What trick am i missing with the Wah?

J

Jackthehat

Member
The easiest way i can describe this is i'm trying to achieve the wah sounding like the guitar part in the song "Shaft" by Isaac Hayes, or the start of 'voodoo chile'. I've tried many settings but i just cant seem to get that 'wukka chukka' sound that i've always liked in my wahs like and old vox or crybaby. It just seems to come out sounding "digital" for want of a better word with a real nasal sound that i really dont like. The expression pedal i'm using is the Hex from rocktron hooked into the midimate i got this because i wanted something that had a similar travel to a crybaby so my foot would feel at home.
Please someone tell me the secret recipe for success or just share your thoughts on this matter.

Cheers Jack.
 
My starting point is:
- type: Bandpass
- min freq 400Hz
- max freq 2KHz
- res and tracking both 5
Wah is placed before drive and amp blocks, a bit more resonance for overdriven sounds, less for clean.
 
I've found it best to tweak the wah by ear for different amp models. I'll get a nice wah sound for a plexi for example and transfer it over to a patch with a cornford or something and it won't sound anywhere near as good ...so I'll tweak it until it sounds good.
 
Thanks for the replies guys i'll have to just use the 5min in soundcheck i get tonight to try a few things out so we'll see how i get on. It mainly seems to be a problem on getting the wha 'wukka chukin' on clean sound at the moment.
I'll let you know how i get on!

Cheers Jack.
 
GM Arts said:
My starting point is:
- type: Bandpass
- min freq 400Hz
- max freq 2KHz
- res and tracking both 5
Wah is placed before drive and amp blocks, a bit more resonance for overdriven sounds, less for clean.
Click to expand...

+1
 
I have the same problem.
To my ears it sounds like the level is higher on the low frequencies and lower in the higher frequencies when I think in a real wah it sounds like is actually the opposite.

OTOH I bought a really chear M-audio expression pedal and the throw is nothing like a real wah...so it might be throwing me off...
 
It's my opinion that the Wah in the Axe FX is probably one of the "less convincing" FX. I don't personally use it as a pedal wah effect because i think as a standalone block it doesn't come close to the voicing of a real wah. I do use it for Touch Wah (envelope) but only because i don't want to be dragging around my MXR Auto Q....

It can sound better with additional processing but this just seems counter productive to me in that i'd prefer to use my available processing power on other effects that already sound great within their own blocks.

I have several wahs and personally use a Morley Bad Horsie as my Wah of choice, and i've never been able to replicate a voicing similar to it within the Axe FX.

Who knows, hopefully the wah will get a bit of an overhaul one day ;) ....

T
 
Sorry for the late reply, basically the gig i wanted to try some settings at was a nightmare as we were late arriving as usual so i didn't get time to tweak. I have since tried some of the settings suggested they are an improvement...BUT it still doesn't sound like a classic wah to me. It's still missing something in the top end of the 'wukka chukka' to get that classic sound, by no means am i giving up and i'm gonna keep tweaking till i find that sound if it kills me. And if not i'll have to get the soldering iron out and fix the the old Crybaby and run that in front!! :roll:

(on a side note yesterdays gig was a nightmare the FBT verve 12ma got sick on me and will have to go back :evil: )
 
I gave up on getting a good wah from my Standard. I just plug my trusty old Crybaby in front of the FX - problem solved.
 
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