Playing Wah Wah

[Mr. Boston]

I wouldn't be Mister Boston without my Wah pedal. And I use it a LOT. Especially now that my band has a new part-time rhythm guitarist who plays a Gibby ES-135 semihollow clean. The two sounds really kinda accent each other.

Anyway I'm still a total novice on Wah technique though- comparing myself to some of the real serious wah playing I've heard on funk, jam, and some psychedelic rock albums.

Here's the type of stuff I've figured out about wah:

1. The tempo of the foot, and the tempo of the strum don't always agree. You can use the wah to synchopate with what you're strumming. Use it to make it seem like you're going twice as fast as you really are.

2. You very rarely hit full up or full down position. Sometimes you want a really dramatic sweep, and that's find. Most often though it's like a baseball bat- you have to find the sweet spot. Then just rock your foot up and down ever so slightly, but fast, crossing the thresh-hold of where the pitch "breaks" this sounds awesome.

3. Your hands have a lot greater effect on the wah sound that you would think. Palm muting the strings takes on a whole different dimension if you've got the wah going. That's how you get that classic, "whackachicka" sound.

4. It's equally effective on chords as it is on single-string runs, and solos. You gotta figure out what works for you.

5. Long sustained notes played with a slight vibrato technique in your fretting hand can sound really cool using wah.

6. They almost always boost your tone- be careful.

7. If you like metal, try doing a pick scrape on the low E from the low to high frets while modulating with the wah gradually. The higher up the neck you go the closer you want your toes to being flat. Add a whammy bar if you know what you're doing.

Anyway that's all I have time for at the moment. There's a million little tricks like any other guitar toy.

Anyone else got any little wah techniques or tidbits they want to share, or specific things you want to ask me and Jam Session in general?

[Reign in Blood]

are wah wah pedals worth buying,and whats an adverage cost? :smile:
oh,and best songs to use wah wah with?

[Freyr]

Awesome advice, I just got a Ibanez WD-7, after owning a 535Q and a 95Q cry babys. I've got the tension set so I can rock back and forth very very small spaces very prescicly. It's awesome. Alot of guitarists overuse wah, or let the wah overtrench their tone... which sucks.

Good suggestions though!

[stratman56]

are wah wah pedals worth buying,and whats an adverage cost? :smile:
oh,and best songs to use wah wah with?
Wah is a major weapon in my playing. It adds variety and makes my guitar sing. I do alot of instrumental to song with vocals. The wah helps my guitar express the vocal parts.

A must have!!! IMO.

[Mr. Boston]

I wrote out a major reply comparing different brands of wahs that I've played. It was erased when my Internet Explorer committed an illegal action :eek: . Anyway here I go again. Here's what I would think about when selecting a wah wah pedal, the holy trinity really. Applies to ANY effect really.

1. Sound
2. Features
3. Quality

Wah pedals start getting good around the $60-$70 range. They can cost up to and over $200 as well. But I look at them based on these three criteria.

First sound: obviuosly if it sounds like crap why waste your time, move on.

Second features: The wah is a basic effect, and they all do relatively the same thing, but some have the little extras. (most) Dunlops for example have an adjustable sweep rate so you can choose how dramatic a sound you want. They also come with a tone boost for soloing. Can be handy. However BEWARE any wah pedal that is trying to do too much other stuff probably isn't that great. If they can't sell it on the wah sound itself, probably means it's not worth buying. Beware of the Jimi Hendrix in a Box type of thing.

Third Quality: Sounds great, is easy to use, but is made of plastic- or has a reputation for falling apart. Well then why bother? You'll just have to replace it anyway.

My own personal wah is the Tech 21 Killer Wail Wah. (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Effects?sku=151793) I basically went to a store, told the guy to lay out ALL the wah pedals they had, and I said I'd be buying one. I set in for a few hours of playing and this one impressed me most with its sound. It's also built like a tank which was very important to me as well. I play funk so I knew it would be getting a lot of use.

The most popular wah wah pedal is, I think we all know, the Dunlop Cry Baby. This is largely because Hendrix used one. But it's also a very well-rounded pedal and it does a lot. They're well built, have a common but classic sound, and they make a variety of models that can handle many different styles. The standard issue Cry Baby is great introduction to wah wah. They're comfortable to play, sound good, and last forever. Higher end models have the adjustable modulation and tone boost I mentioned above. There's also a Zakk Wylde model for all you shredders that can basically deliver tone that cuts through steel. There's also a model they make designed to sound more like a muffled trumpet. Which FYI is what the original wah pedals were trying to sound like anyway.

