wahs

[Chickenwings]

Over the years i have tried a lot. I started back in the 80s with an ancient vox wah/swell (i still have it), then a foxx wah fuzz, then a boss wah, then in the 90s, a crybaby gcb 95 (which i also heavily modded later) I just unpacked my sexy new CAE mxr dual fasel thing.
You want to know whats sad? My cheapo morley pro series is still the best sounding. Less feedback, more focus, a wider sweep, no sudden on/off vibe on the taper, no noise, no pots. Just an on/off switch and a level control -and no magic inductors. I know the tone purists will poo pooh me, but im basing this on my ears and nothing else.
Usually when you get a new pedal and try it out, you have the honeymoon period and rave about how cool it is. Yes the mxr/cae is a killer wah (its the best inductor based wah i have tried), but i think im gonna stick with my old morley pro series and put the CAE in the dusty drawer with all my pedals that did not make it to the permanent pedal board. Oh well....

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: wahs

In my lifetime, I've owned 7 or 8 wah pedals. I came to rest on the Fulltone Clyde Deluxe because it has 2 important features. The 3 way rotary knob gives me the high range, good for choppy funk riffs on the high strings...Shaft. Then, the well loved Jimi sound that covers the Vox territory. The Whacked low end is similar to what you'd hear from Jerry Cantrell, where low string riffs sound like a wow rather than wah.
It then gives me the ability to use it's volume rotary dial to set it at unison volume or a bit louder.

The Clyde Deluxe isn't cheap, but I like to think that if Hendrix were alive, he would have loved that wah. In reality, he'd have a Dunlop signature that's tuned to his current gear.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: wahs

yeah this cae thing has two inductors which you can switch between to get a classic kinda wah sound and a deeper, throatier bassier sound. Its also got a booster built in too so thats cool. I opened it up a little while ago and adjusted the qs on both inductors and also changed the internal gain boost a little. The feedback is gone and im a lot happier with it. Its still not as smooth or as easy to dial in just the right tone with your foot as the morley, but it does offer a thicker, more old school kind of vibe. Im gonna stick with it for a few weeks and see what i think then. It might be that im just very used to the taper etc on the morley so i gotta give this CAE thing a fair trial...we'll see...

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: wahs

ok so after a couple of days getting used to it, i can say that the MXR CAE is a totally killer wah! lol. Hey - we are allowed to change our minds arent we?

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: wahs

There's no shame in that bro! It normally takes me at least a week to figure out how well I'm going to like anything. Sure you have some things that are instant gratification, but a lot of gear needs some tweaking and working with to get a feel for it. Pedals are like that and sometimes take even longer to get them settled in.

I have a CAE wah and a Green Rhino on order, but the place I ordered from is backordered.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: wahs

I have a newer Vox Clyde McCoy and a Duncan Crybaby Classic--neither one has displaced the 1971 vintage Thomas Organ Wah that I have on my pedalboard.

Bill

 

[Bludave]

Re: wahs

My first wah was a Gibson Boomerang. It was volume & Wah. It had a round 9v battery in it. Pretty cool but it really didn't sound very good. I hardly used a wah for a long time, but then added a Vox 847. Its a good wah but I felt it was lacking something. Then I bought a Vox Clyde McCoy and right out of the box it was a good wah. A few years back a very god friend who owned a music store/repair facility gave me a Thomas Organ Company Crybaby. Great wah, great that my buddy thought of me, but it sounded like crap and I stuck it in a drawer and forgot about it. Then I started talking to John Spina and long story short he modded a few Wahs for me. My TOC wah is now my main wah and it sounds awesome. Its a little worn out so I had to build up the gear with some duct tape so the pedal wouldn't just drop when I took my foot off of it, but it works great. He also modded my Vox 847 for me and that also is a great wah. It now has a pot on the side so I can adjust the sweep but I just try to get it to sound like my old one. So now I have 3 wahs. I have my old one on my main board, the Clyde on a board that I use with my Marshall and my Vox 847 that I use with my Fender Deluxe Reverb. Having 3 boards setup to run in three different amps works very well for me. They all sound a bit different but really good in there own sort of way.

 

[DankStar]

Re: wahs

I too like the wide sweep of a morley. Crybaby's are fun, but the sweep is pretty short after using a morley. that foxx fuzz-wah is probably worth some dinero these days. and maybe American money well, don't quote me on that.

 

[Mosher Zone]

Re: wahs

I have only ever had the same wah, the Dunlop GCB-95 that i got xmas 1990 :biglaugh: i tried a Morley once but did not like it as much. I keep meaning to get some others but there is always something else to get. I would like to get the Dimebag one & i saw a used Vox reissue in a pawn shop, in what way is that different to what i have?

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: wahs

I have only ever had the same wah, the Dunlop GCB-95 that i got xmas 1990 :biglaugh: i tried a Morley once but did not like it as much. I keep meaning to get some others but there is always something else to get. I would like to get the Dimebag one & i saw a used Vox reissue in a pawn shop, in what way is that different to what i have?

Depends on which VOX it is. The newish Clyde McCoy I have is the one I'd want to use if I was doing nothing but funk wah--"Theme From Shaft" parts--it's got a great clean wacka-wacka sound to it.

The CryBaby Classic is more rock sounding--more of an all-around pedal, a bit throatier than the VOX.

