wah buffer/booster...

[tacobender]

Anyone got a particular buffer they like over another. Of board or on board. I built a Clyde McCoy clone and it doesn't have much output. Looking to make it boom! Chikka bow wow.

[Gus]

Check your build.
A wha should not need a booster.

[joegagan]

Like gus said, check your wiring etc. possible r value may be off. If you made it true bypass, people often feel the bypassed signal is a little loud compared to wah signal. The traditional ways to make a clyde louder are to make the 68k input 56k , 47k etc.
change q1 e to ground r to something smaller ie 330 ohm. Better yet, 1k trimmer to dial it in.

People have varying opinions about matching wah vol to bp, depends which frequency and how your setup handles frequencies. I have found that pro players and seasoned barroom veterans like the wah pretty loud compared to bypass.

I don't like output buffers for wah, i have tried many. They boost the highs , making the whole curve different in a bad way. Takes a whole bunch of extra parts to kill the treble, and retweaking of the freq curve . too many parts and bandaids, and it still doesnt sound as good as a simple vox circuit to me.

[Ben Lyman]

+1 ^
I have a Fulltone Clyde Standard, sounds great with the buffer turned off, with or without other pedals, especially cool into a TS.
However, I will say the buffer does actually seem to improve the wah dynamics if I am running it into some kinda fuzz or super high gain distortion.
Whether the distortion be pedal or amp, the wah effect is less pronounced when the buffer is off.
For clean or OD wah wah, the buffer ruins the sound, for me anyway.

[LightSoundGeometry]

so where does everyone place their wah in the signal chain and why?

i have mine near the end/middle as some pedals I have dont sound good unless they are 1st or 2nd

[pinkjimiphoton]

wah after fuzz *fuzz always first* then whatever ya like for a signal chain, fuzz before wah gives an intense wah, after it kinda washes out to my ear.

[tubelectron]

The traditional ways to make a clyde louder are to make the 68k input 56k , 47k etc.

That's what I do, usually. For example, on the VOX V846HW, I put another 68K // on the original 68K input resistor, and the output level is now correct.

so where does everyone place their wah in the signal chain and why?

On my SCARABEO Wah-Distortion, I have a switch to change the order : Wah--->Dist. or Dist.--->Wah. Both position have their interests and drawbacks, depending on the amount of distortion you want.

But none of my DIY wahs uses a buffer, and all of them uses True By Pass operation.

A+!

[MrStab]

i use op-amps for buffers all the time. it's entirely down to familiarity, but also a sense that they'll work straight-up with fewer caveats, which lets me focus on other parts of the circuit more comfortably.

as for wah placement.. i like mine sandwiched between my TS and the tube clipping on my amp. just seems to work well for me. i rebuilt my CryBaby from scratch with JFET op-amp input and output buffers, and i can't recall where i had it in my chain before that, so YMMV. i never use fuzzes, but if i did, it'd be a fun excuse to make a pickup simulator.

[tacobender]

I always run my wag firs in the chain, its not bad by itself but with an overdrive but with my twinbender it totally washes out the wah. I had also considered changing the inductor, I got one from Mammoth because its all I could get at the time. I'll check the pars values again and many make some changes.

[tacobender]

+1 ^
I have a Fulltone Clyde Standard, sounds great with the buffer turned off, with or without other pedals, especially cool into a TS.
However, I will say the buffer does actually seem to improve the wah dynamics if I am running it into some kinda fuzz or super high gain distortion.
Whether the distortion be pedal or amp, the wah effect is less pronounced when the buffer is off.
For clean or OD wah wah, the buffer ruins the sound, for me anyway.

...some people use a tube screamer after a wah because it has a buffer in it. Even if its off the buffer is still active and will boost the wah signal.