Let's talk about wah pedals...

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I've got two Hendrix wah's if anybody is interested in buying.
 
SgtThump":12atcijo said:
I'm on the hunt for a new wah. I know without a doubt that I love the deep growly tone from the Dunlop Jimi Hendrix wah, but I hate how it sucked the tone when shut off. One option is to get another one, but then mod it for true bypass.

Another option is to find another wah with that same deep tone, but maybe has more features or just sounds better when it's off and still in the signal chain.

I went by GC yesterday before the gig and played around with the Bad Horsie 2. Hmmm, I think I like it! It has that deep tone too, right? I didn't get to compare it side-by-side with the Dunlop JH, but I think I liked what I heard from it. I almost bought it to use at the gig last night and try out at home with my own stuff, but kinda backed out of the idea at the last second. I also compared it out of the chain and in the chain and I don't think I noticed tone suckage? Can anyone confirm this?

Also considering the Fulltone Clyde (regular, not deluxe), because it SHOULD have that same deep tone I like, but I'm not sure. It's kinda expensive too.

Thoughts?
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As a previous Teese RMC3 owner, I heartily recommend the Fulltone Clyde. It has a very wide range, and I think it's worth every penny. It's also a VERY transparent sounding wah, in the sense that once you turn it on, it does what it does without sucking tone or making things sound "flat". True bypass, too. It doesn't have all of the RMC3 tomfoolery built in to adjust the sound, but I don't think it really needs it.

I have some bad band practice clips up at http://www.myspace.com/cheshiregrinil. The funk jam has the most ubiquitous use of the Clyde.
 
Anyone recommend someone who mods Crybabys? I've thought about having my old one modded for tone change and for true-bypass, but I don't know who does this sort of thing?
 
i have a crybaby classic. i don't really like the sweep, but it is true bypass and doesn't suck tone in off position.

anyway, i think these wahs have the best sounding clips i've heard.

http://www.gig-fx.com/products/MegaWah/megawah.htm

megawah250black.jpg
 
The EVH wah sounds cool to me:

The EVH95 Signature Crybaby Wah Pedal is a member of the celebrated EVH Signature Series that was developed after intensive design collaboration with the legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
Early on in the process, Eddie handed over his "Holy Grail" Crybaby-a standard Crybaby customized in the early Nineties with a more vocal-like, High Q inductor and a wider frequency sweep. Amazingly, Dunlop found that over the years Eddie's unique wah style, which uses mostly the middle range of the effect pedal's action, had carved his own curve into the pot's resistive element, making the middle range even more defined and increased the low end sweep.

Dunlop's clones of the worn-in pot and hand-selected inductor give the EVH-95 the same "Holy Grail" feel and tone, and it's true hardwire bypass, dual bright blue bypass LEDs, and graphics based on the black and yellow-striped guitar featured on Van Halen II round out this EVH-approved Crybaby Wah Pedal with a voice and look all its own.

Dunlop EVH95 Eddie Van Halen Signature Wah Guitar Effects Pedal Features:

Clone of EVH worn-in pot
Hand-selected inductor
True hardware bypass
Bright blue bypass LED
Black and yellow striped graphics
EVH approved
 
SgtThump":1g60ovd4 said:
bravedude2":1g60ovd4 said:
crybaby 535q
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Had one. Didn't bond with it.

Okay, here are the wah's I've owned in 20 years:

Original Crybaby - not the tone I'm after & MAJOR tone suckage
Dunlop 535Q - not the deep tone I'm after
Dunlop Hendrix - love the tone, but major tone suckage
Budda BudWah - didn't dig it

I think that's it. As you can see, my list is very short. Out of those, I liked the Hendrix the best BY FAR. Much more what I want to hear. I guess the most logical thing to do is get a Hendrix wah and mod it. The Bad Horsie does intrigue me alot, though.
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Hey Chris, do you have a clip or an example of the deep tone you're after? I have a 535q and it can get mighty deep and dirty.
 
I thought the original crybaby was true bypass? I don't use wah much but have a 10 year old crybaby, I always assumed it was true bypass lol...
 
SgtThump":1mb1bda7 said:
Bob Savage":1mb1bda7 said:
I've got two Hendrix wah's if anybody is interested in buying.
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Really? I could be interested.
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Yep, I've got two, one is the "original" one and one's a later revision. At least, the panel on the bottom is labeled a little differently so I'm assuming they're different revisions. I can pull them out and shoot pics tomorrow.
 
