Talk to me about Wah.

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 7:03 pm

So I'm a hypocrite. After trashing wah for as long as I've played guitar, now I want one. I don't know much about Wah, though. There seems to be rather alot of them around, but I'm wondering whether it would make sense to get a bass wah as it's likely that I'll be using one with a guitar tuned down to A for bringing the slowed-down classic rock toanz.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 7:10 pm

Get the Boss v-wah. It'll do both well, as well as other fun stuff.

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 7:22 pm

Crybaby Bass wah, or Ibanez WH10V2 (which has a guitar/bass switch) could be useful for bringing out the lows in a downtuned guitar, though I've always just used your standard Vox (earlier '90s reissue without AC adapter, pretty much a rebranded version of the Crybaby Classic before they had Fasel inductors).

I don't know anything about optical wahs, and chalk this up to personal preference if you like but I really just can't stand Morley wahs. They don't even sound like wah to me. I had one and sold it; wish I could've sold it a few more times just to wash the taste out.

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 7:54 pm

I've tried a Crybaby Classic and hated it. The sweep is concentrated in the middle of the treadle's travel so I found it really hard to use. As far as versatility goes, there are a couple of Crybabys that allow you to tweak the Q and the range. Not sure if they solve that treadle issue though.

I have a Vox V847 in the cupboard which is better, but the bypass sucks the treble a bit and it sounds muddy pre-distortion so it's off my board now. The bottom end of the effect sounds clearer and more musical than the V845 version though, and the physical action is smoother. I tried both Voxes out in a shop to see what the difference was, and the 847 felt and sounded the better of the two.

I'm after a wah that does tonal sweeps and swooshes, not the high-Q funk 'bow-chicca', so my search continues.

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 8:32 pm

Best wah I've heard aside from the standard Crybaby.... is the MXR MC404 Custom Audio Electronics. Sounds sublime.

Never cared for many of the other Dunlop variants, and always steered way from VOX. Had one and it sucked IMO.

SKC Willie · Post by **SKC Willie** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 8:52 pm

I have a cry-baby and I like it.

does the wah-wahs just fine.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 9:28 pm

I have a Crybaby which seems sufficient in the 'classic rock' sense, as you would imagine. Some of the more modern Wahs are geared towards the Vai brigade, almost too dramatic.
Never tried a Vox but I once had a vintage Coloursound which was really nice.

A standard Crybaby worked well for me in dropped A tuning, If you scroll to 06.10 on THIS TRACK you can hear the Crybaby i used.

weed_killer · Post by **weed_killer** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 9:33 pm

In most cases I dislike wah, but I've got one particular exception:

► Show Spoiler

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 12:01 am

Yeah, I'm really not a fan, but I think it stems from being in a band in college. Every other guitar band had around fifteen wah solos per song, which sounded like ass running through 50-watt Marshall MGs cranked up to max volume, and sounded suspiciously like they were a deliberate choice in an attempt to disguise the fact that the player couldn't solo (neither could I at the time which is why I either practised my arse off for like one or two good solos or DIDN'T SOLO instead of trying to disguise my ineptitude with wakka-wakka bollocks).

But I've been listening to Orange Goblin and I've decided I needed a wah.

What about Snarling Dogs pedals? I used to see them often but I can't find all that much on them now. They do a Bootsy Collins bass fuzz wah as well as one with a few different sounds. I like the look of them. Also, a friend of mine used a white bass Crybaby that was sprung to return to the heel position when not in use which I liked the sound of. I might just try and pick up a cheap Crybaby and see what it sounds like.

[youtube][/youtube]

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 12:17 am

J Mascis wah is OK. And Frusciante

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 2:16 am

BacchusPaul wrote:Get the Boss v-wah. It'll do both well, as well as other fun stuff.

I have the Boss V-Wah and it's really versatile. Just make sure and turn the gain knob off when you are not using it or it will color you sound even when the pedal is disengaged. It's nice because you can save presets and try the different wah sounds.

I need to play with mine this weekend.

moogmusic · Post by **moogmusic** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 7:20 am

This bad boy also looks interesting and double extra versatile, may be worth a look?

UlricvonCatalyst · Post by **UlricvonCatalyst** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 7:40 am

The most interesting wah I ever came across was the Dod one (Dave had one for sale a while ago). It had a totally different character from all the others, which seem to all just be variations on the Cry Baby as far as I can tell. The Dod one, to my mind, had an almost modulating filter-sweep character to it. That and it was much smaller than most other wahs. Plus you could use it as an expression pedal.

Why didn't I buy Dave's? Oh right....cos I can never really find much use for wah.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 10:31 am

UlricvonCatalyst wrote:The most interesting wah I ever came across was the Dod one (Dave had one for sale a while ago). It had a totally different character from all the others, which seem to all just be variations on the Cry Baby as far as I can tell. The Dod one, to my mind, had an almost modulating filter-sweep character to it. That and it was much smaller than most other wahs. Plus you could use it as an expression pedal.

Why didn't I buy Dave's? Oh right....cos I can never really find much use for wah.

Lorez had it after me - definitely a unique sound and used by Joey from the Pixies, or so i understand. Not sure if Lorez stil has it.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 10:50 am

Dave wrote:
UlricvonCatalyst wrote:The most interesting wah I ever came across was the Dod one (Dave had one for sale a while ago). It had a totally different character from all the others, which seem to all just be variations on the Cry Baby as far as I can tell. The Dod one, to my mind, had an almost modulating filter-sweep character to it. That and it was much smaller than most other wahs. Plus you could use it as an expression pedal.

Why didn't I buy Dave's? Oh right....cos I can never really find much use for wah.
Lorez had it after me - definitely a unique sound and used by Joey from the Pixies, or so i understand. Not sure if Lorez stil has it.

its still in the SS.org family as I sold it to sean/wwrrss

h8mtv · Post by **h8mtv** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 12:48 pm

Snarling Dogs Blues Bawls Wah. As far as I am concerned, the shite.

Gabriel · Post by **Gabriel** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 3:45 pm

I use a morley power wah, it's ace. The main issue with it is that you have to adjust the led and inductor - really easy to do but from the factory they come set up sounding shite but after an adjustment they sound awesome.

Ben79 · Post by **Ben79** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 5:30 pm

I've got an old Tel-Ray Morley Power Wah - sounds good to me, more of a gentle wow though than a peaky wacka wacka, and good for bass because of the broad sweep. My favourite wah is the weird one on my old Hofner guitar. It has three switches to tailor the frequency to treble, middle or bass (never really used them though). It has the most usable cocked sound I've come across and because it's finger operated you can modulate it really fast - though using it while you're playing can be impossible depending on what your right hand has to do.

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 1:35 am

Morley Bad Horsey for me, love it. Do like the optical switch, though can't set it to half cocked and leave it there.

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 3:11 pm

I have an old Carlsbro (Coloursound) and an old Cry Baby. For gigging I use some modern version of the Cry Baby I bought from Rob (Prog) that also has boost/buffer and typically use it on 2 tracks, one Robin Trower cover and one Free.