Wah-wah pedal

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This article deals with the effect pedal, also known as a Wah. For Wah wah in other musical contexts, see Wah-wah; for the 1994 album by James, see Wah Wah

A Vox wah-wah pedal.

A Wah-wah pedal is a type of guitar effects pedal that alters the tone of the signal to create a distinctive effect intended to mimic the human voice.

1 History
2 Guitarists
3 Bassists and beyond
4 External links
5 See also

[edit] History

The earliest version, which sweeps the peak response of a filter up and down in frequency to create the sound, was first heard in 1945 on a pedal steel guitar created by Leo Fender and in the early-'60s on Vox amplifiers (under the name Wah-Wah) and Thomas electronic organs (as the Crybaby). B.J. Plunkett et al, applied for patent protection Feb. 24, 1967 and were granted US Patent 3,530,224 Sept. 22, 1970. The variation in the peak response frequency of the filter resembles the change in formant frequency in the human vocal tract when saying the word "wah", making the wah-wah pedal a crude form of speech synthesizer. As the wah wah pedal is rocked back and forth, bass is taken off the guitar's tone, and treble is put on. The "wah wah" effect thus does not affect the guitar's volume.

There are two types of wah pedals: one that lets the player control the effect via a foot pedal, and one that adjusts the effect automatically according to the amplitude of the signal from the guitar (auto-wah, or envelope-followed filter).

[edit] Guitarists

The first recorded use of a wah-wah pedal was by Chet Atkins, who used a pedal that he had built himself on the 1961 recording "Boo Boo Stick Beat".

Jimi Hendrix did much to popularize the wah-wah in the late-'1960s using his own modified effects pedal^{[citation needed]}, as heard on his "Machine Gun" and the Electric Ladyland album. There is still a commercial wah-wah pedal named after him, as well as Digitech's device which includes effects from several of Jimi's hits, and a built-in wah pedal. A song "Little Miss Lover" introduced percussive wah-wah effect, made by muting guitar strings. This effect was later used by many funk and soul musicians throughout the 1970s, a notable instance occurring throughout Isaac Hayes' theme song for the 1971 film Shaft. In the beginning of the song "...Still Raining, Still Dreaming", Hendrix used wah-wah pedal in a manner that sounds as if a guitar was talking. The first Hendrix release to feature the wah-wah pedal was "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" single in 1967, that had another wah-wah song, "The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice", as a B-side. Hendrix also claimed that he tried to create the wah-wah effect on his debut album by changing the pickup selecter of his guitar quickly from neck to bridge (for example during a solo of "I Don't Live Today" and in the intro of "Love or Confusion?").

Eric Clapton first played wah-wah with Cream on "Tales of Brave Ulysses" on the Disraeli Gears album and used it for both background riffs and an extended solo on "White Room". His "Presence of the Lord", made with his short-lived supergroup Blind Faith, also featured prominent wah-wah. Clapton often used the Clyde McCoy wah-wah from Vox.

Jimmy Page used the wah-wah pedal in order to create a sharp guitar sound without producing the actual wah-wah effect. On some tracks of Led Zeppelin's second album he simply keeps the wah-wah pedal on its furthest position without rocking the pedal at all. This way Page got a sharper guitar sound than settings of his guitar or amplifier could give alone.

Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin played wah-wah on some notable singles by The Temptations in the early-'70s, as well as with Martha Reeves and the Pointer Sisters. Hendrix proclaimed blues guitarist Earl Hooker the "master of the wah-wah".

Guitarists of the pedal's early decades most commonly used the wah-wah on an already distorted sound, as the effect of wah-wah on a distorted sound is far more vivid than that of distortion on the output of a wah-wah. Few guitar amplifiers of the period had an effects loop, so this necessitated the use of a fuzz box rather than relying on amplifier distortion. Often the two were combined into a fuzz-wah pedal.

Modern experimental guitarists Steve Vai and Joe Satriani are popular users of the effect. Vai officially endorses the Morley brand wah-wah.

A rather unorthodox use of a wah-wah pedal is heard on the studio recording of Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing". The unique sound of the lead guitar on the song was created by plugging Mark Knopfler's reissue Gibson Les Paul, with pickups wired 'out-of-phase', through a wah-wah in a static position, lending the nasal sound to the guitar riff that is so recognisable.

Other guitarists known for their use of the pedal include: John Frusciante, The Edge, Buckethead, Michael Hampton, Michael Schenker, Dimebag Darrell Abbott, Jerry Cantrell, Larry Coryell,, Anson Funderburgh, Noel Gallagher, Jerry Garcia, David Gilmour, Kirk Hammett, George Harrison, Eddie Hazel, Tom Morello, Dave Mustaine, William Reid, Gary Rossington, Carlos Santana, Slash, Mick Taylor, Mark Tremonti, Zakk Wylde, Frank Zappa, Mick Box, and John 5 (see John Lowery) of Marilyn Manson. A very famous type of wah pedal is made by Dunlop.

[edit] Bassists and beyond

Some bassists have been common users of the wah-wah effect including: Bootsy Collins, Bill Laswell, Buckethead, Cliff Burton, Les Claypool, Tim Commerford, Mike Dean, Jason Newsted, Geezer Butler and Cordell Crockett

Keyboardists such as Chick Corea, Rick Wright of Pink Floyd, Ray Manzarek of The Doors and Page McConnell of Phish have also made use of the wah-wah effect both in the studio and during live performances.

On many albums, the wah-wah effect can be heard with other instruments such as the trumpet. Many jazz fusion records feature wind instruments with a wah-wah effect--Miles Davis' trumpet being a well-known example. Also, Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys has used a wah-wah effect on his turntables.

The song Up on Cripple Creek by The Band uses a Clavinet patched into a Wah-wah pedal, which is the first recorded instance of such.