Jerry Cantrell wah has arrived...

[XSSIVE]

Re: Jerry Cantrell wah has arrived...

not counting the Dime DB01 or various incarnations of the 535Q i own since they're swiss army knives that can be tweaked to fit nearly and need or my modded wahs since they're modded to do what i want and not what the artist wanted i think of the stock off the shelf Dunlop wahs i have and have had in the past i like them in this order...

MXR/CAE
KH
EVH tied with JC
95Q (love that switchless function)
Dime DB-02 (they no longer make this one, it's set to Dimes settings he used on the DB-01 with no external knobs or anything)
Wylde and Hendrix (pretty much the same wah)
GCB-95
Slash (i really didn't like the odd midrange honk this had and the distortion was pointless)

i'm yet to try the buddy guy, that's next on my list when i find a good deal on one.

-Mike

 

[mrfunnyman]

Re: Jerry Cantrell wah has arrived...

WOW! I think for about $10-$15 in parts and I can mod my Jimi wah just like that Jerry wah. I was just looking at the guts on my Jimi wah compared to your pix you posted and the only diff I can see is the Jimi wah has a red fasel inductor, a .022 cap in the C5 position instead of a .015 cap and it doesn't have a tuning knob on the side, but I'm about to change that lol. I would really like to get this wah eventually but I can't find any store that has them in stock.

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: Jerry Cantrell wah has arrived...

yup, it's a very simple variation on the classic GCB95 circuit which is the same as the wylde and hendrix wahs but the cap choice and ability to tone down the toe down (haha) make it much more useful and sit it tonally in a better sweep range than the wylde and hendrix which are too dark and the GCB95 which is too bright. depending on your rig and what you're playing for each one of course since some love the darker wahs and some love more bite. i have a wylde and like it for some stuff but it's honestly too dark to be perfect for everything.

swap your .22 to a .015 and your 33K Q resistor next to the inductor to 56K and you'll love that wah compared to the way it is stock.

-Mike

 

[mrfunnyman]

Re: Jerry Cantrell wah has arrived...

Mike,
where is the 33K Q resistor located on the board?

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: Jerry Cantrell wah has arrived...

it's the one that's to the left of the inductor, between it and the input jack. that's the Q, the higher you go the more "quack" or "wow" the voice of the wah will have vs the more broad waaaaaahh across the sweep. this is a matter of taste but i find 56K works well for high gain, clean and mild gain. with too much Q (68K, 100K etc) the peak of the wahs voice is too aggressive and can get a little lost under high gain and the wah-ing (i guess you can call it) isn't as noticeable. if you use less gain or play funk then more Q may work for you, just like everything guitar related it depends on the player, what they want to hear and their rig. the 33K which is stock is a bit vanilla and a not vocal enough to me where i like a bit more of that human like "wow" to the voice of the wah so a bit higher value adds that.

-Mike

 

[VanWayward]

Re: Jerry Cantrell wah has arrived...

Sorry to revive an old thread but im modding a wah and dont have time to experiment between values. what tonal frequency do you think is better for the sweep cap 0.012 or 0.015 i prefer bite over bass btw but will 0.012 be too low? Thanks

 

[Bludave]

Re: Jerry Cantrell wah has arrived...

Cool review Mike. As you know I too am a Wah junkie. I now own 6. Only really using one though. I just bought another Thomas Organ Company Wah from StratDeluxer & it has currently replaced my old Thomas Organ Company wah which is approaching retirement age. haha. I love the vocal sounds of the old ones, not to say the new ones don't rock. I almost bought a Teese but john offered me his & I am glad I got it. Its a sweet Wah

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Jerry Cantrell wah has arrived...

You should buy my modded pink wah, you know you want it.

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=224472

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Jerry Cantrell wah has arrived...

i guess i should note before i go into detail with this wah that i collect wahs and mod them and have owned or at least played most of the wahs from boutique and big companies that are out there now. so i'm a bit of a wah junkie to say the least.

i've been following this wah since i first heard a rumor of it way back when and i had an order placed for it as soon as i possibly could and today it arrived. i've always been a big AiC and Cantrell fan and had a feeling he'd come up with something good when given the chance to do a signature wah and i think he did just that. when it comes to aesthetics it's very cool aged copper finish with a bit of factory relicing and wear which looks great IMO. the tread pad is a nice touch and not too over the top or tacky looking.

as for the circuit it much simpler than i thought it would be, it's based on the standard GCB95 with Jerry's own twists to achieve the tone he was looking for. those changes are simple but effective in changing its voice from the standard GCB95. the sweep cap value is increased giving it a deeper voice (not as deep as the wylde which can be a bit muddy in some cases) and connected to the main pot is an external pot which alters the sweep in a different way than normally associated with external knobs. it's not a typical notched switch that changes the sweep cap value thus changing the wahs vocal range like the 535Q or DB01. it's instead a smooth turning pot where you can adjust the toe down bite from full on which cuts great or real mellow if you don't want the top end to be as bright. similar to one of the features on the DB01 wah but the range seems to be a bit greater making it a bit more tweakable. this feature i found very handy depending on the playing style i was going for. for a high gain metal lead with it all the way up you can really get notes to cut through and scream. on a clean tone though roll it back and you don't get that real spikey top end that can be downright painful and harsh to your ears from some wahs out there.

all in all i'm happy with it and it's a nice change on a classic wah circuit with enough of a twist to give it its own character in the line of Dunlop wahs. to compare it to two others when it comes to its vocal range i'd say it sits vocally between the GCB95 and the Wylde wah in terms of how deep it can get which IMO is perfect since the Wylde wah as i mentioned can be a bit muddy and dark in some cases and the GCB95 a bit too bright and lacking that nice chewy tone. then factor in the addition of the adjustable toe down top end via the external knob and that too sets it apart and lets you fine tune the part of the wah i've often heard people complain about as either not cutting enough or being too bright and harsh...so now you can fix that.

unfortunately i don't have any way to record good quality clips and i won't do the wah a disservice by doing clips with poor sound quality or anything like that. so for now you'll just have to make due with some pics as you wait for some audio/video reviews from others....sorry.

so here's some pics...

-Mike

Awesome Mike....Thanks for posting and review...I've also modded and have played through "many" wahs over the years... ;o) Haven't tryed that wah though.