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There doesn't seem to be enough discussion of wah pedals on ILF, and it just so happens to be the next on my list of things to upgrade on my pedal board.

So yeah, what are some great wahs? What should one look for?

The Ernie Ball wah is hella-sweet, it has a huge sweep compared to your clyde's and cry-babys, which is really nice and expressive, super cool for 'half-cocked' tones too

Im about to buy an MXR CAE wah, i think it has great specs like a built in boost, two different inductors and true bypass. Its like 150 bucks on proguitarshop and i think its fair since a standard cry-baby is 99$

But i havent use wah that much and havent been able to compare everthing out there.

I have the Ernie ball wah. Love it. Massive sweep. The only thing I'd rid it for is a wizard wah. So gnarly.

Here's some info:

The Vox and Crybaby circuits (all of them) are virtually identical. Even the oddball "signature" models only vary by a few values. Same goes for the Boomerang circuit, which is a little different from the Vox/Crybaby, but not by much (like three resistors). All of the known inductor-based wahs work on the same principles in the same ways. Even Teese's stuff.

The differences come in how those component values are tweaked, and what kinds of extra controls you have over those components (extra switches, knobs, etc). The more, the better, in order to fine tune the wah to your taste. My recommendation is to get the cheapest wah you can find used and then mod it all to hell and back to see what you like. It's a pretty easy project, even among easy projects.

Here's the defacto wah mod page: http://stinkfoot.se/archives/557

Other things to consider in modding a wah are the inductor, the pot, and also the positioning of the rack and gear. Sometimes just adjusting the rack a little will turn a so-so wah into a great one, as this adjusts the top and bottom points of the sweep.



Wahs that don't use inductors are a different story. I believe the Ernie Ball is optical, and I know for a fact that Morley and George Dennis wahs are. These wahs are quite a bit different from inductor wahs, and are far less documented in terms of mods. The sound of these is a bit different. It's less hissy and harsh than an inductor wah. They are actually pretty much auto-wahs that have had the envelope control removed and a manual pot inserted.

I hate my Crybaby 535q. Shitty pots, always cutting out, not that much sweep...... the less cheap parts the better.........

I love my current crybaby, it is upgraded a bit nothing major just some love and hot potz

I sold the three I had before it though: I hate the felt under the switch It can't be the best solution. Anyone ever replace it with rubber?
Love the sweep on a morley but the onese i have all owned were tone suckers

Suprisingly before my current crybaby I used a behringer hellbabe and it is a better pedal than it gets credit for.

I think a big part of the discussion has to be where to stick the wah in the chain you can hate a wah in some spots and love it in others. In my opinion it would be after Germ Fuzzes and before OD and distortion and even som silicon fuzz.

Check out Wilson wahs, they rock. I'm using his Freaker wah, which is based on the Tycobrahe Parapedal. Think Geezer Butler's wah sound.

I used a Snarling Dogs Whino-Wah forever and a half. I think it was based on the cry baby. Had three sweep settings, a dual inductor mode, a built in boost. It's pretty awesome! It's big and the pedal is shaped like a foot. Nice sweep, sounds good clean, and sound awesome dirty. Jeff Beck used one for awhile, Dean Ween used one for awhile. And I used one for awhile. I also have a george dennis wah which is optical, has a real subtle sweep. It's built like a tank, but the bypass is a little..not there. I have an EHX worm, which has an LFO controlled wah, which is the chewiest funking wah I've heard. The new small box worms have an expression pedal control, which I need to mod my big box one to have.

Now I have an EHX tube zipper, and it sounds better, and I think I prefer envelope followers right now. The thing is you can't get fast wavering, and it's harder to get the cocked wah sound. But fuck it, its SOOOO much easier to play, and it sounds more consistent than it would with my foot.

I'm always holding out for a ZVex Wah. Or build my own wah based on an IR ranger (rocker-less wah like the zvex, but it'll be optical not RF)

My Vox wah is highly disappointing with my current guitars. The sweep and tone is all wrong, even though it sounded sweet with a nearly-identical SG Standard in the store into a Twin Reverb.

I like the budda wah for smooth Single notes stuff.
Just out of curiosity (and optics) i bought the Alice in chains wah recently. It is somehow more aggressiv and works better with distortion and fuzz... But i'm more the " Play wah mostly clean" guy...

maz91379 wrote:Buy arbitrary cheap wah pedal. Put a picture of richard gere inside the enclosure. You will have the best tone ever.

This is awesome. I'm already halfway there!

All wah's are pretty much the same on the inside, but sound different unit to unit, you just have to mess with the insides.

If you don't feel like doing that, just bring your guitar to GC and try 'em all out. But make sure you get the one you play, because two wahs, even the same model, often sound different.

IMO, YMMV, etc.

For any wah sounds I just use the vox setting on my ex-7. But if I ever got a dedicated wah it would be this one:


The guy that makes them offers tons of optional features and ever since I saw it I wanted it but never could justify it where I never use wah that much unless I'm by myself.