The Well #14 - Welcome to WahWah World!

[wahwah]

Re: The Well #14 - Welcome to WahWah World!

great Well, Geoff!

if it hasn't been asked ... a rather obvious question:

where did the nickname come from?

and while we're on the question, how did you develop your excellent wah technique?

I could use a few pointers, 'cause I'm a bit "wah challenged"

cheers!

The nickname actually came from an ex girlfriend. I was trying to think of a name for an e-mail address, and since my last name is Wells and I sometimes get booked just to play wah parts, she suggested wahwahwells! Kind of a play on the great Wah-Wah Watson. It stuck, and I now quite often get called Wah Wah, sometimes even Mr Wah Wah!

In order to develop my wah technique, I spent a lot of time watching 70's p0rn. At least that's what I told my (now ex) girlfriends. No, actually, that's not true. I was very determined to get the wah thing happening, simply because I loved hearing what Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Nolan and the early funk and soul acts did with it so much, including of course the great Wah-Wah Watson himself. I spent a lot of time with it because it was so much fun. My basic rhythm technique is the most obvious one, pressing down on the downbeats of the bar, no rocket science there. I haven't found anything that works better, so I go with that. But I have learned to vary the depth of the sweep on each of those beats, so you end up with a longer phrase. So I might go shallow on the odd beats, and then full sweep on the 2 and 4 with the snare. Again, fundamental but effective stuff.

For single note things, I like to take it note by note. Downward motion at the start of each note is a great place to start. That gets things quacking. Then it is a matter of choosing to either sweep back or leave that sucker wide open for a dramatic "wild banshee" run with the filter wide open. More important than anything is to have fun with a wah, I believe they are meant to be fun. And dare I say, sexy. I think it's also not bad advice to play the wah from the general groin area. Not with the groin area, that could be painful, but with that general "energy." That seems to be where it effects most females when it's done well, so I say go with it!



Cheers..................................wahwah

[GoldenVulture]

Re: The Well #14 - Welcome to WahWah World!

I dropped out of the Biz about 20 years ago[Xcept for mixing a "Death metal/punk band" in the late 90,s],So i haven,t seen him for a long time.A mate of mine has drinks with him regularly still,so i get a little feedback on what he,s doing;as with various others i used to know/still know.Probably many a name you,d know,even if you don,t actually know them.

[JustWendell]

Re: The Well #14 - Welcome to WahWah World!

If you could have one super power, what would it be?

favorite super hero or super villain?

favorite character?

[wahwah]

Re: The Well #14 - Welcome to WahWah World!

If you could have one super power, what would it be?

favorite super hero or super villain?

favorite character?

If I had one super power, it would be to be able to instantly tell whether or not a woman was lying. I would call myself "Polygraph Man."

I've never been too interested in heroes and villains, but I will say Jimi Hendrix and Wile E. Coyote.






My favourite character (for now) is Spotswood from Team America.




Cheers................................wahwah

[Tor]

Re: The Well #14 - Welcome to WahWah World!

Spin-off from your explanation for your wah-use.. I don't think I've seen the pedalboard you use normally? I have seen glimpses in your pics, but not the whole pedalboard alone. Do you have a picture of that?

For my concern, I do not play too many songs that require the wah wah, but they do come occasionally. However I am worried I wouldn't be able to manage the thing very well, so I've taken a short cut of acquiring an auto wah/envelope filter.. The Maxon AF-9. I like it a lot (especially after having bought a compressor to put after; it would peak and make shrill sounds too often if not used with a compressor..). But you, as Mr Wah Wah, what do you think of these filter pedals? Please don't veil your opinions on them due to respect or anything.



By the way, thought I might say, be careful about reference to Guns on this forum.




I just may have too much time on my hand now..

[wahwah]

Re: The Well #14 - Welcome to WahWah World!

Spin-off from your explanation for your wah-use.. I don't think I've seen the pedalboard you use normally? I have seen glimpses in your pics, but not the whole pedalboard alone. Do you have a picture of that?

