# Simple Wah-wah



## Polofiesta (Jul 6, 2009)

Just need a simple wah that has enough power thats below $100 nothing fancy but wil do its job..Any suggestions?


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

I'm in the process of sorting out my wah needs. I won't go into it here, but needless to say I paid more than $100 for a U.S. made unit, and it's had some issues. The long and the short of it is, wahs that go for $100 are not going to "do the job" for long. if at all. These are VERY mechanical pedals. They take a lot of abuse, and the quality of the parts matter. Forum member David Henman is selling a Fulltone Clyde wah for $150. This is a good price for a very decent wah pedal. Save yourself the aggravation, and stay away from the entry level Vox and Crybaby pedals. They're that cheaply made and lousy sounding.

Shawn


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

rugburn is correct, under $100 wont get you much.
however, i can make a good point on the dunlop crybaby-
i have 2 of them, both have been kicking around with me since the mid eighties. i was never much of an effects guy, but over the years they got used a fair bit- doing the hendrix thing yu know-
both developed the scratchy pot problem- and several times i was able to clean the pots, but after a while the pots needed replacing. so i just packed them away, as i wasnt playing much electric anyway.
recently i dug one out and got a new pot for it ($20 for brand new replacement)
greased up the hinge and its good to go. like it was when new.
easy to adjust, easy to repair, solid housing (mine have never broken and im rough on things)

not the best sounding- but they are cheap and easy, if indeed you cant exceed the $100 price.


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## Ripper (Jul 1, 2006)

and there are a pile of easy and cheap mods for the crybabys to really open them up. I got rid of all the booooteeeek wahs I had and only have my modded crybabys now (except for an old Ibanez WH-10 and an old early 70's Royal Fuzz Wah). Don't overlook a used crybaby and a little tweaking.


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## gproud (Mar 2, 2006)

The new Jimi Hendrix wah is really nice. I've been using it for a while now and it's very simple, and can be had for less than $100.00 used. Plus it looks great. I will be selling mine soon (shameless spam) as I'm getting an M13 and I plan to get an expression pedal or 2 to use the new wahs in it. But it's a great wah IMO.


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## gagibson (Jul 15, 2009)

I've switched up from the basic Crybaby because it had serious squeaking issues. Now I use the Dunlop 535Q which I absolutely love and haven't had a single glitch with it yet


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## keeperofthegood (Apr 30, 2008)

>+> I lucked out. I got my cry baby from L&M from the used table for 30 bucks 


Issues: 

Squanky Motion
Scratchy sound
limited region of effect
switch is hit or mis if it turns it on OR off


XD BUT for 30, I am not complaining. I have tools and will one sunny afternoon pull it to parts and play.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

If you are in Toronto, get some of this stuff from the manufacturer in Thornhill, and apply it to whatever wah you get. You will need to take the pot out and pry the back off to use the substance. However, one applilcation will assure that you get years and years and years of crackle-free performance from the pot. I can give you more details if you PM me.


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## bduguay (Jul 15, 2009)

What is about stabilant that will fix noisy wah pots but increase the noise in volume pedal pots?
B.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Has that been your experience? Certainly hasn't been mine. What up wit dat?

On the other hand, if applied to an older pot that has not been cleaned *first*, I can see that happening. After all, it is not a cleaner.


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## bduguay (Jul 15, 2009)

Yup, a cleaned up a noisy pot + stabilant = amplified noise.
However, it's likely the pot in question is just plain worn out or pooched. I don't want to hijack the whole wah topic but, beside pure wear and tear, what causes the noise in a noisey pot?
B.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Noise = any sort or source of momentary discontinuity during wiper movement

So, residue, eroded resistive strip, dust particles, etc.


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## Andy (Sep 23, 2007)

gproud said:


> The new Jimi Hendrix wah is really nice. I've been using it for a while now and it's very simple, and can be had for less than $100.00 used. Plus it looks great. I will be selling mine soon (shameless spam) as I'm getting an M13 and I plan to get an expression pedal or 2 to use the new wahs in it. But it's a great wah IMO.


This.

I totally overpaid for mine, but I don't regret it one bit. Fantastic sounding wah.

Also, to the OP: Geoff is cool to deal with, I'd be taking a good look at his pedal when it comes on the market.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

mhammer said:


> Noise = any sort or source of momentary discontinuity during wiper movement
> 
> So, residue, eroded resistive strip, dust particles, etc.


Oops, I forgot one. DC voltage, like in the Z-Vex SHO pedal.


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

fraser said:


> rugburn is correct, under $100 wont get you much.
> however, i can make a good point on the dunlop crybaby-
> i have 2 of them, both have been kicking around with me since the mid eighties. i was never much of an effects guy, but over the years they got used a fair bit- doing the hendrix thing yu know-
> both developed the scratchy pot problem- and several times i was able to clean the pots, but after a while the pots needed replacing. so i just packed them away, as i wasnt playing much electric anyway.
> ...


The Crybaby wahs of the mid eighties are not the same as what you get today. Though the wahs of 25 years ago are nothing special tonally, they are decently built. They are heavy duty with few plastic parts, strong jacks and decent pots. Today the wah market seems two-tiered: Cheapo stuff for the big chain stores, and very pricey "boutique" type pedals. Over the years I've owned a Crybaby/Dunlop, Ibanez FuzzWah, Vox Wah and the Zakk Wylde Crybaby Wah. The ZW wah is the best of the bunch by leaps and bounds, but has had problems and is less than 3 years old. Is the Jimi wah you guys are talking about the purple one from DigiTech, or the Crybaby model? I wasn't overly thrilled with the Dunlop model, but I haven't tried the DigiTech
pedal. The DigiTech wah seems a little cheesy, but can't say 'til I try it.

Shawn :smile:


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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

*Bud Wah*

You can find a used Budda Bud Wah for $100. I don't think mine was much more. An awesome wah. I had been through a few Dunlops. Not for me. The Bud was is here to stay. I love it and quite my search for a wah that suits me.


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## guitarsmark (Jun 1, 2009)

I have a modded wah - my buddy Jeff in Toronto modded it and it is from the early 90's. Has the Green PCB in it, but the pot has been swapped out, (i believe) and some minor mods to the sound of it. I love it, and have tried a few others (the tremonti morley, bad horsie, the Vox etc... ) can't really find any that I would rather have, though I haven't had the chance to try a budda bud wah


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

You can't go wrong with Morley. I got a 50 dollar used one with a fuzz circuit. It acted as a volume pedal when the wah was switched off too. It was dirty as hell when I got it, and had been abused, but the optical circuit was really good sounding and never failed or made ugly noise.


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## Thames (Oct 19, 2009)

VOX V847 and BBE Ben Wah (getting some pretty good reviews!).

Or the classic CryBaby with some mods.


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## SkyFire_ca (Jul 16, 2007)

used a musicman/ernie ball one the other day, can't say it had a particularly vintage flavour, by any stretch, but it had the best range i've ever used, perfect mid-wah voicing. no shrill top, no missing bass.. full sweep of the wah covered only the perfect mid of a regular crybaby...

just sayin, neat alternative...


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## anchor (Mar 22, 2009)

I have a Teese RMC1 (New blue one with Fuzz Friendly Circuit) for $140 shipped. Please email me if you are interested.


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