Wah pedal recommendations

[Zip]

Do what Duane Allman did - he used an almost-dead 9v in his fuzz & wah pedals. You can definately hear the difference in tone.

[rylanmartin]

As lame as it sounds, I just ordered a Zack Wylde signature Crybaby. It has a bit more sweep that the Crybaby. Plus it looks really cool.

[pes_laul]

I used to have a crybaby then one day it just died (well I got it for 20 bucks of ebay so what can you expect?) but I loved the tone when it worked.

[deeaa*]

Do what Duane Allman did - he used an almost-dead 9v in his fuzz & wah pedals. You can definately hear the difference in tone.

Oh yeah? That's interesting. Might have to try this. I wonder if the same effect could be achieved with an underpowered power supply as well...hmm...

[Tig***]

Oh yeah? That's interesting. Might have to try this. I wonder if the same effect could be achieved with an underpowered power supply as well...hmm...

That beats an almost dead battery dieing on you, which had to have happened to Greg more than once.

[bcdon***]

As lame as it sounds, I just ordered a Zack Wylde signature Crybaby. It has a bit more sweep that the Crybaby. Plus it looks really cool.

I don't know what could possibly be lame about that! Zakk Wylde is the man!

[Tibernius]

I'm surprised no-one's mentioned the Dunlop 535Q Crybaby. Adjustable range, and the "Q" setting adjusts how quickly the tone changes when moved off-centre. Everything from a standard Crybaby to something similar to a Vox.

http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?p...cts/pip&id=274

I got mine second-hand for around £50.

[Eric***]

Update: went to a Guitar Center to test out the main two (Dunlop and Vox) and see the practical differences. The Crybaby came out just a hair on top for me, though I'd be pretty happy with either of them. I also tested some Ibanez (not the weeping demon, but some reissue I think) at the suggestion of an employee that seemed nice, but a bit specialized. Worth considering, but I decided to go in another direction.

Anyway, turns out they had a used on there that looked pretty much new to my eyes for $50. Considering that a good number of ebay ones have about $10 shipping built in and CL owners highly overvalue their pedals and want $75+ for them, I went ahead and pulled the trigger.

Spent a bit of time with it when I got home, and it's pretty nice. Having never owned a real wah before (only the built-in one on the ME-50), I'm suprised by the shoulder somewhere in the middle of the travel that really changes the tone a lot. Maybe that was just an initial impression, but I'm looking forward to exploring it more.

Thanks to everyone for all of the help on this one!

[Spudman***]

Congrats Eric. That will turn out to be a good investment for you. Wah's are a lot of fun, especially into a flanger, phaser, delay tremolo, etc. (it never seems to end)

I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with it. I don't think I've ever gigged without one in over 30 years. I like wahs too.

For all the wah lovers everywhere

[otaypanky***]

It's pretty easy to slightly adjust the travel of the tone pot in one of those if you care to play around. If you take a peek inside you'll see what I mean. A small screw holds a guide in place that keeps the toothed bar connected to the pedal meshed with the gear on the tone pot. By loosening the screw you can jump the gears a cog or two. Just be sure you don't go too far so that the pot reaches the end of it's travel

[deeaa*]

Too abrupt a change IMO in most any wahs...I'm always wishing for some more travel and little less drastic change with small movements.

BTW that's why I always keep the wah first in the chain...if you have the wah after the drives, the wah screams a bit more but then the change is WAY pronounced, because the drive also changes drastically with wah movement...you can get a very pronounced wah quak that way but I like it a little less pronounced.

Best wah I have owned in terms of nice non-abrupt sound changes and nice travel was a Morley, but then it didn't much scream and wail either even when used with a heavy foot.

[deeaa*]

Hmm...I gotta try that trick too...

[LeadedEL84]

A looooong time ago.....I had a Crybaby Hendrix Fuzz wah. It got some cool sounds but there were some things I didn't like about it. The Fuzz setting was not that great. Sometimes I had problems with accidently switching in or out of the Fuzz mode and accidently hitting bypass mode. Also the sweep was too fast. It dropped off into the dark, nasily sound when pulled back far too fast. Also going into the trebbley, sucked mids zone it got too bright right away. It was great for doing agressive,screeming,wah sounds but not for subtle stuff. I like to use a wah for tone shaping sometimes. Like getting that bright,sucked mids,Hendrix tone or a fat nasily Page sound. I couldn't do it with the Fuzz wah because I couldn't find the right notches. It was always too bright or too dark. I tried a regular dunlop Crybaby a few times since then and liked them better but still not for me.
I prefer the Vox wah. The sweep is extreme but feels right to me. I can get the sounds I am looking for with it. I can use it as an EQ for tone shaping or for screaming wah. It's not perfect but I like the classic wah sound it gets. I have wanted one for a long time and it will likely be my next equipment purchase.
I know someone who has a budda Bud-Wah. It's the purple one. He loves it. It's very versatile and sounds great. I've played around with it a few times. It is very nice and one of the highest quality wahs I've tested. It can be subtle or aggressive and sounds good about anywhere in the sweep.It just doesn't quite get the classic Vox sound I like(think Page,live on No Quarter from Song remains the same). They are expensive too!!

[Bloozcat]

I too have a standard Crybaby with a Roger Mayer Red Lion kit in it and I'm very pleased with the tone. Not only does it have a Halo inductor, it also doesn't suck tone when it's off. It's got the tone sweep pot adjustment as well. I drilled a small hole in the base plate of the wah so I can easily get to the adjustment.

As cheap as the std. Crybabys are on the used market, you could pick one of them up cheap and install an Area 51 kit with a ICAR pot and a Carling 316PP DPDT footswitch. That would get you there or you could install a Red Lion kit...if they're still available.

[guitardragon]

Check out the Fulltone CLYDE Deluxe Wah Wah. I have it, I love it, it has the best sound of all.

My Crybaby Deluxe is the only piece of equipment I ever returned. It started making loud clicking noises when activated....some say a "buffer" problem but I'm a guitarist, not a technician.

Not any problems with my Clyde and I gig with it at least 6 to 8 times a month. Couldn't do Jimi or Clapton without it! Great product. It costs more but I only buy the best when I can.

www.mikeimbasciani.com

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[Moander]

If I'd have seen this thread earlier..... oh well...

I would have recommended the Ibanez Weeping Demon, the full one, not the toned down version.....

If you ignore, for a moment, all the buttons and switches, and set everything to 'center', it's a truly amazing pedal.

You can use the setting knobs to essentially dial in any Wah type you want. I was a fan (still am) of the old, Tel-Ray Morley pedals. They had an incredible range, great Wah.... no longer made....$80+ bucks on eBay used.....

I plugged in the Ibanez, and right out of the box, there was my Morley... I have since, and easily, obtained the Cry Baby tone, and the Vox tone, plus a huge variety of other tones......

Most versatile pedal out there IMO

[deeaa*]

I had one of those Weeping Demons for a good while - it was indeed a very good wah. Swapped it later for a Vox though.

[Bloozcat]

Well, if money was not a consideration (and it usually is), I'd recommend one of Geoffrey Teese's Wahs.

The RMC1 is great for straight single coils, but the RMC3 is best for versatility. Best Wah-Wah I've ever heard, but for $235.00-$255.00 you'd expect it to be.

[Eric***]

http://www.thefret.net/showthread.ph...334#post177334