Effects Bay

About a year ago I converted a Dunlop GCB-95 Crybaby to be true-bypass and included a new Fasel inductor and ICAR taper pot. I really liked how it turned out. There is a large amount of talk about fasel and non-fasel out there. Some wahs have the fasel inductor stock, but a large portion do not. I get asked often.. what’s the deal.. and what’s the difference.

The fasel inductor is found in the ‘classic’ styles of wahs. Vox wahs  and the builders that want the older Vox tones (id: Fulltone Clyde, Teese, etc). I would like to note – Additionally the ICAR taper pot is another big piece of the classic puzzle. To me, the the fasel gives it a little bit more bite and sizzle than non-fasel inductors. I definitely prefer the fasel inductor wahs over the others. The others (again to me) sound a bit muddy and less aggressive, but this comes down to what you want the wah to do. I pretty much use the wah for leads only, so I really want it in your face when I’m engaging it.

I found two great comparison videos by gearmanndude where he compares a Original/Standard CryBaby vs. the Classic CryBaby. The Classic has the fasel inductor, which the Original does not. The two videos illustrate gained amp and clean (the clean video has a scratchy pot… which is super annoying to me, but you can pick up the jist of it).

Here is the video of the clean comparison:

So which one did you prefer? Why? Comment below!

You can pick up the Dunlop Crybaby Classic with Fasel Inductor at Amazon for $99.99
or
You can pick up the Dunlop Original Crybaby at Amazon for $68.26

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A few weeks ago I did a post about Kylesa’s Laura Pleasants Pedalboard. On one shot of her board while on tour, I spotted a MXR MC404 Crybaby Dual Inductor Wah on board. Normally she plays a Teese or Budda, so I wanted to see what was up with Dunlop/MXR teaming up with CAE (Custom Audio Electronics) to make this wah. My quick overview… I was impressed. It’s a dual-Fasel wah. It uses both the yellow and red fasel and has a footswitch to toggle between them. There is also switchable boost, which uses the MC401 Boost/LineDriver that is built into the wah. Additionally there are some pots (single outside adjustable and two internal trim pots) to adjust the Q control. Wah is also true-bypass.

Here is the official description:

Bob Bradshaw of Custom Audio Electronics designed the MXR MC-404 CAE Crybaby Dual Inductor Wah Pedal with the Crybaby design team to create a highly versatile wah-wah with top-grade components. The MC404 CAE Crybaby features dual Fasel inductors with 2 distinct voices (high-end emphasis or low-to-mid resonance), and a built-in MXR MC-401 Boost/LineDriver that adds even more flexibility.

Choose between inductors and turn the boost on or off with the side-mounted kickswitches. Bright LEDs on each side of the wah indicate operation status. The MC404 Crybaby wah boasts true hardwire bypass, a long-life CTS potentiometer, and internal pots for the Q control—which varies the intensity of the wah effect—and gain adjustments. You get the high performance and quality that you expect from Dunlop, the world leader in wah-wah technology.

Bob Bradshaw has been one of the world’s foremost designers of custom guitar pedalboards and effects systems for many of rock’s most influential guitarists for 3 decades. And for just as long, MXR and Crybaby have been synonymous with the effects pedal innovations that have shaped the tone of modern electric guitar playing. So it was only natural for them all to join forces to create a dynamic line of pedals offering the ultimate in tone, functionality and road-worthy dependability. Since 1980, CAE’s groundbreaking pedal designs were made in limited quantities only for a select clientele of world-class guitarists. But now these very same devices and circuits are available to all.

MXR MC404 CAE Crybaby Dual Inductor Wah Guitar Effects Pedal Features:

* Select between a Yellow or Red Fasel Inductor for two distinct tones
* Features a custom designed CTS extended life low noise potentiometer
* User selectable gain output stage with kick switch and LED indicator
* Designed with low noise class ‘A’ operational amplifiers
* Bright LEDs indicate effect status, inductor mode, and boost on or off mode
* True bypass
* For power, insert a 9-volt battery, plug in an ECB-003 power adapter, or plug into a Dunlop DC Brick multi-power supply 9-volt output

I found yet another great video by Burgerman666 that goes into all of what the MXR MC404 CAE Crybaby Dual Inductor Wah can do.

