Fasel's/Wah voicing

[Keysershades]

Hello people, i was thinking about my wah the other day when i was listening to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qla13aWrNP4 (i think the wah kicks in about 5.30) .... And as much as i love my Carl Marting TwoWah, i sometimes miss the classic CryBaby/Vox voicing.
So would a yellow or red Dunlop Fasel give me some of that crying baby sound ?

Simon.

[zombiwoof]

I don't think just replacing the inductor is going to do it, that sound is a combination of many component factors.  I don't know the exact circuit of that wah, but many modern wahs use higher gain transistors, pots with different tapers and values, and other component value variations from the original Vox/Crybaby circuit.  In order to replicate that sound, you would have to compare the circuit of your wah to the original circuit (the Fuzzcentral Clyde McCoy pages are a good source for the original specs), and change the parts that differ to the original specs.  It might mean replacing the inductor, the pot, and some resistors, etc.  How much you'd have to change would depend on how much the circuit in your wah differs from the original.  Your wah might even have a great inductor in it already!.  GEO has a good reference for changing components to achieve certain sound changes, but I think getting it to original specs first is a good thing to do, then you can tweak other factors if needed.

If that seems like too much, maybe you need to get a different wah altogether.  I'm not saying to get rid of the Carl Martin wah, you may want that sound in the future.

Al

[Paul Marossy]

All that the inductor does for the wah is make it a resonant circuit. There's far more that can be done by tweaking everything else.

[Keysershades]

Thank you for your replys!
I bought the Carl Martin because i was kind a sick of the CryBaby and Vox "standard" wah sound. But i would like that edge in the middle of the sweep in a Cry Baby sometimes.
I know it's two completly different curcuits, and i don't wan't to build a Cry Baby out of it. So you don't think a Cry Baby fasel would do much change ?

Simon.

[ryanuk]

Changing the inductor isn't gonna transform your wah. As previously mentioned, the inductor (if the 2Wah has one!?) is probably fine. The dunlop fasels are inconsisntent from one to the next, so I would avoid them.

The best advice would be to buy a cheap dunlop/vox and experiment with some of the values - mods are well documented on the web. I'd resist messing about with the capacitors as, to my ears, these make the least difference. As does the inductor and pot to some extent. The most useful mods are the transistors and certain resistors.

[KH602]

replacing the inductor does change abit because there all different values. red fasels are around 660mH and yellow are 600ish. thats what mine mesured. vintage inductors like whipple/halo are around 500mH because you can wind them yourself. i have seen old inductors wound are 470mH aswell. but they do make a difference otherwise they wouldnt make them. an yes dunlop fasel's vary in values all the time. it also depends on other values of the circuit to change your sound like gain/bass, mid, Q, sweep selector like on the dunlop 535q that changes to frequency range of the wah, all these mods change the sound and resonace of the peak/sweep. you can make them al variable so you can just dial in a tone and see what sounds you can get out. other ways to change the sound is by replacing the wah pot. dunlop hot potz 2 is 100k pot, you can use other dunlop pots that have 250k or 470k for a larger sweep. pots also have different tapers that you can use, again to change the sweep of the wah. its all about trial and error really. i have built many wah pedals and circuits from scratch and theres so many ways to mod it and achieve different sounds

[Paul Marossy]

Thank you for your replys!
I bought the Carl Martin because i was kind a sick of the CryBaby and Vox "standard" wah sound. But i would like that edge in the middle of the sweep in a Cry Baby sometimes.
I know it's two completly different curcuits, and i don't wan't to build a Cry Baby out of it. So you don't think a Cry Baby fasel would do much change ?

Simon.

Are you sure that they are two "completely" different circuits? If you trace out the circuit, it might just be a slightly tweaked CryBaby.

replacing the inductor does change abit because there all different values. red fasels are around 660mH and yellow are 600ish. thats what mine mesured. vintage inductors like whipple/halo are around 500mH because you can wind them yourself. i have seen old inductors wound are 470mH aswell. but they do make a difference otherwise they wouldnt make them. an yes dunlop fasel's vary in values all the time. it also depends on other values of the circuit to change your sound like gain/bass, mid, Q, sweep selector like on the dunlop 535q that changes to frequency range of the wah, all these mods change the sound and resonace of the peak/sweep. you can make them al variable so you can just dial in a tone and see what sounds you can get out. other ways to change the sound is by replacing the wah pot. dunlop hot potz 2 is 100k pot, you can use other dunlop pots that have 250k or 470k for a larger sweep. pots also have different tapers that you can use, again to change the sweep of the wah. its all about trial and error really. i have built many wah pedals and circuits from scratch and theres so many ways to mod it and achieve different sounds

People get way too hung up on the actual value of the inductor. Anything between 500mH and 1H will work. The inductor's only function in a wah pedal is to make it a resonant circuit. You will notice much more significant changes by tweaking certain strategic parts, like resistors and/or capacitors. The value and taper of the pot as well. But changing an inductor from say 600mH to 660mH is a very very subtle change, if you can even hear it all. The smaller you go, the more noticable it gets. Think of the Vox "grey wah" sound (Jimmy Page's wah pedal). It sounds like it does because it has a 250mH inductor instead of a 500mH. I surmise that is because it becomes less resonant the smaller you go. But I think after a certain point going up from 500mH, there really isn't any real noticable change. I know some people would argue with me over that, but there's many other factors to consider. It's not a one shoe fits all type of thing.