Wah boost...is there such a thing?

SGFanatic

SGFanatic

New member
What I'm looking for is a boost/wah pedal with auto return. You know, just step on it and it turns on. I'm not a pedal person, but I have been incorporating a wah into my leads. I have a ****ty dime wah, and it just isn't doing it for me. I'm shopping around for a new one, and so far I like the Dunlop bass wah the best. It screams on the top end and its auto return. If anyone out there has any suggestions, I'd love to hear.
 
Re: Wah boost...is there such a thing?

Morley.

I have the Mark Tremonti one, it's got an adjustable boost, as well as auto-on and auto-return. It has a very cutting tone, great for distortion, not as great for quacky/funky cleans.
 
Re: Wah boost...is there such a thing?

Dunlop bass wah. Works awesome for guitar, has a volume knob to set it for a boost and a tone knob to control how drastic your sweep is. Has auto return too.
 
Re: Wah boost...is there such a thing?

blueman335 said:
Aren't most or all optical wah's pressure-activated (no switch)?
Click to expand...

My AMT Japanese Girl wah is optical, but requires a serious toe-down "kick" to turn it on. Possibly, because I'm trying to use it on carpet.
 
Re: Wah boost...is there such a thing?

yeah they are good pedals. Not the choice of the tone purists because they work differently to the inductor based wahs jimi used, but excellent options for the working musician nonetheless.
 
Re: Wah boost...is there such a thing?

Actually in most Dunlop pedals you have sth called buffer, sometimes it's set to minimize the signal suck in the effects chain, but can be used also to adjust the volume. Notice if your wah will make the signal more transparent, if yes - you have let's say BOOST. Some people modify them and throw away buffer circuit from PCB and mount 3PDT switch to make it true bypassed (this modification allows you also to put the diode signalizing that effect works). As said above ^ there are pedals you are asking for which have a little boost, but from my experience it sucks, because the wah wah pedal modifies the frequency amplitude and "focus on" and boost that frequency which you have chosen by moving your feet. Why it's bad ? Probably you heard that some frequencies are heard more clear than the others. Typical midrange frequency and treble one can sound crap in the mix with the band. Recently I was at the Slash's concert and as I know the modified circuit of his signature Crybaby Wah (I've spoken to his backstage tech) it does not adjust and boost at any level, the difference ON/OFF is about 0 dB.

Conclusion ? (or tl;dr)

Get standard wah and if you want to have good sound to your audience stay away from boost in the wah wah enclosure :) Hope it helps. Stay tuned !
 
Re: Wah boost...is there such a thing?

Alternatively you could get an A/B switch or Loop pedal that runs to a separate boost pedal and the wah which are always on. That way it's always ready, and you can decide whether you want the signal going into the wah boosted or the signal coming out of the wah boosted.
 
Re: Wah boost...is there such a thing?

Bass Wah is cool for guitar???

Sweep range isn't goofy?
 
Re: Wah boost...is there such a thing?

Aceman said:
Bass Wah is cool for guitar???

Sweep range isn't goofy?
Click to expand...


They have a very warm cap for the sweep range. I haven't read about anyone liking a bass wah for guitar (but maybe they're out there). A brighter cap may be all it needs to change that and turn it into a guitar wah if the rest of the circuit is the same. The typical Dunlop/Vox guitar wah sweep range cap is .01, and .0133, .015, to .022 cap (Hendrix and Zack Wylde models use .022) are commonly used for warmer guitar wahs. A bass wah usually has a .068 cap.
 
Re: Wah boost...is there such a thing?

blueman335 said:
They have a very warm cap for the sweep range. I haven't read about anyone liking a bass wah for guitar (but maybe they're out there). A brighter cap may be all it needs to change that and turn it into a guitar wah if the rest of the circuit is the same. The typical Dunlop/Vox guitar wah sweep range cap is .01, and .0133, .015, to .022 cap (Hendrix and Zack Wylde models use .022) are commonly used for warmer guitar wahs. A bass wah usually has a .068 cap.
Click to expand...

The Cliff Burton wah is probably the hottest wah on the market right now. Guitar players in droves are picking these things up.

http://www.morleypedals.com/dpfw.html
 
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