I recorded the wah in the beginning of this song with a Dunlop Crybaby From Hell. Have you checked those out? Compared to my 535q, it has a deeper sound to it, although I can easily cop that tone with my 535q.
 
If you're good with a soldering iron and understand electronics, mod your own. There are plenty of mod instructions/kits out there. I modded mine and my other guitar player's wah. I have a Dunlop GCB-95 (standard, non-true bypass) and he had the Jimi Hendrix wah. When I opened them up they were identical inside save for a couple resistor value differences and he paid $20-30 more for his. The PCBs were the exact same revision. We bought this kit (though not for that much I don't think) and I did the mods and our wahs sound great. Later I bought the "coveted" red Fasel inductor and put it in. There's pretty much no difference in sound, so if you want to save $18 just leave it out. From all the reading I've done online, the circuit around the inductor will change the sound more so than the inductor itself. The instructions on that kit aren't great so if you want to get it I can rewrite them for you. Hell, if you want more info I'll give you the parts list and if you have the wherewithal you can get them yourself and probably save $30. All you have to do is remove the buffer circuit, replace maybe four resistors and two capacitors and put a 3PDT switch in. Drill a hole for the LED, wire it all up and you're set. Below are some blurry camera-phone shots of the guts and with the LED on.

Now my other guitar player's wah and my wah are identical internally, sound sick and we have pride in saying we custom modified them. If you want to go to the next level you can do more research and put trimpots or external pots in to control gain, mids, Q, etc.

Just my $0.02... :thumbsup:
 

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The directions that came with the mod kits weren't very intuitive at all. Being electrical engineers, we were expecting a lot more in the way of a clear concise step-by-step process for assembly. However, it seemed that the instructions were intended for someone who hadn't any clue about anything in the electrical realm. Even still, the directions were very lacking and I feel that if we did not have the background in EE going into the modding of the pedals, it would have been a very difficult process. That being said, if you do intend to do your own, get the directions from Gino and save yourself a lot of headaches. If you choose another mod kit, be sure to go through every thing and make sure it all makes sense before taking your pedal apart.

Just my $0.02.
 
SgtThump":3hksl6tn said:
Gino":3hksl6tn said:
If you're good with a soldering iron and understand electronics, mod your own...
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Thanks, that's definitely an option I should consider. Probably the cheapest option too. I'm actually pretty good with a soldering iron, but I don't have much knowledge of electronics. With clear instructions, I could easily do the mods myself. But they have to be clear! I don't know enough to figure something out myself, that's for sure.

The only thing I really "require" if I go Dunlop is the true bypass. But that LED is an awesome option too!
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I take back what I said. You don't really need to understand electronics to mod your own. It just helps quite a bit. The instructions that I had were somewhat cryptic so when I figured out that they just wanted me to solder to ground, I figured it out from there. I'll try to work up some clear instructions on what I did (maybe during Thanksgiving weekend?) and send them over. Honestly, if you're going to go through the trouble of converting your wah to true bypass, then I would highly recommend the other mods because it makes the wah sound so much better in my opinion. So much throatier and wraaaaaaaaaaahhh-y. :D
 
Gino":35j54c9k said:
SgtThump":35j54c9k said:
Gino":35j54c9k said:
If you're good with a soldering iron and understand electronics, mod your own...
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's definitely an option I should consider. Probably the cheapest option too. I'm actually pretty good with a soldering iron, but I don't have much knowledge of electronics. With clear instructions, I could easily do the mods myself. But they have to be clear! I don't know enough to figure something out myself, that's for sure.

The only thing I really "require" if I go Dunlop is the true bypass. But that LED is an awesome option too!
Click to expand...
I take back what I said. You don't really need to understand electronics to mod your own. It just helps quite a bit. The instructions that I had were somewhat cryptic so when I figured out that they just wanted me to solder to ground, I figured it out from there. I'll try to work up some clear instructions on what I did (maybe during Thanksgiving weekend?) and send them over. Honestly, if you're going to go through the trouble of converting your wah to true bypass, then I would highly recommend the other mods because it makes the wah sound so much better in my opinion. So much throatier and wraaaaaaaaaaahhh-y. :D
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+1

The LED is a huge bonus also.
 
I'm definitely on board with HBE. CHeck out their wah. It's very nasty sounding (in a good way). Clips on their site.
 
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