Wah: Yah or Nah?

xSkarloey

Time to sort the wahmen from the nahmen. 

Have you got a wah? 

Is it a mainstay on your board? 

Are you capable of using it without involuntarily starting to pull odd faces and making funny mouth shapes? 

I occasionally use wah when a tune demands it, but it's not a board mainstay, so I have a simple Vox wah which does the classic sound. That's enough for me. 

I previously had a Morley wah which is my least favourite of any pedal I've ever owned. 

I think I  like wah best for the Michael Schenker trick of moving it around somewhere in the mid range. 

Sporky

I like wah.

Not wacka-wacka wah. Slow sweep wah. God Machine sort of thing.

Marktigere1

I have had a Crybaby since 1989 and cannot live without it on my board.
Not waka....waka...waka but slow sweeps with an analogue delay.
Puts a smile on my face.

Sorry, just realised its what Sporky has just said.

TTBZ

I'veI've had a Vox wah on my board for years. I don't even use it that much at home but it's very useful to have especially in cover bands. Can kinda simulate a phaser/flange sound (well, close enough for most punters ears) and lots of cheesy solos use em. Considered doing some mods to it but don't want to mess it up with my haphazard soldering skills.

hugbot

wah is for bumsniffers

dindude

Keep buying them. Keep not using them. Keep selling them. Rinse and repeat.

Sporky

Marktigere1 said:

Sorry, just realised its what Sporky has just said.

You should never apologise for validating my world-view.

These days my wah is on the Helix, but I approve wholeheartedly of the with-delay thing. Also wah with really, really slow phaser (and delay, of course). You can get some nice interactions between the two sorts of filtering.

slacker

I've got a fulltone one with the switch and a robotalk which is an autowah amongst other things. I'm using  the fulltone one on my small board at the moment. I do a slow sweep rather than shaftesque  stuff

Slimbert

LOVE wah! Currently own 6 of them with two regularly on my board.

It's good for rhythm parts, little licks here and there and great for solos....wouldn't be without it.

Some people over use it though....Kirk Hammett definitely springs to mind!

DesVegas

I recently bought a Dimebag which is excellent and will be a mainstay on my board (although it is on the floor rather than the board) I use it mainly to add flavour to riffs rather than a rythmn enhancer. EDIT - The wah is now on my board

digitalscream

It wasn't for a long time, but I've written a couple of songs which require it for the rhythm parts and I've even bought a new MIDI controller so I can fit the wah back on my board (Ibanez Weeping Demon Jr).

Honestly, I think wah is great if used sparingly. If it becomes a fundamental part of your sound, it just gets boring and tends to obscure what you're playing altogether (see: Kirk Hammett, Slash).

d8m

I like it when its not overused.


Cannot use one myself though, complete lack of coordination!

Sassafras

I like wah when other people use it.
I've got a Fender fuzz/wah which is OK but I'm a bit of a spazz when it comes to using it.

Grunfeld

I have a Dimebag CBFH and it does the two wah sounds I really love:
1)  Schenker -- just cos that honk is never old
2)  underwater wah from the depths! -- cos it's fun!

fretmeister

Roland

There's been a Cry Baby on my board since forever. A friend gave me one in 1969, eventually it wore out, and I replaced it in the 80s. It was always was a bit clunky to turn on and off. Who hasn't forgotten to turn it off and wondered what was wrong with your sound?

The recent revelation has been auto switching, which the AxeFX provides. It's not just that you don't have to remember to turn it off. You can stab it on for a short phrase without pausing in your playing, or end a song by going Whaooow.

The only song where I use wah throughout is our version of Superstition. The rest is all spur of the moment stuff. In a quiet verse I might hit a chord and rock the pedal in time with the music. If we need to string out a song with an extra solo I might use wah to provide variety. Occasionally I'll give a single note the Whaoow treatment. If the singer cracks a bad joke I might use the wah, along with finger slides on the 2nd and 3rd strings, to do a wolf whistle.

fretmeister

I've got a few wahs and I like them.

The Helix does most of it now, and following the trend I like to use it as a slower effect.

If I want quicker then I'll use an envelope filter.

guitarfishbay

The best one I've heard was the Dunlop CFH Dime Wah.  But I still sold it, never used it much in the end.  

littlegreenman

Definite Yah for me, full size Weeping Demon. Built like a tank, and about the same size! I've owned a few wah's and it's far the best I've had.

Worst I ever used was a Morley power wah, utterly useless range, for me.

professorben

dindude said:

Keep buying them. Keep not using them. Keep selling them. Rinse and repeat.

This, first pedal I ever got, last pedal I ever use.

professorben

Actually I did use to use it a lit, but only wobbling over the q really quickly simulating a Leslie type thing.