4. Pedal Wah

The wah pedal, also known as the pedal wah effect, is a classic and is still manufactured today in the same way it was in the 1960s: the pedal rocker moves a cog rail which in turn drives a pot that controls the band pass filter. There are no other controls or add-ons. The connections to guitar and amp are located on either side, and the effect is launched by pushing the "pedal to the metal" with the ball of the foot, which presses the on/off switch. Older pedals are almost always powered by a 9V-battery that can be replaced by unscrewing the bottom plate. Most current models also come with a connection for a standard 9V power supply unit. The best-known and most widely used pedal in this category is the Dunlop Cry Baby. Naturally, the wah pedal has been subject to experimentation over the years, and some versions are now available which allow you to set the frequency range (Q) more precisely, or which feature additional fuzz or overdrive effects.

One example is the manufacturer Morley, who left the established path fairly early and employed a photoelectric cell instead of a pot to control the effect. The advantage: in a wah pedal, the poti is its Achilles' heel, since it cannot be protected from dust and grime, and there's a very good chance that it will start to scratch or crackle sooner or later and will have to be replaced. The photo cell, not suffering wear and tear, is a nose ahead in this respect, although pedals fitted with one do sound a bit different, but that's up to the player's taste. Another difference between the Morley and other pedals is that the former's pedal travels a longer path, which allows for more precise mid boost. Meanwhile, wah pedals with digital sound generation have entered the market, too. Some of them can emulate the sound of several wah pedal classics thanks to their processing power. They also don't rely on pots that could wear and distort the sound.

How and where can I employ a wah pedal?

There are no real limits to playing with a wah pedal, and you can basically do as you please. The typical wah effect is produced by simply moving the pedal up and down in a steady rhythm, mostly in quarter or eighth time while playing. Or you play a note or a chord and use the pedal to process it further. Another way of using the pedal is leaving the pedal rocker in a certain position to raise a specific frequency range. You can hear this effect used on stage to emphasize the mids by Mark Knopfler in the musty sound of Money For Nothing. For the opposite version of the effect, switch it on and push it all the way down. This results in a spiky, aggressive sound as in the solo in Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin). The wah pedal is also ideally suited to generating intentional feedback. Move the rocker slowly to find the frequency at which the feedback starts to build up.

In the following, you'll find some audio examples of different ways the pedal can be used:

Clean: Slow pedal movement (Heel > Toe)

Clean: Rapid pedal movement

Clean: Pedal heel pos. > Pedal toe pos.

Clean: Dead notes with up and down movements

Clean: Quarter movement - chords and ghost notes

Clean: Slow movement over one bar

Clean: Ouch…

Overdrive: Quarter movement single notes

Overdrive: Fixed wah heel position

Overdrive: Fixed wah toe position