Autowah Funk Question!

Hey guys I've been mulling over this issue since I bought my Keeley Neutrino Auto Wah pedal and I give up lol! Time to ask experts!

Pedal: Keeley Neutrino

So this pedal in theory is really cool! I've been able to play some 311 songs with it so far, but...

Most of the time when I play I cannot get an even tone. It either goes really extreme on the treble or really extreme on the bass depending on which way the setting on my sound scoop switch is. I try playing with my "peak" knob and it can sort of help but to be honest the knob doesn't seem to do a whole lot.

Can anybody with some experience with this or other auto wah pedals give me a few tips? :cool:


A little post script here.... I would consider this pedal to be something that a beginner should not use. Pick attack does effect the pedal so I do realize that only 9 months of experience with playing guitar will hinder me. Pick attack is something which slowly clicks in as you become more experienced, however any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Congrats on the new gear! :) I have an autowah feature on my Zoom multi-FX & my Crate DX112. Both are great for when I have to sing or do something other than keep my foot on my regular wah pedal.

I'm going to answer your questions out of order to better explain it!

Originally Posted by: icebreaker1588
I would consider this pedal to be something that a beginner should not use.[/quote]
It is a difficult FX to get used to, but more to the point what do you want to use it for? While playing with pedals & new sounds is awesome fun, at the end of the day you have to figure out the practical application of an effect. The autowah only does certain things. What you are expecting to do with it might really only be possible with an actual wah pedal that you can manually control.

Originally Posted by: icebreaker1588 Pick attack does effect the pedal so I do realize that only 9 months of experience with playing guitar will hinder me. Pick attack is something which slowly clicks in as you become more experienced...

You just hit the biggest nail right on the head. :D

Autowahs are extremely sensitive to pick attack. So you need to work on refining your skill in this area. Practice playing licks & riffs with a light attack, a medium attack & a heavy attack. Intentionally & consciously work on your pick attack as part of your practice routine.

Play the same short riff or lick over & again with different amounts of pick attack. Try it with the autowah set on one setting to see what happens. Change the settings & try the exact same riff or lick with different attacks.

This is the trial & error stage. You are gathering important info about how to use your gear & how it responses to certain situations.

Remember to isolate only one variable at a time! Play the same riff, same FX setting, alter pick attack. This will help you build your pick attack variation skill as well as help you get a feel for the FX unit.
[QUOTE=icebreaker1588]Most of the time when I play I cannot get an even tone. It either goes really extreme on the treble or really extreme on the bass depending on which way the setting on my sound scoop switch is. I try playing with my "peak" knob and it can sort of help but to be honest the knob doesn't seem to do a whole lot.

The product website also supports the idea of taking the time to really fine tune the settings on the gain knob in particular.

"There is a Gain control to set the input level to an appropriate strength so that you can trigger the effect with any type of pickups or instrument level. This control is critical. Pick an open string on your guitar and adjust this control until you hear the wah sound rise and fall. Set just right it sounds like a wah pedal rocking back and forth as you play a note."

https://robertkeeley.com/product/neutrino/

Hope this helps! Ask more if necessary & have fun experimenting with your new pedal!

I've used the autowah in the Zoom G5 and the GT-100. It is a really cool effect that is very much driven by pick attack. You can adjust the pick attack sensitivity.

As a fellow autowah user, I thought I'd chime in about how I've found it useful.

I find it useful when mimicing a solo on the guitar originally done on a horn...trumpet or sax.

It usually makes people smile when I use it and I'll use it for a bit of shock value. The initial reaction is "what is THAT!?!?". I use it for the solo in "Heard It Through the Grapevine" (the Gladys Knight version) and I've used it in blues jams just to present something different.

I use my regular wah very differently. Each has its place.

Good luck with it!

Originally Posted by: maggiorI find it useful when mimicing a solo on the guitar originally done on a horn...trumpet or sax.
[/quote]
Excellent point! I've done that on a couple of swing & funk tunes that have horns. "Jump, Jive & Wail", "In The Mood", "I Feel Good".

Originally Posted by: maggior
It usually makes people smile when I use it and I'll use it for a bit of shock value. The initial reaction is "what is THAT!?!?".

That's so exactly true. :D
[QUOTE=maggior]I use it for the solo in "Heard It Through the Grapevine" (the Gladys Knight version) and I've used it in blues jams just to present something different.

Oh, song examples! Rich, what a great idea I should have thought of. :p

I use my autowah when doing "Play That Funky Music", "Superstition" & sections of "Word Up". I used it quite a bit during a couple of songs in "Disney's Tarzan, The Musical". There are a couple of songs that cut from wah-funk to other styles pretty quickly & it helps to be able to just jump from one setting to the next without having to disengage a standard wah.

