Wah-wah pedal (Bud-Wah)

A wah-wah pedal (or just wah pedal) is a type of guitar effects pedal that alters the tone of the signal to create a distinctive effect, intended to mimic the human voice. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles An effects pedal (or a " Stomp Box " is an electronic Effects unit housed in a small metal or plastic chassis used by musicians usually Electric The pedal sweeps the peak response of a filter up and down in frequency to create the sound.

History

The Wah-Wah pedal has a very specific and technical circuitry and housing structure. Therefore, all other previous effects circuits and devices, prior to 1966, that share similarities with the wah-wah pedal are not actually affecting the signal in the same manner and cannot be considered early versions of the wah-wah pedal. Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. The first pedal ever created was by Warwick Electronics Inc. / Thomas Organ Company in November 1966; this pedal is the original prototype wah-wah pedal made from a ‘transistorized MRB potentiometer bread-boarded circuit’ and the housing of a Vox Continental Organ volume pedal. The Thomas Organ Company is a manufacturer of Electronic keyboards and a one-time holder of the manufacturing rights to the Moog synthesizer. Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. A prototype is an original type form or instance of something serving as a typical example basis or standard for other things of the same category In Electronics, a transistor is a Semiconductor device commonly used to amplify or switch electronic signals A potentiometer is a three-terminal Resistor with a sliding contact that forms an adjustable Voltage divider. A breadboard ( solderless breadboard, protoboard, plugboard) is a reusable Solderless device used to build a (generally temporary Prototype The Vox Continental is a Transistor -based Combo organ that was introduced in 1962 The organ (from Greek όργανον – organon "organ instrument tool" is a Keyboard instrument of one or more divisions each An expression pedal is an important control found on many organs and Synthesizers that allows the volume of the sound to be manipulated

The creation of the Wah-Wah pedal was actually an accident which stemmed from the re-design of the Vox Super Beatle guitar amplifier in 1966. Vox is a musical equipment manufacturer which is most famous for making the Vox AC30 guitar amplifier, the Vox Electric organ, and a series of innovative An instrument amplifier is an Electronic amplifier that converts the inaudible electric or electronic signal from musical instruments such as an Electric guitar Warwick Electronics Inc. / Thomas Organ Company had bought the Vox name due to the brand name’s popularity and association with the Beatles. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 Warwick Electronics Inc. also owned Thomas Organ Company and had assigned Thomas Organ Company to create a new product line called the all-electric Vox Amplifonic Orchestra, the project was headed by musician and band-leader Bill Page. While creating the Vox Amplifonic Orchestra, the Thomas Organ Company needed to re-design the Vox amplifier into a transistorized solid state amplifier, rather than tube, which would be less expensive to manufacture. Solid-state Electronic components devices and systems are based entirely on the Semiconductor, such as Transistors Microprocessor chips and During the re-design of the USA Vox amplifier, Stan Cuttler, head engineer of Thomas Organ Company, assigned Brad J. Plunkett, a junior electronics engineer, to replace the expensive Jennings 3-position MRB (mid-range boost) circuit switch with a transistorized solid state MRB circuit. Jennings Musical Instruments is a manufacturer of musical instruments notably the original owner of the Vox brand

Brad Plunkett had lifted and bread-boarded a transistorized tone-circuit from the Thomas Organ (an electric solid state transistorized organ) to duplicate the Jenning 3-position circuit. After adjusting and testing the amplifier with an electronic oscillator and oscilloscope, Brad connected the output to the speaker and tested the circuit audibly. An electronic oscillator is an Electronic circuit that produces a repetitive electronic signal often a Sine wave or a Square wave. An oscilloscope (commonly abbreviated to scope or O-scope) is a type of Electronic test equipment that allows signal Voltages to be viewed At that point, several engineers and technical consultants, including Bill Page and Del Casher, noticed the sound effect caused by the circuit. Bill Page insisted on testing this bread-boarded circuit while he played his saxophone through an amplifier. The saxophone (commonly referred to simply as sax) is a conical- bored transposing Musical instrument considered a member of the Woodwind John Glennon, an assistant junior electronics engineer with the Thomas Organ Company, was summoned to bring a volume control pedal which was used in the Vox Continental Organ so that the ‘transistorized MRB potentiometer bread-boarded circuit’ could be installed in the pedal’s housing. After the installation, Bill Page began playing his saxophone through the pedal and had asked Joe Banaron, CEO of Warwick Electronics Inc. / Thomas Organ Company to listen to the effect. At this point the first electric guitar was plugged into the prototype wah-wah pedal by guitarist Del Casher who suggested to Joe Banaron that this was a guitar effects pedal rather than a wind instrument effects pedal. An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder A wind instrument is a Musical instrument that contains some type of Resonator (usually a tube in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing Joe Banaron, being a fan of the big band style of music, was interested in marketing the wah-wah pedal for wind-instruments as suggested by Bill Page rather than the electric guitar suggested by Del Casher. A big band is a type of Musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late After a remark by Del Casher to Joe Banaron regarding the Harmon mute style of trumpet playing in the famous recording of “Sugar Blues” from the 1930’s, Joe Banaron decided to market the wah-wah pedal using Clyde McCoy’s name for endorsement. A mute is a device fitted to a Musical instrument to alter the sound produced by affecting the Timbre, reducing the volume or most commonly both For other uses see for the book Sugar Blues Sugar Blues is a song that became popular by Clyde McCoy featuring the sound of the Clyde McCoy ( December 29, 1903 in Ashland, Kentucky – June 11, 1990 in Memphis, Tennessee) a famous

