Looking for a new wah

[Phil M]

First of all, I do believe that trying stuff out is really the only test, but there are so many players here that I can't pass up the chance to glean from your experiences. Pedals that have piqued my interest are the Vox wah (847, I think, the chrome one), the Budda Bud wah, and maybe the Fulltone Clyde or Clyde guts for a Crybaby. A Vox is the only one I can try out locally.

I have a regular old Dunlop Crybaby, the standard unit, I think it just says "Crybaby" or "Classic Crybaby," something like that. I'm wondering what other wahs are out there that you like. The Crybaby is very usable, I'm just looking for something that might sound a little richer and have a wider sweep. I don't want any built in fuzz or anything.

Let me know.

 

[Burstboy]

Stock VOX is :dead: You need to mod it, and it will be killer. I have heard good things about the Budda. When you get into the Teese and Fulltone price ranges, though, you are a serious Wah guy and use it a lot. Not too many tinkering in that neighborhood. If you use it alot, I would say take the time to mod a VOX, which is a good deal. If price is no object, I would go Fulltone or Teese.

The guitarist in one of the popular Jazz-Funk bands here in Chicago uses a modified VOX...he uses a WAH 7 nights a week too and that's his choice. He has the real Nile Rodgers/Chic or "Shaft" rhythm-funk goin' on. He nails the Hendrix tone too.

 

[Marshallhead]

CRYBABY 535Q

Real nice unit-lots of different tones available-powered by 2 9v batteries or 18v power supply-variable sweep and boost

 

[Burstboy]

Oops...I forgot about that one.

 

[Dave Paetow]

One to look out for used is the JEN Cry Baby Super, they sold a ton of them in Canada in the '80's. They have a big WAH sound, I think it is because of that bright red Fasel inductor they used. They have a white rubber trim ring around the bottom plate.

Here is a stupidy rare wah for you, a pre-Clyde McCoy, pre-Italian, UK-made VOX wah. Geoffery Teese told me they are impossibly rare in the USA. All the time I had it I thought it was a homemade wah mounted in a Vox voulme pedal until John Catto set me straight. Thanks John!
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=135458&a=9394374&p=30756425&Sequence=1&res=high
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=135458&a=9394374&p=30756422&Sequence=0&res=high

 

[roadrunner]

Wahs

Buy a Fulltone Clyde and be happy.

 

[el84ster]

The cheapest, best way to go

I took my Vox wah, added a true bypass switch, and added the fulltone inductior and fulltone pot. Awesome and cheap.

 

[Lance Keltner]

WAAAAA

I have had several and the two that I liked the best were

Buda Wa

And a MJM electronics modded wa.

For the money the Buda is my favorite. It has a nice vocal sound to it and never gets toooo harsh.

 

[ElChivo]

http://www.realmccoycustom.com/

Anyone check these Wahs out? I know a guy who swears they are the best he's heard.

 

[Ken]

Yup. Teese are cool!

I have a Teese RMC Picture Wah and it's very nice. The exact wah tone I've been looking for--not shrill with a nice balanced tone.

Unfortunately, I haven't compared it to many out there other than a Vox reissue and a Mu-Tron.
-Ken

 

[Tonekat]

Jen wah pedal

Dave, that Jen pedal reminds me a lot of my Halifax fuzz-wah I purchased at Mannys in the early 70s (well...actually Dad bought it for me!).

 

[zoso714]

el84ster gets my vote. To me the regular Cry Baby was hard to find the 'notch' tone with. I tried the Vox and got closer. Then I got the wild hair and modded the Vox with the Mike Fuller parts and presto! Sounds like classic wah to my crappy ears anyway.

 

[Mr. Z]

To add to the confusion, another vote for the Teese(a.k.a. RMC, a.k.a. Real McCoy) wah. My RMC-1 does me right.

 

[GuitarG]

Check the latest 'Guitar Player' mag for a review of five of the best current models. Great article. The Buddah, Fulltone and Vox get high marks.

 

[Ross]

Teese RMC bad customer service

I have an RMC3. The foot switch failed within a month and RMC did not cover it under warranty. I feel that whan you spend $275 for a product all of the parts should be covered. RMC's policy is that they don't make the switch so they don't warranty it.

The RMC3 is a good sounding wah, but it has too many internal adjustments. I found that the settings I liked at home did not work in a band setting, so you have to take the bottom plate off and mess araound with pots, trimmers and switches.

Try the picture wah so you don't have to deal with the adjustments.

I also have a Clyde that I don't care for. It has a bit of gain that a wah usually dos not have. When I step on it I feel like I have to reach for my volume knob to compensate for the boost.

Try the Budda or maybe an old Vox King.

 

[EdA]

Well Ill throw another one into the mix, the Crybaby 535Q. I dont use a wah much anymore so I havent checked a lot of them. I was not happy with the normal Dunlop Crybaby, not a wide enough range so I got the Vox. I liked the tone of the Vox better, but talk about NOT true-bypass. That thing sucked tone to all hell. The amp sounded like it had a blanket over it. I also didnt like the abrupt shift as you moved through the pedal. The Crybaby is smoother, but I like the tone of the Vox better. So I modded the Vox with the Fulltone stuff which improved it. The true-bypass was effective, so the tone-sucking was gone, but it still wasnt that smooth. I found the answer with the 535Q Crybaby. Its true-bypass, very smooth, and with the Q control and treble range knobs I can get a much wider range of wah (and I think a great sounding wah) as compared to the regular Crybaby.

 

[Phil M]

The Budda definitely sounds like what I'm looking for so maybe Santa will bring it. My old Crybaby will do fine in the meantime.

 

[jono]

Where can I get the bypass and/or any other mods? My crybaby sucks so much tone I have to stop and plug it in when I need it.

 

[gregc]

Check the Fuller site for the true-bypass mod schematic.

gregc

 

[devastone]

Definitely do the true bypass mod, you can get the switches from www.mojotone.com and the schematics are at www.fulltone.com, it makes a world of difference. I have a Vox RI and I really like it with the true bypass, it sucked all my tone before.

-R