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Looper's Delight
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Over the eons I’ve had different wah wahs from
Crybaby to Vox to RMC Wah to Fulltone Clyde , to my latest Wah, A Dunlop
95Q. Being the John Waters fan I am, I’m tempted to buy a Mister Crybaby,
so when people ask me is that a crybaby? I can say “That’s Mr. Crybaby
to You!!!” I bought the 95Q because I had read an interview with
Luther Dickinson whose music I don’t really know other than he is now
playing with the Black Crows so I know he is a southern roots rock dude. He mentioned
the 95Q and the reason he liked it is it had no on off switch and instead had a
switch-less sensor in the heal down position, and the wah was engaged simply by
stepping on it and moving the pedal (like the Morley Bad Horsie does). Because
it has a flat spring that keeps the pedal in the heel down position, its not
the best wah for people who want to turn it on and leave it in a fixed
position. This doesn’t mean you can’t do that, only that you must
leave your foot on the pedal to find your sweet spot. What’s really cool
about it for funk playing is the wah starts from the bass sound which means its
easier to drop in to the sound without first having to slam your toe down to
engage the wah, and starting from its most open trebly position. I find
it makes transitions between wah and no wah smoother as a result,
because I realized I like the sound of starting from the heal down better. I
also like the fact that I can quickly take my foot off the wah and it’s
off. It has a Q adjustment on the side as well as a volume control for the
boost function, which is mounted on the opposite side as a kick switch. I haven’t
used the boost much but it’s certainly enough to overdrive the front end
of a small tube amp. It would put some hair on a champ for sure, though the
speaker might start choking. One thing I like to do is simultaneous
volume swells with my pinky on the Strat’s volume control as I swell the
wah, or better yet use the volume swell/delay preset on a DL-4 at the
same time. I suppose many people have happened upon this “dual
envelope” technique, it works great with delay and verb on big chords and
slow to moderate melodies. I also love to use the wah as a very slow filter as I’m
playing a very syncopated rhythm. As far as the sound of the 95Q, its capable
of anything from cleaner Curtis Mayfield stuff to more half cocked, find
the sweet spot, Brian May approach. Mayfield and May, wah wah
masters both. And then there’s Jimi……………wow
awowwow wawawow chicka wow awowwow wida….chicka…………………. If Jimi were alive I wonder which wah wah he would use??? That
was in poor taste… I was looking for a wah that had a bit more
tweak-able versatility and I was really curious to see if I’d like the no
switch feature and I really like this wah and its fast on off response.. Not as
expensive as the boutique guys or signature pedals…let me see at last
count, Jimi Hendrix has a signature wah ( actually two if you count the wah in
the Experience Multi effect pedal), Buddy Guy has a polka dot one, Steve Vai has
at least one, Zack Wilde has a wah, Dimebag has one, Eddie Van Halen of course,
Clapton should have one I don’t think the crossroads pedal has wah though
I may be wrong, Brian May should too though I think his red special pedal might
have wah settings. Does any one else have a signature wah?
I’m thinking I’d like to have one. The Billy Wow Wow pedal with Vocal-essence
!!! It would have presets for gargle and throat clear sounds as well, and
come in custom colors to match people’s hair. Oops I think I’ve too
much Christmas Cheer. Happy Holidays looping buddies Bill |