what's yer fav vintage wah? - they're not all equal!

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Re: what's yer fav vintage wah? - they're not all equal!

Post by OffYourFace » Sat Feb 10, 2018 8:23 pm

I have a boomerang wah/volume and I jumped out the volume part. It was a gift from a friend many years ago. It's not my favorite but I won't sell it.
My favorite is my "MAYA" fuzz wah. (Shin Ei). Used with the Super Fuzz ckt inside, it's huge sounding and cuts through at the same time.

The original Grey Vox wah I once tried was probably my favorite 'classic' sounding wah.

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Re: what's yer fav vintage wah? - they're not all equal!

Post by fuzzjunkie » Mon Feb 12, 2018 8:56 am

Anyone with a Tychobrahe style wah? Tommy Iommi like?

I know Chicago Iron made a Para-Wah modeled after it. Wasn't there a Danish clone too? The Parachute Wah? They have a long sweep and a phasey sound. I can do a bit of that with my system described earlier.

I think Zhivago had a clone years ago? The originals go for $$$$ these days.

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Re: what's yer fav vintage wah? - they're not all equal!

Post by elektrovac » Mon Feb 12, 2018 10:38 am

I have a weak spot for the 1970s The DeArmond Thunderbolt

Image

- Circuitwise it has more in commen with a phaser than with the traditional inductor wahs, but it does give a wah-like effect with a synthy sweep and some awesome growly lows. I like it so much I paid an electronics engineer to do a reverse engineering of my former band mate's vintage pedal and draw up a schematic for me.

Here's a shoot out between the original and my clone:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_jKzppT2ds

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Re: what's yer fav vintage wah? - they're not all equal!

Post by fuzzjunkie » Mon Feb 12, 2018 7:09 pm

Ahh, the Reuss is what I was thinking of, but it's a Thunderbolt clone, not a Tychobrahe. Still, it has that phasey, synth type of filter sweep. The Four Eyes can do a bit of that, but the fuzztone it has is thicker and more Muff-like. I have an old A/DA Phaser that has an expression pedal. I was hoping it controlled the phaser speed when I got it, but it makes the phaser sound like a wah-wah instead.

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Re: what's yer fav vintage wah? - they're not all equal!

Post by JVG » Sat Feb 17, 2018 1:22 pm

Any experience with the Marshall Supa Wah? I've become interested after reading about the MJM Mavis Wah, which is apparently a pretty faithful recreation of the Marshall.

Cheers!
J

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Re: what's yer fav vintage wah? - they're not all equal!

Post by HorseyBoy » Sat Feb 17, 2018 10:06 pm

fuzzjunkie wrote:
Mon Feb 12, 2018 7:09 pm
Ahh, the Reuss is what I was thinking of, but it's a Thunderbolt clone, not a Tychobrahe. Still, it has that phasey, synth type of filter sweep. The Four Eyes can do a bit of that, but the fuzztone it has is thicker and more Muff-like. I have an old A/DA Phaser that has an expression pedal. I was hoping it controlled the phaser speed when I got it, but it makes the phaser sound like a wah-wah instead.
If you like your wahs synthy and phaser-like, try to get a hold of the Korg Mr Multi FK-2. Really great, under-the-radar pedal that works well as a phaser, a wah and a "Double Wah" (phaser + wah) which can be foot-operated (when set to "Pedal") or LFO-operated ("Auto"). Like the Thunderbolt, there's no inductor - a bunch of op amps do all the work. One of my favourite pedals of all time.
Looks like this:

Image

Sounds like this:

https://soundcloud.com/boy_called_horse ... zarre-demo

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Re: what's yer fav vintage wah? - they're not all equal!

Post by s_mcsleazy » Wed Feb 21, 2018 11:36 am

maybe not vintage but the one i like is the dod wah volume fx 17
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'Are you trying to seduce me Mrs Robinson? Or do you just want me to solder a couple of resistors into your Muff?'

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Re: what's yer fav vintage wah? - they're not all equal!

Post by MechaBulletBill » Sun Apr 01, 2018 3:57 am

Recently picked up a Jen Mister Cry Baby (wah/vol, no 9v adapter input). I modded it for proper bypass with a dpdt so it's just a normal wah now. Red Fasel inductor. It sounds really nice, especially with distortion where you get a very clear yet throaty vocal sound. The only issue I'm having is that the rocking mechanism isn't very resistive and the Alpha DPDT is very soft so I'm kicking it off and on without meaning to a lot. Interestingly, it's much, much lighter than my v847 which will make it much easier on my back when it's in a gigbag.

Chrome rocker + white rubber trim has got to be the coolest version
Image

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Re: what's yer fav vintage wah? - they're not all equal!