For my concern, I do not play too many songs that require the wah wah, but they do come occasionally. However I am worried I wouldn't be able to manage the thing very well, so I've taken a short cut of acquiring an auto wah/envelope filter.. The Maxon AF-9. I like it a lot (especially after having bought a compressor to put after; it would peak and make shrill sounds too often if not used with a compressor..). But you, as Mr Wah Wah, what do you think of these filter pedals? Please don't veil your opinions on them due to respect or anything.

Here's a recent incarnation of my pedal board, with the welcome inclusion of the newly acquired RMC4 Picture Wah, and Hermida Zendrive.




On the subject of envelope filters, I'm a big fan. Of course I love a good foot controlled version, but I am also partial to the dynamically controlled versions, as evidenced in this photograph...




The Mutron III is the big daddy of them all. It's an almost illegally funky piece of equipment and should be supplied with some form of contraception. This is a mid 70's version, as used by Stevie Wonder on his Clavinet, and Bootsy Collins on his.....Bootsyness. The T-Wah is Boss' valiant effort to provide a Touch Wah that doesn't eat two batteries per night and need it's own roadcase. I prefer the dynamic versions over the Auto Wah type with the set sweep time, because they still give an element of control through pick attack. (I'm not sure if your Maxon unit does or not.) But the most important part of your description was when you said "I like it a lot." Really, that's all that matters.




Cheers................................wahwah

[Tor]

Re: The Well #14 - Welcome to WahWah World!

Thanks for the picture(s).. Somehow I expected to see a compressor amongst the pedals, but I didn't. I realize I ask a whole lot now, but is there a particular reason as for not having one when playing funky stuff..? I have only had a compressor for a month now, but I don't know why I haven't used one before.. It yields me so much more control when strumming in a funky fashion.. But perhaps that's just it; I don't play good enough to be in total controll over the intensity of my funky strumming, thus the need for a compressor.


I am happy that Mr Wah Wah himself can approve filters. The Maxon can indeed control the sweep through pick intensity. It works really well. It might be my memory fails me, but I think the Maxon/Ibanez AF-9 is made with the Mutron in mind.

[wahwah]

Re: The Well #14 - Welcome to WahWah World!

I know there's a lot of players who make good use of a compressor pedal, but I am personally more into the raw form of decompression that comes from dynamic picking range, especially for funk. Rather than have something smooth out the bumpy stuff, I prefer to make full use of the bumpy stuff. The end result is much more raw and exposed, and I prefer that for live work. In a recording, I will often put compression on tracks in a mix, but I am not a fan of compression between the strings and the speakers.

With that in mind, I am actually in the process of changing a few of my pedals over to less compressed versions. I had a ZVex Box of Rock arrive today, which may be replacing the Crunch Box, and I'm awaiting a Mad Professor Little Green Wonder, which may replace the Blue Boy. I think the MI Audio pedals are fantastic, but I'm on a mini quest to try the more confronting "open" pedals to see how they go.

That said, there are some great effects that can be achieved with compression. I've got an old script logo MXR Dyna Comp somewhere in my bag of tricks. I'd be interested to try Analogman's Orange Squeezer, the clone of the old Dan Armstrong, the "Knopfler" compressor. That might be juicy...



Cheers..............................wahwah

[Tor]

Re: The Well #14 - Welcome to WahWah World!

Interesting approach.. I am not sure if that's a road for me to go yet (it would be way too much bumpy stuff ), but I see what you mean.

Well, have fun with the Box of Rock today, and good luck with your new tone quest..!

[sosomething]

Re: The Well #14 - Welcome to WahWah World!

Hey, if you have to ask, that would suggest that you......don't.....know.....why.

Look, she was only 20 at the time, but she had already developed a substantial set of skills.

And yes for breakfast, why not for breakfast? That would be my question to you.



