"Tone Suck" Solutions

I got a Zakk Wylde Signature Wah! The sound was incredible... until I backed my foot off of it... I guess it was built so that when you push back on it, it filters the sound to a certain extent. This is a useful feature, so I am not considering getting a new wah, but it almost totally mutes my harmonics... Would a distortion pedal or and overdrive solve the problem? I'm running it through a Line 6 Spider III 15v amp.

Originally Posted by: kick the babyI got a Zakk Wylde Signature Wah! The sound was incredible... until I backed my foot off of it... I guess it was built so that when you push back on it, it filters the sound to a certain extent. This is a useful feature, so I am not considering getting a new wah, but it almost totally mutes my harmonics... Would a distortion pedal or and overdrive solve the problem? I'm running it through a Line 6 Spider III 15v amp.

Always been a fan of the Dunlop Crybaby and the Zakk Wah is the stuff, I think when it comes to a good wah.

Just to give an idea of a wah; all it really is, is a very muscular tone knob. rocking it back and forth is letting only certain frequencies through.

That said, in addition to the rocking wah dynamic that you get when you are actively pressing it back and forth (ie - the wah wah sound), there is no one spot on the wah sweep that the wah is 'meant to stay at'. Remember, it is essentially a tone knob.

So, the best bet is to find that 'spot' that works the best with how you set up your sound. Every combination of guitar, amp and effect is going to net you a different sound and how the wah slots in to that mix is not going to be the same from me to you to Zakk.

For me in a metal tone, I tend to set my amp tone very bass heavy at 7-8ish, mid at about 3 and treble at about 5. By itself, it's very muddy. However, I keep my Dunlop on full time and fully open in the treble mode (pedal is flat against the body of the wah). It opens up the treble enough and compresses that muddy amp tone in to a very dynamic crunchy sound.

In my metal playing, I use harmonics quite a bit and love a fat, chunky (farty) sound not unlike the early Zakk/Ozzy stuff like Miracle Man/No More Tears. My set up gets me in that range. I've never tried to have a sound exactly like one player and I don't (or can't, really...) but Zakk was in the type of sound I looked.

Other players who play always on were like Michael Schenker but Michael would have a very british sound and would have the wah on full time and would kick the wah back a couple of degrees from being flat to the body because he found a sweet spot that worked with his set up.

Don't look at the pedal for rules of how to use. Mess with it until you get what you like. I think a wah is one of the coolest and most expressive tools in many guitar players arsenals and really give massive punch to some dynamic playing.

Play around and have fun with it. Some of the best stuff is stuff you stumble in to.

Pamjeff, which amp are you using? I love that "type" of sound you talked about.

Also, I have a modeling amp and have noticed that the wah has a much different effect depending on which amp is selected.

Originally Posted by: jwb72Pamjeff, which amp are you using? I love that "type" of sound you talked about.

Also, I have a modeling amp and have noticed that the wah has a much different effect depending on which amp is selected.

Since I've just 'restarted' playing and am reassembling gear, I don't have the ideal currently. I have a Marshall Valvstate which is workable considering I can't blast away anymore. I just plying now for the fun.

Honestly, it's not the gear. When I had my 'ultimate' tone is when I was poorest and had utter crap that I made work.

I had this weird 70's era Peavey model 'Classic' Tube/Solid state hybrid combo amp (that had 4 inputs that were supposed to work in series somehow...). I ran the 'always on' Crybaby in to a Boss OD2 Turbo Overdrive (on the Turbo setting) straight in to the front of the amp. Since the Amp had a line out, I ran the 'head' of the combo out to a generic 4x12 cab. To be sure, a Frankenstein of a 'rig' if you want to call it a rig. Thing is, all that crap made massive tone. I didn't plan it. I just got parts that came together nicely. Also note that my guitar was a very Nice late 80's Kramer Beretta II and EMG 89.

The real trick to great tone starts with your hands. If there is no conviction in your playing, you can try all day and your tone will never come.

For whatever reason, I have a knack of getting good tone out of most amps. Doesn't matter what it is. I will futz with it until I get a tone I can live with.

However, a tip for building great tone. Start from zero. You night have some equipment and toys...Don't start with any ideas of how it is 'supposed' to work. Start poking through the different models on your line 6 with and without your wah and just build from square one. I never follow someone else set up or ideas. I need to work from scratch and just use my ear. Start with your amp in a clean setting. If it sounds tinny or muddy when clean, it gets worse when you get loud. Get a nice clean warm sound that has a little shimmer in the higher end strummed chords (I always strum open G's and D's). Once you got a good base, then go on to adding overdrive. Don;t go to the most distorted setting you can find. Work your way towards your desired overdrive setting. Sometimes you find that setting is cleaner then you thought (a reason I like overdrive over distortion stompboxes). Once you have that, then factor your wah in. As you add these elements, you may retro 'retune' the previous setting on your overdrive or amp but this tends to be more of a fine tuning.

The key is to start clean and work from there. It should also be said that guitar and pick ups matter. While what makes you sound like 'you' will still come through, these can inhibit your ultimate tone. I tended to shy away from Duncan Distorions but also JB models too (thus the EMG).

I know that didn't give you a specific rig set up but I don't know that this would help anyway, I feel it's more about experimenting but doing so methodically.