Wah pedal recommendations

[6stringdrug]

Wahs, IMHO, are one of the toughest pedals to give an opinion on. I have played a ton of them and they all sound different. Too low at the heel, too high at the toe, too screechy, too flat, no mid hump, too heavy mids....it becomes your ear's bane. Price can become an issue too. I play, this week, a budda budwah. Through sheer luck, I found an older model on ebay. I prefer it to the newer models, a little more classic sounding, but not gravelly as I think the voxs and dunlops can be. There is a definite + to the scratchy, almost muddy sound the less expensive wahs make, but for my $, this budda is awesome!!!! I had a chance to play a fulltone RMC and that was the best I've played yet, but the price was a bit high for me at that time. maybe another time.

[otaypanky***]

I don't use one often at all but I do get an itch to wah every now and then. Last year I started putting a few pedals together. I had an old CryBaby but it was kind of blah sounding so I got a Whipple kit from Mike on eBay. That was a cool mod.
But I was still itching. So I ended up getting a Fulltone Clyde Deluxe. That sounds really great and is versatile for sure. I have it mounted up on a big SKB powered board. But even still, sometimes that itch would come back again and I thought it would be cool to have a wah on a small little 'grab and go' board for jams and at home band practice. So last week I was reading reviews on the Budda and located a few new ones in stock at several places. I listened to a few demos and liked the sound a lot. Then I came across a demo clip of a CryBaby Classic. It sounded great. I found one listed as B stock at American Musical Supply and ordered it for $89, (usually $129). It arrived today and sounded great. I also grabbed a cool little Gator powered pedalboard in a soft case. When I went to mount the wah to the board I discovered one screw hole was stripped so they're sending me a brand new one for the same price. I lucked out there. But most importantly, in the very few moments that I used it today, and only at low volume, it sounded really, really good, much better than the old standard one I had IMHO. I dig it.
Everybody's gotta' wah once in a while ~

[deeaa*]

Well said Otapanky...I had a Morley I loved way back...you could really work it and it'd give real nice swells and not be too drastic yet sounded good. It was perfect for the 90's stuff like Alice In Chains.

These days I like the way my Vox sounds, but the heel is too dark, almost feels like it cuts off the sound...and I'd prefer a little bit more grit and suprises in the sound too.

Just the other day I was entertaining the idea of trying an autowah, it'd be much easier to use as a singer-guitarist, and have - maybe - more control over the sweep etc. Never really tried one.

[otaypanky***]

Yeah, but you can't make 'Wah Face' as well with an auto wah can you?

Well said Otapanky...I had a Morley I loved way back...you could really work it and it'd give real nice swells and not be too drastic yet sounded good. It was perfect for the 90's stuff like Alice In Chains.

These days I like the way my Vox sounds, but the heel is too dark, almost feels like it cuts off the sound...and I'd prefer a little bit more grit and suprises in the sound too.

Just the other day I was entertaining the idea of trying an autowah, it'd be much easier to use as a singer-guitarist, and have - maybe - more control over the sweep etc. Never really tried one.

[Tig***]

Through sheer luck, I found an older model on ebay. I prefer it to the newer models,

The good ol' purple one, right? I haven't played the recent version but love the old one housed in the Dunlop box (assembled by Dunlop, too).
Sweet vocal sounding wah. My only change would be to have a pot adjustment to increase the sweep range. I moved the gear up 1 notch but returned it to stock setting.

[Moander]

Well said Otapanky...I had a Morley I loved way back...you could really work it and it'd give real nice swells and not be too drastic yet sounded good. It was perfect for the 90's stuff like Alice In Chains.

These days I like the way my Vox sounds, but the heel is too dark, almost feels like it cuts off the sound...and I'd prefer a little bit more grit and suprises in the sound too.

Just the other day I was entertaining the idea of trying an autowah, it'd be much easier to use as a singer-guitarist, and have - maybe - more control over the sweep etc. Never really tried one.

This is one reason to look at that Ibanez pedal. Out of the box, on factory settings, is the old, giant, nosebleed inducing Morley which I loved above all others. (was stolen years ago).

A few tweaks to the dials, BOOM ! Vox
A few minor tweaks from the Vox setting, BOOM: standard Crybaby.

Not to shabby getting several Wah's in one unit, for about $79.00 at GC (was on sale).

Solid, studio quality, as quiet as the rest of your gear is. Can be used as a standard, must turn on Wah, or be used as an Auto on/off Wah.

[6stringdrug]

The good ol' purple one, right? I haven't played the recent version but love the old one housed in the Dunlop box (assembled by Dunlop, too).
Sweet vocal sounding wah. My only change would be to have a pot adjustment to increase the sweep range. I moved the gear up 1 notch but returned it to stock setting.

Yup, the cool ol purple!!! I did the same thing, back and forth with the pot until I went back to stock, I love this wah, Ive had it a few weeks now and have discovered wah tones I didnt think I was ever going to find! Unlike my vox, it still sings at full heel. Deeaa, you sound like yours does the same thing. The new model, in the shiny black housing probably has a bit more range in the sweep but does not sound as sweet to my ears.