Cheers..................................wahwah

Why not for breakfast? Because it clashes with my Pillsbury Toaster Strudel and confuses the palate.

And nothing gets between me and my strudel.

So what do you find works best for you in regard to practice? Do you prefer to work on modes / scales, etc. or do you find just writing and playing songs provides better results? Or do you employ some combination of both?

[wahwah]

Re: The Well #14 - Welcome to WahWah World!

So what do you find works best for you in regard to practice? Do you prefer to work on modes / scales, etc. or do you find just writing and playing songs provides better results? Or do you employ some combination of both?

I am a completely self-taught, theory challenged dunderklumpen, so there's no point in me playing modes or scales. Mainly because I don't know them. I know the major scale, does that count? I guess I could play that repeatedly. Would that be fun?

I can't read music, I can't even read tab. I'm a mess sosomething, a veg. But I have spent a lot of time just playing the guitar. In the last couple of weeks, for example, I've been trying out some new pedals, and I have probably played for 3 or 4 hours a day, according to Mr Callous and his little fingertip family. Nothing specific, just playing. But lots of it.

I play for fun and profit, often combining the two, so the thought of formal practice makes me pull the sucked on a lemon face. Instead, I like to noodle about, exploring intervals, exploring clear emotional expression and exploring tone. In my professional work, I have had to develop a fairly keen musical memory. I stopped making notes many years ago when I have to learn a new repertoire. I learn it by ear, and then really get to know it, really get inside its pelt, BE THE SONG!

So no practice for me, unless just sitting with the guitar and playing whatever comes to me is considered practice, in which case I practice a lot.



Cheers................................wahwah

[sosomething]

Re: The Well #14 - Welcome to WahWah World!

I am a completely self-taught, theory challenged dunderklumpen, so there's no point in me playing modes or scales. Mainly because I don't know them. I know the major scale, does that count? I guess I could play that repeatedly. Would that be fun?

I can't read music, I can't even read tab. I'm a mess sosomething, a veg. But I have spent a lot of time just playing the guitar. In the last couple of weeks, for example, I've been trying out some new pedals, and I have probably played for 3 or 4 hours a day, according to Mr Callous and his little fingertip family. Nothing specific, just playing. But lots of it.

I play for fun and profit, often combining the two, so the thought of formal practice makes me pull the sucked on a lemon face. Instead, I like to noodle about, exploring intervals, exploring clear emotional expression and exploring tone. In my professional work, I have had to develop a fairly keen musical memory. I stopped making notes many years ago when I have to learn a new repertoire. I learn it by ear, and then really get to know it, really get inside its pelt, BE THE SONG!

So no practice for me, unless just sitting with the guitar and playing whatever comes to me is considered practice, in which case I practice a lot.



Cheers................................wahwah

Wow, thanks.

In that way we're completely alike.

I'm also a self-taught, never-had-a-lesson, can't-read-music, no-theory mess of a veg. I guess we get by. I don't practice formally either. I just play and write, and when I feel like I need to get better I just write something that's to hard for me to play and work on it until I can.

[wahwah]

Re: The Well #14 - Welcome to WahWah World!

Wow, thanks.

In that way we're completely alike.

I'm also a self-taught, never-had-a-lesson, can't-read-music, no-theory mess of a veg. I guess we get by. I don't practice formally either. I just play and write, and when I feel like I need to get better I just write something that's to hard for me to play and work on it until I can.

Yeah brother, Veg's Unite! Most of my favourite players were messy veg's like us. Just goes to show, there's more than one way to skin a badger, or something like that.

"There's NO theory like NO theory, there's NO THEORY I KNOW...!"



Cheers..............................dunderklumpen.

[tone4days]

Re: The Well #14 - Welcome to WahWah World!

thanks for a truly excellent well

if you werent a musician, how do you imagine that would you make your living?

t4d

[Curly]

Re: The Well #14 - Welcome to WahWah World!

let me just say, for a little Boss pedal, Dimension Cs kick a$$!