NOWD 1977 Thomas Organ Crybaby Wah

[clutch71]

Surfing the local Music Go Round online I came across an old Thomas Organ Crybaby for a good price. As If I needed another hole in the head, I went to look at it in the hopes that it had an old stack o dimes inductor and I would walk away if not. Unfortunately, it had a TDK 5103, appears all original, and sounded great so I brought it home anyway. The Wah's sweep feels physically shallow, but the tone is warm with a nice peak in the toe down position.

So now I have 6 wah's (other 5 below) and have to figure out where this fit in. Maybe I need to join a support group?

Fulltone Clyde Standard
RMC Picture Wah
Vox 847 Clyde McCoy Reissue
DIY Vox Clyde Clone
Modified CBG-95

Here it is

 

[solarburn]

I thought having a few wah's was normal? If not im a sicko too.

Enjoy it!

 

[clutch71]

I thought having a few wah's was normal? If not im a sicko too.

Enjoy it!

I have a few more in mind (Wilson Effect, Area 51, Dime From Hell, Macari Color Sound) and I have 3 boards to build.

 

[solarburn]

I have a few more in mind (Wilson Effect, Area 51, Dime From Hell, Macari Color Sound) and I have 3 boards to build.

Yep. You got the sickness.

Now you got me wanting to add on. Been awhile since ive perused wah's.

 

[yladrd61]

The TDK 5103 is a great inductor

 

[Marshall Stack]

I have one too and made it true bypass because it really sucks the tone. It has a narrow sweep. I like the Vox better.

 

[clutch71]

I have one too and made it true bypass because it really sucks the tone. It has a narrow sweep. I like the Vox better.

I agree the sweep is narrow and it's narrow for a reason. Mine measures 1" at the toe end. By contrast, my modern Crybaby, Vox, and Fulltone Clyde Deluxe are 1 3/8" My RMC Picture wah is 1 1/4".

The previous owner has the wah pot rotated toward the toe end. It sounds good so I leave it.

 

[clutch71]

After a week or so I found I prefer the TO wah with my Splawn Super Sport and with single coils (although hums are fine too) amp set clean or slight crunch. The TDX is very warm and crunchy but add to much amp gain and it loses some mojo. Def a keeper!

Another curious observation: it is my only wah with a SPST switch. There is barely any volume drop when engaged and no perceptible "tone suck" when off. My next build is going to be a Grey wah and I think I will use a SPST switch.

 

[Rograt]

I had one of these but with a chrome top. I’m down to a US made V846 reissue and an Xotic. The Xotic being the one that ticks all the boxes for me. I was up to half a dozen at one stage but they really take up space.

Thing I find amusing about different Cry Babys is when you put them in front of a Fuzz Face they all have their individual squeal. The Thomas Organ was no exception.

 

[Trem man]

I had a Thomas Organ Crybaby and stupidly sold it. It didn't have the stack of dimes inductor but I thought it sounded great. My 1968 Vox Crybaby (made in Italy) does have the stack of dimes. Its a more vocal kind of sound, if that makes sense, very cool. I also like the sound of my Fulltone Clyde Deluxe but that huge treadle is a turn off, I guess I'm just used to the Crybaby size. I usually use the 535Q model for sessions its the right size and does a lot of things fairly well. I'm looking at the Mini 535Q with auto return for live gigs, you just step on it and its ready to go.

 

[J E H]

this is not right. I only own 2 wah pedals. Dunlop Cry Baby. AND Rocktron Black Cat. The black cat gets used for studio. Do I need to get more wah pedals? They are cool.

 

[jmp45]

I have the same with the TDK inductor. I like it better than the Vox for tone and sweep. No complaints. It had a noise issue and it turned out to be the input jack. Also added a 9v jack for the board.

 

[Derrick111]

I had a Thomas Organ Crybaby and stupidly sold it. It didn't have the stack of dimes inductor but I thought it sounded great. My 1968 Vox Crybaby (made in Italy) does have the stack of dimes. Its a more vocal kind of sound, if that makes sense, very cool.

