The mighty Wah

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 6:56 pm

I've got a Morley Bad horsie that I like well enough.

Pros:
Optical switching - No need to stomp a switch for it ot be on.
Gives a slight boost when on so nice for solos.

Cons:
Can't turn it on and leave it cocked without your foot being on it.
Bigger footprint than regular wahs.

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 7:49 pm

I have a CryBaby I picked up battered and second-hand in about '73, so it's probably Hendrix-era. It's a bit noisy and I totally destroyed the mojo in about '76 by changing out the transistors for low-noise epitaxial ones but my son uses it. I also have a Carlsbro (Coloursound) from the same period but I swapped the pot when it got noisy; that tends to flop about which I find annoying and I prefer the sweep range on the CryBaby. There's also a wah on my Zoom GFX707 Mk1 that's usable.

I hardly ever use wah, though it does sound brilliant with an organ for reggae chops.

mickie08 · Post by **mickie08** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 7:58 pm

I really like the fulltone clyde wahs, but they are expensive. Also, the gigfx wah sounds great but it kind of fades out when you shut it off which bugged me.

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 8:38 pm

I recoment the artec apw-3 wah, magnetic pot so no annoying crackling.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 8:48 pm

Thanks for the tips folks. Definitely going to start seeking them out. I used to have an old Coloursound fuzz wah that was amazing but that went a long time ago. Would anyone say that all the artist models that Jim Dunlop are putting out worth the extra money? Also, are there other options like an expression pedal and multi fx?

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 8:55 pm

lorez wrote:Would anyone say that all the artist models that Jim Dunlop are putting out worth the extra money?

Without having played any of them, I would say that they aren't.

I really can't endorse the Boss enough. It'll do all the wah sounds you want, like if you find that you like your wah abrasive, but then find that the sound isn't abrasive enough with a certain guitar, then you make a few changes and you're happy again.

I hadn't noticed how cheap crybabies were. I thought they were about Â£90, in which case the Boss makes an awful lot of sense.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 10:29 pm

Okay Ive owned a standard Morley wah and did not like it at all. the optical is nice for no scratchies but the feel of the treadle is just wrong compared to more trad crybaby style for me. Didn't really rate the sound either.

I've got a stabdard crybaby which does the job fine but I did buy it to do all kinds of mods on like the Whipple and the Area 51 style thangs.

I've had an unhealthy obsession with getting a DOD FX 17 because I love the way it looks like the 80's felt to me when i watched terminator and don't care what it sounds like TBH:

[youtube][/youtube]

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 11:11 pm

i wish ibanez would just reissue the WF-10 as promised.

Will · Post by **Will** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 11:45 pm

I have a DOD FX17 - it sounds OK, but pretty much anything else is at least somewhat better.

My Wah is a Lyon that was on on clearance at Target for $19.99. I bought two. The board is actually the same as the Crybaby - has "Crybaby Rev. G" printed right on it and uses the same parts. I pulled out the buffer stage, changed it to the McCoy circuit, put in NOS transistors, and made it true bypass. I ended up putting in a trimmer to set the gain of V1. It sounds very relaxed and natural.

I haven't decided what to do with the second. I might do a variable tremolo at some point.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 11:47 pm

Will wrote:I have a DOD FX17 - it sounds OK, but pretty much anything else is at least somewhat better.

Aaahh luckily this doesn't matter to my stupid retro 80's lust. I want all my pedals to look like a ZX Spectrum. Will, give me a couple of months to get solvent again and I'll happily take it off your hands if you consider parting with it

Dingus · Post by **Dingus** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 1:03 am

I have an FX-17 and love it as a small volume pedal for my Pedaltrain Mini board.

They reissued the WH-10 didn't they?

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 1:23 am

the wh-10 yeah, but that's no wf-10.

willlin · Post by **willlin** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 10:39 am

People not wearing shoes in wah demo videos really bothers me...

Socks on the internet. Ugh.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 11:02 am

willlin wrote:People not wearing shoes in wah demo videos really bothers me...

Socks on the internet. Ugh.

men wearing white socks full stop bothers me.

