling Dogs Mold Spore, which was a perfectly awful-sounding Ring Mod/Wah combo pedal; I bought it for the Ring Mod, kept it briefly for the Wah. The Wah, by itself, wasn't bad, and my favorite setting on it was the White Room setting, very smooth, not to raspy even at full throw. That sound is probably available on some of the other Snarling Dogs Wahs, if you can find any.

[surfergirl]

@Caevan: It looked worse than it was, like 7 years of dust. I opened it up and it was perfectly clean inside. Wiped down what I could reach and used compressed air where I couldn't reach. New battery and it works fine.

@Winston: Yep, the white-ish messy substance on the gears is what I was looking at. It was all covered in dust so looked worse than it was.

[Caevan O’Shite]

@Caevan: It looked worse than it was, like 7 years of dust. I opened it up and it was perfectly clean inside. Wiped down what I could reach and used compressed air where I couldn't reach. New battery and it works fine.

@Winston: Yep, the white-ish messy substance on the gears is what I was looking at. It was all covered in dust so looked worse than it was.

I'm glad to hear it!

 

 

Like many who already replied, I've never really been a Wah user. Hendrix owned the Wah sound, as far as I was concerned, with Clapton's opening to "Tales of Brave Ulysses" being the only other contender.

I really like that 'parked wah' sound put to wonderful good use by the likes of Mick Ronson and Michael Schenker; and that can also assist mightily and finely in copping Jimmy Page type tones, especially for riffs and fills. I would prefer to always have a wah at my disposal, even if I don't tread on one all that often. And sometimes, I DO use one an awful lot for a stretch of time!

 

I did have a Snarling Dogs Mold Spore, which was a perfectly awful-sounding Ring Mod/Wah combo pedal; I bought it for the Ring Mod, kept it briefly for the Wah. The Wah, by itself, wasn't bad, and my favorite setting on it was the White Room setting, very smooth, not to raspy even at full throw. That sound is probably available on some of the other Snarling Dogs Wahs, if you can find any.

There was another Charlie Stringer Snarling Dogs wah that I once tried, and even tried to buy from its owner- a green one, I'm not sure which specific model- that had THE FATTEST, JOWLY VOWELY wah sound I've EVER heard. It got on PERFECTLY with my Les Paul and its high-output pickups, and was KILLER for use with heavy overdrive and distortion. I wouldn't have traded my Clyde Deluxe for it, but I would have added it alongside it for an alternate sound- it was THAT GOOD.

 

The owner later hinted that he might be interested in selling it after all- after he'd "fixed it", speaking as if there'd been something wrong with the way it sounded before, and made it brighter- and, having seen his D.I.Y. handiwork before, I made excuses and passed on it...

[surfergirl]

Jam pedals Wahcko.

 

https://www.jampedals.com/wahcko-plus/

[Delta]

I've had my original Dunlop wah for decades. I use it sparingly. It works well between my dirt and modulation pedals.

[KuruPrionz]

More good posts, thanks again everybody. :-D

 

I picked up a Peavey Vypyr VIP 1 a few days ago. I have the Sanpera pedal. It does wah. I haven't explored it yet, will be fun.

Still learning the amp, looks like a great half for my stereo small amp rig. Will change the speaker, it sucks.

 

Even bad wahs are good but good wahs are better. I'm glad not everybody uses one, I haven't used one for many years.

So it will be new and different.

 

Still gonna fix the Killer Wail too.