Cry baby Classic vs?

[blueman335]

Re: Cry baby Classic vs?

im a very bare bones type player have a simple board not really looking for extra features, just a straight up wah pedal with true bypass.

Doesn't matter that you're a bare bones player, this isn't about you fiddling with it all the time. An adjustable wah lets you get the sound you want, when a non-adjustable may be 'close-but-no-cigar', depending on your gear. Adjust it once, get exactly what you want, and leave it. I'd like to see you not end up buying 2 or 3 wahs to get what you want.

If you prefer a non-adjustable wah, then it's up to you to listen to a lot of online samples to ensure you get the sound you want. You're laying out the cash, and it's your ears it has to please.

[Hank-]

Re: Cry baby Classic vs?

I find the 535Q better than my MC404 since the Q control is on the outside & the sound overall i like better as well. I guess because it's been used so much in recordings or live that the sound feels more home like to my ears.

Anyways, the amt wh1 is another wah thats fun & small. The crybaby mini has adjustable Q control on the inside too i think, so that's another one. Depending on your budget, Wilson Wahs are awesome too. The vox stuff while not all that versatile, does sound great, you will need a truebypass looper & a battery clip adapter to power it with external psu, with one of those . Jerry Cantrell wah is great too.

Oh man i could list more than 20 worth checking out, so many wahs out there to pick from, happy hunting!

[Axeman16]

Re: Cry baby Classic vs?

im really just interested in personal experiences between the 4 im interested in. the cry baby classic, SC-95 (slash, NOT the red one), the dunlop clyde mccoy cry baby and the joe bonamassa.

[blueman335]

Re: Cry baby Classic vs?

im really just interested in personal experiences between the 4 im interested in. the cry baby classic, SC-95 (slash, NOT the red one), the dunlop clyde mccoy cry baby and the joe bonamassa.

I'd be more open-minded going into this. Like Hank said, there's a lot of great wah's out there. That's why I started collecting them. If you're determined at the outset to limit your choice to those 4, you need to read reviews (pro and con) & listen to a bunch of sound clips to see which of those you like best. We can't make that decision for you. I wouldn't spend $150 on a wah without doing some serious homework on my own.

[Axeman16]

Re: Cry baby Classic vs?

if you collect them then why cant you answer my question. my question is basically what is the difference tonally between a red fasel and a halo.

[blueman335]

Re: Cry baby Classic vs?

my question is basically what is the difference tonally between a red fasel and a halo.

It's not that simple. As I said, the circuit board and component values are very important parts of the sound; the inductor is only one piece of the formula, some say a small piece. When you get a wah, you're getting everything else that comes with that particular board's layout (lots of different boards in use). Besides the board, the potentiometer's resistance (ohms) and sweep also impacts the sound. Having a halo doesn't mean it's a better-sounding, or more vintage-sounding wah. There's no industry standard for an inductor to be made an exact way. There's variation within each type depending on who makes them, and what tolerance limits the manufacturer has. Don't get hung up on the inductor.

Instead of worrying about individual components, listen to clips. Your ears are the ones that decide.

[Hank-]

Re: Cry baby Classic vs?

There are some basic mods out there for the original crybaby that might save you from buying a whole a new wah. Here's some technical details that should help in getting to understand wah pedals some more http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folder...edl/wahped.htm

And here's a vid that goes through the wahs you're considering, that should give a idea tonally

https://youtube.com/watch?v=7ZKIvACarzE

[DinoTrousers]

Re: Cry baby Classic vs?

If you're looking for classic British blues-rock, why not go with Vox? It's what Clapton and Hendrix used. The 846 Handwired is a masterful piece of artwork. And the 847 standard, although not true-bypass, has a phenomenal buffer that doesn't suck any tone to my ears. If you can find a used Vox 848 reissue (There's one on Reverb now for about $130), then you'll have one of the closest modern units to the original wah those guys would have been using, and it's true bypass!

All this said, I use a Clyde Deluxe, and it's absolutely fantastic, but more than some people want to spend.

[Axeman16]

Re: Cry baby Classic vs?

i had a vox wah for a while and found it to be nothing but inferior to the original cry baby

[blueman335]

Re: Cry baby Classic vs?

