Wah Pedal Recommendations

[ken2502]

Hi, I wanna get myself a wah pedal but I'm not quite sure which ones to look out for. I would like one that can handle distortion well. If it helps, my guitar's an Ibanez RG2550Z and I have 2 amps, Roland Cube 30x and Marshall AVT20 but I'll also be getting a tube amp soon(I'm considering a Blackstar HT Studio 20). Any recommendations?

 

[Stan_Kumar]

You budget? Any other specific details so that others can help?

 

[Godspeed64]

I use Morley wahs as I tend to prefer the switching at the side rather than depressing the wah to engage the effect. Also, Morleys are great with distortion, just a little touchy with cleans as the volume may be a bit much (hence I use a comp to even the level).

Also try the standard Vox wahs at City Music.

 

[J.custom]

I use Morley wahs as I tend to prefer the switching at the side rather than depressing the wah to engage the effect. Also, Morleys are great with distortion, just a little touchy with cleans as the volume may be a bit much (hence I use a comp to even the level).

Also try the standard Vox wahs at City Music.

+1 to the Vox wahs. I find that the black one sounds better with distortion, but the silver one sounds better with cleans. Of course you can always have it modded so you can adjust the 'Q' of the wah.

 

[carboxymoron]

I hate wahs, but if I had to use one it would be the Morley Bad Horsie. Switchless design is better than switch inside or at the side! Plus it's highly tweakable and sounds great with dirt.

 

[ken2502]

I don't have a specific budget. It should have true-bypass and sound good with distortion. Won't be playing much cleans with wah so the tone on clean isn't that important. I also really like the wah tone in Slash's solos.

@Godspeed64 Where can I find Morley wahs?

 

[Godspeed64]

Morley's are found at Davis, but they are NOT true bypass, at the same time they have one of the best buffers around.

 

[dudelove]

Any Crybaby will sound good with dirt.. It's about knowing how and when to use the wah, and your foot technique. They are easily modded for true bypass so don't worry too much about it.

If you are willing to pay more the RMC range of wahs are true bypass, "boutique". Slash uses the RMC 3 but that wah is one of the most tweakable wahs on the planet so getting that absolutely will not mean you will sound like Slash unless you open up his wah and copy his settings.

 

[lemonade93]

I have always been a fan of Vox wah's, find them the most classic. And the 847a just looks so sexy

 

[Likui]

Morley's are found at Davis, but they are NOT true bypass, at the same time they have one of the best buffers around.

I thought the morley Bad horsie and bad horsie 2 wah are true bypass?
I own the bad horsie 2 wah , I like

 

[carboxymoron]

Nope, they are not true bypass, but the buffer is good and transparent.

Morley Bad Horsie 2 http://www.morleypedals.com/dvai-2.html

I don't need true bypass http://www.petecornish.co.uk/case_against_true_bypass.html

Slash uses the RMC 3 but that wah is one of the most tweakable wahs on the planet so getting that absolutely will not mean you will sound like Slash unless you open up his wah and copy his settings.

Don't forget, you also need to copy his foot!

 

[dudelove]

I don't need true bypass http://www.petecornish.co.uk/case_against_true_bypass.html

Some pedals have excellent buffers in them, Pete Cornish designs all his pedals to be like that. Some pedals, especially vintage effects, can have horrible buffers that really alter the tone in a very unpleasant way. I would also appreciate a true bypass wah because some pedals just don't play nice with a buffer placed in front of them. Manuals of germanium transistor effects like treble boosters will tell you make sure the pedal is first in the chain of effects or make sure anything in front of it is true bypassed.

 

[valentinik_15]

I used to own 2 vox wahs. I say 2 because they both went kaput cos Vox uses cheapo parts. Morley Bad Horsie 2 is the way to go. Switchless and full control over the wah great on cleans and even better distorted. Its the only buffered pedal on my board and seriously, I did a check and there's no difference between my bypassed signal with the original signal.

 

[carboxymoron]

Other than the switchless design, it also features an optical design, meaning no pots or strings for you to break. Everyone should have one!

 

[dudelove]

Other than the switchless design, it also features an optical design, meaning no pots or strings for you to break. Everyone should have one!

Optical is cool. Pots and switches have lifespans so it eliminates those factors. I just really dislike the size of those Morley wahs, plus they look pretty awful.

Anyway, I just got a Wilson 12 position Rippah Q wah and I think Wilson makes the BEST wahs in the world. Considering the strong SGD it's a good time to buy them from US now. You can easily get one below 250SGD shipped.

 

[tyzjames]

Optical is cool. Pots and switches have lifespans so it eliminates those factors. I just really dislike the size of those Morley wahs, plus they look pretty awful.

Anyway, I just got a Wilson 12 position Rippah Q wah and I think Wilson makes the BEST wahs in the world. Considering the strong SGD it's a good time to buy them from US now. You can easily get one below 250SGD shipped.

Agreed. If only they made those Morley wahs in those standard wah sizes..

 

[ken2502]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'm really tempted to get a Wilson wah now after seeing how it's so damn versatile!

 

[Godspeed64]

Another versatile wah that does it all is the MXR CAE 404 wah..

And there's now the Mini Morleys in stock at Davis, still optical design but different buffer from their 'crystal buffer'.
Soon to be released is the Mini Wah/Volume and the Maverick, a switchless Mini Optical wah.

 

[relinquish69]

Btw guys, I need opinions on this one.

I used to own a Morley Bad Horsie II wah. I didn't like the volume boost every time you engage the pedal. However, I tried a Morley Bad Horsie I. It doesn't have any knobs to tweak but I actually liked it only because it does not have that volume boost character. Or does it? I tried it only for a minute or two but I can't really hear the obvious vol boost like the Bad Horsie II.

Has anyone compared the 2 wahs?