Hey all, Im new here, but newayz I have a vox v848 clyde mccoy wah... its ok but its not srong enough what can i dooo id like to put a boost on, add the eq, the q control, maybe voicings, anything n everything, i love wah, but just not mine... im running emg 81 n 85 pickusp to this to my peavey xxx half stack... just for ideas, it needs to be like steve vai ish ya know where it really stands out and sounds great, also during the wah i get a little crackle liek itnerferance, and its the re issue like a year old.. thanks...
braddd
Hi. One of the keys to a good wah is to have the right Quality ("Q") factor. Standard, I find most wahs have a lower-than-ideal Q.
You can change the Q in any wah with an inductor (that large coil thing) by changing the resistance in parallel with the inductor. In the older Vox circuits, CryBabies, etc, its a 33k resistor that you'll want to change. My home-made wah replaces the 33k resistor with a 25k resistor and 25k pot, which I mostly have truned to about 2/3. So that would be about 25k+15K = 40k. So try a 39k and a 47k resistor in there and see what you like. It'll definately give you a more distinctive and "ow"-like wah.
There are many other mods possible, too, but this one is a good start.
good luck
would that pot be linear or audio n any place u reccomend for more wah mods?
For a Q control a linear (B) pot is best.
Other mods depend on what you are doing with your wah. It is very common to put an output buffer on a wah if you also own a fuzzface (because a wah before a fuzzface doesn't work). See the buffers page at the AMZ site for more info, or search this forum.
A common mod is to lower the input resistor. I'm not familiar with your model wah, but most circuits use a 68k, or thereabouts, input resistor. Lowering this to 33k or 47k increases the wah volume a little. If you feel you need extra volume, try it out. If the wah is you first pedal in your chain, this mod might alter your tone very slightly (take a smidgen of treble away).
cheers
thanks man... i also wanna do a gain control, im gunna do the q and the output buffer very soon, possibly that input thing too.... but what about the mid high and low, like if u look at wah-wah.co.uk i think it is.. somethign liek that....
also would adding an LED add distortion? id liek to make an in use one, and i know hwo to wire it in but i dont want any dist, and i heard something like LEDS can add a little or something... and how can i get rid of the god awful scratch i get when i do a quick bass to trebel sweep
Ok after some research I have found out what I want to do..... I want to add the following,
a Q control to change the voicing (woh wah)
a master output volume control
output buffer
in use LED
adjustable gain, low, mid, hi, probably trim pots
if its not insanely difficult, a boost
and possibly if its easy and since its already all apart, the wah / volume pedal switching...
Please leave links to schematics and or anything that can be detailed and helpful,
If you have ANY idea on any of those IM me at Siiickened Crow, thanksssss