Finding the right wah is SOOO hard!

I've been through a bunch of wahs over the last 15 years. While i've liked tonal elements of each, i've never had one that fell into the 'keep forever' status like a lot of my gear.

I know i'm forgetting some, but I remember having a Boss, a Vox, an Original Crybaby, a Dunlop 535Q, and a Morley wah at some stage... of all these I remember the Boss most fondly (it was my first!), but I also remember hocking it as it had no on/off button.

So i'm looking again - this time at signature models. Based off youtube clips the Jerry Cantrell wah and Buddy Guy wah are standing out the most - I love both these players, but stylistically I think Jerry Cantrell is a better wah player, and I really love his old AIC wah tones.



Anyway i'm blithering on here. Basically, I play every type of rock and 70s style bluesy funk. I need a wah to suit with a very vocal sweep and a tone that doesn't get muddy and flabby in the heel position. Hopefully fellow TDPRI members can help me out with suggestions or even an A/B comparo of the Jerry Cantrell / Buddy Guy wahs :smile:

I know the BG wah has 2 different "voices", so that makes it a little more versatile, but I believe I've read the JC has some kind of frequency adjustment for the toe-down too, so both have some versatility too them.
I was going to buy the BG wah when I was in the market for one, but ended up with a 535q since my local store stocked that one and there's so many different things you can do with it. I've found a few different settings I use on there.

I m a big fan of the BBE Wah. It's not as scratchy as my old Dunlop Cry Baby. But I like it's adjustable Q.

Interesting reading (scroll down a bit to the wah part):

http://www.jhspedals.com/tech-articles/

I haven't heard anything that sounds quite like the Fulltone Clyde.

I've A/B'd it directly with the Dunlop 535Q, GCB95, BG Wah, Slash Wah, Vox V847A, Vox HW, and the Clyde is still leaps and bounds better. Haven't tried other boutique wahs like the RMCs, Buddas, etc.

I've had great luck with my Budda BudWah V2. Kinda big, but the sound...oh the sound!!!

I have had the Buddha bud wag for a couple years now and really love it. Not a huge sweep, but sounds really nice.

I love my Fulltone Clyde Standard

Check out the Dunlop CAE Wah... You will not looke for any wah!!

True bypass!
Dual fasel
Trim pots
Boost switch!!!

People swear by the wilson wahs, and you e-mail the owner/builder and tell him what you want.

I've gone thru as many Wahs as I have OD's. After the dust cleared I was left with a Teese Picture Wah(pre-RoHs 2005) and the new Joe Bonamassa Wah. Now I have all my Wah basses covered.:mrgreen:

Try and find a 70's Colorsound Wah, built like a tank and it has a HUGE sweep on it

There are two types of Wah-wah,

1) The Vox/Thomas/Jen "McCoy" aka Cry-Baby (now by Dunlop)
2) The Colorsound.

The rest are copies.

check pout a roger mayer vision.

the only drawback is they are very very expensive.

this wah can also be used as a variable q equalizer.

here is some info on it.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
16 different wah sweeps: are available through the various switch combinations.

Wah Blend The guitar can be blended or mixed with the wah sound using this control. This ability to blend the guitar back into the wah sound allows the Vision to not only act as a normal wah but also as a variable Q sweep equaliser

Output Level This controls and sets the level required of the wah sound. There is a small amount of overall boost available if required.

True Hard Wire Bypass or Buffered These can be selected by a jumper on the PC Card. The hard wire bypass is accomplished using reed relays and the buffered out offers a very useful alternative for devices that like to see a low input impedance and is controlled by the variable e;ectronic pressure switch.

Wah SweepThis is controlled from a non-contact electronic position sensor and eliminates any potentiometer noise and you can say goodbye to replacing the wah pot as this is the most troublesome problem with standard wah pedals.

Vari-friction Nylon Bearing adjusts the pedal feel. The fully balanced pedal plate enables pedal position to be held at any friction setting .The ultra smooth silky action and improved ergonomic position of the pedal results in less player fatigue and increased sensitivity whilst inspiring confidence through a more accurate and transparent control link from foot to brain.

Gosh that sounds terribly complicated

Colorsound Wah-Wah
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/stomp-box/95265d1315324571-what-wah-pedal-do-you-own-please-chime-colorsoundcircuitsmall-jpg

Heard great things about Wilson- just looked up their wahs... that Freaker Wah. Oh my god. Talk about a distinctive wah tone. That's the coolest pedal I've heard in a long time. Thanks yet again for a terrible case of GAS, TDPRI... :mrgreen:

Have you ever tried a fixed WAH? I used a Jekeko Wah in the studio on a session last year at the urging of the engineer & was really impressed with it. Obviously it's only good for parked WAH tones but for that it was freaking great.

