guitar wah pedal vs. bass wah pedal

[darkgloryknight]

i was going to by wah pedal for my bass i was wondering if there is a noticeable differences between like if i bot a original crybaby would it sound any better than a snarling Dog whats your opinion?

[IPS]

I have not used a snarling dog before, but as a general rule of thumb bass wahs will sound better on bass, and certina guitar wahs wont work that well, while others arnt so bad (older morley wahs for example) the 105q ( crybaby bass wah) seems to be pretty popular thoguh not everyone is satisfied wiht it. I loved my wahone before it was broken by a cousin, and my new ibanez weeping demon is doing rahter well (it has a bass specific mode). Try t ogo to a local store and try out some wahs..or look for soundclips (check the tb wiki and youtube)

[excane]

^^ +1

Guitar wah's generally will have a more pronounced effect BUT will cut off the low end, sometimes significantly. A bass wah is more suited to our frequency range.

[darkgloryknight]

Originally Posted by IPS

but as a general rule of thumb bass wahs will sound better on bass, and certina guitar wahs wont work that well,

i have herd that before

Originally Posted by IPS

while others arnt so bad (older morley wahs for example) the 105q ( crybaby bass wah) seems to be pretty popular thoguh not everyone is satisfied wiht it. I loved my wahone before it was broken by a cousin, and my new ibanez weeping demon is doing rahter well (it has a bass specific mode).

yes it seems that 105q and the weeping demon would be good choices its to bad my roommate is really religious and wont allow demonic symbols in the room how did your cousin brake it?

Originally Posted by IPS

Try t ogo to a local store and try out some wahs..or look for soundclips (check the tb wiki and youtube

thanks for the tip i hate store out here all he has is boss pedals and ibanez guitars he wont order anything else unless your going to pay for shipping i have to go to guitar center daton OH which is like 50 miles away

Originally Posted by excane

^^ +1

Guitar wah's generally will have a more pronounced effect BUT will cut off the low end, sometimes significantly. A bass wah is more suited to our frequency range.

thanks for explaining that

[WOOFMAN]

I use the Dunlop Q105 bass wah running into the discombobulator. Takes a little tweaking, but once set- you're off!

[IPS]

My cousin decided it would be funny to mess wiht it when i wasnt in the room, not sure what he did but it no longer turns on.

The weeping deamon is a good wah and i dont hink your roomate can tell you waht you can and cant own yourself, but if its an issue im sure you would be sattisfied with a 105Q, or prehaps a morley bass wah. I know how the hating the local store feels, back home in jersey theres a GC and sam ash near me that are good, but up here in Scranton at school the small store sells pretty much the same thing...and the person working when i was there insisted that boss was pronounced bose (like the headphones)

[phatbass]

The 105Q is a "standard" and if you get one off eBay, and don't get gouged on the price, you'll always get close to your money back if you decide you don't like it.

Also be aware you can tweak 'em, so you may have to mess with it a bit to dial in a sound you like.

[rcubed]

I tried some guitar wahs and didn't like them. Decided to buy a Wilson Effects Bass Q Wah after doing some research here and I'm done looking for a wah.

[darkgloryknight]

Originally Posted by WOOFMAN

I use the Dunlop Q105 bass wah running into the discombobulator. Takes a little tweaking, but once set- you're off!

what is a discombobulator?

Originally Posted by IPS

My cousin decided it would be funny to mess wiht it when i wasnt in the room, not sure what he did but it no longer turns on.

The weeping deamon is a good wah and i dont hink your roomate can tell you waht you can and cant own yourself, but if its an issue im sure you would be sattisfied with a 105Q, or prehaps a morley bass wah. I know how the hating the local store feels, back home in jersey theres a GC and sam ash near me that are good, but up here in Scranton at school the small store sells pretty much the same thing...and the person working when i was there insisted that boss was pronounced bose (like the headphones)

yeah he gets little craze with the holy water lol

Originally Posted by phatbass

Also be aware you can tweak 'em, so you may have to mess with it a bit to dial in a sound you like.

dearly noted

[Kevin Wilson]

Guitar wahs are not really set up for bass. While some people tend to get by with them they tend to have a lot of low end loss and along with the low end loss the voicing of the wah combines to make them not really that appealing sonically.
With a bass wah typically the components are matched up for the frequency of the bass signal resulting in no low end loss and with the low end still in tact you can voice the wahs Q sweep to better fit the frequency of the Bass.
In other words if you play bass, buy a bass wah or you may be in for a let down. Hope this helps.

[TheMutt]

Listen to Mr. Wilson! He knows what he's talking about!

I use a Wilson Effects 12-position Q-Wah and am quite happy with it for either bass-specific or even guitar-specific (I know I know... this here's a bass forum) applications.

At the end of the day, it really matters what you are looking for in terms of tone. There are plenty of bassists out there, professional or otherwise, who are using guitar effects and even amps to get the tone that they are looking for. Just remember that if the tone you are looking for is exactly like some guitarist solo rocking a cry baby, you're probably playing the wrong instrument.

[excane]

Originally Posted by darkgloryknight

what is a discombobulator?

It is an envelope filter.


I would suggest you do a search if you're new to the FX world, it would explain a lot of different effects and what they do to your sound.

