A wah pedal is at the top of my wishlist right now. I have been borrowing a crybaby from my friend and it sounds great, but I am wondering if I could get a similar effect with a cheaper wah pedal. Do you feel like the high price of a crybaby is worth it, or do they all sound the same?
I don’t really know about the sound, but I’d go for something metal, just for durability…
Whatever you go for, it’s worth having a look at the mods you can do to wahs to change the sound, if it’s not quite what you need. Even if you don’t want to do anything electrical you can change the sound by removing the toothed rack and turning the pot dial a little.
FWIW I’m pretty happy with my Vox v847.
Thanks, I never considered modding my pedals but I am definitely up for it.
High price? Not sure qhere you are, but you can usually pick up a used one for like $40-$50 if you keep your eye out on facebook marketplace/kijiji/craigslist/etc.
I usually recommend that people buy a used gcb95 (standard issue dunlop crybaby), and then just mod it to your specs. Google “stinkfoot wah mods” and go from there.
My $40 wah that I’ve been using for like 15 years now kicks the pants out of all the high end, boutique wahs I’ve played.
I would say the number one determining factor is your own ears. Make a trip to the shop and if you can get a great sound out of a cheaper pedal, than by all means go for it. There absolutely is a lot of cork sniffing and/or snake oil salesmanship in guitar pedal markets, and you’d be shocked at what some of the cheaper pedals are able to achieve through a good amp.