I have to say... you can't really judge a wah simply by it's inductor. I have a decent wah collection and the TO with stack of dimes doesn't really sound much different than the TDK, but the stack of dimes in several of my Italian and Musonic wahs do! I also have a stack of dimes early Dunlap, and that sounds meh. I had high hopes taking that one home, but... I think this has everything to do with the circuit and the parts used in that circuit, as well as the tolerances. My reissue VOX v847 actually sounds pretty damn good, but more like a TO.

TOs are fun though. The reason for the more subtle change in sound and smaller travel on the TO mentioned by the OP is because the TOs used AB pots. These pots have a rather unexciting taper to them for my tastes. Those pots were used in the VOX reissue for a long time too and they're fine, but not my favorite even though that is a good wah. The Icar pot on the other hand was a huge part of where the vocal part came from and they had a "shwack" when you moved them fast that is not possible with the AB pots. There are better pots than the AB today, but nothing as good as the Icar was sadly. Then there's caps and what resistor is across the inductor, etc. Like I said, it's not just the inductor, it's a dance between all the parts that make it do the funky chicken how we like it.

 

[tgorycki]

I have a '77 Thomas Organ Wah with a TDK inductor currently on my workbench. I converted to true bypass and did some mods by swapping out some resistors, and also replaced the old, scratchy potentiometer. I also added a trim pot to the switch to keep the bypass vs. engaged volume levels similar. Roger Brainard on YouTube has some helpful videos that discuss the mods in detail. I was originally planning to use a standard 3PDT stomp switch and add an LED status indicator, but found that the switch cut out when the rocker pressed down on the switch halfway (the switch wasn't really designed for this). After some research, I'm scrapping the LED indicator idea and going with a Carling 316-PP DPDT footswitch (currently en route) . They're pricey, but apparently they were designed for Wah pedals.

 

[clutch71]

After a week or so I found I prefer the TO wah with my Splawn Super Sport and with single coils (although hums are fine too) amp set clean or slight crunch. The TDX is very warm and crunchy but add to much amp gain and it loses some mojo. Def a keeper!

Another curious observation: it is my only wah with a SPST switch. There is barely any volume drop when engaged and no perceptible "tone suck" when off. My next build is going to be a Grey wah and I think I will use a SPST switch.

I was incorrect in a post about SPST, the switch would be SPDT.

 

[clutch71]

I have to say... you can't really judge a wah simply by it's inductor. I have a decent wah collection and the TO with stack of dimes doesn't really sound much different than the TDK, but the stack of dimes in several of my Italian and Musonic wahs do! I also have a stack of dimes early Dunlap, and that sounds meh. I had high hopes taking that one home, but... I think this has everything to do with the circuit and the parts used in that circuit, as well as the tolerances. My reissue VOX v847 actually sounds pretty damn good, but more like a TO.

TOs are fun though. The reason for the more subtle change in sound and smaller travel on the TO mentioned by the OP is because the TOs used AB pots. These pots have a rather unexciting taper to them for my tastes. Those pots were used in the VOX reissue for a long time too and they're fine, but not my favorite even though that is a good wah. The Icar pot on the other hand was a huge part of where the vocal part came from and they had a "shwack" when you moved them fast that is not possible with the AB pots. There are better pots than the AB today, but nothing as good as the Icar was sadly. Then there's caps and what resistor is across the inductor, etc. Like I said, it's not just the inductor, it's a dance between all the parts that make it do the funky chicken how we like it.

I have used Gagan, Wilson Effect, Fulltone, and Chase tone pots. Lot's of good pot's still available.

 

[Derrick111]

I have used Gagan, Wilson Effect, Fulltone, and Chase tone pots. Lot's of good pot's still available.

Yep, there are a lot of good wah pots out there now, but I have yet to play any great pots out there now. Like the ones form the golden age of Italian made wahs. Somebody alert me when that happens.