Fractal's Wahs-- appreciation thread

@bjjp2, what are you using as a controller? I struggled using the Fractal EV-1, which I love for pretty much anything else needing a rocker pedal. Tones were all in there, I was just inept at using them with that pedal. I've got a Cry-Baby shaped Mission pedal now (made to suit Line 6, so I had to rewire it the day I got it. Doh!! [saved less than $10, cost myself 30 minutes and some wire and solder!]). It gets me straight back to usable wah that I can pretty much work OK.

You will not be alone in struggling to find great sounding wah pedals for a tube amp rig. I've been through loads of them over the last 40 years, some of which sounded amazing, and I foolishly converted to volume pedals, or expression pedals, or they just broke and I ditched them instead of keeping to repair. Many have been slightly disappointing from the off. My best ever was a 1970's Jen Cry-Baby, but I somehow destroyed it in the mid-80s. At the last home shootout I did back-to-back, a Fulltone Clyde Deluxe came 3rd, a Dunlop Cry-Baby of indeterminate age came 2nd (80s, 90s?).

The winner was an incredibly cheap, but full size, plastic bodied one that I probably bought mid-90s, branded JHS (not the JHS pedals we know now, but then cheapo UK importer John Hornby Skewes). Great combination of sweep, "vowel sound", messed up treble when toe down, but huge overall controllability. I really must see if I can get the Axe FX III to match it one of these days.

Which models do you use in the Axe FX? I'm generally on Cry Babe or Clyde at the moment, and pretty happy with the results without changing anything. I'll probably feel the need to dive deeper one of these days...

Liam
 
I like the "FAS Wah" and it is my favorite wah in the box. It 'feels' the best to me and I can zone in and accentuate particular registers/frequencies better then others. It's sweep works very well with my Mission expression pedal.

With other wah's I can tweak them to how I generally like them but the FAS-Wah is great right out of the gate pretty much.

I've always felt real wahs generally deficient in some ways and have modded my CryBaby to get it where I can use it, but I can tweak the wahs in the Fractal to get far, far better results much easier.
 
I don’t use a lot of wah, but I love using the paragon at the end of a high gain, song-ending lead. I rock it down through a few “stuck wah” frequencies, and then bleed it down to the depths to cut off the sound. It sounds so good!
 
I find the EV1 is the best controller I've used. That makes the wahs even better as well as volume etc...
Love the Clyde but wish for a Budda Wah (the original purple one) which I think is great.
 
LiamH said:
@bjjp2, what are you using as a controller? I struggled using the Fractal EV-1, which I love for pretty much anything else needing a rocker pedal. Tones were all in there, I was just inept at using them with that pedal. I've got a Cry-Baby shaped Mission pedal now (made to suit Line 6, so I had to rewire it the day I got it. Doh!! [saved less than $10, cost myself 30 minutes and some wire and solder!]). It gets me straight back to usable wah that I can pretty much work OK.

You will not be alone in struggling to find great sounding wah pedals for a tube amp rig. I've been through loads of them over the last 40 years, some of which sounded amazing, and I foolishly converted to volume pedals, or expression pedals, or they just broke and I ditched them instead of keeping to repair. Many have been slightly disappointing from the off. My best ever was a 1970's Jen Cry-Baby, but I somehow destroyed it in the mid-80s. At the last home shootout I did back-to-back, a Fulltone Clyde Deluxe came 3rd, a Dunlop Cry-Baby of indeterminate age came 2nd (80s, 90s?).

The winner was an incredibly cheap, but full size, plastic bodied one that I probably bought mid-90s, branded JHS (not the JHS pedals we know now, but then cheapo UK importer John Hornby Skewes). Great combination of sweep, "vowel sound", messed up treble when toe down, but huge overall controllability. I really must see if I can get the Axe FX III to match it one of these days.

Which models do you use in the Axe FX? I'm generally on Cry Babe or Clyde at the moment, and pretty happy with the results without changing anything. I'll probably feel the need to dive deeper one of these days...

Liam
Click to expand...
I use the Mission Engineering spring model for Wah and the EV-1 for everything else.
On the Fractal I also usually use Cry Baby or Clyde.
 
I used to use the Mission Sp-1 but weight is the key for me these days and the Fractal EV-2 is my go to fo sho!
 
I went through a few wah pedals in my time, always looking for the 'right' one, but never really finding one that I would stick with. The ability to tweak the frequencies, range and tone really make it the best out wah there.
 
I had a Vox (made by Thomas Organ Company) back in the day, it was cool. Went through a Morley phase at one point, some others, and I've tried all of them in the Axe.

None of them, or more likely my brain, can do Up From The Skies, which to me is where the Wah magic happens.
 
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