If you're looking for classic British blues-rock, why not go with Vox? the 847 standard, although not true-bypass, has a phenomenal buffer that doesn't suck any tone to my ears.

With Vox's, the input/output jacks aren't part of the circuit board, so rewiring them for true bypass is easy. Buffers help, but can't duplicate the sound of true bypass.

[Myaccount876]

Re: Cry baby Classic vs?

If you get a wah that isn't adjustable, and it isn't quite the sound you want (thru your guitar, PU's, and amp), then you're stuck.

Not really - wahs are some of the simplest pedal circuits out there, and usually there's only a few small part value changes between models. Your standard Vox wah and standard Crybaby are the exact same circuit, the Hendrix wah's *only* differences from the current production GCB-95 (they come stock with a red faded now) is the .022 uF cap instead of .015uF. The GCB-95 isn't too different from a Clyde McCoy wah. If you want it to be the exact same circuit, you just swap a total of 8 components (mostly resistors, and the two transistors). Really the mod that make the biggest difference between the McCoy and GCB are also the easiest - there are two resistors in parallel with the inductor, a 33k one and a 1K5 one. Those affect the Q factor. Raise the 33K to 100K, and it's a lot more McCoy like. Raise the 1K5, and your wah has a fuller midrange. You can easily wire in two potentiometers - a 100K pot in line with the 33K and a 5K in line with the 1K5, and your wah becomes very adjustable by just changing two things. It's also really easy to add a switch that allows you to switch the sweep cap between 3 values. I have the options .015uF/.025uF/.065uF to switch between brighter/darker/bass wah. The GCB by itself is pretty versatile, then very fine-tunable to get it exactly where you want.

[blueman335]

Re: Cry baby Classic vs?

Not really - wahs are some of the simplest pedal circuits out there, and usually there's only a few small part value changes between models. Your standard Vox wah and standard Crybaby are the exact same circuit, the Hendrix wah's *only* differences from the current production GCB-95 (they come stock with a red faded now) is the .022 uF cap instead of .015uF. The GCB-95 isn't too different from a Clyde McCoy wah. If you want it to be the exact same circuit, you just swap a total of 8 components (mostly resistors, and the two transistors). Really the mod that make the biggest difference between the McCoy and GCB are also the easiest - there are two resistors in parallel with the inductor, a 33k one and a 1K5 one. Those affect the Q factor. Raise the 33K to 100K, and it's a lot more McCoy like. Raise the 1K5, and your wah has a fuller midrange. You can easily wire in two potentiometers - a 100K pot in line with the 33K and a 5K in line with the 1K5, and your wah becomes very adjustable by just changing two things. It's also really easy to add a switch that allows you to switch the sweep cap between 3 values. I have the options .015uF/.025uF/.065uF to switch between brighter/darker/bass wah. The GCB by itself is pretty versatile, then very fine-tunable to get it exactly where you want.

I'm well aware of all that, I do that to some of my wahs. I was referring to the OP's situation, if he's not going to be modding his pedals. It doesn't seem likely that he'd rewire a wah for true bypass, and modding a PC board would be out of the question.

If you're handy with a soldering iron and make a little effort to learn, you can do all kinds of things to wahs.

[Axeman16]

Re: Cry baby Classic vs?

i could mod my wah but i really dont see the point. id rather just get one built the way i want from the factory. i want a basic wah, no dials or knobs just does what its supposed to.

between the options ive narrowed down to the answer is there somewhere.

I should mention i dont dislike my original crybaby. it does what its supposed to and i like that. but that being said what i dont like about it is when all the way back on the bass side gets flubbery sounding and full on treble is too spikey. i know i can adjust the rack rotating the wah to remedy this but i cant be bothered since im gonna replace it soon anyways.

[blueman335]

Re: Cry baby Classic vs?

what i dont like about it is when all the way back on the bass side gets flubbery sounding and full on treble is too spikey. i know i can adjust the rack rotating the wah to remedy this but i cant be bothered since im gonna replace it soon anyways.

You could adjust the rack in the time it took you to write this last post. I'd do that, and wire it for true bypass, and keep it as a 2nd wah.

[Axeman16]

Re: Cry baby Classic vs?

no since i have extremes at both ends of the pot if i adjust it one way it will only make the other end more severe.