I really liked the, dont laugh to hysterically, the Ibanez Weeping Demon. Aside from the name it was a very adjustable wah, and the spring engagment feature was nice.

Has anyone tried the zvex Wah Probe? It uses an electromagnetic field to sense where your foot is in relation the the plate on the top of the pedal, so your foot only touches air.

what are some of the actual true-bypass wahs? I have an older Dunlop Q type wah, its definitely NOT true bypass... its fine if I'm cranking the gain, but when I move to a cleaner sound, the "muddying" of tone is very noticeable.

My favorite wah is the Ernie Ball (which is also true bypass):
http://cdn.ernieball.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/product_325x325/1316627837P06185.png

I like the form factor and the sweep. I also have an old Vox V848 that sounds great and came true bypass but it's been discontinued.

what are some of the actual true-bypass wahs? I have an older Dunlop Q type wah, its definitely NOT true bypass... its fine if I'm cranking the gain, but when I move to a cleaner sound, the "muddying" of tone is very noticeable.

The olde unavailable Colorsound is a genuine and authentic true bypass. :mrgreen:



You get a very satisfying Crunch!-POP! as the switch goes over. :oops:

At the risk of sounding pedestrian, my favorite wah has been on my board for quite a while now - Dunlop Crybaby Classic. Fasel inductor, true bypass and relatively cheap ($99). Great tone and usable sweep.

I've had many wahs, including some boutiques, some good, some not so good. There is no one best wah out there for everyone, but the Classic is my favorite.

All wahs work much better when you simultaneously mouth wah along. Try it and factor that into your wah decision making process.

Check out the Dunlop CAE Wah... You will not looke for any wah!!

True bypass!
Dual fasel
Trim pots
Boost switch!!!

I'm enjoying this one a bunch myself.

The red, and yellow Fasel inductors certainly give you two unique, and very usable wah voices. You can add some extra growl with the boost if you like as well. I do a lot of festivals and fly-dates where backline is provided, so I appreciate that you can tailor the wah to various amp rigs.

I also like that it has an LED indicator to tell you when it's on (cuts down on the "WTF is wrong with my amp!?" moments you sometimes get when an LED-less wah is inadvertently left on in the toe-down position).

Later...

Check out Area 51 wahs....

what are some of the actual true-bypass wahs? I have an older Dunlop Q type wah, its definitely NOT true bypass... its fine if I'm cranking the gain, but when I move to a cleaner sound, the "muddying" of tone is very noticeable.

My board has a Dunlop Cry Baby that is approx. 20+ yrs. old. I have it set up by itself in a loop because it is a master at "tone suck". I'm in the market for a new one with true bypass. I've been happy with other Fulltone pedals so I might consider their wah. What might sway me away from Fulltone is the fact that they haven't returned my month+ old email.

I've ended up buying the Buddy Guy Crybaby... even though Buddy Guy is the last person I associate with wah pedals... It just looks too cool :cool:

I've ended up buying the Buddy Guy Crybaby... even though Buddy Guy is the last person I associate with wah pedals... It just looks too cool :cool:

Buddy's one of the very best wah players, but like all great players uses it selectively. Give a listen to "Country Man."

+1 for the Ibanez Weeping Demon. The name is ridiculous and the footprint too large, but it's a noisefree design and it sounds 90% as good as a Colorsound.

That said, the top of the top in the wah realm remains Geoffrey Teese RMC line and Kevin Wilson wahs !

I'm in the ignorant bliss that a wah is just a wah. I've only tried one (crybaby) and it wah-ed like it should so I never looked further.

I never thought- could this be any better? I'm sure it could, but I'm just gonna go with one and then be done.

All wahs work much better when you simultaneously mouth wah along. Try it and factor that into your wah decision making process.

ccqMXIpeDe0
I tried to keep from moving my mouth............impossible!:mrgreen:

I haven't heard anything that sounds quite like the Fulltone Clyde.

I've A/B'd it directly with the Dunlop 535Q, GCB95, BG Wah, Slash Wah, Vox V847A, Vox HW, and the Clyde is still leaps and bounds better. Haven't tried other boutique wahs like the RMCs, Buddas, etc.

Clyde Deluxe ended my search.