Wah-Wah

From GuitarWiki

Description and history

"Wah-wah" (or "spectral glide") is an onomatopoeic word which describes the sound made when altering the resonance of musical notes. Wah-wah effects are not limited to guitar and bass, a similar vocal effect can be performed on instruments like tuba and trombone.

Joe Oliver wrote a song in the 1920s called "Wawawa" and the Duke Ellington Orchestra started using plungers to create a wah-wah effect. In the 1930s, trumpeter Clyde McCoy used the effect extensively, becoming well known for it, while Fats Domino also used trumpet wah-wah on his first hit "The Fat Man". The instantly recognisable cartoon sound of disappointment ("Wah, wah, waaaaah...") is performed on a wah-wah'd trumpet.

The wah pedal creates a similar sound by sweeping back and forward the frequency of the filter's peak response. Leo Fender built one as early as 1945, but it was first patented in February 1967 (as a 'foot controlled continuously variable preference circuit for musical instruments') by Vox Amplifiers and Thomas organs. Vox integrated the circuit into a small rectangular box with a rocker pedal attached to the pot (which controlled the frequency of the resonant peak), naming it the wah pedal after Clyde McCoy, who pioneered the original sound almost forty years before. Early versions of Vox's wah pedal featured an image of McCoy on the bottom, which soon gave way to only his signature. The name of the pedal was eventually changed to the Cry Baby, which is recognizable to many guitar players as the ultimate wah pedal.

The traditional "wah wah" effect does not affect the guitar's volume, although many modern models offer a volume boost and distortion options, while an envelope filter or envelope follower is often referred to as an auto-wah or T-Wah.

Guitarists

Chet Atkins used a home-made wah-wah pedal in 1961 on the song "Boo Boo Stick Beat".

Session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan used a wah-wah pedal on the 1961 record "Sweet Little Sixteen" by Michael Cox.

Jimmy Page used one as a session guitarist on the song "The Crying Game by Dave Berry in 1964.

Although he mainly used a wah-wah to set his tone rather than rocking it back and forth, Frank Zappa used a pedal with an acoustic guitar.

A Vox Clyde McCoy is used on the song "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" by Jimi Hendrix which did much to popularize the effect. "Little Miss Lover" also used a wah pedal, in conjunction with muted guitar strings.

Cream's Eric Clapton first played wah-wah on "Tales of Brave Ulysses" and for both background riffs and an extended solo on "White Room". Clapton also used the pedal for his guitar solo on "Presence of the Lord" by Blind Faith as well as his solo classic "Bad Love".

Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin played wah-wah on some notable singles by The Temptations in the early-'70s, as well as with Martha Reeves and the Pointer Sisters. Hendrix proclaimed blues guitarist Earl Hooker the "master of the wah-wah".

The wah-wah is used in many Funk classics like Rufus' "Tell Me Something Good" and James Brown's "The Payback".

Jimmy Page of the band Led Zeppelin used a wah-wah pedal much like Frank Zappa. Instead of rocking the pedal to produce the wah tone, Page kept the pedal depressed, producing a tone that was much sharper. He does use the wah in a more traditional manner on songs like "Dazed and Confused" and "No Quarter".

Slash of Velvet Revolver (ex-Guns N' Roses) is famous for his use of the wah-wah pedal and received his own signature Dunlop Crybaby in 2007.

Metallica's Kirk Hammett used a wah-wah pedal extensively on the Black album as well as on "The House That Jack Built" from Load. He is often criticized for his extensive use of the wah-wah pedal in his solos, but he says, "The wah-wah is an extension of my personality". He also once said, "They'll have to cut off my leg if they want me to stop using the wah-wah pedal."

Dimebag Darrell with Pantera used his signature Cowboys From Hell Crybaby wah-pedal, in a couple of his songs.

Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society (ex-Ozzy Osbourne) uses his own signature Zakk Wylde Crybaby wah-wah pedal in nearly every one of his songs, either during solos or the song riffs.

John Frusciante is a modern wah-wah pedal user and is commonly known for using the discontinued Ibanez WH-10. With the Red Hot Chili Peppers on their Stadium Arcadium tour, Frusciante used the WH-10 on almost every solo.

Tom Morello (ex-Rage Against the Machine, ex-Audioslave) is another modern wah-wah pedal user. Many of his famous songs (including Bulls on Parade, Bombtrack, and Guerilla Radio) use the pedal. His Dunlop Crybaby is the very first effect on his guitar loop.