Today, I asked the question “Question: Distortion before Wah or Distortion after Wah. Let the discussion begin!”. This was sparked by reading the ProGuitarShop.com blog entry titled “A Guide to Guitar Effects Placement“. This was a pretty interesting read and further down the article you see mention of Jimi Hendrix that went against popular convention by putting his wah infront of his distortion. It’s classically said to put the wah after the distortion, so I was curious what others do.

Twitter Responses:

DMFNoah @effectsbay Distortion before Wah for me anyway
The_Original_1 @effectsbay Distortion b4 wah. Nothin like pinch harmonics through a wah wah.
Petroguy @effectsbay Wah first, fo sho.
mouzik @effectsbay after…of course
PaulGrahamRaven @effectsbay Distortion BEFORE wah, no question. Worked for Swervedriver, works for me. YMMV.
dhyaltoan @effectsbay guitar into wah into amp
markgrundhoefer @effectsbay I second that! Distortion before Wah even though the Great One would say otherwise.
innerlightmusic @effectsbay I haven’t tried before in a while, remember i didn’t like it too much. But I’m sure it has it’s place somehwere
SourceAudioFX @effectsbay im going to have to go with before Wah for $500
CorydooM @effectsbay I was always told overdrive first! Boost the signal before it is sent to any effect…
Muzik4Machines @effectsbay really depends on the tone you look for, i put my FZ2 before wha and my ds1 after for example
The_Riz @effectsbay: Completely different sound profiles – Do you want an all-encompassing EW Sweep? then it goes after. I tend to put mine before..
tbjanis @effectsbay distortion after wah. I find it less harsh & easier to find that honky, nasal tone in the ‘middle’
GarethDEdwards @effectsbay distortion before wah. The distortion creates a good wide frequency spread and gives the wah something to filter
PeterBerki @effectsbay Distortion Before Wah. If it’s noticeable with echo effects, chances are it’s going to be noticeable with any effects.
patodruida @effectsbay What’s there to discuss? Just bring 2 Wah pedals!
Custompbox Depends. If distortion is too “hot” might be hard to control. RT @effectsbay: Question: Distortion before Wah or Distortion after Wah.
dogonaut @effectsbay distortion BEFORE. Distortion is part of the guitar sound – the wah is a bit sensualness to get the rhythm a-pumping!
El_Kmaron @effectsbay AFTER. For me at least.
jomarwarble @effectsbay AFTER. if you add the distortion before wah it just sounds… crappy.

Facebook Responses:

Trey Bliss Before Wah for me
Mario Di Sandro i stopped using Wah, but i had it before Distortion, but i believe Hendrix put it after Distortion, so…
Brandon Bishop two totally different sounds, both are totally useful. I’d always go back and forth and could never really decide which i liked best
Greg Cooper after wah for me, right now.

Please feel free to continue the discussion by commenting below!

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