After the initial invention of the wah-wah pedal, the prototype pedal was then modified by Del Casher and Brad Plunkett to better accommodate the harmonic qualities of the electric guitar. However, since Vox had no intention of marketing the wah-wah pedal for electric guitar players, the prototype wah-wah pedal was given to Del Casher for performances at Vox press conferences and film scores for Universal Pictures. Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal Pictures or Universal City Studios) a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is a major Global American The un-modified version of the Vox Wah-Wah pedal was released to the public in February of 1967 with an image of Clyde McCoy on the bottom of the pedal. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. Clyde McCoy ( December 29, 1903 in Ashland, Kentucky – June 11, 1990 in Memphis, Tennessee) a famous

Warwick Electronics Inc. assigned Lester L. Kushner, an engineer with the Thomas Organ Company, and Bradley J. Plunkett to create and submit the documentation for the Wah-Wah pedal patent. A patent is a set of Exclusive rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an The patent was submitted on February 24, 1967 which included technical diagrams of the pedal being connected to a four-stringed “guitar” (as noted from the “Description of the Preferred Embodiment”). Warwick Electronics Inc. was granted US patent 3530224 (Foot controlled continuously variable preference circuit for musical instruments) on September 22, 1970. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Early versions of the Clyde McCoy featured an image of McCoy on the bottom panel, which soon gave way to only his signature before the name of the pedal was changed to Cry Baby. Clyde McCoy ( December 29, 1903 in Ashland, Kentucky – June 11, 1990 in Memphis, Tennessee) a famous Thomas Organ’s failure to trademark the Cry Baby name soon led to the market being flooded with Cry Baby imitations from various parts of the world, including Italy, where the McCoys were originally made. ^[1]

Function

The variation in the peak response frequency of the filter resembles the change in formant frequency in the human vocal tract when saying the word "wah," making the wah-wah pedal a crude form of speech synthesizer. A formant is a peak in the Frequency spectrum of a sound caused by acoustic Resonance. The vocal tract is that cavity in animals and humans where sound that is produced at the sound source ( Larynx in mammals syrinx in birds is filtered Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. The traditional "wah wah" effect does not affect the guitar's volume, although many modern models offer a volume boost and distortion options.

An envelope filter or envelope follower is often referred to as an Auto-wah or T-Wah. Auto-wah (also known as an "envelope following filter" or just " envelope filter " is a type of Wah-wah Effects pedal typically used

Guitarists

The first recorded use of a wah-wah pedal was by Del Casher in December 1966, who was commissioned by Warwick Electronics Inc. / Thomas Organ Company to create a Vox wah-wah pedal demonstration album which was released publicly in February, 1967.

Frank Zappa extensively used a wah-wah pedal but did not always use it in the conventional way of rocking it back and forth. Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21 1940 – December 4 1993 was an American Composer, Electric guitarist Record producer and Film director Zappa often left it set in different positions to get different tones, using it as a filter or distortion device. He also often used the pedal in combination with the acoustic guitar.

Jimi Hendrix did much to popularize the wah-wah in the late 1960s. James Marshall Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix) (November 27 1942 – September 18 1970 was an American Guitarist, Singer and Songwriter Possibly the most iconic track of all time using a wah pedal is "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" which heavily used at the time, an original Vox Clyde McCoy Picture Wah. " Voodoo Child (Slight Return " is the last track on the third and final album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Electric Ladyland. The song "Little Miss Lover" introduced percussive wah-wah effect, made by muting guitar strings. This effect was later used by many funk and soul musicians throughout the 1970s including Rufus' "Tell Me Something Good" (which also includes the Talk Box effect) and James Brown's "The Payback". Funk is an American musical style that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended Soul music, Soul Soul music is a Music genre that combines Rhythm and blues and Gospel music, originating in the United States. A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a James Joseph Brown Jr (May 3 1933 – December 25 2006 commonly referred to as "The Godfather of Soul" the "King of Funk" and "The

