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Need help selecting a wah!

isher1992

isher1992

Nov 27, 2008
1,209
200
Little Rock, Arkansas
#1
I'm looking for myself a new wah. Hopefully, I'd like to have it modelled for bass, or have some simple modifications. DO NOT SUGGEST THE CRYBABY 105Q. I do NOT like this pedal whatsoever. I've thought about the 535Q from Dunlop, but I've also thought the Weeping Demon would be nice, but I felt it was clipping the signal when I played a StingRay through it (Someone correct me if I'm wrong)

I'd like it to be footswitchable, I'd like no springback if able, I'd like a good sweep range (Prefferably adjustable) and I'd like it to keep low end but also have some nice highs to it. Can anyone help me out?
 
#2
isher1992 said:
I'm looking for myself a new wah. Hopefully, I'd like to have it modelled for bass, or have some simple modifications. DO NOT SUGGEST THE CRYBABY 105Q. I do NOT like this pedal whatsoever. I've thought about the 535Q from Dunlop, but I've also thought the Weeping Demon would be nice, but I felt it was clipping the signal when I played a StingRay through it (Someone correct me if I'm wrong)

I'd like it to be footswitchable, I'd like no springback if able, I'd like a good sweep range (Prefferably adjustable) and I'd like it to keep low end but also have some nice highs to it. Can anyone help me out?
Click to expand...

from all you have asked for I would suggest the weeping demon,... for me it was a LOT of flickery and setting up before I was happy with my sound from it... I thought putting everything at 11 would make a nice sound... I was wrong,... just change knobs bit by bit to get a tone you are happy with,... I found out that lots of 'q' made my bass really noisy and ultra trebly etc... now that I worked it out my settings are on a pretty minimal side but I run distortion through it first and love the sound I get now... I love the fact that pretty much everything on that pedal is adjustable AND its not a quacky thing... its a good pedal for playing pulling teeth (anesthesia) ;)
 
#3
isher1992 said:
DO NOT SUGGEST THE CRYBABY 105Q. I do NOT like this pedal whatsoever... I'd like no springback...
Click to expand...
WORD!

isher1992 said:
I felt it was clipping the signal when I played a StingRay through it (Someone correct me if I'm wrong)
Click to expand...
Heck no, my Stingray clipped every single wah pedal I tried over a period of about 6 months, until I found a vintage Morley PWO.

I tried every Crybaby I could get my hands on, I tried that woeful piece of doody the Automagic Earthquake or whatever the heck it is (worst wah pedal EVER!), I tried the EBS, I tried George Dennis', I tried new Morleys, Vox's... everything I saw - they ALL clipped with active basses and they all sounded like a congested duck choking on icing sugar.

Everything you desire can be found in a vintage (Tel Ray) Morley. Not all that rare really, but can be kinda pricey. The only one I didn't try at the time was the Weeping Demon, but it seems to get big wraps around here.
 
#6
get the Weeping Demon...

It has bass specific settings

it will do old shool wah so that you can leave it in the sweet spot and take your foot off, or you can set it to automatic when it pops up and turns off when you take your foot off...

it is optical so no worries about busting the old mechanical arm...which tends to happen with most old school wahs...

the controls are spring loaded so you can set them and then shove them down into the body so you don't have to worry about bumping your settings...

both the wah range, filter range, tone range, are adjustable and able to be fine tuned....no to mention that it has a knob that allows you to adjust the time delay so in other words if you need to take your foot off (in auto mode)to hit another pedal...you can set it to still run until you can get back to it

it takes a little tweaking before you get it dialed in, but is seriously worth it...

give it a spin you won't be sorry....IMH for the money it is the best wah out there
 
#7
Normally at this point in the program, I'd be recommending the Fulltone Clyde Deluxe, because it:
A. Sounds really good,
B. Is built very, very well,
C. Isn't spring-loaded, and
D. It's what I have come to depend upon for many of my wah needs, but since it is not common to be found in states that don't end in 'California' or sites that end in 'Tone Factor,' and because it is $300 (far too much for any pedal; I say this, knowing damn well I'm going to be investing in the much-more-expensive Chicago Iron Parachute at some point in the foreseeable future), I'll suggest the EBS Stan-Wah, for these reasons:

1. It isn't the 105Q.
2. It isn't the Weeping Demon, which you said didn't sound right to you. Don't feel alone; I wasn't a fan of it, either.
3. It isn't the 105Q.
4. It's the Stanley Clarke signature wah, which means it is definitely for bass players.
5. It isn't the 105Q.
6. EBS pedals have a good reputation here (made in China, I'll admit, but there has to be some of that Sweeedish thang-thang goin' on there), and
7. It isn't the 105Q.
 
#8
niftydog said:
WORD!


Heck no, my Stingray clipped every single wah pedal I tried over a period of about 6 months, until I found a vintage Morley PWO.

I tried every Crybaby I could get my hands on, I tried that woeful piece of doody the Automagic Earthquake or whatever the heck it is (worst wah pedal EVER!), I tried the EBS, I tried George Dennis', I tried new Morleys, Vox's... everything I saw - they ALL clipped with active basses and they all sounded like a congested duck choking on icing sugar.

Everything you desire can be found in a vintage (Tel Ray) Morley. Not all that rare really, but can be kinda pricey. The only one I didn't try at the time was the Weeping Demon, but it seems to get big wraps around here.
Click to expand...
Owned one of those. I hated it.

It had good enough range, but I don't like auto switching. It sounded cool! ....but it wasn't fit for me, or my ATK. To me, the CryBaby's like the 535Q and the Classic don't clip on active basses like people say (I play with pretty hot signals) and so I think there's other problems people have like custom cables (From experience, it can actually cause a lot of problems.)

and @SnakeMan:

Like I said, I played it through a hot StingRay and it clipped. It clipped pretty bad. And to me, I like to see how bad it clips with a singal that's hotter than I usually use (Which I did) and it clipped awfully bad.
 
#10
isher1992 said:
Owned one of those. I hated it.
Click to expand...
Owned one of what? I mentioned 8 different brands in that post! :smug:

isher1992 said:
...CryBaby's like the 535Q and the Classic don't clip on active basses like people say (I play with pretty hot signals) and so I think there's other problems people have like custom cables...
Click to expand...
Well, obviously I can't speak for everyone, but I tested several different models of Jim Dunlop wahs in complete isolation from other pedals, with several different active basses, with several different cables, with several different amps, in several different shops, in two different cities over a period of 6 months and they ALL clipped right in the middle of the filter sweep.

...and every time I bring it up here people try to convince me that I'm wrong, or that I should have just turned my bass' volume knob down.

The reality is that they're just poorly designed and they should go back to the 18V versions. When your bass is producing signals with 5V peaks, and you're trying to boost a frequency band by another 5V, and you've got less than 9V to play with...
 
#11
My experience is a bit different- I play an active jazz, and a passive P that is so hot it can.. and does overpower almost every filter and octave pedal I own... But no problems with my 105q and clipping. I'm sure playing style and technique have a lot to do with it- For instance, I don't use my wah in a fast envelope filter fashion- Which I'm sure requires less headroom, and hence no issues with clipping.
 

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