Have Wah? Use Wah?

[X–Ray]

__________________

talking about wah wah pedals the other day with a buddy

i've had and used one for years (first one in '69)

slavishly studied Ain't Superstitious from Jeff Beck's Truth

also saw Frank Zappa & The Mothers numerous times – great wah player and learned a lot studying his (stink)foot up close and personal

unfortunately, when i saw The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Jimi's foot was working as poorly as the rest of him – one of those nights...

unquestionably, my style greatly influenced by Beck and Zappa

i see wah's on folks' pedal boards and wonder, "Do you use it? Or is it just 'there'?"

[Thumpalumpacus]

They're okay. I haven't owned one since forever. The one in my multieffects unit sucks goat 'nads, so I don't use it.

[Boppy]

Your poll should be re-named "To What Degree Do You Dislike Wah Pedals?"

[gibsonguitar1988]

I used to have one but I didn't like it, but that was more that particular wah.

I think off and on about getting a wah. Either an RMC Joe Walsh or a Dunlop Joe Bonamassa. I like the wide sweep of those.

[alligatorbling]

i LOVE the expression and emotion a wah can bring to ones tone!

i have a bad horsie 2 contour wah on the way, cant wait to get it!!!!

[zontar]

Do auto wahs count?

[Blades]

I like the wah sound, but I wouldn't use it enough to be worth the money.

[X–Ray]

__________________

i use a Vox V847 on my junior pedal board (for use with the 1974X and Class5)

a Vox V848 Clyde McCoy (reissue) on my senior pedal board (when using either the 1959HW Plexi or DSL100)

as an effect, i strive for a vocal, human voice sound

pretty mindless to just rock the pedal back and forth – but getting the articulation and synchronization in the pocket still a challenge after all these years...

worth the effort for the like–minded and some of the old school

[alligatorbling]

Originally Posted by X–Ray

__________________

i use a Vox V847 on my junior pedal board (for use with the 1974X and Class5)

a Vox V848 Clyde McCoy (reissue) on my senior pedal board (when using either the 1959HW Plexi or DSL100)

as an effect, i strive for a vocal, human voice sound

pretty mindless to just rock the pedal back and forth – but getting the articulation and synchronization in the pocket still a challenge after all these years...

worth the effort for the like–minded and some of the old school

ray, i have my crybaby modded to where it so vocal its no longer a wah wah, its a "WOH WOH" it sounds similar to someone getting vowel effects with a talk box =)

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by alligatorbling

ray, i have my crybaby modded to where it so vocal its no longer a wah wah, its a "WOH WOH" it sounds similar to someone getting vowel effects with a talk box =)

My poor Crybaby has been modded in several different ways (true bypass, LED, output buffer) and I just picked up a new red fasel and pot the other day. I'm going to do the parallel resistor change to 100k at the same time.

I'll use the 'wah wah' sound occasionally, but often set and forget it with distortion, leaving it quite far down to get a sort of 'low-fi grunge' tone that I really like for some things.

[Backstage]

I love them and use them occasionally but usually in just one position.

[kboman]

Really dislike the sound. I've had to use it a couple of times in a covers context but not been very happy with it.

[firesgt911]

I've gone through a few. I used to think it was an essential piece, but now realize that I don't care for them. They just don't do it for me.

[SoWhat?]

I use it mostly when I play something "Funky". Occasionaly, I will use it to dial in a tone for a song, or just messing around with tones. But most of the time, I just trip over it because I forget it is there.

[GrouchyDog]

I have a Crybaby Classic. It's like my torque wrench - I don't need it that often, but when I do there's nothing else that'll do the job.

[Hector Arcadius]

Originally Posted by X–Ray

__________________
....

as an effect, i strive for a vocal, human voice sound

pretty mindless to just rock the pedal back and forth – but getting the articulation and synchronization in the pocket still a challenge after all these years...

worth the effort for the like–minded and some of the old school

Pretty much, this. I have one on my board and use it every now and then, but only with some serious gain. I don't need it, not at all, but I will keep it around. It's fun stuff, but not essential to me.

