School me on Wah, old vs new and mods.

Addam · Post by **Addam** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 1:58 pm

I've always fancied a wah but never had one.
My main question being, is it worth getting a real vintage one over a standard Dunlop Crybaby?
Obviously a vintage one will have all the mojo from groupie tears and burned teaspoons of guitarists past.
Though if I'm not 100% happy with the sweep of a used Dunlop wah I can mod it and feel no guilt.
Or are they pretty much all the same and it doesn't matter?
Please impart your wah wah wisdom

Progrockabuse · Post by **Progrockabuse** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 6:53 pm

I find wahs can be a little hit and miss. I've probably been through about 6/7 different models till I settled on my Dunlop Hendrix wah. That wah sounds like a 60's wah. Cops all those iconic wah sounds from that era. Think cream's white room etc. they tend to be around Â£80, which isn't as bad as some the signature wah prices.

Addam · Post by **Addam** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 8:58 pm

Progrockabuse wrote:I find wahs can be a little hit and miss.

From what I've read on the internet (pinch of salt and that) back in the day they were thrown together with any old shit they happened to have at that time.
I've been listening to a bit of the Stone Roses recently, John Squires used a '70s Jen Wah and I like his tones, but I don't think just buying a random old wah would get me the sounds I'm looking for.

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:05 pm

I have an old Carlsbro (Colorsound) wah and an old (60s) CryBaby and they're completely different. Currently using a modern CryBaby Plus (one of ProgRob's rejects) for gigging, gets close enough and has a power socket.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:10 pm

I have a cheap vox if you fancy a play?

Addam · Post by **Addam** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:22 pm

Well, actually on a spur of the moment thing, I put in a late bid on one on ebay.
I should have a Dunlop Crybaby on the way soon.
I'll probably mod it a wee bit.

Progrockabuse · Post by **Progrockabuse** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 9:21 pm

If i manage to post this right, you should see a quick demo of the Hendrix wah. It's my iPhone's built in mic, so sorry on the quality. 1963 strat relic > spark mini > wah > h&k. Sorry for the poor playing too

Progrockabuse · Post by **Progrockabuse** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 9:26 pm

How the fuck do I post it correctly? I always forget

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 10:07 pm

Progrockabuse wrote:How the fuck do I post it correctly? I always forget

1. Wrap it up
2. Take it to the post office.

BearBoy · Post by **BearBoy** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 10:50 pm

Progrockabuse wrote:How the fuck do I post it correctly? I always forget

What the fuck is it with people called Rob?

[youtube][/youtube]

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Tue Aug 25, 2015 9:29 pm

NickS wrote:
Progrockabuse wrote:How the fuck do I post it correctly? I always forget
1. Wrap it up
2. Take it to the post office.

Joking aside though: I A/B'ed the two standard Vox wahs (the cheaper one with the black treadle and the slightly more expensive one with the chrome edging) in a shop once and they did sound noticeably different, FWIW. The more expensive one was a bit clearer and less muddy in the toe-up position.

I've never got along with wahs for some reason though - I guess I just haven't found one I like enough. There's a Morley in a removal box somewhere that has the on/off footswitch helpfully next to the treadle, which means you don't have to go full "toe down" to engage and disengage it like the Voxes and Dunlops, and can take your foot off and leave it cocked, unlike the other Morleys. You can also adjust the position of the LED inside to alter the sweep if you want to. As with all wahs though: the *sound* and *feel* is very much a YMMV thing.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Tue Aug 25, 2015 9:54 pm

I know it's unpopular and too late to this thread anyway, but...

I really like the Boss PW-10 v-Wah. It's got knobs and stuff. So if it doesn't suit well with a particular guitar or amp, it's pretty easy to tweak and get it sounding right.

I think people don't like it because it also has other crap on it too, some pretty good and usable drive sounds for some reason, a voice box sounding thing, a synthy fuzz wah filter thing and a uni vibe clone. No idea why they put all this stuff in and didn't put in a volume pedal.

But the wah part is actually really good.

NickD · Post by **NickD** » Wed Aug 26, 2015 11:26 am

Wahs are pretty personal I think. I've had a few Crybaby wahs from different periods, but ended up with a Joe Bonamassa sig wah that Rob had and didn't get along with - works great for me.

Addam · Post by **Addam** » Wed Aug 26, 2015 11:26 am

@Proggy, that's the kind of sound I was looking for.
I'll see what mine sounds like when it arrives, I think they're easy to mod though.
I think my favourite wah sound is Jimi page on a live version of Dazed and Confused, it sounded like some kind of a wounded animal.

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Wed Aug 26, 2015 11:57 am

I have a Snarling Dogs Wonder Wah 2 with a modification added to give you variable drive and three different "bands" to play with, with bass, mids or treble emphasis.

I don't really know much about Wah either, so I don't have much context in how good a wah this is, but it does the job I need it to do, and it's green, so I like it. It can be really, really tremendously nasty, which is how I think wah should be. I can also get it to sound good with guitars tuned down to C, B or A, too.

Gabriel · Post by **Gabriel** » Thu Aug 27, 2015 8:26 am

I have robs old Vox wah. I'm happy with it. I don't really use wah very often but this one works perfectly for me.

I used to have a big Morley Power Wah which was cool, had a crazy amount of sweep. But I wouldn't want to be lugging around such a large pedal these days.

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Thu Aug 27, 2015 8:36 am

Yeah, Snarling Dogs pedals are stupidly heavy. One of the heaviest damn pedals I've ever had. Also fun: the inductor is actually a proper copper coil contained in a can. For vintagez toenz.

But seriously; so fucking heavy.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Thu Aug 27, 2015 9:58 am

I've been thinking about picking up a Wah lately too. Are there any good ones that you can use as an expression pedal too? I can't really just justify buying a Wah as I know I've never use them very often. If I could find a good one that can be used as an expression pedal too tho it'd be worth it.

Addam · Post by **Addam** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 6:27 pm

My Crybaby arrived and I'm not massively impressed with it.
At some point I'll do the mods that the whole internet seems to do.
True bypass, vocal mod, gain mod, and I think I'll go rogue and put pots or trim pots to make the mods adjustable.
I'm a huge procrastinator, but I promise to have bought the components before the next ice age.