The Thomas Organ on my pedalboard is powered by the Furman's built-in 9V to the battery clip of the wah. That probably changes the tone somehat, especially over battery usage that it was designed for. This pedal has an aggressive gritty rock tone to it, yet it still has enough top-end to be useful for funk. Listen to Terry Kath of Chicago--specifically "I'm A Man"--and that's what my wah sounds like. Very different from the Vox.

Back in the late '60s, I had a VOX wah that was stolen from me in 1972. Now time changes things and memories fade--but I think that pedal might have been the best of the bunch. I remember being disappointed with the Crybaby when I got it, though over the years I have come to love it.

I wish I had that original vintage VOX back!!! And I have had TWO Fender Blender fuzz boxes stolen from me! I want those back back too!

Oh, wait...I guess that's a different kind of WAH!!!! LOL!

Bill

 

[Mosher Zone]

Re: wahs

Depends on which VOX it is. The newish Clyde McCoy I have is the one I'd want to use if I was doing nothing but funk wah--"Theme From Shaft" parts--it's got a great clean wacka-wacka sound to it.

The CryBaby Classic is more rock sounding--more of an all-around pedal, a bit throatier than the VOX.

The Thomas Organ on my pedalboard is powered by the Furman's built-in 9V to the battery clip of the wah. That probably changes the tone somehat, especially over battery usage that it was designed for. This pedal has an aggressive gritty rock tone to it, yet it still has enough top-end to be useful for funk. Listen to Terry Kath of Chicago--specifically "I'm A Man"--and that's what my wah sounds like. Very different from the Vox.

Back in the late '60s, I had a VOX wah that was stolen from me in 1972. Now time changes things and memories fade--but I think that pedal might have been the best of the bunch. I remember being disappointed with the Crybaby when I got it, though over the years I have come to love it.

I wish I had that original vintage VOX back!!! And I have had TWO Fender Blender fuzz boxes stolen from me! I want those back back too!

Oh, wait...I guess that's a different kind of WAH!!!! LOL!

Bill

I don't think it wil be that new but i'm pretty sure it's a reissue from the price but you never know. : )
I't sucks when somethimg gets stolen i had my 1970 50 watt Marshall Superlead stolen a few years back, i'm still pissed.

 

[SamusChief]

Re: wahs

I have my standard crybaby that I use. I tried the one on my amp, because I have the fancy expression pedal switch with my Peavey Vypyr, but it had all the warmth sucked from it. The crybaby seems to be versatile for Metal and Clean sounds.

 

[JOLLY]

Re: wahs

Hopefully XSSIVE will chime in. That dude's the biggest wah whore I think I've ever seen....and I mean that in a good way.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: wahs

my first wah was a Bad Horsie.. I know Im wahtarded, but I couldnt get a decent sound with that one.. Seems like it took forever when I released it before the effect would shut off.
I then got a Vox847. Its more wah like, but I think its shrill on the highs.

So many out there, I cant afford to try em all.. From what I hear, the Jerry cantrell may be cool.

 

[kjrocks]

Re: wahs

Cam, I know where you're coming from. I played my old Morley for over 15 years until I got the bug for something new a while back. Grabbed a Crybaby Classic and at first I didnt think I liked it because I couldnt just use it exactly as i did the Morley. After a few adjustments and changing my technique a little its become my new favorite and the Morely is off the board. The fuller, throatier feel of those inductors is just addicting

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: wahs

When I do use a wah......
Which is seldom at best...
I haul out my old JEN...
Dunno...it just doing its thing...not much else seems to make me wanna buy more of them...

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: wahs

i think you may be right garett! Im really digging the red fasel sound on the MXR, its got two inductors you can swap between and the yellow one is more classic vox. The red is deeper and fatter.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: wahs

I gigged an Original Dunlop Crybaby for at least ten years. Never really did like it. Wasn't true bypass, sucked tone, sucked volume (lost a db or two when turned-on), seemed rather unimpressive. Was always gonna do some mods to it, but just never got around to it.

So a few years ago I read a good review of the BBE wah in Guitar Player (got an editor's pick I think) and thought "what the heck". I had been leaning towards a Budda BudWah before that.

Anyways... I've been a happy camper ever since. The BBE has an adjustable sweep knob. I usually just leave it centered. It's just SO much sweeter-sounding than the Dunlop was. Plus, it's true bypass (I believe), and instead of getting quieter when engaged, it may actually get a hair louder -- which is okay with me because I normally only use the wah for lead stuff. I don't pretend to be a wah connisuer, so there may be others who find other wahs preferrable. But I wanted to throw that out there because I never see the BBE mentioned and I think it's a great wah. Sure KILLS the Crybaby I had.

 

[Mosher Zone]

Re: wahs

I gigged an Original Dunlop Crybaby for at least ten years. Never really did like it. Wasn't true bypass, sucked tone, sucked volume (lost a db or two when turned-on), seemed rather unimpressive. Was always gonna do some mods to it, but just never got around to it.

That is exactly the wah i have & have been gigging for 20 years. :biglaugh: but i kinda built my sound round the tone sucking.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: wahs

One thing that alot of people don't realize,but they hear,is the gain differences between the transistors and also the resistor values that control the gain to Q1...Then there's the inductor and pot and the correct marriage of all the components..