I'm using the autowah on one guitar in this vid. You can hear when I kick it in @ :44-1:00. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pADa18sWZk

And in this one along with a MuTron setting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybjkj-YPbx4

And a standard wah in this one. Helps to use on longer phrasing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-8o5EEzM34

Awesome feedback, Rich! Thanks for chiming in. :)

Wow Christopher, that's some pretty cool wah stuff and amazing playing as usual! To illustrate the variety of tones you can get, here's how I used it to "be different". To hear the contrast from pervious players, skip back :). My autowah part starts at 2:17. The one following is me also just playing with a tube screamer.

As I recall, I'm using standard settings of the autowah in my GT-100. You'll hear how the tone changes as I strike the strings harder and softer. It's a great exercise in varying your pick attack because you get very clear feedback.

https://soundcloud.com/ballistic_squid/blues-collab-solo-4#t=2:16

You guys are so awesome. Every time I post a question on here I feel like I get the best responses. Thanks for the replies and advice. :)

Originally Posted by: maggior
As I recall, I'm using standard settings of the autowah in my GT-100. You'll hear how the tone changes as I strike the strings harder and softer. It's a great exercise in varying your pick attack because you get very clear feedback.

https://soundcloud.com/ballistic_squid/blues-collab-solo-4#t=2:16[/QUOTE]

That was great thanks for sharing! Can't wait till I can play smooth like that!

[QUOTE=ChristopherSchlegel]
It is a difficult FX to get used to, but more to the point what do you want to use it for? While playing with pedals & new sounds is awesome fun, at the end of the day you have to figure out the practical application of an effect. The autowah only does certain things. What you are expecting to do with it might really only be possible with an actual wah pedal that you can manually control.

I simply just want fun funky sounds out of it lol. Like I had mentioned I can mimic fairly well the lead guitar sounds that 311 made on their song Amber. Really fun song to play. Uses the a minor scale which paired perfectly with the early lessons on GT. :cool: The idea of creating my own full songs is a few steps away from where I am skill-wise so I guess just knowing what it's capable of or what it excels at will have to suffice for now. I'm all about simultaneous learning which is why I've gone ahead and bought gear that I don't know a ton about. Trial and error is a tried and true way of learning and I'm all about it. I don't want to learn how to play guitar and then have to start from the beginning when it comes to how different gear affects sound/tone.

Originally Posted by: icebreaker1588You guys are so awesome. Every time I post a question on here I feel like I get the best responses. Thanks for the replies and advice. :)

That was great thanks for sharing! Can't wait till I can play smooth like that!

Yes, it's a great site, and it's great when the instructors respond to questions made in the open community too!! Christopher is da man with a lot of this stuff.

I hear what you are saying about effects. When you come down to it, they can be used in a way similar to a painter using colors or texture. The trick is to not fall into the rabbit hole of just playing around with different effects.

And thanks for your kind words on my playing. You're in the right place to get there yourself...it was advice from the instructors here that really helped me attain that level. Before that I was stuck for a long time!

Originally Posted by: maggiorTo illustrate the variety of tones you can get, here's how I used it to "be different". To hear the contrast from pervious players, skip back :). My autowah part starts at 2:17. The one following is me also just playing with a tube screamer.

Excellent phrasing, note choice & vibrato! Your playing is coming together nicely. And what you choose to play with each FX is perfect. Kudos.

Originally Posted by: ChristopherSchlegelExcellent phrasing, note choice & vibrato! Your playing is coming together nicely. And what you choose to play with each FX is perfect. Kudos.

(Sorry icebreaker I didn't mean to highjack your thread.)

It wasn't my intention to solicit feedback on my playing, but wow, thanks Christopher! I really appreciate that :).

Glad the replies helped!

Originally Posted by: icebreaker1588I simply just want fun funky sounds out of it lol. Like I had mentioned I can mimic fairly well the lead guitar sounds that 311 made on their song Amber. Really fun song to play. Uses the a minor scale which paired perfectly with the early lessons on GT.

Excellent! This is what I mean about finding a practical application. You've already found uses for it. Well done!

And, yes, you are right, there's no reason not to start experimenting now with FX & gear. :)

Originally Posted by: maggior(Sorry icebreaker I didn't mean to highjack your thread.)

It wasn't my intention to solicit feedback on my playing, but wow, thanks Christopher! I really appreciate that :).

haha absolutely no reason to apologize. I can talk about guitar/music stuff all day. It drives my girlfriend nuts. Listening to lots of music is a learning tool I use all the time. Glad you shared your stuff!

How long have you been playing?

Originally Posted by: ChristopherSchlegel

I'm using the autowah on one guitar in this vid. You can hear when I kick it in @ :44-1:00. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pADa18sWZk

And in this one along with a MuTron setting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybjkj-YPbx4

And a standard wah in this one. Helps to use on longer phrasing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-8o5EEzM34

Awesome feedback, Rich! Thanks for chiming in. :)

Didn't think to look for your personal youtube channel. Thanks for sharing! :) Will have to scope out more of your stuff!

