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Wah Pedals, Bass Specific?

B

bassplayer7768521

Jun 30, 2009
138
1
#1
Hey guys,

I'm looking into putting some money down for a wah pedal. I've looked around a bit and seen a few wah pedals that are bass specific, such as the "Cry Baby 105Q Bass Wah Pedal". My main question is; if you're going to use a wah pedal on a bass, does it have to be bass specific? Or could I use any guitar wah pedal?
 
#2
I've often wondered that myself. I bought a regular Cry Baby wah years ago before I had ever heard of a bass wah (if they were even available at the time). According to Cry Baby, the bass wah only effects mid and high frequencies.

When I click on my guitar wah it definitely drops the low end.
 
#4
I am a proud owner of a crybaby 105Q, and I've gotta say i can't see many other pedals stepping up to the mark. It just does what it says on the tin. It's a wah for bass. using a guitar one would mean you'd not get the lows and you'd sweep higher than you should for a bass (possibly risking damage to bass cab, not sure)

If you're in the UK i picked up a Crybaby for £95 including delivery =]
 
#6
I once saw an interview with Eric Clapton where he was explaining how a wah pedal takes bass off and turns treble on. So effectively it's you're tone that is going 'wah-wah'.
If I'm not mistaken wouldn't a bass specific wah pedal have to operate differently to keep some low end intact every time you rock the pedal?

I got a guitar wah pedal from a music store at a really cheap price. Every time you put it on, you're bass just disappears. After my 'experience' with that, I would definitely go for a pedal designed primarily for bass. Luckily I'm not wanting one.
 
#9
Wah and overdrive/distortion are the two categories where you can generally expect low end loss problems unless the pedal is designed for bass or has a bass mode.

Exceptions exist, of course. A lot of Morley's non-bass wahs work great on bass, although Morley wahs are generally atypical in their sound (if you're looking for a Crybaby variant, these are NOT it - they're practically the opposite). The Ibanez Weeping Demon has a bass mode. The Chicago Iron Parachute (and the original pedal it's based on, the Tychobrahe Parapedal) works great on bass, as Geezer Butler has demonstrated. But as far as Dunlop Crybaby pedals go... almost all of them kill your bottom end.
 
#12
sillyfabe said:
big fan of the 105Q, tried the weeping demon in bass mode but it just sounded too "artificial" to my ears. the bootsy wah-wah was ok but it felt really flimsy.
Click to expand...

are all the snarling dogs wahs as flimsy as the bootzilla?

i'm buying a bawl buster, because i just found out that was the "mystery wah" that reed mathis has always used, and ive always loved his wah sound. but im wondering it it wont be road worthy, and i might have to keep my 535 as a backup.
 

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