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After months of threatening to mod a wah, I've finally done it! :D

I used the Stinkfoot wah mods as my general guide:
http://www.stinkfoot.se/andreas/diy/mods/dunlop.htm

I first removed the buffer components. I also noticed that the Stinkfoot guide leaves in C11, even though that is part of the buffer, so I removed that as well. There is a discrepancy also with the position of the 68K input resistor (mine is in a different spot than the Stinkfoot photos, even though it's a Rev G board). So if you guys are planning to mod your wah, double check the values and positions before you desolder.

I upped the gain a tad by lowering the input resistor and the emitter bias resistor on Q1. I also replaced about half of the resistors with higher quality components of the same value. And I also replaced the 4u7 cap with a tant, and the pair of 10n box caps with nicer (AVX) box caps. I figured I might as well replace that stuff while I was under the hood.

I replaced the 33K resistor in parallel with the inductor with a 100K pot ("vocal" mod). I used a screw-adjust pot and mounted it as flush as possible. I figure I won't be adjusting this all the time, but cracking the case to fiddle with a trimmer is a pain. This also takes up less space (on a pedal board) than a traditional pot and knob. The screw slot on the pot is wide enough to allow a pick to make the adjustment, so that worked out well.

I went with true bypass sans LED. I just can't see myself needing the indicator, but I can see where some people would find it useful.

Wahs are very under appreciated on ILF. I've got three Crybabies that I want to mod. I'll go open them up and see what version they are and see if I can try out your mods on one of 'em. Thanks for this, man.

Well played on that screw-adjust pot. Looks great! Smart idea.

kosta wrote:Well played on that screw-adjust pot. Looks great! Smart idea.

And it's a sealed pot!

Nice work! I actually did some of these a couple weeks ago to my hendrix crybaby. Added a switch to use it as volume only, or wah, too. Still haven't true bypassed it, that's the last thing I need to do. Glad you posted that pic, easier to see how the switch is wired. May I ask why such a long lead was used on the crossover of the switch (the red wire on the 3pdt)?

Jero wrote: May I ask why such a long lead was used on the crossover of the switch (the red wire on the 3pdt)?

It's easier than trying to get it to fit exactly. And it makes no difference in tone, noise, etc.

I decided to go for a fun paint job.

Once it dries, I'll post some final shots.

Came out pretty good, I think.





Here's a comparison between stock and painted:

That looks great, really nice.

I went with purple on mine when I painted the top part . I really wish it was bright blue. I almost left it bare metal, which kind of looked like yours but obviously not as shiny.

Did you notice how if you barely sand them you can get an awesome flat black powder coat look? Reallllll smooth like.

Jero wrote:Did you notice how if you barely sand them you can get an awesome flat black powder coat look? Reallllll smooth like.

I didn't sand it. I just oversprayed. This auto touch-up paint is awesome like that.


By the way, I almost went with metallic blue. Maybe on the next one. I have another wah (the comparison wah in the photo above) with a red Fasel, so I'll probably mod that one as well.

culturejam wrote:

Jero wrote:Did you notice how if you barely sand them you can get an awesome flat black powder coat look? Reallllll smooth like.

I didn't sand it. I just oversprayed. This auto touch-up paint is awesome like that.

Oh, well damn , I went the hard way...took everything apart sanded it down, painted, baked, etc. I only did 1 or 2 coats though so it's chipped already where I dropped it. Thinking about re-doing it...white maybe?