OK so my short list at the moment includes:

Cry Baby (different flavours inc. slash, normal, dimebag, et al)
Vox V847
Boss PW10 v-wah
Ibanez WH10
GD30
Hell babe
Morley Bad horsie
fulltone clyde wahs
gigfx wah
artec apw-3

I just need to see what is available in the UK and how easy it is to find them near me. I might have to take a trip to London one day soon as well.

ultratwin · Post by **ultratwin** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 12:56 pm

I got a Moollon wah a good 2 years before I even joined the company, and dig it for being a no-nonsense true bypass Vox-style wah. I wanted to know the story about how he ended up wiring it, so Mr. Park gave me a fascinating 30-minute lesson in Vox/Thomas Organ history that spanned Italy, to the UK to the US, and how there were more more than a few models that made it into the market well before the arrival 70s. Long story short, he has 3 Vox wahs from 66-67 that all have slightly different circuitry, so he combined a few designs to come up with one that sounded pretty much like all of them.

I sold my V847 (which I had modded for true bypass) right after getting the Moollon back in 2006, and enjoyed how it simply felt more "alive" and responsive than the Vox, and so much more useful than the Dunlop 545Q I had tried before the Vox. With a really narrow throw like vintage Vox wahs plus a strong midrange quack, the Moollie is everything a modern wah isn't.

That being said, I've played and recorded with my friend's Fulltone Clyde and loved it a lot as an all-in-one wah champ. The three modes are all quite useful, and the things really cuts well: It gets my vote as the best all-around wah on the market.

Progrockabuse · Post by **Progrockabuse** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 2:47 pm

it's a difficult one for me. when i'm at home, i tend to plug straight into the amp or maybe an od pedal. but when i play live, i love having a wah pedal on the floor, you can create loads of different noises with one. i liked to find a pungent sounding nasal tone and blaze away or pay homage to cream/clapton. used one to play the no quarter keys sound.

i've owned two standard crybabys and currently a digitech EX-7. the EX-7 is great for creating your own wah sounds, as you can control the frequency and Q of both the crybaby and vox models. though i find it more difficult to use feel-wise, as the treadle is different than a standard wah enclosure with less travel. well worth trying out though.

Vox have just released a basic version of the V847, called the V845. it's an all black lighter encolsure and doesn't have a buffer in it. think it's about Â£50 too.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 3:43 pm

willlin wrote:People not wearing shoes in wah demo videos really bothers me...

Socks on the internet. Ugh.

dude, i just came back to this thread, and i'm on a pc that has flash on it now (night job doesn't allow), and my skin literally crawled. i fucking despise feet, and dirty white socked feet is 10x worse. FUCKING GROSS ASSHOEL PUT SOME SHOES ON.

* shudders * i can smell it from here.

Will · Post by **Will** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 6:17 pm

Black Cat Bone wrote:
Will wrote:I have a DOD FX17 - it sounds OK, but pretty much anything else is at least somewhat better.
Aaahh luckily this doesn't matter to my stupid retro 80's lust. I want all my pedals to look like a ZX Spectrum. Will, give me a couple of months to get solvent again and I'll happily take it off your hands if you consider parting with it

Of course. I got it cheap from Mo of this parish, and I'll gladly pass the savings on to you. It's got the original DC adapter and everything.

As Dingus said, it makes a cool active volume pedal.

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 6:29 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:
willlin wrote:People not wearing shoes in wah demo videos really bothers me...

Socks on the internet. Ugh.
dude, i just came back to this thread, and i'm on a pc that has flash on it now (night job doesn't allow), and my skin literally crawled. i fucking despise feet, and dirty white socked feet is 10x worse. FUCKING GROSS ASSHOEL PUT SOME SHOES ON.

* shudders * i can smell it from here.

I seriously could not make it through the video. it looked like the wah filter worked in reverse but I could not make myself watch that dude's dirty ass sock foot long enough to figure it out for sure. it's like dude, if you're gonna be waving your foot in peoples faces for several minutes at least put a godamn shoe on.

blankfield · Post by **blankfield** » Sat May 01, 2010 12:55 am

Dingus wrote:I'm one of the few who dished out the cash for the:

Teese Real McCoy Custom RMC-3 (Tune-able Wah):

http://www.realmccoycustom.com/RMC3.htm

I love the damn thing, I can tune it to whatever wah setting I like, or use one of the sample settings that replicates many famous/old wahs.

All in all I probably could have settled for his cheaper RMC-4 Picture Wah (that's the setting I have it on most of the time anyway), but love having the options for endless wah wankery. Although most of the time if I'm using a wah pedal, I'm just playing Cream or Hendrix.

Additionally I'm a big fan of the "buy it once, buy it right" concept, it's hard to argue with the reusability of a wah that I can make sound like any other wah out there.

I came here to post this, too. RMC-3 wahs are unreal. Highly recommended.