Wah wah pedal

Glad to hear this! I don't use a wah pedal very much an my cry baby takes up too much space. I couldn't test this only listen to a few demo's but ordered one any way hoping for the best. This makes me feel a little better.

 

http://www.dandyjob.com/

 

Heya folks. When you guys sing the praises of the thomas organ wahs, does that include an early 80s version like this? Also, is this inductor supposed to be good?

 

wish the inside of mine looked like that. would be easier to mod.

but i did find a pdf on how to mod my version. just not brave enough to do it yet. id just do the true bypass, and add a LED> hell id be ok with a LED at this point so i know when its on and off. i do enjoy the sound of the stock crybaby tho.

chris.

 

I don't own this wah, but have a chance to buy it. I am wondering whether this version is a dud or not?

 

wilbur, that is what appears to be a stock mid 70s thomas wah. around 70-80% of them have the less desirable TDK rectangle, which this one has. some TDK equipped ones have a stellar tone, but they can be hit and miss. the stack of dimes equipped ones are much more consistently tone-ful in my experience. i have had a couple hundred of this era thomas.
if you can get that wah for 90 to 140, you will be doing fine. i can assist in getting it sounding 'killer' if you get it and don't like the tone. here is a similar one i did a few very simple changes to:

 

I'll be interested to hear how you get on with it. A big part of my love for it comes from being able to control the tipping point with my toes. Due to it's small size it sits under the ball of your foot, much finer control, I find, than the larger models where I was tipping from my ankle.

 

The asking price is $40 but is advertised as having a scratchy pot (easy fix, unless the K values are different in these older wahs). I am also looking at a run-of-the mill GCB-95 for $30 which I intend on modding to a hendrix wah. I believe you only have to change one part to make it so.

 

this is what i have. GCB-95 ( i like how it sounds, just wish it had a LED at least. i have not notice any tone suck from it yet. but iv not used it a whole bunch. you can only use th wah so much. lol ). the pdf i have shows how to mod it for true bypass, etc. if you need it let me know. where i leave my delay on etc.

i found it on the web some where.. but its well done with color photos etc

chris.

 

wilbur, the pots for the thomas were 100k ,, there are many nice replacements available.

IMO
the thomas is a much nicer deal for 40, even with the 'common' TDK and a bad pot.

and yes, GCB95s are an awesome platform for mods. one of the best sites for modding them is stinkfoot.

 

Lots of choices.

I have a George Dennis Wah Plus Switch. It has a two way switch for voicing it for bass or guitar, or less highs with a guitar. It's very clean. I think of it a s a studio pedal. Quiet and very percise.

I also have an original Budda Bud-Wah. It reminds me of Jeff Beck's wah tone on his "Truth" album.

I was given a broken Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q with the five way switch and two little controls to boost and voice. Once I fixed it I found a sound I liked that's like Stephen Stills on Super Session. I'm sure that there's other sounds in it, but I found one that works and leave it there. It's probably the noisiest of the three. It's the older 18 V version, so that might be a factor.

Realize that no matter what wah you get, realize you'll be making fish-face everytime you use it. It happens to us all!

 

paul, very good points. esp the fish face - ha

the 535Q with 18v was a pretty short run ( i believe mid to late 90s), and it does have good reviews.
they are prone to failure tho when people use them outside on gravel or uneven surfaces, the trimpots poking through the bottom get smashed. dunlop changed the design soon after, possibly for this reason.
i have not done a compare of the tones of the 18v vs the later 9v, i would like to. some of my local friends use the modern 9v 535q as their gigging wah, they sound quite good in a band setting.

 

ditto, the budwah. i know quite a few guys who went 15 rounds of trying every wah under the sun, but returning to their early budwah. it was a good circ.

 

More research into wahs.... I've been looking at the Teese ones, which appear to have considerable, honest, R&D behind them. As I understand things, the Picture Wah is a faithful reproduction of the "good sounding" early, Italian wahs. But the RMC-3 is also described as being able to get those sounds too. So... if one had the RMC-3, wouldn't that cover all the bases? What do folks think of the RMC-3 in and of itself, and in relation to cheaper options? (I can see that folks like the Budwah, but apparently these are highly variable.)

EDIT: I just re-read the entire thread. I going to buy the battered Thomas organ wah and hear how it sounds. I did buy the GCB95 for 30, so maybe I'll just transfer the circuit from the Thomas Organ to the GCB, since the pot and housing are in good shape.

 

Some updates: bought a standard crybaby and did the Hendrix mod to it but it didn't thrill me. Recently acquired a used RMC-3 and while it sounds great clean, I haven't been able to get it sounding good with my overdrives. It's an older version with all the switches on the inside, but to be honest, I am finding it hard to dial in a fat, thick wah sound. I used to have a gig fx mega wah that sounded tops, but the switch less thing bugged me. Been looking for a wah sound like that ever since. I am very curious about the Bonamassa wah but it's a special order item here for the most part.

 

A quick question for you guys that have tried one or both of these wah pedals:

Ibanez WH10V2
ATM WH-1

I've been looking for a wah with a price tag around 100€ and these 2 are what I'm thinking about. Based on demos both sound good, but obviously there are many variables to sound on youtube videos... I might have a chance to go try a WH10V2 but I'd like to know in advance if its not worth giving a try since some people complain about the lack of true bypass and bad on/off switch.

So which one do you think is better? I don't use wahs all the time, but in funk I constantly get this feeling like I need one. In the past I've had an old Budda Wah and Morley. The first one was good but unreliable due to age and the latter one didn't sound good due to the optical thing. AMT is also optical, but people say it's still voiced well?

Thanks in advance!

 

Look up "technology of the wah pedal". It's a very in depth article of sorts that goes into what every single component in a standard crybaby type circuit does, and how to tweak everything to your tastes.