Eric Clapton first played wah-wah with Cream on "Tales of Brave Ulysses" on the Disraeli Gears album and used it for both background riffs and an extended solo on "White Room". Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE (born 30 March 1945 is an English Blues-rock Guitarist, singer Songwriter and Composer Cream were a 1960s British rock band " Tales of Brave Ulysses " is a song performed by the 1960s group Cream. Disraeli Gears is the second album by British Blues-rock group Cream. " White Room " written by Jack Bruce and Pete Brown, is a single by Cream from their 1968 Album Wheels Clapton used a Vox Clyde McCoy Picture Wah in Cream. Clapton also used the pedal for his guitar solo in Blind Faith's "Presence of the Lord" as well as his solo-era classic "Bad Love" from the album "Journeyman". Blind Faith were an English blues-rock band that consisted of Eric Clapton

Jimmy Page of the band Led Zeppelin sometimes used a wah-wah pedal in an unorthodox manner. James Patrick Page, OBE (born 9 January 1944 is an English Guitarist, Composer and record producer Led Zeppelin were Instead of rocking the pedal to produce the wah tone, Page kept the pedal depressed, producing a wah tone that was much sharper. He does use the wah in a more traditional manner on songs like "Dazed and Confused" from Led Zeppelin's first album as well as "No Quarter" from their "Houses of the Holy" album.

Slash of Velvet Revolver (and formerly Guns N' Roses) is famous for his use of the wah-wah pedal and received his own signature Dunlop Crybaby in 2007. Saul Hudson (born 23 July 1965 more widely known by his stage name Slash, is an English - African American Guitarist best known as the former Velvet Revolver is a Hard rock supergroup consisting of former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum Guns N' Roses is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985

Kirk Hammett of Metallica used a wah-wah pedal extensively on the self-titled "Metallica" album (also known the Black album) as well as on "The House That Jack Built" from the Load album. Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is the Lead guitarist and a songwriter in the band Metallica and has been a member of the band Metallica is an American heavy metal band that formed in 1981 in. Metallica (also known as The Black Album) is the self-titled 5th studio Album by the American heavy metal band He has often been criticized for his extensive use of the wah-wah pedal in his solos, but he insists, "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. Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas, formed by the Abbott brothers Vinnie Paul ( drums) and

Zakk Wylde with Black Label Society uses his own signature Zakk Wylde Crybaby wah-wah pedal in nearly every one of his songs, either during solos or the song riffs. Zakk Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt on January 14, 1967 in Bayonne, New Jersey) is an American musician who Black Label Society is a heavy metal band formed by Zakk Wylde, with seven studio albums released to date

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. Melvin Ragin (born c 1951 better known by the Nickname " Wah-Wah Watson " is an American Guitarist and Session musician The Temptations (sometimes abbreviated as The Temps or The Tempts) are a Grammy -winning vocal group that achieved fame as one of the most successful Martha Rose Reeves (born July 18, 1941) is an American R&B and soul singer and was the lead singer of the Motown The Pointer Sisters are an American Grammy Award -winning Pop / R&B recording act from Oakland, California that achieved Hendrix proclaimed blues guitarist Earl Hooker the "master of the wah-wah". The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles Earl Hooker ( January 15, 1929 in Clarksdale Mississippi – April 21, 1970 in Chicago Illinois) was an American

John Frusciante is a modern wah-wah pedal user and is commonly known for using the discontinued Ibanez WH-10. John Anthony Frusciante (pronounced) (born March 5 1970 is an American Guitarist, singer songwriter and record producer With the Red Hot Chili Peppers on their Stadium Arcadium tour, Frusciante used the WH-10 on almost every solo. Red Hot Chili Peppers are

Tom Morello of Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine used the pedal in many songs, including Bulls on Parade, Bombtrack, and Guerrilla Radio. Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30 1964 is a Grammy Award -winning American Guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine Audioslave was an American Hard rock supergroup that formed in Los Angeles California in 2001 Rage Against the Machine (sometimes shortened to RATM or Rage) is " Bulls on Parade " is a song released by Rage Against the Machine in 1996, and can be found on their second album Evil Empire. " Guerrilla Radio " is the second track from the 1999 album The Battle of Los Angeles by the band Rage Against the Machine. The entire solo for Be Yourself is played using a Wah Pedal. His Dunlop Crybaby is the very first effect on his guitar loop.

Numerous guitar players have included wah-wah pedals in their arsenal and it is among the most common effects used by modern musicians.