The MXR MC404 CAE Crybaby Dual Inductor Wah is currently on sale at Musician’s Friend. It’s available for $157.56 with Free shipping in the lower 48 states.

Remember, if you like reading about these pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

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Today I came across the Dunlop Kirk Hammett Signature Crybaby wah at Musician’s Friend. It’s on sale, but I didn’t know much about it. I remember back in the day, I was quite into Metallica. Loved the older Kill ‘em All, Ride the Lightening and Master of Puppets. I remember the album Garage Days Re-Revisited was an important album to me as well. It was the cross-over album for me from metal to punk to post punk, etc. I ended up being a fanatical Misfits fan because of Garage Days. Misfits opened up the flood gates on many bands to follow for me. It was a great time.

Anyways, looks like Dunlop worked with Kirk Hammett and designed a pedal that maximizes and most closely replicates Kirk’s wah tones.

Here is the official description:

Developed in close collaboration with the metal guitar icon himself, the Dunlop Kirk Hammett Signature Wah Pedal has been meticulously tuned and tweaked to deliver the wah-wah sound that revolutionized metal solos in the ’80s and for all time to come.

Dunlop’s engineers took Kirk Hamett’s EQ, volume and tone settings—reflecting decades of blazing Crybaby riffology—and reproduced them with exacting precision. The Kirk Hammett Wah is exceptionally even in response, with a thick top end and full dynamic range. This radical stomp pedal features cool foot bone graphics.

Dunlop KH95 Kirk Hammett Signature Crybaby Wah Guitar Effects Pedal Features:

* Based on Kirk’s EQ, volume, and tone settings
* Exceptionally even in response
* Thick top end and full dynamic range

I found this great video by guitarnoize (and if you don’t know him, you should definitely follow his blog and follow him on Twitter)

You can pick up the Dunlop KH95 Kirk Hammett Signature Crybaby Wah for $132.53 (which is currently a sale price!) at Musician’s Friend.

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Today I wanted to talk about the Dunlop SW-95, which is the “Slash” wah built to emulate some of Slash’s tones and configured to his specs. This wah has some interesting features. It first uses the Fasel inductor and has a gain circuit. Basically, has on board gain circuit that can be turned on separately from the main wah function. There are two knobs at the front of the pedal. One controls volume, and the other controls gain. It has a bright blue LED for on/off status. This wah requires 18v so 2 9v batteries are required to run this pedal.. or external power supply.

Here is the official description:

Like the guitarist himself, the Dunlop SW-95 Slash Wah is revolutionary and a classic at the same time. It sports a hot rod, metallic-red finish and a cutting edge, high gain circuit for a different and distinct sound. It also has a modified Fasel inductor for sweet, singing top end and upper midrange bite and sparkle on the wah. 18V operation yields tons of extra headroom. LED indicators for distortion on/off and wah on/off modes keep you clued in at all times. Top hat not included.

Dunlop SW-95 Crybaby Slash Wah Pedal Features:

* High gain distortion circuit
* Fasel inductor circuitry tuned to Slash’s specs
* 18V operation
* LEDs for distortion on/off and wah-wah on/off

I found this video by Jungleboy867 where he gives you a good thorough tour:

Currently the Dunlop SW-95 Crybaby Slash Wah is on sale at Musician’s Friend! At the time of this post, it normally sells for $169.99 but is on sale for $127.43 (57% off MSRP).

Remember, if you like reading about these pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

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In honor of Jimi Hendrix, I thought I would talk about the Vox V847 Wah. The V847 is based on the original specs of the wahs of the ’60s. There are some other builders (based on the Clyde McCoy – Fulltone Clyde, Teese, Vox V848, etc) that make some great wahs on the older circuit design. There are some amazing musicians that played the older Vox wahs.. obviously Hendrix, Page, etc.

