Wah Wah sweep question

[ljudsystem]

So, I built a Clyde/Crybaby type wah wah from a guitarfx vero layout an put it in an old volume pedal. It works fine but I'm a bit confused about the direction of the sweep.

When the pedal is in "heel position" the wah sounds bright and when i push it into "toe position" the sweep goes darker. This feels completely backwards to me. I dug out my old WH10 and that confirmed my suspicion the WH10 is the other way around- dark in heel and bright in toe.

So I swithced the wiring on my DIY Crybaby and now it works the way I'm used to, but it got me thinking. How did the sweep on the old 60's 70's wah wah work? Did they go from bright (heel) to dark (toe) or was that just a mistake in the layout?

[willienillie]

Your instinct is correct, toe down is normally brighter, though there may have been rare exceptions.  If the volume pedal you used has the pot on the other side compared to a classic wah, OR the rack on the other side of the gear, the pot will turn the opposite direction.

[ljudsystem]

Right! Didn't think of that. The pot is mounted on the left side of the enclosure.