Wah pedal...best model to mod

[Murfman]

I was wondering which basic model Wah wah pedal is the best to start from before you do any mods. Is there any Crybaby or Vox wah that I should hunt for that is the easiest to mod and get the best classic wah tones from?

I would love to buy a Teese pedal and its this type of pedal/sound I'm after, only my four young children and wife would have to go with no food for a few weeks to pay for it!!! $200 is way out of my price range and Xmas is too far away.

Anyway....any suggestions for which models to avoid or which ones to shoot for. Do I want the fasel models or not? Which ones should I avoid buying?

Thanks for your help in advance!

-Steve
Chico, Ca

[axg20202]

IMHO, any Crybaby or Vox wah will be fine because the shell is main thing. Wahs are simple circuits and these models contain pretty much the same guts I believe, just slightly different values here and there, maybe slightly different inductors etc. To be honest, if you're going to do some mods and don't know what you do and don't need from a wah at this stage, the best option is to get a dead wah or empty enclosure and make a replacement PCB from scratch, selecting the features you want from the outset. If you can't find a dead crybaby/vox on e-bay, you can buy empty wah enclosures (and all the other parts you'll need) from Small Bear. As for layouts, I can highly recommend the wah PCB at Tonepad.

Andy.

[mistercoffee1]

Is there any Crybaby or Vox wah that I should hunt for that is the easiest to mod and get the best classic wah tones from?

Anyway....any suggestions for which models to avoid or which ones to shoot for. Do I want the fasel models or not? Which ones should I avoid buying?

I like Vox V847 (not 847A), and Crybabys from Rev D and before (which would be pre-1990).  These would be the easiest to mod, without having to remove any internal buffers, and you wouldn't have to make your own PCB.

[krhnyc]

There is a mod-able wah project on general guitar that I was looking into building. Total parts $140USD (not incl pcb, which I etch myself)...

If you already have a wah, you can subtract the following;

- $41.00 for the enclosure
- $17.00 for the pot
- $3.00 for the jack (you can reuse the pcb mounted jack if you want)
- $9.00 for the switch (if the wah comes with a DPDT installed)
- $20.00 for 1 inductor

- $90.00 total

remaining $50.00 total to make a dual inductor (ind. A, ind. B or ind. A + B in series) wah with 6 position cap selector and trimmers for level, Q, etc. not bad. Yopu can pick up a cheap used crybaby for $50 or less on ebay. So for a hundy you can get something that is probably similar to an RMC3. You can also use shell mounted pots in place of trimmers for changes on the fly.

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53&Itemid=26

[mistercoffee1]

If anyone needs a used (but working) Crybaby, I have one for sale.  Even if it's just for the case.
Check the For Sale forum.