Foot-controlled wah or auto wah?

Andy419 · #1 08-13-2007, 09:57 AM

I'm gonna be buyin a wah here pretty soon (just gotta wait for that paycheck) and ive looked into the 105Q and the MXR M-188 bass auto wah. the auto wah seems to have quite a bit of options but I dont hear bout it being used too much (at least not as much as foot-controlled wahs). suggestions?

seamonkey · #2 08-13-2007, 10:12 AM

You can make your bass almost sing with a foot controlled wah. With a little practice you can do most everything an auto wah can do.

Then later you can decide on what part of the wah you want to automate - and look for a auto wah that does that part well.

Or you can jump into a high end Wah pedal, that also does the auto part. A lot of these fairly inexpensive multi-effects units with a pedal do this very good.

assboglin · #3 08-13-2007, 11:04 AM

Between a Wah and an envelope filter, I would recommend starting with a wah. The 105Q is a good choice, and a very popular one. I posted a sample of it at

Dunlop 105Q SOUNDCLIP

I've also owned the MXR Bass Auto-Q, which is an interesting pedal, but something tells me you'll find more use for the wah.

meev992 · #4 08-13-2007, 11:09 AM

+1

the all in one "manual/auto wah" would be the best solution. But for sake of argument. IMO a manual wah achieves the goal of expressiveness, whereas, an autowah seems like cheating. Unless of course you ruin your Achilles tendon like i did, trying to imitate porno music and you can't use your manual wah.

superbassman2000 · #5 08-13-2007, 11:16 AM

If you don't know, then I would recommend the AW-3 with a foot pedal--it allows for autowah and manual wah

speak_onion · #6 08-13-2007, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by superbassman2000

If you don't know, then I would recommend the AW-3 with a foot pedal--it allows for autowah and manual wah

I have the AW3 and I wouldn't recommend it. I find that the sound is sort of weak, and the ranges of each of the parameters are small, i.e. the knobs don't do much. Plus the Humanizer and Sharp modes cause a bunch of noise. If I knew about this pedal I never would have bought the AW3: http://www.pedalspluseffectswarehous...igfx-klowa.htm

Although, now that I realize I dont' really want foot-wah, I'm planning to replace my AW3 with a Catalinbread Hedonic Treadmill. See my thread on that if you want to watch me beat my head against a wall for months while I wait for that guy to come out.

coolrunner989 · #7 08-13-2007, 11:42 AM

I just went through the morley dual bass wah and 105q - neither were quite what I was looking for.

I just got the Ibanez Weeping Demon and it absolutely kills! I plugged it in with all the settings flat the first time and was happy with it - you can adjust just about everything on it too, which is sweet.

Crabby · #8 08-13-2007, 12:02 PM

I own the 105Q and the Bass Auto Q and absolutely love both of them. If I had to choose only one of them it would be tough.

The 105Q sounds very funky and the ability to control the wah makes it a very useful tool.

The Bass Auto Q has an amazingly good sounding filter which is quite tweakable. There is also the "shimmer" effect which can be bypassed, blended into the filter or used by itself.

You can't go wrong with either one.

funkalicious101 · #9 08-13-2007, 07:17 PM

i use a subdecay quasar as an auto-wah.

although it is better known as a phase-shifter, it can be quite a good auto-wah aswell.

ARCtrooper225 · #10 08-13-2007, 09:44 PM

Guyatone ULTRON with an expression pedal...

Sir Edward V · #11 08-14-2007, 12:11 AM

I vote for Envelope Filter.

joelc1319 · #12 10-09-2007, 09:09 AM

two completely different pedals. if you're into funk, I'd say get both eventually. Envelope Filters aren't cheating, because a human cannot respond with their feet as quickly as they can play bass with their hands in order to wah on every note...

Geddyfleaharris · #13 10-09-2007, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crabby

I own the 105Q and the Bass Auto Q and absolutely love both of them. If I had to choose only one of them it would be tough.

The 105Q sounds very funky and the ability to control the wah makes it a very useful tool.

The Bass Auto Q has an amazingly good sounding filter which is quite tweakable. There is also the "shimmer" effect which can be bypassed, blended into the filter or used by itself.

You can't go wrong with either one.

I use both. You can get some pretty nasty sounds going. But I would start with the 105Q just because you operate it with your foot. Easier to get to know the 105Q compared to the Auto Q. The shimmer effect on the Auto Q is very cool.

fishtx · #14 10-09-2007, 12:18 PM

I think the MXR Bass Auto Q is a great little pedal. lots of flexibility..I also think it adds a bit of cool "darkness" to my sound...for those dark, minory type things....

I'm looking at Envelope filters now to add to my board as well. There are certain things I like the Auto Q for, and other things I like an Envelope Filter for. I like a "quacky" kind of EF for that kind of "old school" funk thing...I have a Boomstick Bottom Feeder that is a cool filter (not an over the top or real intense filter, but can get nice and quacky), and I have a Maxon AF-9 on the way to try out as well. I'm really interested to play with it as well.

Sir Edward V · #15 10-09-2007, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sir Edward V

I vote for Envelope Filter.

Can I change my vote?

I like the 105Q now as well.

i hear the 105Q and the auto Q are the same filter circuit controlled in different ways

don't know if that is right or not

if it is, then they should make a autoQ that takes expression input.