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December 2005
Posts: 117
| Can someone teach me about wahs? I've never tried one and I want to. How do they work? Are auto wah's good or bad?
I was really interested in the funk sound of a band I like, but what got me wanting a wah pedal really bad was when the singer of the band plays an acoustic clean with a wahed version of the same acoustic behind it: http://astroknot.net/audio/2001_01_11_joey_WDST/Paint_By_Number.mp3
I don't know anything about wahs though. I'll probably go check a couple out tomorrow, but I just thought I'd ask first. |
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Posts: 1421
Location: Orange County, California | In its most basic form, it's just a fancy tone knob you turn with your foot, but there is really much more in there. At any fixed point in the sweep, it's pretty boring, but when you move it while you strum, something magical happens. The Dunlop Crybaby is a good place to start. The Zvex Wah Probe is the coolest one I've seen. A good auto-wah that responds well to your picking is really cool, but expensive. Best I've seen is on the TC Electronics G System.
Have fun with it. just don't get carried away :D |
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Posts: 1673
Location: SoCal | 
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Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | Now it's all perfectly clear.... |
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December 2004
Posts: 1673
Location: SoCal | You should read the next 4 technical pages of the Patent...
Here\'s a little article with sound samples.
This article is for the gearhead. |
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December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | sounds more like an auto wah to me than a wah pedal |
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December 2004
Posts: 1673
Location: SoCal | wah, wah, wah, what? |
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July 2005
Posts: 3410
Location: GA USA | I realize cheaters never win, and winners never cheat, but if you want to cheat...
I have a Digitech RP200 that has a wah and an autowah (the same as an envelope filter - a level dependent wah), AND phase, flange, yah, amp models, delays... it has an expression pedal you can assign to one of the different aspects of each voice (use it to control the volume, or the amount of effect, or gain...)
It gives you a lot of toys for not much money.
The wah you control with your foot
The autowah you control with how hard you strike the string - it would get a little boring if used all the time. |
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Posts: 7236
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Wah Wah's are fun. One of those "toys" that really has a lot of uses. As someone suggested, start with a CryBaby. A re-issue is fine. After you get used to it, you will then be able to decide if you want more or less of some aspect of it and there are other Wah Wah's that will meet your bill.
Some examples of features. A Morley or Rockman are "optical" Wah's that don't use a pot to change the tone but rather move an opaque strip between and LED and a sensor. The result, is these are very quiet. Then amongst the models of Morley are ones that are also volume pedals when not in Wah more. Or the Bad Horsey which has really extreme tonal change and always returns to the "bypass" position when you remove your foot. Sometime leaving the Wah in one position, gets the sound you need too, a little midrange punch.
But again, start with a Cry Baby. You may find you want a T-Wah or Auto-Wah. I forget the difference, but I believe the T-Wah reacts to your playing and the Auto just continues to go Wah Wah Wah at whatever speed you set. I could have it backwards.
I have a DOD, a Rockman Wah/Vol and a Cry Baby. |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | My new P.A. has an AutoWah in the DigitalEffects bank (why? - I have NO idea!!), but you're right might Miles, turning the "parameter" control just increases rate/speed . . . pretty much a waste.
Get a pedal. |
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February 2004
Posts: 2487
| Got an old MORLEY from one of our OFC friends in CA a while back don't use the Wha much but it is cool as hell to mess with. My music sets just don't call for it but I use this Pedal constantly for the Volume function.
I would suggest if your looking for one buy one that is more than just a Wha Wha pedal, many of them are built to do both. The volume pedal is more exspressive and virsital anyway.
Randy |
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November 2004
Posts: 4413
| If anybody remembers The Scorpions, Germany's greatest gift to rock music, Michael Schenker's sound was a Gibson Flying V, a half-cocked Vox Wah and a wall of Marshalls.
Freaking awesome...... |
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October 2005
Posts: 4071
Location: Utah | Originally posted by mtnbikerfred:
In its most basic form, it's just a fancy tone knob you turn with your foot, but there is really much more in there. Yeah, it's really a band-pass filter that filters out frequencies above and below. A tone knob is really just a low-pass filter that lets the bass through and filters out frequencies above the set point. Turning the knob adjusts the set point frequency higher or lower, letting in more or less treble, but always letting the bass through.
But the wah has a moving center frequency. Moving the pedal changes the center frequency, which moves the bass and treble set points. At one extreme it is like a tone control set to 0, letting bass through but no treble. At the other end it lets all the treble through but no bass. In between the extremes it filters out some bass and some treble, letting through the midranges.
Figure 3 in that patent posted by Noah shows it. |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | If it wasn't for the wah-wah (and "cheesy" moustaches), 70's porn woulda' been TOTALLY different . . . |
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October 2005
Posts: 5331
Location: Cicero, NY | "If it wasn't for the wah-wah (and "cheesy" moustaches), 70's porn woulda' been TOTALLY different . . ."
High school too. In fact, I just got rid of my cheesy 70's porn 'stache last year.
Highly underrated. |
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December 2001
Posts: 7236
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | All three basic styles, of Wah Wah, T-Wah and Auto-Wah have their place. The Auto-Wah is basically a two-trick pony most useful on big open chords, or chicken-scratch'n. Both of these effects can be achieved with a regular Wah Wah pedal. The T-Wah is a one trick pony, but it's a really cool trick. Although to some extent you can emulate a T-Wah with a regular Wah, it's near impossible to snap your ankle fast enough and consistently enough based on your attack on each note to really do it any justice.
Again, if you are experimenting with a Wah for the first time, you can't beat a Cry Baby to hang of it. |
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August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | I have a old Cry Baby made by Thomas Organ Company of Sepulveda, CA that I got many, many moons ago. It's old, it's noisy, and it's fun as hell. Some cool wah work is being done by Henry Garza of Los Lonely Boys ... check him out if you can. |
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Wah wah wah wah
