Your Wah

[belleswell]

del

 

[axe4me]

 

[junk notes]

Those who play both a Stratocaster and a Les Paul respectively are aware that you will need a wah for a singlecoil, and another for a humbucker; and of course, placement matters for efficiency of the effect.

 

[Metroman]

Love my Roger Mayer Vision Wah, though it has No Pot. 16 Wah Sweeps, extremely quiet, built like a tank, and most comfortable foot position for me.

Works with any type pickups.

 

[Harlequin tusk]

D'Armond Weeper Wah............

 

[RCM 800]

used a Dunlop JH1 wha for most of the 90's. Picked up a first gen Bad Horsie when they came out and its been my go to ever since. Being able to step on and off of it and have it turn on and off without stomping the thing thru the floor has more than paid for itself. Especially when Im doing the lord of the dance switching pedals, playing guitar, and singing all at the same time. Been thinking about picking up the newer version Bad Horsie 20/20 just because its smaller and takes up less space.

 

[Crikey]

I got a Dunlop Crybaby a million years ago and havent looked back since, didnt realize there were such a large variety of them, I cant imagine what the real differences would be and why I would need another one.

better ability to shape tones with newer models.

 

[IOSEPHVS]

I've owned this wah for about seven years, and because of this thread I just found out that it has hidden features.

 

[lordquilton]

Another vote for Geoff Teese wahs, hard to go wrong.
Joe Gagan does some great stuff too, I have his Italia wah, it's about as Jimi as it gets for my money -

I think the low parts count and custom inductor is a big part of the charm of the Italia.

For something more modern, and usually the first wah I'll break out is the Buddy Guy wah.
I think it's one of the more unique wah's I own.
It actually has 2 switchable modes, with "Deep" mode doing a great job if you want that "back of the throat" thing.
Not sure if they still make them though.

I also dig the Dimebag, but I find it's wicked high gain sound more suited to hard rock/heavy metal than the classic wah sounds I'm usually shooting for.

 

[Matthews Guitars]

I don't have a wah. Basicallly I HATE wahs. Mostly because most people don't know how to use one with restraint. Instead, too many people suddenly have a grand mal seizure once their foot settles on the footpedal board of a wah and then things get nuts...but not very musical.

Restraint must be used with a wah.

 

[jmp45]

Thomas organ cry baby. Still works good enough for me. I have a Vox but I favor the cry baby.

 

[clutch71]

I've documented most of my wah journeys here but my current wah's I have (and ranked by preference) are...

4) Clyde Fulltone Deluxe. Great pedal and sounds most like a early clyde advertisement I came across. To many knobs.
3) Vox 848 picture wah reissue. Great once you remove the input buffer. Wah pot is old so it always needs cleaned. May replace with Chase tone pot. Made by Dunlop!
2) Modified crybaby with Wilson effect inductor, Joe Gagan pot, telefunken BC109C (HFE 250;s), 47K input to drive. This wah has more growl than my other wahs. Think Cantrell's chewyness.
1) Gutted Crybaby, Moutolous PCB, Wilson Effect inductor, Wilson Effect pot, SGS BC109C (HFE mid 400), custom acrylic plate and labeling (thanks to my lovely wife's Cricut). Best Vox clone I own.

I like the Moutolos board so much I ordered and received 3 more boards. I have some ideas that I will save for future threads....

I recently borrowed a Dime wah and IMO the best stock Crybaby I've played. More versatile than I anticipted if you are considering he 535Q pass and go for the Dime.

 

[clutch71]

Oh and If I were to buy a wha...It would def be a Wilson Effects. His inductors are the best I have come across so far.

 

[Maggot Brain]

I have some how accumulated a small collection of Wahs now. I have always prefered the Vox "voicing" but realized the original Thomas Organ Cry Babys were the same thing, different housing.