In the end, now that I've found my wah I can concentrate on other effects and finding "the one" for me! :}

[deeaa*]

This is one reason to look at that Ibanez pedal. Out of the box, on factory settings, is the old, giant, nosebleed inducing Morley which I loved above all others. (was stolen years ago).

A few tweaks to the dials, BOOM ! Vox
A few minor tweaks from the Vox setting, BOOM: standard Crybaby.

Not to shabby getting several Wah's in one unit, for about $79.00 at GC (was on sale).

Solid, studio quality, as quiet as the rest of your gear is. Can be used as a standard, must turn on Wah, or be used as an Auto on/off Wah.

I swapped my Ibanez Screaming Demon for the Vox actually...it was indeed a good all-rounder and I liked the automatic switch, but I just could not get the grit and such with it. I suppose I need to look for a Crybaby used so much it's on the verge of destruction...those are what sound best to me. Almost uncontrollable squeals and uneven sweep from high to low, lots of noise. Excactly what I want in a wah!

I wonder if I could somehow 'ruin' the pot in the Vox to make it sound more broken and gritty.

[Commodore 64***]

I'm meeting someone today on the way home form work to get a beat up Morley Wah, that "works, but might need a new pot"--according to the seller.

But for $10, I'll take a chance. I've got a soldering iron and lots of pots and I also have some DeOxIt, which might be all it needs.

[deeaa*]

I'm meeting someone today on the way home form work to get a beat up Morley Wah, that "works, but might need a new pot"--according to the seller.

But for $10, I'll take a chance. I've got a soldering iron and lots of pots and I also have some DeOxIt, which might be all it needs.

I was under the impression Morleys are optical wahs, but might be wrong. Maybe some models aren't.

[Commodore 64***]

I was under the impression Morleys are optical wahs, but might be wrong. Maybe some models aren't.

We'll know in about 6 hours!

[Eric***]

I was under the impression Morleys are optical wahs, but might be wrong. Maybe some models aren't.

What's an optical wah?

[deeaa*]

What's an optical wah?

When I got me a Morley pedal back in '93 or so one of the selling points was it was optical, which means there isn't a mechanical gear system moving a tone potentiometer, but a LED that shines through a disc with a hole pattern, behind which there is a light-sensitive sensor that controls the tone according to how much light it detects thru the disc in its various positions.

That way there is no chance of mechanical wear-out or noises, there's no moving parts except the pedal rocking back and forth.

[Eric***]

When I got me a Morley pedal back in '93 or so one of the selling points was it was optical, which means there isn't a mechanical gear system moving a tone potentiometer, but a LED that shines through a disc with a hole pattern, behind which there is a light-sensitive sensor that controls the tone according to how much light it detects thru the disc in its various positions.

That way there is no chance of mechanical wear-out or noises, there's no moving parts except the pedal rocking back and forth.

Huh. Interesting.

[deeaa*]

Yeah...here's a PDF from their website, they don't say if they're all optical but it explains pretty well how they work and how they can be tweaked:

http://www.morleypedals.com/ttwahadjust.pdf

[Commodore 64***]

He was 10 minutes late, but he showed up. I got it. It is indeed optical, there's only 1 pot in it, for level.

Looked up some mods for it, that I will be doing, mainly to add a clean/distortion switch and something else, I can't remember right now. Last night I had to fix our dishwasher so I couldn't get to the Wah pedal. Also, I have a Peavey Bandit project that I want to do first (solder in new jacks, and replace the OP Amps).

The Morley has a Op Amp, a T071, IIRC. It's a single Op Amp, 8 pin, DIP style. I suppose I can't replace it with one of the dual Op Amps I just bought.

[sunvalleylaw]

I have been doing some study on an old Hendrix tune (well, really a Dylan tune), and one lead requires a wah. I sold mine (as has been pointed out) a while back, and now I am looking at getting one again. Thinking about a used Ibanez Weeping Demon. Based on comments, it seems like it would be a good value. Then I will have to learn to play the darned thing. That is why I sold my first wah, never felt comfortable using it. But now if I am going to try to learn Hendrixy stuff, kinda have to.

[bcdon***]

I've got the Morley Bad Horsie 2 Contour Wah that is pretty cool. I really need to learn how to use it properly but it doesn't seem to affect your tone when not engaged.

[Eric***]

I have been doing some study on an old Hendrix tune (well, really a Dylan tune), and one lead requires a wah. I sold mine (as has been pointed out) a while back, and now I am looking at getting one again. Thinking about a used Ibanez Weeping Demon. Based on comments, it seems like it would be a good value. Then I will have to learn to play the darned thing. That is why I sold my first wah, never felt comfortable using it. But now if I am going to try to learn Hendrixy stuff, kinda have to.

I just never really find occasion to use it, so I tend to kind of leave it out of the setup. I used to use it a bit, but it usually ends up being something I wank around with and that subtracts from my playing rather than adds to it. I guess I'm just not very effective with wah, so it ends up being like a toy instead of a musical tool. But yeah, it has the potential to sound really cool in the right context and add a lot to the music.