[darkgloryknight]

Originally Posted by Kevin Wilson

Guitar wahs are not really set up for bass. While some people tend to get by with them they tend to have a lot of low end loss and along with the low end loss the voicing of the wah combines to make them not really that appealing sonically.
With a bass wah typically the components are matched up for the frequency of the bass signal resulting in no low end loss and with the low end still in tact you can voice the wahs Q sweep to better fit the frequency of the Bass.
In other words if you play bass, buy a bass wah or you may be in for a let down. Hope this helps.

if i got my hands on a used guitar wah pedal woould it be posible to change the frequency by switching some parts out or is a bass wah pedal wired completely different?

Originally Posted by TheMutt

Listen to Mr. Wilson! He knows what he's talking about!

I use a Wilson Effects 12-position Q-Wah and am quite happy with it for either bass-specific or even guitar-specific (I know I know... this here's a bass forum) applications.

At the end of the day, it really matters what you are looking for in terms of tone. There are plenty of bassists out there, professional or otherwise, who are using guitar effects and even amps to get the tone that they are looking for. Just remember that if the tone you are looking for is exactly like some guitarist solo rocking a cry baby, you're probably playing the wrong instrument.

lol im not looking for that kind of sound im wanting for a bass solo for a few songs and to mess with when i feel like it

Originally Posted by excane

It is an envelope filter.


I would suggest you do a search if you're new to the FX world, it would explain a lot of different effects and what they do to your sound.

yeah i googled it and found slang words so i gave up on it im always on guitar center or musicians friend checking out their pedals

[BobOnBass]

Originally Posted by Kevin Wilson

Guitar wahs are not really set up for bass. While some people tend to get by with them they tend to have a lot of low end loss and along with the low end loss the voicing of the wah combines to make them not really that appealing sonically.
With a bass wah typically the components are matched up for the frequency of the bass signal resulting in no low end loss and with the low end still in tact you can voice the wahs Q sweep to better fit the frequency of the Bass.
In other words if you play bass, buy a bass wah or you may be in for a let down. Hope this helps.

Hi there mr. Wilson, good to see you here. A question for you;
With your bass specific wahs, do you cut the lows before the effect and leave them clean so just the mids and highs go through the wah part to meet the clean lows after the effect? Or do all the frequencies pass through the effect wich in itself is completely build for all those frequencies? The latter is sort of what I read in you quote above but I want to make sure.

Btw, it sure is hard to pick one with that much choice..... I counted 8 basswahs not including drop in kits and custom orders. That's way to much for a Libra like myself!
Hope to become another happy customer none the less though.

Cheers, Bob.

[The Ethanator]

i have a weeping demon on the way to me. they tend to get great bass reviews, as they have low/high eq controls. thus allowing you to help eliminate lowend loss that happens with most other wahs. im not a nig fan of switchless wahs or spring-loaded wahs. if its springless, you can set the pedal at a certain point where the filter sounds cool, and use it as an alternate eq

[phatbass]

Originally Posted by darkgloryknight

if i got my hands on a used guitar wah pedal woould it be posible to change the frequency by switching some parts out or is a bass wah pedal wired completely different?

There are a bunch of wah mod schematics on the net. I'm sure if you google you'll find something suitable. And there's prob'ly a couple of mad scientist type electronics genius dudes who do wah mods in your city.

I think it's probably easier, and cheaper (if you take the cost of your time into account) to just get a used 105Q off the 'bay. Although then you miss out on the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

[darkgloryknight]

Originally Posted by phatbass

There are a bunch of wah mod schematics on the net. I'm sure if you google you'll find something suitable. And there's prob'ly a couple of mad scientist type electronics genius dudes who do wah mods in your city.

I think it's probably easier, and cheaper (if you take the cost of your time into account) to just get a used 105Q off the 'bay. Although then you miss out on the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

i tried to find a wah schematic for bass but i could not find one plenty of guitar wah tho i will probably buy a 105q and make a schematic so people can make their own

[Kevin Wilson]

yes it's possible to turn a guitar wah into a bass wah.
Most guitar wahs cut out the low frequency that is why they sound thin and your bass loses all of it ummphhhh. I adjust the components to bring the low frequency up upon the signals introduction to the wah circuit. This helps when adjusting the Q sweep as you can use the higher Q settings and not lose the low end of your bass. You can also use this on guitar it just brings a lot more low end out of the guitar which can be a pretty desirable effect for a fatter sounding wah.

[vicenzajay]

Originally Posted by rcubed

Decided to buy a Wilson Effects Bass Q Wah after doing some research here and I'm done looking for a wah.

Same for me...actually, I got two pedals from Kevin - a Rippah Q wah for guitar and the Bass Q wah for the bass.

Phenomenal tools...completely done shopping for wah pedals.

just my .02,
Jay

[mward69]

I'll chime in on the weeping demon, I use it on bass, my guitar player has one too. There is a switch for low/high.bass/guitar.
There is a huge difference on tone..on a cool note the high switch with a bass and some OD...freaking sick if your into metal
you can also adjust the amount of Wah...the lows, auto on/off selector...list goes on. Only issue I have is the input jack, my singer stepped on the cord going in right at the jack...it's never been right since.....thank god for Gaffers tape!!!!