Originally Posted by: icebreaker1588haha absolutely no reason to apologize. I can talk about guitar/music stuff all day. It drives my girlfriend nuts. Listening to lots of music is a learning tool I use all the time. Glad you shared your stuff!

How long have you been playing?

Cool...I can talk guitar all day also :). I've been playing for a little over 30 years. The first 15 years was mainly rhythm. In 2000 I got a nice guitar (American Std. Strat) and took lessons for about a year and worked on soloing. Learned some songs and the pentatonic scales. That took me to a new level. Then a little over 2 years ago I signed up here to refocus again. Lessons and advice here from instructors (mostly Anders since he does the blues stuff which was my focus) and also fellow students took me to yet another level. Focusing on phrasing is what got me where I am now.

So when I say I've been playing for 30 years, it's not with constant progress LOL.

You are smart to include listening to other players to help your learning. I'm strictly a pentatonic player at this point, so what you heard me play in those solos was all from the pentatonic scale. Nothing fancy going on in there scale-wise. It was listening and watching Anders Moridsen here that made me realize how much unlocked potential there was in the scale for me!!

At the moment I'm learning songs and pushing my improvisational skills to see what I can do with them. I've done some funk and some pop that is outside my normal genre, which has forced me to branch out of my comfort zone, which is blues or blues based rock. Sometimes some amazing things happen! Speed isn't my thing either so I've learned to play to my strengths.

The journey continues...

Did you start learning guitar here? What genres and areas are you working on? What sort of player do you want to be when you grow up?

Originally Posted by: maggiorCool...I can talk guitar all day also :). I've been playing for a little over 30 years. The first 15 years was mainly rhythm. In 2000 I got a nice guitar (American Std. Strat) and took lessons for about a year and worked on soloing. Learned some songs and the pentatonic scales. That took me to a new level. Then a little over 2 years ago I signed up here to refocus again. Lessons and advice here from instructors (mostly Anders since he does the blues stuff which was my focus) and also fellow students took me to yet another level. Focusing on phrasing is what got me where I am now.
[/QUOTE]

Yeah I feel like I've learned a ton from Anders and Christopher. They're so knowledgeable in what they do. Man, I wasn't impressed with the stratocaster at first at all. I had, first taken a look at SG's and LPs. "Oh man those are so cool!" i was thinking, but at the recommendation of a friend I bought a 200 dollar fender squier strat. Best decision ever. I love the way they feel. Tone wise there's so much variation and right up your alley for some great blues playing. I just bought my first nice guitar last month. Sadly it hasn't come in yet, but I nabbed a strat style Chapman ml-1 (bea signature) model. New company, but I really think they know what they're doing. Excellent reviews on ALL of their guitars so far. They're cheaper by a couple hundred bucks b/c they don't use a distributor.

Video of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNYXUh67hDI


[QUOTE=maggior]
You are smart to include listening to other players to help your learning. I'm strictly a pentatonic player at this point, so what you heard me play in those solos was all from the pentatonic scale. Nothing fancy going on in there scale-wise. It was listening and watching Anders Moridsen here that made me realize how much unlocked potential there was in the scale for me!!

At the moment I'm learning songs and pushing my improvisational skills to see what I can do with them. I've done some funk and some pop that is outside my normal genre, which has forced me to branch out of my comfort zone, which is blues or blues based rock. Sometimes some amazing things happen! Speed isn't my thing either so I've learned to play to my strengths.

The journey continues...

Did you start learning guitar here? What genres and areas are you working on? What sort of player do you want to be when you grow up?

I tried to play guitar at 16. Learned some chords and played boring hymns and worship songs because I was involved with a church at that point in my life. I gave up b/c I felt I had nothing to inspire or teach me. 10 years later, the summer of last year I picked it up again. I have an odd... well eclectic interest I should say in music. I literally listen to just about everything...and when I say everything I mean all of it. Metal, hip-hop, electronic, blues, classic rock, country, reggae (not in any particular order of preference here). The only thing I don't really like to listen to is todays pop music. I really love certain elements of all of 'em. When it comes to playing I don't think I'm a whole lot different. Which is probably good and bad b/c it'll be hard to really master one thing I think. The idea of blending genres together sounds great to me! I feel you on the blues though. One of my favorite things to do right now is throw on one of the jam sessions from anders' lessons and lay down some licks over it.

Cool.

I played in a church group for about a year in 2003. It was one of the best things I ever did. I learned rhythm and how to embellish my playing with ornamental notes on chords, using a capo, and with rhythmic elements. I eventually was able to pick up parts by ear that the piano was playing. It showed me that not matter what music you are playing, it's beneficial and can advance your ability as a player.

They brought the group back recently with completely different people. I can't do it every week because of time constraints (3 young kids demand a lot of time! :), but I fill in here and there as I can.

My musical tastes are all over the map too. Country is about the only genre I really don't like much.