[Boppy]

I love wah, but it's one of those fx that sounds best if used sparingly--the same way you don't want to hear jet-plane flanging through an entire song.

I agree with what's been said already--they are quite hard to master if you're using it to articulate certain notes (an art in itself) rather than rocking it back and forth in time to the music--it sounds okay like that too, but very pedestrian.

One thing I use my wah for that no modulation pedal can accomplish is slow sweeps in time with the music/chord changes (think Jimmy Page's "San Francisco" interval from TSRTS) .
I also use it to get those crazy whale-sounds on Echoes by the Floyd

I have a Crybaby GCB-95 that came stock with the red Fasel. The only mod I've done is to turn the pot back a couple of notches to tame the ice-pick tone in the toe-down position.

[HRC]

I use one at home a little while I practice and try to play one song using it at rehearsal. I haven't used one at a gig in quite a while.

[cynic79]

I've got one, and it can be fun to play, but I don't use it much. I tend to play rootsy-type music, and I just don't find much occasion to use it. I had a blast using my Ibanez Weeping Demon when I had my Egnater Rebel 20 though. A wah into a Marshall-style amp is wicked fun.

[X–Ray]

Could be mistaken, wasn't the lead break to Whole Lotta' Love a wah clicked on as a kind of gain and treble boost?

Not sure...

[X–Ray]

One of the things I like about playing a wah using high gain versus a clean tone is it requires two different mind and skill sets

For me, a dirty tone compared to a clean tone creates the challenge of more than one approach to using a wah

[alligatorbling]

i just got my morley bad horsie 2 contour wah out of the mail box.... i really like this thing.... A LOT!

i was a teeny bit skeptical with the optical design (no pots in this wah) .... the tone is great though!

its a little on the hot side, but for me, thats a good thing. if i have a wah, i want it to WAH!

the on/off setup is sweet, you just step on it, it senses your foots pressure and turns on, when you take your foot off, its off....

step on the contour switch and it gets super hot, think funky super wah.... take the level and contour all the way up... you have a VERY vocal wah =)


even better, you can use this wah with a bass, or keyboard..... i cant wait to run my keyboard though it on the clavinet setting =)

[alligatorbling]

Originally Posted by X–Ray

Could be mistaken, wasn't the lead break to Whole Lotta' Love a wah clicked on as a kind of gain and treble boost?

Not sure...

now that i think about it, i think so......

[mdubya]

When I was playing originals and playing live, I relied heavily on my wah (Vox 847 was my fave) and it was received very well by my audience. It even made a bunch of my contemporaries run out to buy their own.

These days I pretty much opt for plugging straight in or for using just one pedal (Marshall in a box or fuzz). I only play at home to entertain myself.

If I were to go back to playing out and playing my originals, the wah would reappear.

[AngryHatter]

Used to articulate notes - all the time.
Axis by eband on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

[X–Ray]

Interestingly, EVH, never a big wah player, has some liberal doses of it on Another Kind of Truth

[Rich]

I have a nice Teese RMC3 but it just hasn't found a space on my pedal board. I'd LIKE to use it but that effect just hasn't found a home in any of our songs... yet. Maybe I'll hook it up at home this weekend and see if it inspires me to write something funky.

[Liam]

Have got 3 cry-baby wahs from across the years, a Vox V847(?), Fulltone Clyde Deluxe, 2 x 70s Colorsounds, and an old JHS thing...

And I use precisely none of them. Not sure why not. Probably last used one in about 1998.

But, my next pedalboard will have the Fulltone on it, and I'm going to try to find an excuse to use wah on at least one song in every gig. Because I used to and I miss it in some ways.

Liam

[River]

I've never tried one. I've got my "hands" full as it is, and I've heard so many of them used very, very poorly.

I'm not qualified to operate one. Yet, anyway.

[LPCollector]

Originally Posted by River

...........and I've heard so many of them used very, very poorly.

I'm not qualified to operate one. Yet, anyway.

I'm not qualified either, but just like a terrible driver....I still do it.

Here is my wah sound:

MarkDarby33's sounds on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

The track named "Soul Patch"