Friday, February 4, 2011

The Wah Pedal, Caps and Coils, and Germanium Transistors


The Wild Wahs


I have a friend that is really into gear, and he was after a sooper Wah pedal for his setup



 
After re-building several, I started using Vintage germanium transistors and just going
hog wild with the circuit, until I came up with a "Sooper-Wah" that has a very clear, no
grainy sound, lots of tone, and very warm strong "Wah".

Also the volume level when the wah is kicked in is actually a bit higher and the wah is quieter with the mods and "Germ" transistors for a real "Hi-Fi warm rich wah sound






This version above has three tone ranges and a bright switch, which gives six tone ranges,
and runs on 12 to 15 volts from a Wall Wart supply which gives more a more big full tone sound from the voltage starved transistors, and a clear, rich "Wah"


The low 9 volts is not enough for the transistors to generate all the hidden tones and power in the sound, and 9 volt batteries are an ancient idea that was bad from the beginning, and still bad today, when re-chargable batteries are easy to use.


Transistors are the key to really changing the sound of a lot of these vintage circuits,
and it takes research and testing to learn what transisors really give that special sound.


I have had a lot of fun trying various germanium transistors to see what there sound qualities are and learning about the circuits and what they can do sonically








Modded wah pedals are right around $125 for complete mod, just email me for info on custom work

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