Wah Mods.... PICS!

[nero1985]

hey gusy, i modded my wah yesterday, its a GUITAR RESEARCH from Sam Ash that i got for like $20 new! (my friend works there) but i was really happy when i saw that it  was analog with  a pot and inductor! it has metal film resistors and those brown  metal film caps the  transistors were C1815 (changed them for the ones i had on my dunlop crybaby) i used a 6 position sweep selection switch used a 1K pot in series with a 330ohm instead on the 390ohm resistor for gain (ill change it later for a 220ohm resistor), i used a 100k in series with the 33k for the Q mod, true bypass with a blue LED and a red fasel inductor, the only problem was that the board didnt have extra holes for a larger inductor and i had to solder a wire from the inductor into the board and the transistors had  a different pinout so i had to solder them all crossed, im waiting for my parts from small that were shipped today i think so im gonna change the transistors and use the LED/LDR on it and some more mods too.... im also gonna try the jen volume/wah mod which i tried before but didnt work good but then i reallized i had a 220ohm instead of the 390ohm and i was getting way too much gain with the volume setting... anyways it sounds pretty good now i just gotta get used to it and find a place on my pedal board!

[anti-idiot]

nice mod. i want to mod my wah-wah too (Rockson Crybaby) 'cos it sound like shit. can u post some schematics?

[Paul Marossy]

Hey, how does that $20 P.O.C. sound? Does it actually sound good with a Fasel in it?! I have one of those that I bought for the shell. I didn't even bother with listening to what it sounded like. I used the pot in it for another wah project, and it was scratchy within two weeks! 

Like the old expression goes, "you get what you pay for".

EDIT: Nver mind about the pot, I see that you have a Hot Potz in there...

[formerMember1]

Nero,  How is the enclosure compared to a dunlop?  Is the enclosure as strong, and is it useful to use to build your own wah circuit in like the dunlops are?  How is the feel, is it loose, or is it adjustable like the dunlops via the screws?  Also is the length of physical throw/sweep the same as a dunlop?


thanks 

[Paul Marossy]

How is the enclosure compared to a dunlop?  Is the enclosure as strong, and is it useful to use to build your own wah circuit in like the dunlops are?  How is the feel, is it loose, or is it adjustable like the dunlops via the screws?  Also is the length of physical throw/sweep the same as a dunlop?

Mine was a virtual exact copy of a Dunlop wah pedal. Chrome plated cast enclosure that is even heavier than a CryBaby is. It's adjustable like the Dunlop wah, throw is the same. The feel is not the same a Dunlop, it feels much rougher. That is remedied by getting rid of the stock pot and using a Dunlop Hot Potz pot and rack thingie (the straight piece that turns the gear). What makes the wah case different is the size of the holes at the input/output jacks - Dunlop has about a 3/8" hole whereas the Guiter Research one has 1/2" holes. In spite of that, you can use standard jacks with washers.

[formerMember1]

great, thanks Paul! 

[GBlekas]

I don't mean to hijack the thread in anyway but my experience with those shells was different.
I had tried the same thing with a Carvin wah shell awhile ago.
I believe the Carvin and the Sam Ash wah shells are Chineese knockoffs of the Dunlop Patented shell.

I tend to be overly critical of things but found the gears to not feel quite right on my chrome wah.
In my opinion even the cheapest used Dunlop is much better quality wise and thus has a smoother feel to them.
Of course I have been into wahs for 35 years or so now so you can take it as you like.

That being said I ended up using mine for a Leslie speed foot controller.


Hey Nero1985,

First off thanks for sharing your project with us all. The blue LED looks killer as does your use of pots to tweak the circuit on the fly.
Just curious, is that Blue LED on the rocker pedal itself?
If so, how do you keep it secured and keep the wires from breaking? I couldn't tell from the inside pics.
Also, what value caps do you have on the selector?


I ended up putting my wah project into a Teese shell.
 I added a trim pot to tweak the the V+ to the circuit.
The reason I did that was because in my observations the wah always sounds great just prior to the battery dying so I lessened it a bit with a trim pot.
Bc109 transistors, NOS Stack of Dimes inductor and some other circuit tweaks in a fixed format.



Anybody else got any wah mod pics?
Sorry but I just can't get enough of this stuff. 

Regards,
George
www.PedalworX.com


http://tinypic.com/view/?pic=o92uz7
http://tinypic.com/view/?pic=o92t5g

[Paul Marossy]

I tend to be overly critical of things but found the gears to not feel quite right on my chrome wah.
In my opinion even the cheapest used Dunlop is much better quality wise and thus has a smoother feel to them.

My sentiments exactly. 

[Fret Wire]

That looks alot like the Carvin Vintage Wah I picked up last year when they closed out their fx. Like Paul said, it's a crybaby shell (chromed), same throw. The inspection stickers look similar. The Carvin had a poor switch and pot, but it's just as modable as any crybaby. A Vox 847 board will drop right in, but the jacks on the Carvin board are different from the Crybaby's, so a Crybaby board will drop in, but the jacknuts won't reach.

[Fret Wire]

[nero1985]

Hey guys i actually think this pedal is about the same as a dunlop, its a like rough of course but i kinda like it like that altho im gonna try to use something like oil to make it softer, the circuit itself is not bad the problem i have now is that those jack suck my ass, if you move the cable on the input it messes up your sound so that pisses me off, one thing ive been wanting to do for a while is a remote wah right now i think i can do it as i found the remote control from geo and the relay switching, i might just breadboard the circuit as small as possible (the wah boads even  DIY waste  alot of room) so this way i can have everything i one  place, as for the LED ...............  well that took me hours to make sure it would come off the led is mouted on the rocker and i had to leave alot of slack of wire so that i wouldnt pull it off..... ok back to work,, latahhhhhhhhhhhhh

[GBlekas]

I am always working on pedals so I have some issues where repairs on concerned. It's easy to replace a jack in an old wah but not so in the two examples in the pic.
Pedals where the builder gooped the board are another red flag for me.

Wah schematics based on the vintage wah show 2 transistors. How many do you see in the examples posted?

For what intended purpose do you suppose the extra transistors were added? (discuss amoung your selves)

Is this stuff like Dunlop USA and Dunlop Taiwan?
Anyone know for sure?

Regards,
George

[no one ever]

I am always working on pedals so I have some issues where repairs on concerned. It's easy to replace a jack in an old wah but not so in the two examples in the pic.
Pedals where the builder gooped the board are another red flag for me.

Wah schematics based on the vintage wah show 2 transistors. How many do you see in the examples posted?

For what intended purpose do you suppose the extra transistors were added? (discuss amoung your selves)

Is this stuff like Dunlop USA and Dunlop Taiwan?
Anyone know for sure?

Regards,
George

well, we all know that the extra mpsa13 (darlington! 2 transistors) on the left of the dunlop is for the buffer.. and the GR has 2 transistors.... i suspect they are very, very alike.