need some wah help

[parntz145]

I am looking to buy a wah pedal. What do you think is the best brand to go with? I want a true bypass and am thinking of either the Morley bad horsie II or a dunlop. What do you think?

[thurston]

Re: need some wah help

The Bad Horsie sounds pretty cool. It's not true bypass. I don't know how the bypass is. I'd use something like that, but due to the switchless system and the fact that the treadle is spring loaded, you can't park the wah and use it like an EQ.

The Dunlop 535Q is true bypass and has a ton of cool features, and I've heard great things about the Vox V848, but that's more of a vintage voiced wah.

[parntz145]

Re: need some wah help

Does the Dunlop 535Q automatically shut off when you take your foot off the pedal? Does it color your tone at all or is the true bypass work? They say a lot of these things have true bypass and the are nothing but tone suckers.

[toejam]

Re: need some wah help

Go Vox. Dunlop Crybabies are too harsh and trebly... unless you get one that's got the adjustable Q features, like the 535Q. Also, there is a switchless Crybaby, the 95Q, I believe it is. Or why not just get a modded one from Jgcable? [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[parntz145]

Re: need some wah help

Whats a good model that vox makes?

[toejam]

Re: need some wah help

I can't remember the model numbers of the Vox offhand, but I've heard nothing but great things about them. My cousin actually has one, and it's awesome. Also, I've got a Crybaby modded by Jgcable to Vox specs... it's got a kind of vocal mod that makes it closer to Jimi Hendrix's, less treble and more musical. Also, Dunlop does make a couple Hendrix wahs that I believe are similar.

[jgcable]

Re: need some wah help

For stock I would go with a Bad Horsie 2. For Dunlop I would go for wither a stock 535Q or a modded GCB-95.
Hippietim knows alot about the boutique wahs.

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: need some wah help

Morley Bad Horsie 2 for me as well. It's not a tone sucker from my understanding and my experience... I've tried it in front of my amp, in front of my GT-6 which is in front of my amp, in the effects loop, etc. No degradation in tone. I did not know that when I bought it originally, since I bought it for its switchless feature (I have no foot coordination! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] ). I was very pleasantly surprised.

I almost ALWAYS use the Contour mode on the Bad Horsie 2. Makes the pedal more vocal sounding and variable. It gives me all the different Satriani-style wah sounds that I need and more.

[guitarsjb]

Re: need some wah help

I have the Bad Horsie...love it.

[Boxcar Willie 84]

Re: need some wah help

The plain old Dunlop Crybaby isn't that cool, unless you get it modded by JGCable. The Vox ones sound good, but they don't take AC power and they don't have a little trapdoor for a battery on the bottom-so you have to take the whole bottom off to replace batteries. I use the Jimi Hendrix wah, and I love it, the 535Q and the Dimebag wah are great as well. If you wanna spend more money, Fulltone and RMC probably make the best ones out there.

[nonamemx]

Re: need some wah help

I have a Bad Horsie 1, and it doesnt have true bypass, but an intelligent buffer system, which is IMO just as good or better than true bypass.

The switchless feature is the nuts, because you can, as Vai puts it "Start wah-ing whenever inspiration hits, and you dont have to worry about activating the switch.)

Its spring loaded, so it flips back up to the upright position when you take your foot off, and then shuts off after its in the upright position for a certain amount of time (its set for 1 second at the factory, but there is a trim-pot inside the unit that you can set the bypass to be instantaneous or a couple seconds)

Other good wahs Ive tried are the Vox ones. They have a very smooth and sweet tone. SRV and Hendrix both used these.

I dont really like Crybabies, unless its one of the ones with the Fasel inductor, that really sweetens it up. It makes it almost as sweet as a Vox, but is still more wild sounding than the Vox, which is a bit tamer.

If your worried about the Vox not taking AC power, You can get an adaptor from Godlyke that connects 9v Battery clip > 9v AC adaptor. I actually use one on my Bad Horsie, works great, the Bad Horsie has a port for an AC adaptor, but its on the wrong side, according to the way my pedalboard is setup.

[necrotechno]

Re: need some wah help

Fulltone Clyde. Expensive, but there's a reason. And it ain't because Steve Vai needs some new alligator skin boots.

[thurston]

Re: need some wah help

If you're going the VOX route, get the V848 Clyde McCoy model. The bypass on the lower end 847 model sucks a lot of tone. The 848 has almost all the mods I want to do to my 847(True Bypass, AC Jack) stock.

[pythagoras]

Re: need some wah help

I too swear by the Bad Horsie. The optical switching is superior to bypass IMHO. It doesn't "color" the sound and works with both single and double coil pickups.
I'm currently playing through an AVT150 head and 1936 2-12" cab and this setup rocks.

[nonamemx]

Re: need some wah help

I just picked up a (discontinued) Morley Pro Series wah today at a pawn shop for $30.

I just cleaned it off, this thing's in mint condition!

Its NOT spring loaded, its the same exact size as my Bad Horsie, but has white lettering, a "Level" knob and a footswitch to activate it.

It sounds GREAT, has a much wider range than the Bad Horsie, but its not as smooth as the BH. Its great, I bought it thinking it was one of the Volume/Wah pedals, and for $30 who could pass it up. Turns out its just a wah, but im thrilled with it, so I dont mind at all!

The "Level" knob adjusts the output of the wah when the wah is running (doesnt do anything in bypass) Its interesting, to say the least. It works as kind of a boost.

The pedal itself was loose, it flopped to the down position no matter what, so the guy let me go use the tools in the store to tighten the pedal right there in the store. I tightened the screws, and now it works perfect.