Wah switch

robertolopes

robertolopes

Member
Hi,

I am a crybaby user (pedal, not rack), and was wondering how to switch on an expression pedal for the wah.

I am asking, because when the wah is on, the tune is very "thin". Crybaby has a switch right in the pedsl, but expression pedals don't.

Do I have to tap a switch in my mfc and run to the expression pedal?

Cheers,
Rob


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You may want to consider using the "Auto Engage" feature. What it does is automatically turn on the wah when the pedal moves, and turn it off when it stops. How much movement, how much time delay before on/off, etc. are adjustable to suit your usage habits.
 
Cagey said:
You may want to consider using the "Auto Engage" feature. What it does is automatically turn on the wah when the pedal moves, and turn it off when it stops. How much movement, how much time delay before on/off, etc. are adjustable to suit your usage habits.
Click to expand...

Or you can buy one of the Mission pedals that has the toe switch, so it can be engaged just like your cry-baby. I personally like this as it then leaves me open to do the 'half-cocked' sound if I feel inclined. With auto-engage, if you leave the pedal still, it will turn the wah off.

Can't remember the exact model number but well worth checking out.
 
Daribo said:
With auto-engage, if you leave the pedal still, it will turn the wah off.
Click to expand...

Is that entirely correct..?
thinking.gif
 
@Daribo, that sounds interesting, but I am curious how the pedal switch would turn on or off the wah. Assuming that I am using a MFC, how that would work? Expression pedals have only a TRS cable connected. Is it using a midi cable?
Cheers,
Rob


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The expressions with a switch have two outputs - one for teh Continuous Controller, a separate one to activate one of teh four external switch inputs to the MFC. Hence clicking the switch engages/disengages the wah effect and teh pedal sweeps the wah. You could do this witha a separate external switch andexpression pedal if needed (or use one of the MFC internal IA switches for on/off)
 
No they have a separate jack for the switch. just like using a stand a lone tap tempo switch or a boss switch. I just got a mission with toe switch, still using auto engage at the moment until I wire in a cable for the toe switch.
 
Thanks guys for the great help.
So, with this kind of pedal I should connect one cable to one of the MFC's Pedal connectors and the other cable to the switch connector. Did I get it right?

Cheers,
Rob


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Yes, this is possible, and fairly easy to do. I have a Mission Engineering SP-1, which has a toe switch. The expression and toe switch are wired to separate outputs, which are connected as you described.

Read this Wiki article for instructions on setting up the pedal with your MFC-101.
 
Auto engage is golden.. best thing to ever be invented for a wah pedal. I've had a few different wahs over the years and always hated the clicking sound or having to go toe down then back up before being able to use it properly live or in jamming situations.. nothing worse than the switch fucking up and the pedal staying on live! Had it happen once before :-|
 
Auto engage is a cool feature for sure but my midi controller (Roland FC-300) has toe switches so I use those for my wah engage. It just feels comfortable for me that way. Funny enough in the 'real world' I use a Morley Bad Horsie 2 which is an auto-engage style wah hehe.
 
Sleestak said:
Yes, this is possible, and fairly easy to do. I have a Mission Engineering SP-1, which has a toe switch. The expression and toe switch are wired to separate outputs, which are connected as you described.

Read this Wiki article for instructions on setting up the pedal with your MFC-101.
Click to expand...

^^ THIS^^

If you wan't to recreate the Crybaby experience, that's the way to go. I don't care for the auto engage function and prefer the "old school" switch myself, but that's a personal preference.
 
I purchased a Mission SP-1 thinking I wanted to have the switch engage the Wah function, but after using Auto-engage I actually prefer it, and no longer use the toe switch. I have it set up so that as soon as I move the position of the pedal, it turns on. To turn it off, just pedal back to the heel down position and it turns off. I like it much better. There were times when I was using the toe switch where I pushed the switch, thought it was engaged, but it wasn't because I hadn't pushed the switch hard enough. This way I don't even have to think about it, just step on the pedal and GO! :)
 
I could never get use to auto-engage and went with the SP-1. Also with the switch the wah begins at the top of the range, with auto-engage I could never get it to do that, so it sounded weird beginning at the bottom of the range.
 
Thanks A LOT everybody for the great insight. I know exactly how it works, and I can now make my decision. I am old school as well, and after trying the auto-engage few times, I missed a lot the engage button. I didn't think about it, but @luke has a very good point on his comment.

I also found this video, where the guy explains step-by-step how to setup the SP-1 with AXE FX II, however instead of using the switch connector, he is using a second pedal input.

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

Cheers,
Rob.
 
I used to use a real wah with the Axe [CryBaby]
then switched to the Axe's wah using an XP on an FC-300 [which has a toe switch].. it worked great.. just as I was used to..
no idea why, but I was never convinced with the auto engage feature..
then one day I tried it out of curiosity.. took to it immediately.. more so than I expected..
now there's no going back..

I leave the wah XP heel down and it's off.. as soon as I want it it's there..
then I park it at heel and it's off pretty much immediately..

and just like a real wah, you can 'cock it' mid way like Schenker.. so it's all there.. you lose nothing..
and if anything, parking heel to switch off is actually more reliable [to know it's actually off] than the toe switch on the real wah..

from a performance standpoint it just couldn't be easier
 
clarky reflects my thoughts exactly

Actually, I'd never used a Wah in +20 years of playing until getting an Expression pedal for the AxeFX last year! Another one of those things that I'm quietly pleased to have missed out on as I have no preconceptions or expectations...
thumbsup.gif
 
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