Then there's Vox pedals. I like them. They're well built. But the few I've tried just didn't "honk" or "quack" enough for me. They sounded a little trebly and on the shallow side too, but for certain styles they would be awesome. I'd rate them high on the Quality and Features scales, but the sound overall didn't impress me.

Then there's Morley. If you're going to be shredding- get one. Otherwise don't bother. To my ears they are totally shrill and harsh. Lacking in any funky meaty tones whatsoever. They hiss, whine, and feedback like crazy. But they certainly do pierce through anything. Only to be used for solos and lead lines. I've known a lot of people who buy them, and eventually get rid of them.

Budda Bud makes the most buttery fat-toned funk machine out there. Whopping price tag though. And the subtle nuances will only really be appreciated by wah afficianados anyway. They rock but are just a little too specific for my tastes.

Roland/Boss V-Wah. This may be the first Roland/Boss product I haven't liked. This is the "Hendrix in a Box" type thing I warned you about, lol. Too many features. The one drawback of Boss products is they tend to want to do EVERYTHING. This baby models every wah pedal ever made played through any amp you can think of by any particular guitarist from 1965-1997. To me, for all its good intentions everything just sounds incredibly synthetic. Plus moving your foot too far backward or forward triggers dozens of different modes, and you never really know where you're at. Not a wah for someone new to the whole idea. It does a little bit of everything, but you're better off just finding a pedal that does what you want well.

So those are all the wahs that either I've owned, or a guitarist I've known personally has owned. Suffice it to say I've logged at least a few hours on each of these.

I like mine the best for me, and for my style. But I wouldn't recommend it. I picked it based on a very narrow list of criteria and it is rather limited in certain ways. If you want something well rounded I would think the Dunlops or the Vox wahs are your best bets.

Anyway happy hunting and good luck. Remember no matter how much you spend this is an effect that is easy to use but very difficult to master. It will grow with you as your style and skill are refined. IMO wah is the only effect out there that is equally suited to rhythm or lead playing. So when you're out there testing these out- try a little of both.

[Mr. Boston]

Oh yeah jeez I almost forgot- they also sound amazing either clean OR with distortion/overdrive.

Also when picking one out, bring your own gutiar and amp. It might sound Sweet on the Les Paul Custom and the Fender Twin Reverb amp in the store, but then completely different when you get it home and introduce it to your Behringer amp and Squier strat.

If you simply can't bring your gear in for the test-drive, use stuff that's pretty close. If you play a Les Paul with two humbuckers, don't test gear out using a Fender Strat with single coils you know?

[kroy blues]

mr. boston, thanks for the info dude. i was thinking about getting one of these. i had no idea that they can make you sound like you're playing twice as fast as you really are... thanks again for the knowledge.

- kroy blues

[Mr. Boston]

mr. boston, thanks for the info dude. i was thinking about getting one of these. i had no idea that they can make you sound like you're playing twice as fast as you really are... thanks again for the knowledge.

- kroy blues


Well the trick is to make the sweep of your foot up and down fit right between your strokes. That way you get the "break" of the wah alternating with the attack of your pick- hence two "popping" sounds for the price of one. It's tough to do at first. I have a jam posted to the Shocase titled rather arrogantly "G'Head Out-Funk Me" where I'm playing wah all the way through pretty much. It's kinda long, but at certain points I'm doing some pretty quick strumming and wah riffing. However the speed you're hearing is only really half coming from my hands. It's all about timing- and it takes some practice. If you've got 9 minutes give it a listen. Incidentally it helps to have a steady rhythm guitarist too when you're first getting into this technique.

Also palm muting the strings while using the wah is a great way to get that really dramatic, percussive, textural sound.

[SpiritOfNorway]

1. The tempo of the foot, and the tempo of the strum don't always agree. You can use the wah to synchopate with what you're strumming. Use it to make it seem like you're going twice as fast as you really are.

Do you have a sound clip of this, Mr.B?

This is a nice thread, it deserves to be dug up once in a while :)