DIY Wah Enclosure Experiment

[Paul Marossy]

It turned out very nice in the cosmetics department. 

[MicFarlow77]

It's hard to tell by the pictures, but a couple of suggestions:

One deal that is easily visible from the pictures is the height of the footswitch. You can turn the inside nut to where there are one a couple of threads for the top nut to engage. That will give you a few more degrees.

Not easily visible from the pics is how close the pot case is to the top of the enclosure. If you can move the pot real close to the top if it is not already there, that will help add a few degrees.

It looks like the rack you are using is a standard rack. If it is, it actually has the exact number of teeth to rotate that pot the full rotation if all the other geometry is correct.

You did not mention what is limiting the amount of rotation? Rack hitting the bottom of the enclosure? (You'll need to shorten the mounting bracket to pull it closer to the treadle) Treadle not giving enough movement to get the desired rotation? (You'll need to lower the switch as mentioned earlier and also move the pot if possible closer to the top, if those do not give enough, you'll need to raise the treadle pivot point so that you can go further down with the toe and further back with the heel)

Also not easily discernable from the pics is whether the horizontal bar you have running across the enclosure to keep the rack engaged with the pinion is at the same height as the middle of the pinion. Hard to describe, but that rack will need to make maximum contact such that the first rack tooth engages just as it reaches the pinion at the midpoint of the center of the shaft...  Basically, if you are able to move the pot case closer to the top, you'll also have to move that bar closer to the top as well in order to keep the rack engaged to the pinion... if possible, even closer to the top.... though the placement will be critical as that rack does not easily bend to help compensate for any shortcomings... having that bar maybe be adjustable or maybe prepared to use a spacer between that bar and the back of the rack.. (a piece of hard rubber or plastic to act as a shim comes to mind)

Sorry for rambling... If I am coming up short in my suggestions, please let me know and maybe I can get you a drawing of what I see in my head :-)

Good luck and you have done a great job so far!

[Brymus]

It turned out very nice in the cosmetics department. 

Agreed +1
Keep at it,I think your on to something good,I wish I had the tools to do metal work like that.

FWIW my BOSS FW-3 has the bypass switch in an external box/footswitch,which I made my own rather than tracking down and buying the Boss one.And it works pretty good if you dont mind the extra space on your pedal board,its impossible to accidently turn the wah on or off when wahhing.

[Güero]

This my attempt to make a wah shell.
Until now I am satisfied with the results.
The pedal is very sturdy.
I will post updates.

[theundeadelvis]

Very cool!

[Top Top]

Different type of thing, but this is something I made a couple weeks ago.

I went for an optical type of wah mechanism (video showing the guts/underside):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4xQH_nCZU0



It's not actually a wah, but it is a swept type of effect. I am working on another effect now that will require an actual pot (uses a blend/divider type thing). So I'll be experimenting with some other techniques. One simple way that I still think is viable is attaching the pot on the axis - not holding the pressure of the pedal, but extending the axle out and attaching it to the pot.

I'll post results if they are worthwhile at all.

Here's an early attempt with that sort of thing... a lot to be refined about this design, but it DOES work! 



The main place I went wrong, I think, was in putting the axle right in the middle. If set closer to the heel end, it would not have to be so high up to achieve the same amount of sweep.

[Brymus]

The design of my BOSS FW3 is SO simple.
I will post pics of the insides sometime for you DIY wah guys.
But it uses a slide pot,like on a mixer,so no gears or fancy mechanics.
The hardest thing to copy in a DIY sense would be the treadle tension spring (IMO)
It uses a flat leaf like spring to adjust the pedals resistance to movement.
The circuit itself is OK,good wah tone thats adjustable,but the bypass tone is lacking,really sucks the tone down in a bad way.

[Pierre]

This my attempt to make a wah shell.
Until now I am satisfied with the results.
The pedal is very sturdy.
I will post updates.

Clever !!!!
My own attempt..
I posted it a few years ago...  http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=56092.msg432791#msg432791
...today I'm in a need of some nice words

Pierre

[Top Top]

The design of my BOSS FW3 is SO simple.

But it uses a slide pot,like on a mixer,so no gears or fancy mechanics.

*slaps forehead*

Gonna go pick up a slider tomorrow!

[mattthegamer463]

Nice jobs everyone!

The slider idea is really great, definitely easier than the pot method that most commercial wahs use.  I've been really lazy lately and still haven't done any real work on this thing.  I only have access to my shop for a couple more weeks before I have to go back to work for 4 months   So I've been trying to cram shop projects in and saving the electronics for my work term.

[JKowalski]

The colorsound wah has a unique method too, instead of gears to turn the pot it is hooked up to it with a hinged arm.

[phector2004]

Top top,

I really like your wah mechanism! at first I thought it was gonna be something like the Morley wah, where it has a pleather strip or something that BLOCKS light. The moving diode idea seems better though

How is it in terms of function?
How do you keep the LED wires from breaking??

[Top Top]

Top top,

I really like your wah mechanism! at first I thought it was gonna be something like the Morley wah, where it has a pleather strip or something that BLOCKS light. The moving diode idea seems better though

How is it in terms of function?
How do you keep the LED wires from breaking??

Sorry, just saw this.

I actually had considered something like you mention, with something that blocks the light, but this was just so simple.

So far, the wires are fine. The travel is not huge and the wires are multistranded, very fine wire - pretty flexible.

Not 100% sure if this would be a good idea for a commercial effect, but for my personal purposes, it works fine and the wire breaking does not seem like a real issue.

[John Lyons]

The colorsound wah has a unique method too, instead of gears to turn the pot it is hooked up to it with a hinged arm.

Yes, "cam action" in fact. So it's got a lopsided rotation.