Other instruments

Many bassists have also used the wah-wah effect, for example Michael Henderson on Miles Davis's album On the Corner (1972). Michael Henderson is a Bass guitarist and vocalist best known for his work with Miles Davis in the early 1970s providing a deep funky groove to early Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26 1926 &ndash September 28 1991 was an American Jazz Trumpeter, Bandleader, and Composer. On the Corner is a Studio album by Jazz musician Miles Davis, recorded in June and July of 1972 and released later that year on Columbia Bassist Cliff Burton of Metallica used a Morley Wah pedal (along with a Big Muff Distortion) extensively, including on (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth, which is primarily a bass solo recorded for Kill 'Em All (1983), and The Call of Ktulu and For Whom the Bell Tolls, both recorded for Ride the Lightning. Clifford Lee Burton (February 10 1962 &ndash September 27 1986 was a bass guitarist best known for his work with the American heavy metal band Metallica The Big Muff is a Fuzzbox produced in New York City by the Electro-Harmonix company along with their Russian sister company Sovtek, primarily Kill 'Em All is the debut album by Metallica. It was recorded in only two weeks on a small budget " For Whom the Bell Tolls " is a song by Metallica, the third track from their second album Ride the Lightning. Ride the Lightning is the second album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 27 1984 by Megaforce Records Geezer Butler, bassist for Black Sabbath, used it when playing his solo Bassically, along with the bass line in N.I.B.. Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July, 1949 in Aston, Birmingham, England) is the founding bassist for Black Sabbath are an " NIB " is a song released by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath.

Keyboardists have also made use of the wah-wah effect both in the studio and during live performances. Garth Hudson famously used a wah-wah pedal on a clavinet in The Band song "Up on Cripple Creek" to emulate a Jaw Harp. Eric Garth Hudson (b August 2 1937 in Windsor Ontario) is a Canadian Musician. A Clavinet is an electrophonic Keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company The Band was a rock group active from 1967 to 1976 and again from 1983 to 1999 " Up on Cripple Creek " is the 5th song on The Band 's eponymous second album ''The Band''.

Many jazz fusion records feature wind and brass instruments with the effect - Miles Davis's trumpet being a well-known example. Fusion or more specifically jazz fusion or jazz rock, is a Musical genre that merges Jazz with elements of other styles of music particularly Davis first used this technique in 1970 (at concerts documented on Live-Evil and The Cellar Door Sessions) at a time when he also made his keyboard players (Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea) play electric pianos with a wah-wah pedal. There is also a Black Sabbath album called Live Evil. Live-Evil is an album by Miles Davis, part of which Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945 in Allentown Pennsylvania) is an American Pianist and Composer. Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (born June 12, 1941) is a multiple Grammy Award winning American Jazz Pianist An electric piano is an electric Musical instrument. The popularity of the electric piano began to grow in the late 1960s, reaching its greatest height during the Napoleon Murphy Brock played a saxophone amplified through a wah-wah pedal in the Frank Zappa movie The Dub Room Special, as well as on some of Zappa's albums. Napoleon Murphy Brock is an American singer Saxophonist and Flautist who is best known for his work with Frank The saxophone (commonly referred to simply as sax) is a conical- bored transposing Musical instrument considered a member of the Woodwind Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21 1940 – December 4 1993 was an American Composer, Electric guitarist Record producer and Film director The Dub Room Special is a film produced by Frank Zappa for direct-to-video release in October 1982. David Sanborn can be heard playing an alto saxophone modified by a wah-wah pedal on the David Bowie album Young Americans. David Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto Saxophonist. David Bowie (ˈboʊiː born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947 is an English Musician, actor producer, and arranger. Young Americans is an album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released in 1975

The effect is also extensively used with the electric violin. Notable examples are Jean-Luc Ponty, Don "Sugarcane" Harris and Shankar, all of whom recorded with Frank Zappa and usually engaged in long wah-wah violin/guitar duels. Jean-Luc Ponty (born September 29, 1942, Avranches, France) is a virtuoso French Violinist and Jazz Composer Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21 1940 – December 4 1993 was an American Composer, Electric guitarist Record producer and Film director Boyd Tinsley of Dave Matthews Band is known to use a wah-wah pedal live. Boyd Calvin Tinsley (b May 16, 1964, Charlottesville Virginia) is the Violinist, mandolinist and one of the backup singers in the Dave Matthews Band (also known by the initials DMB) is a United States -based rock band originally formed in Charlottesville, Virginia

Turntablist DJ Mix Master Mike has used a wah pedal connected to a turntable, producing an unusual sound he calls the tweak scratch

See also

• Talk box
• fuzzbox
• Subtractive synthesis

References

1. ^ http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/vox-v848-clyde/Apr-07/26876

External links

• Discussion, with sound samples, of guitar wah-wah technique
• Wah Wah World
• The Technology of Wah Pedals
• Human Voices and the Wah Pedal
• A Historical Look at Wah-wah