Here is the official description:

The Vox V845 Classic Wah Wah Guitar Effects Pedal is based on the specifications of the original pedal developed by VOX in the ’60s. The V845 Wah-Wah offers guitarists the same legendary Wah-Wah tone in a new sturdy but very affordable design. The fitted AC power connector saves on batteries and the outer case is coated with tough all-black finish making the VOX Classic Wah-Wah a perfect choice for your pedal board.

VOX developed the world’s first Wah Wah effect during the ’60s to give guitarists the ability to sound like a trumpet being muted—an important musical ingredient of the day. VOX’s original Wah Wah pedal quickly gained widespread popularity and its unique sonic characteristics have encouraged further experimentation by guitarists ever since.

Right now there is a sale on the Vox V847 Wah at Musician’s Friend. It’s available for $69.99, which is 54% below MSRP.

I found another great video by gearmanndude where he compares the Vox V847 against the Dunlop Classic Crybaby.

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Update… since writing this post, they raised the price to $69.99. That’s still a good deal with the rebate.

So I found a crazy deal on the Vox V845 Classic Wah at Musician’s Friend. Right now they’re on sale for only $49.99. That alone is a good deal (that’s 67% off of MSRP), but they’re also including a Mail-In rebate of $20. According to my math that puts the cost of the V845 at $29.99. Plus, this Vox Wah is coming with a free gift… Danelectro DA-1 Power Supply ($9.95 MSRP).

The rebate expires on 12/31/10 (view rebate form). I might end up buying this.. just for a nice wah chassis to work on mods, etc?? Who knows, but this price it’s worth picking up for sure! Check it out here.

Here is the official description of the Vox V845 Classic Wah:

The Vox V845 Classic Wah Wah Guitar Effects Pedal is based on the specifications of the original pedal developed by VOX in the ’60s. The V845 Wah-Wah offers guitarists the same legendary Wah-Wah tone in a new sturdy but very affordable design. The fitted AC power connector saves on batteries and the outer case is coated with tough all-black finish making the VOX Classic Wah-Wah a perfect choice for your pedal board.

VOX developed the world’s first Wah Wah effect during the ’60s to give guitarists the ability to sound like a trumpet being muted—an important musical ingredient of the day. VOX’s original Wah Wah pedal quickly gained widespread popularity and its unique sonic characteristics have encouraged further experimentation by guitarists ever since.

I found this video by MusikSchmidt (it’s in German):

So let’s summarize…. Vox V845 Classic Wah – Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP)  is $155.00, it’s on sale for $49.99 (save 67%) AND you get a $20 mail-in rebate, so you can get this bad boy for $29.99. Oh and it comes with a power supply. You can pick this up at Musician’s Friend

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I came across an interesting video this morning with Gearmanndude where he compares the white Fulltone Clyde vs. the newer black Clyde standard wah. I was surprised that they sounded so similar. I’ve played a couple of different white Fulltone wahs, and between those two wahs, there was a difference in tone. I think the Clydes sound great. They have a wide sweep, plenty of travel and the tone is fantastic.

You can pick up the newer Fulltone Clyde Standard Wah for $239.00 at Musician’s Friend. If you’re looking for the white version, you can take a look at Pedalnerd.com for some older Fulltone Clydes (but they’re harder to find).

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Today, I wanted to talk about the Worm by Electro Harmonix. I stumbled across a older video demo by Peter Stroud, but I wasn’t too familiar with this pedal at all.  The worm looks and sounds pretty cool. It’s a ‘all analog’ effects processor with phase, trem, vibrato and modulated wah. Pretty interesting.

Here is the official description by Electro-Harmonix:

The Electro-Harmonix Worm is a guitar effects pedal with an all-analog multi-effects processor featuring Phaser, Tremolo, Vibrato, and a Neo-modulated Wah. At the heart of The Worm is a specially designed tone-bending engine that creates groundbreaking oscillatory effects.