My 1969 Vox V846 is my holy grail Wah and obtained it probably 15 years ago, I think I paid $200 for it... Can't believe the going prices now says. Saddly the housing broke and I sat it aside and transferred all the electronics into a US Vox reissue housing. I can't find the original housing anywhere and kick myself for losing it... I know it could be simply fixed but I was young and dumb back then. It has given me some trouble over the years and spent most of the time in the closet, I couldn't part with it no matter what. Recently I cleaned and polished all the inputs and disassembled and cleaned the pot... This bad boy sounds incredible. I compare it to my Vox reissue V847 and to a RMC and still the '69 has a warmth I have yet to match in a modern wah.

I have a 1977 Thomas Organ Cry Baby with "Stack-o-dimes" inducter and it is my #2 and sounds "almost" identical to my '69, I love this Cry Baby!

Next is my 1976 Thomas Organ Cry Baby with "TDK" inductor, it has a replaced pot but everything out is original. It sounds ok and more transparent than most wahs. If I wanted something really vocal it would be a pretty poor wah BUT since I have my '69 Vox and '77 CB this one I keep just because it is different.

Vox v847 Chinese reissue, I actually prefer this time to the US reissue I gutted for the '69 internals. I am bummed that just 10+ years ago these were still made in the US. It has the vocality of the vintages wahs but the tone is shrill and bright AF compared to the vintage pedals.

Dunlop Cry Baby Reissue... This one is kinda Meh only because its vocal sweep and tone is not my style, reminds me of Slash or Zakk Wyld but I do admit it's vocal tone compliments distorted/high gain much better than the old school style pedals.

My '69 is by far the bench mark for me and nothing has yet to surpass it, the '77 Cry Baby comes very close tho.

 

[David Copeland]

Two Thomas Organ original wahs and a Dunlop Cry Baby modified as a Jen Double Sound Fuzz/Wah.

 

[Sg-ocaster]

I have some how accumulated a small collection of Wahs now. I have always prefered the Vox "voicing" but realized the original Thomas Organ Cry Babys were the same thing, different housing.

My 1969 Vox V846 is my holy grail Wah
Vox v847 Chinese reissue, I actually prefer this time to the US reissue I gutted for the '69 internals. I am bummed that just 10+ years ago these were still made in the US. It has the vocality of the vintages wahs but the tone is shrill and bright AF compared to the vintage pedals.

Yea I hear that I had a V847 new in 94 then bought the one I have now in 99' in that time they changed to the sealed pot with the solder lugs on the back. And now I see they are chinese. Anyways directly compared to my Dad's 69' Vox Clyde the V847 is shriller but the vocal mod seemed to get it much closer into the ballpark to were I was happy with it.
Ive modded mine for true bypass as the buffer sucks.....I also modded my Dad's Cylde for true bypass(saved the original switch tho)as even those buffers suck.
He also has a 70s thomas Organ but it doesnt have the same sweep.....diferant pots??

 

[10kDA]

Thanks for everybody's input. I'm not the OP, I just find myself drifting toward the "love" part of a love-hate relationship with wahs. I haven't played with one for a long time and I'm happy to read here about some of the options available now. The only other pedal I use is a looper. Looks like I'll be checking out the RMCs first. It's got to be able to do "Shaft" and "I Ain't Superstitious".

 

[FutureProf88]

I have a Crybaby from ~2007 that was the first guitar pedal I ever bought and is still on my board.

 

[Seven]

I have one of the earlier Vox Clyde McCoy pedals that requires a good amount of deoxit to make it usable. It's better in a cocked wah setting, but I did use it on a reggae parody tune I wrote and it sounded fantastic. At the time, I think I paired it with one of the OCD pedals in front and it pushed it enough to make it work for the track.

For full ahead rock, it's probably not the goto pedal, but it does have a wide sweep instead of a short one. More sweep, more vocal wah/range. Less sweep, more quack quack than wah wah. YMMV.

On a side note, I no longer use OCD pedals because they are very overrated. (Sorry guys). After talking with Mike Fuller, the owner of Fulltone, I came to quickly realize he is NOT someone I want to do business with. Wow......is all I can say on that experience !

 

[Metroman]

Roger Mayer Vision Wah. All kinds of sounds in this wah. Also use it like an EQ. Great foot position. 16 sweeps.