Say Wah? Five Essential Signature Wah Pedals
Five ultra-cool signature wah pedals you should know — by name.
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The Vox Joe Satriani Big Bad Wah dual-mode wah pedal is the result of a collaboration between Vox and Joe Satriani (one of three such collaborations).
In the context of wah pedals, the Vox BBW is unique because it truly is two wah pedals in one. Wah 1 is pretty much a classic VOX, complete with the expected vintage UK tones; Wah 2 captures Satriani's original drive and voice controls. The result is a wide range of new sounds — not exactly the kind of sounds you'd expect from your average wah pedal.
The pedal has a Drive knob that mimics the Wah 1 gain at its lowest setting; it also delivers a 10-dB boost at the maximum settings for growling overtones. Wah 2 mode incorporates the Voice switch, which lets you choose everything from trad wah voicings to dark, resonant tones reminiscent of a vintage talk-box.
What does it sound like?
Here's the official Big Bad Wah demo video, featuring Satriani in action, direct from Vox's website:
MSRP: $280 | Learn more about this pedal.
Related
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ceramic_magneto
May 02, 2013 at 9:29pm
Forget these overpriced models and get the MXR MC404 CAE Dual Inductor Wah. Switches between the classic Hendrix tone and throaty tone similar to what Iommi used, very versatile pedal.
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jayster2
December 28, 2012 at 3:53pm
I realize it will never win any awards for sound quality, but I really love the feature set of the Ibanez WD-7 weeping demon. I wish I could find a schematic to play around with the circuit.
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divebomb
October 03, 2012 at 3:10pm
Perhaps Guitar World can explain how a signature wah pedal is "essential" to begin with. Thoughts? Somewhat suspicious that you're in bed with most of the musicians and companies on this list to begin with. Doesn't do much for your credibility you know.
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Electric Ring
October 03, 2012 at 3:05pm
Thanks for adding the videos reviews to these roundups, that makes these MUCH more useful :)
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johnnycnote
October 03, 2012 at 12:38pm
What sort of mark-up does putting a signature on something add? What if I want my name on it? If I'm buying it, the only name I want on it is mine!













