The trouble I'm seeing with wahs in general is how many of them, even the high-end 'boutique' models - or ESPECIALLY the high-end boutique models - are really just refinements of the original Dunlop or Vox designs. Which is great if you want a 'classic' or old-school type of effect, but it's a bit of a bummer if you're not. A lot of the time these 'refinements' involve the inductors, other minor component values or tweaks to the enclosure. There doesn't seem to be a great deal of difference between them all unless you're looking for a particular take on the typical sound.
The only other main alternative is the optical Morley style, which seems to be more of a Marmite effect than the Vox/Dunlop inductor type. I believe the 'mini' wah has a switch next to the treadle, so it looks like the effect is turned on and off using that rather than activating a switch using the toe end of the treadle (a la Vox/Dunlop) or pressure on the treadle itself (full-size Morleys). It's unusual, but avoids having to push the treadle all the way down, but would also allow you to leave it on half-cocked if you wanted to. I've seen the Ibanez Weeping Demon mentioned as an unconventional effect that's nigh-on useless for 'traditional' wah sounds but it interesting in its own right.
The 'third way' really is going digital...which is why I'm a little interested in the the Boss PW-10. TBQH, I've shunned wahs for years because I thought of them as a 'lead guitarist effect' but always thought of myself as anything but a lead player. The problem is, sometimes you need a bit of real-time expression of tone control. I very rarely want to use one, but when I do I really miss it and feel frustrated with the standard offerings. The rest of the time, I'd get more use of a pedalboard's built-in coffee maker.
