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Best wah pedal?

LCAirPasta

LCAirPasta

Apr 12, 2016
119
145
#1
New poster here. I'm sure this has been answered, but I'm playing in a 4 piece band (rhythm guitar, lead guitar, drums, and myself on bass) and I had a little homemade pedal board. It's only got a big muff pi and a tuner pedal, and a Dunlop crybaby wah. The original one without the knobs on the side, I think it's the 95E or whatever. I'm not a huge gear head so maybe someone can help me out. I play through a markbass CMD-102 combo and my question is this-
Are there any wah pedals that don't take away all of my low end when I use them? The crybaby I have is made for guitar so I'm guessing that's why it has no bass to it. I've been looking at the bass version of my pedal but I don't want to buy one and end up having the same problem. Again, I'm not a huge gear head and this is a super basic question (no pun intended) and I don't have much experience with different kinds of pedals. Any experiences you guys have with good wah pedals would be appreciated
 
#4
I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the wah on my Boss ME-20B. I wasn't expecting much, and was only intending to use the expression pedal as a volume control, but I find myself using the wah more and more often.

When I'm too lazy too use it, the auto-wah feature also works well. The more attack on the notes, the greater the effect.
 
#5
I've heard that Wilson makes a damn fine wah. But for its price point and options, the Dunlop 105q all the way for me. It's great. The treadle is nice, no switch to push. It's got a volume control as well as a Q control. What more could you ask for?!! Well, it would be cool if it was smaller, but wait!!
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Yep, they made it smaller :) bass wah perfection IMO.

I've been using the regular 105q for maybe 2 years now. It's been great. Strong. Reliable. The sweep is nice. I could do for just a tad more range on it, but it's really fine the way it is.

There are other wahs out there, Chicago iron makes some good ones. The ibanez demon wah is very nice from what I hear. The AMT Japanese girl I think it's called is their bass wah. Super small. Heard good things about that one too. The sweep supposedly gets some taken used to but is cool once you get used to it. The Wilson of course. But ever since I got the 105q, I didn't feel I needed anything else. I'm happy. I'm def no wah expert by any means. But the 105q is the one for me.
 
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#8
Another vote for the Dunlop 105q. Switchless, great action, volume and q controls... Pretty much everything I want from a wah. I tend to stomp mine pretty hard and it's survived a ton of gigs, so I can vouch for the build quality too.
 
#12
How much do you want to spend?

-The white Dunlop Bass Wah is very good. You won't lose low end with it. It's an optical wah so there is no switch to step on, just start rocking the treadle and it turns on.
-The Morley Cliff Burton Tribute is nice too, with a much wider sweep than the Dunlop (not better or worse, just different).
-The G Lab Bass Wowee is fantastic but a bit spendy. It's got a few adjustments on it as well as a switch that work as soon as you put your foot on it. Pretty cool.
-Teese and Wilson both make great wahs, in many different versions.
-The Sonuus Wahoo is really cool, but much more than just a wah.

Then there are auto wahs and envelope filters, which are basically wahs without a treadle.
 
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#15
gregmon79 said:
The AMT Japanese girl I think it's called is their bass wah. Super small. Heard goodthings about that one too. The sweep supposedly gets some taken used to but is cool once you get used to it.
Click to expand...

I use the guitar version of the japanese girl and love it! will be getting the bass version at some point.
the sweep is small, but the range is wide and it doesn't take long to get used to
 
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#17
I have the EBS Stanley Clarke. I definitely prefer it to the 105q. Word of warning, though, I've had this thing for a little over a year and have had to fix it frequently. The pot pulled out of the wah after about two rehearsals, the paint started chipping off pretty early on, and recently I ended up trading out the crappy little plastic retainer that they provide to hold the gears together for a more substantial one I salvaged out of an old Bass Crybaby because my gears kept slipping. I'm pretty easy on my equipment, definitely not cranking on anything.

If you want the best SOUNDING wah I would point you towards the EBS, but I'd warn against the shoddy construction. For the money you could buy two different wahs that would probably satisfy you nearly as much.
 
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#20
LCAirPasta said:
Are there any wah pedals that don't take away all of my low end when I use them?
Click to expand...

My choice is the Budwah. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] It's voiced a little lower than a lot of wahs for more of a vocal quality. Unfortunately it will still gut your lows when you sweep to the high range of the pedal. The way to keep your low end is to use the wah in a parallel effects loop that allows you to mix the wet sound of the effect with your dry sound. If your amp does not have a parallel loop here is a pedal that will do the job X-Blender - Effects

Here's a video that will give you an idea of how the X-Blender can be used to retain your fundamental. Fast forward to about 4:08
 
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