Practical applications of a wah?

[kalibre]

Hey guys, for a long time I've been wondering to myself like, why do most guitarists have a wah in their pedalboard or in their setup, but dont actually use them in their songs?

i mean most songs dont have any wah involved, so what are the practical applications of a wah wah pedal? In improvised solos maybe? To add depth to your licks? :?:

 

[nysk]

well if ur listening to radio the whole day, im sure ur definition of most most songs will definitely not involve heavy wah players

gnr, velvet, hendrix, alter bridge, metallica, muse

a lot of wah, go fig

and who do u mean by "most guitarists"? besides, u cant expect them to wah for so many of their songs or itll just get boring and irrelevant

 

[ShredCow]

but hammet wahs for every other solo and ... its got the crowd going wild!

 

[symym]

Its parts that Wah can cut in and make a difference in the color of the sound. Radio songs don't really use wah, hardly come across. Listen to Vai or Satch. They are great wah users...

 

[kahuna]

mark tremonti of alterbridge uses his wah for many of his solos

 

[sleepykitty]

I realised the same thing quite some time ago. That was the reason why I sold my wah. It was like bringing in a 2kg paperweight everytime i go to jam. It's nice to have one but if you're only gonna use it sparingly (i.e. in my case, only ONE song out of our whole setlist) then what's the point?

 

[tvontheradio]

I guess it depends on your genre then... 8)

 

[sleepykitty]

Off topic but..

^Chuck Norris' tears can cure cancer. Too bad Chuck Norris never cries.
:lol:

 

[Whitestrat]

The Wah can be used as sort of a tone character control. You don't need to keep moving the pedal at all. Turn it on, set it onto one position you like, and leave it there for the solo. That's what many pro guitarists use a wah for aside from the wah wah function.

 

[ShredCow]

Cheap wah? Your guitar's tone control.

I kid thee not.

Such a simple, basic "technique" and I only just "discovered" it... ugh.


P.S. Gotta have a good tone pot lah and with proper cap values/type.

 

[sleepykitty]

^Same here. I remembered that I read that a wah is basically just a sweeping of a range of frequencies. Then it stumbled upon me. Guitar's tone knob is also a frequency manipulator thingy! But when I tried it out, disappointing results. Only can hear faint wah-ing when roll rapidly from 0% to only 25% of the sweep.

 

[vernplum]

Wah has several practical applications:

- try playing a natural harmonic or two with a clean tone, say at the 12th fret, then rock the wah forward each time you want a new 'attack' - works well in conjunction with a delay for a 'jewel-like' sound.

- when soloing, press the wah into full treble when you reach a high sustained note in a phrase having started from heel position

- press wah forward to accentuate individual notes in a phrase, for example, if I play a, b, c notes on high e string at 5th 7th and 8th frets, pressing wah forward on each note gives a 'speaking' quality

- play muted chord 'stabs' and wah in time with rhythm to create the wakka-wakka noise

- play ascending runs from low positions with the wah in heel and as you go up gradually move the wah into full treble - will give the run a sensation of coming from the depths

- play the opposite or vice versa, i.e. either start high and go low moving from high treble position to heel, or start high and go low moving from heel to toe position, etc.


...the only boundary is your creativity. To me the wah is indispensible both for leads, rhythms and making weird soundscapes.

btw, wahs work best with your bridge pickup - more sweep is available.

 

[vernplum]

Oh, and a wah can impart a 'squashy' feel to your leads.

Players good at this include:

Steve Vai
Michael Romeo
George Lynch

 

[ShredCow]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...l=4&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

sleepykitty, watch that.

He uses the tone pot to do "wah".

And I can do it too on my guitar... just needs the right pots and components.

 

[sleepykitty]

Yeap saw it at around 1:20 mark. Any ideas on the type of pot and the correct value?

 

[ShredCow]

I dunno.

I just use a Dimarzio pot - because I enjoy the taper when used for vol control, so... the only reason i use dimarzio for my tone pot is.. its super sturdy and very well made.

The capacitor also plays a part. Do a little googling.. this one is a fun and not -too-expensive experiment.

And it will yeild great results!

How many of us don't use the tone control? Why? For one - the stock stuff? Might not cut it...

 

[kalibre]

yeah cool i was just wondering. cause i was thinking of getting a wah to play around with. sounds fun!

 

[ShredCow]

Get one then.

Then google up wah modifications - understand the need to mod... or the want to mod.

This one, only experience will tell you whether you will use it or not...

 

[niteblade]

hahah im using a Morley volume cum wah pedal!

so i guess my pedal is not under-used heh