I'm crap with wah - help me out

clarkefan

Another thing to try with the tough switch problem is to superglue a 5p piece on the top of the switch. It might not seem a lot but it makes all the difference.
And +1 on the technique practice. I went through my share of wahs trying to find one with that clucking wacka-wacka Shaft sound, turned out it was me not getting the rhythm right, not the wah. Sorting that out was a good day

ESBlonde

Mount the pedal on a board so it stays put (chain link type and screws).
Stick a pad under the rocker wheer the switch touches so it activates easier (peel it off if you don't like it).
Use your dominant foot and practice sitting and standing. Less is more, a single sweep into a lead break or middle eight is subtle and engaging. Cocked Wah is effective when done right, particularly with some dirt tones although clean too.

BTW I too was gigging for over 20 years before I 'got' the Wah thing. I bought one and fiddled around for a year before it became a feature of my board. A bit of dirt, some chorus, echo and a wah enables you to do solos that piss off the keyboard players because of the rich tone and expresion you can get into it.

Cabicular

I have a Buddah wah that sounds great
For the avoidance of doubt I actually put my full weight on it when activating it (my other foot comes of the ground ) I've kind of incorporated into a bit of stagecraft by exaggerating it.
The next thing that I found is for some reason I am far better with my left foot than my right so it may be worth switching feet and trying that

Moltisanti

i've never got one wah live either, i let my FX8 magically auto-wah for me and it sounds fantastic, had lots of compliments on my wah tone and i don't have to waggle my foot around like a pillock

Ro_S

would a cheap little bypass looper help?

mike_l

A switchless wah helps for the on/off issues. My personal choice is the Ibanez Weeping Demon.

Bit big and ungainly though.

It does have a switchable mode if you want to use a part-cocked position.

sweepy

I love my old Boss PW-10, it's battered to hell but still one of the most versatile way pedals out there

PolarityMan

Crybaby style wahs with the switch on the toe side are fundamentally problematic to a lot of uses of wah because they by necesity activate the wah at the top of its sweep.

This means you cant move seamlessly into a wah sweep, particularly if you're paying with a lot of gain where you will often get a squeal of feedback even if you are muting while you activate the wah (although I find that because the parts blend together I rarely have the opportunity to be playing nothing before activating the wah anyway).

So although Im sure you can get good sounds out of any wah from a usability perspective, for me at least it has to be switchless (or I guess the switch on the heel side, or a side switch could work).

In terms of dipping in and out of the mix a lot of that is about learning the sweet spot of your wah, if you are quite low in the mix you might find there is only quite a narrow band of useful travel, and the size of that band is going to change every time you use the wah. There isn't really a solution other than to use your ears while you are playing, starting the sweep from below helps with this.

You dont say how you are using the wah really, I dont go in much for the funky wikka-wakka type stuff, I use it more like how a filter cut off is used in synths to provide movement / interest to certain parts as well as for some "humanising" on certain lead parts.

shaunyshaun1234

I had one of these :-</p>

http://www.thomann.de/gb/ibanez_wd7_weeping_demon.htm

And it was bloody brilliant (if on the large side).

You can set the pedal so it springs back into place when you take your foot off, or you can have it unsprung so you can set it to a specific position.

It also has a setting where as soon as your put you foot on and start moving, it automatically engages the wah effect.

Not to mention the parameters that you can change.

If I had to get another wah, it would 100% be this.

PolarityMan

Yep it'ds what I use...great pedal

UnclePsychosis

Its such a shame that the weeping demon

1. Has such a stupid name

2. Is so bloomin' big

I bet the silly name costs them a lot of sales from people who assume its for metalheads. I know I did, for a long time.

mort

What about the Mooer Wahter Wah? It's optical and tiny......

PolarityMan

UnclePsychosis said:

Its such a shame that the weeping demon

1. Has such a stupid name

2. Is so bloomin' big

I bet the silly name costs them a lot of sales from people who assume its for metalheads. I know I did, for a long time.

But then dont people rave about the super hardon?