Post by Pacafeliz » Sun Apr 01, 2018 6:44 am

MechaBulletBill wrote:
Sun Apr 01, 2018 3:57 am
Chrome rocker + white rubber trim has got to be the coolest version
Image
That one is exactly like mine, the one I got from my dad! Love it. Rarely see them elsewhere.
i love delay SO much ...that i procrastinate all the time.

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Re: what's yer fav vintage wah? - they're not all equal!

Post by offsets4life » Mon Jul 30, 2018 8:00 am

I've owned a couple of EH Crying Tone pedals.
One had a steel treadle like the De Armond Thunderbolt pictured earlier.
And a Muff Fuzz Crying Tone Fuzz wah. I had that thing for about 9-10 years.

Sounded good although I grew to dislike the one knob fuzz circuit eventually.
But painful if you dropped it on yer/ foot/ play in bare feet. :D
Hefty! And solid.
The EH Talking Pedal I had was... disappointing, by comparison.
Even after a check over by Howard Davis.

Had an old, DA Wah Face, with tropical fish caps, Fasel, sounded great.
Should have kept that one... Think I sold it to pay for a barrister when I was having a stalker problem. :fp:

Been a couple of Crybabys that came and went, black 80s/90s Morleys...
Every once in a while I used to think I might like a Morley Fuzz Wah ala Jim Martin / FNM.

I currently own a Colorsound WahWah Supremo.
Two wah circuits in one case. Run one, or two... In series or sweeping against each other.
The sweep reverse sound is whack. Sort of reminds me of an old Funny Cat filter, without the noisy crap.

Currently plotting how to replace the old Ibanez fuzzwah I had to liquidate a couple years ago :(
Old Vox wahs sound very cool, but I think I've subconsciously avoided them for some reason.
Most likely the prices
I've put a couple of Halo inductors in different things. They will definitely wake up a weak wah pedal.

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Re: what's yer fav vintage wah? - they're not all equal!

Post by MechaBulletBill » Mon Jul 30, 2018 8:42 am

Pacafeliz wrote:
Sun Apr 01, 2018 6:44 am
MechaBulletBill wrote:
Sun Apr 01, 2018 3:57 am
Chrome rocker + white rubber trim has got to be the coolest version
Image
That one is exactly like mine, the one I got from my dad! Love it. Rarely see them elsewhere.
I've actually just replaced the electrolytic 4.7uf cap which had dried out. now it's an incredible wah for rock or funk and in a much lighter enclosure than my 80s vox. love it.

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Re: what's yer fav vintage wah? - they're not all equal!

Post by vale » Sat Aug 18, 2018 9:50 am

colorsounds are lush and swooshy, crybabys are just quacky. colorsound wins.
i am an animal.

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Re: what's yer fav vintage wah? - they're not all equal!

Post by Kent » Sat Aug 18, 2018 11:26 am

HorseyBoy wrote:
Sat Feb 17, 2018 10:06 pm
If you like your wahs synthy and phaser-like, try to get a hold of the Korg Mr Multi FK-2. Really great, under-the-radar pedal that works well as a phaser, a wah and a "Double Wah" (phaser + wah) which can be foot-operated (when set to "Pedal") or LFO-operated ("Auto"). Like the Thunderbolt, there's no inductor - a bunch of op amps do all the work. One of my favourite pedals of all time.
Looks like this:
I must concur. I've got a damn near mint one and it is one of three wahs that I simply can't sell even if I don't use any of those 3 anymore. It is a unique sound but I can duplicate it in my Axe-FX, so....

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Re: what's yer fav vintage wah? - they're not all equal!

Post by i love sharin foo » Sat Aug 18, 2018 4:22 pm

I've had lots of wahs, both new and old. This is the second MuTron C-200 vol/wah that I have owned. I learned my lesson the first time, so this one isn't going anywhere. It's an optical circuit and doesn't have the big midrange boost that a lot of wahs have. It is more of a linear, synthesizer like sweep. It works super well as a fixed, moveable filter. I like to run it after a loop and use it to bring out different tones, especially in conjunction with a ring modulator.

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Re: what's yer fav vintage wah? - they're not all equal!

Post by starflower » Sat Aug 18, 2018 5:49 pm

True about them not all being the same. Even the same product had its variants.

A good 15+ years ago when Moollon boss YJ was putting together the final circuit for his Vintage Wah, he gave me a good 20 minute talk about the history of Vox and Thomas Organ... Turns out the three vintage Vox wahs he had from 1968 and 1969 were all different enough on the inside to sound noticeably different in timbre from each other. And sure enough his final product has unique element from each, the ICAR pot with less teeth on the cog + handwound inductor + individually matched transistor values being the essential common parts.
Sound Director & Composer at Sangwha / General Manager at Moollon Guitars. https://soundcloud.com/andi-roselund

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