Electro-Harmonix XO Worm Analog Modulation Multi Effects Pedal Features:

* True bypass
* Mode-selectable analog modulation effects: wah, phaser, vibrato, tremolo
* Manual mode removes the modulation so the effects can be swept by hand
* Optional expression pedal sweep capability
* Tough and compact die-cast chassis
* 24VDC-100 power supply included

Below is the video I mentioned above by EHX. This is the older chassis version. The current version comes in the smaller enclosure.

You can pick up the Electro-Harmonix XO Worm Analog Modulation pedal for $103.50 at Musician’s Friend.

Remember, if you like reading about these pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

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Will from Source Audio sent me a email this morning letting me know of a video he shot. Here is a video of him playing Jaco Pastorius’ Portraig of Tracy using the Source Audio Hot Hand Wah. Basically, it’s a ring you wear, that a pedal (I’m guessing with some type of photo resistor) interprets the light intensity to adjust the ‘wah’ effect. Pretty cool!

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For today’s post, I thought I would do a post on how I replaced the wah pot in a Fulltone Clyde Wah. In the process of finding a replacement, I definitely learned a lot about the Fulltone Clyde. At Fulltone’s site they have a replacement pot available, but no way to ‘order’ it direct. I sent them a email but didn’t hear back immediately, so I started to do some research. I found out that Fulltone use to sell these pots, but stopped. Apparently there were a lot of people switching out pots for a few bucks and getting something close to the Clyde. I also read that they quit shipping them all together and you need to send in the broken unit. That was a deal breaker for me, so I was off to find a replacement.

After doing some research about the original Vox Clyde McCoy wahs, I saw that it’s a very ‘special’ pot that is required. Builders like Fulltone and Teese have contracted out to pot manufacturers to create pots to match their exact specifications, so it’s not as simple as finding a pot with the same resistance and dropping in there. Basically, the pot is a 100k ICAR tapered pot. You can find various pots on eBay as well as other retailers. I hear the pots commonly found on eBay ‘work’ but don’t sound as good. I also found that Area 51 was  selling CTS ICAR tapered pots so I purchased on from there.

The next day, I received an email from Fulltone saying that they would send me a pot, but I needed to email/fax a proof of billing or send a photo of the wah. I didn’t have the receipt, so I took a photo of the wah with a piece of paper where I signed my name and dated the paper. No problems.. and the pot was on the way. I was happy to get a Fulltone replacement, so I’ll be saving the CTS ICAR pot from Area 51 for another wah project down the road.

Here is a photo of the wah opened u. My two new pots. The one with the dust cover is the Area 51 pot, and the one right of it is the Fulltone replacement pot.

For me to do this replacement, I need to desolder the original connections. I have a little solder bulb (not sure if that’s what you call it) for sucking the wet solder and a hot soldering iron.

I used some colored alligator clips to help me remember what wire goes where and desoldered the connections. I also moved the loop (loop provides tension against the rack) away from the rack (rack is the straight gear).

I then used a wrench to loosen the nut locking the pot in place and replaced it with the new pot. The photo below is the new pot locked in place and ready for soldering. Tighten the pot tight, but not too tight to damage the pot.

Here is a shot of the new pot with wires soldered into place. It’s important to use a HOT iron and to create good solder connections!

The next steps are pretty important. Depress the wah so the pot is cranked to full treble  and match the gear to the rack, but ‘click’ the wah. If you set it to the max without accounting for the footswitch, every time you’re clicking the wah on or off, you’re damaging the pot by forcing it to go beyond what it’s capable of doing. Once the gears are lined up, position the loop to press against the rack and tighten it.

That’s basically it. Slap the cover back on and give it a spin. Overall, it sounded real close to the other Clyde Wah I happen to have. It’s interesting how different components can color the tones differently, and I’ll be writing another post about this down the road. Hope this helps!

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