Is there a pedal you have a love/hate relationship with?

Dew Knot Humps

Dew Knot Humps

Philistine
For me it’s the Zvex Box of Rock. I hate that it takes up so much space, I hate the power input on the side and I roll my eyes at the built in crackle. I also intitially found it hard to dial in. But I love the way it sounds, gritty Marshall JTM 45 type tones and the boost side sounds great too but also hard to dial in. I’ve had it for a long time though so I guess I love it more than I hate it.
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What a pain in the ass!
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Tube Screamers. They don’t sound like screaming. More like someone just turned up the gain knob. If a pedal has “screamer” in the name it needs a knob that goes from Jamie Lee Curtis to Neve Campbell. With a second switch to kick in a Barbara Starr boost.
 
This thing is driving me crazy. (Crazier?)
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I just can't seem to get it to sound right. I have heard good things about this pedal, but I have yet to have any good sound from it. I pull it out every few months and try again, without success.
 
There are pedals I dislike. The only pedal I can think of that falls into both love and hate is the classic Tube Screamer circuit.

For years I tried different TS derivatives. Eventually, I ended up with an Analogman Brown-Mod Maxon OD9. It was advertised as the exact specs of a classic 808 circuit. At certain settings, with specific amps, the voice was good. However, I hated the extreme compression. Also, the mid hump only worked well with some amps. So, I sold it thinking that all TS circuits were not for me.

Years later, @Mark Wein held a drawing of members here, and I won a Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive Mod. The pedal has a Clean Blend knob. That feature fixed the circuit for me. I use it in 808 mode, blending amp overdrive with pedal dirt. Effectively, I can use the Clean Blend to dial back the compression and mid hump by blending it with a dirty amp. With the Clean Blend knob, I can dial in the perfect feel and sound.
 
100 percent on Tube Screamers. I got one of those Keely Noble Screamers a while ago. The TS9 setting sounds inspiring about forty percent of the time. The other 60 percent sounds like an amplified marshmallow.
 
Digitech Hardwire Metal

Can do everything metal, that's the problem too. It has so much variance that you too easily dial in the shit sounds as well. The "Loose" setting makes it sound like a boosted muff with all those EQ knobs to dial it in, but it does none of the low gain muff things. The level knob is one of those notched types as well that is always too loud or quieter than your dry signal. But I can't get myself to ditch it.
 
I've owned a few BB Pre Amps. They sound great when you demo it in the store but just don't make it in a band setting. I feel the same way about the Butler tube driver
 
Honestly.... Wah pedals.


They sound so cool in the right context.... but... they take up way too much room if they're on your board, are awkward and weird next to your board, and then there's the engage/disengage issue.

I've used the spring loaded Bad Horsie... I've used the Frampton where it's an optical engage when you move it... I've used timer bypass with expression pedals... and now I"ve gone to one with the traditional toe switch.

This one has the absolute best sound of all the ones I've owned, but I feel like I'm going to need to dedicate several practice sessions to smooth engage/disengage... and how to keep a good steady wacka-wacka when I'm playing reggae. I accept the fact that this is 100% user error... but it's still a love/hate issue.

:helper:
 
My crybaby wah is like that. It's not adjustable (without surgery), and it goes from ice-pick to brown note unless I balance on it like a unicyclist.
 
Chicken Man said:
My crybaby wah is like that. It's not adjustable (without surgery), and it goes from ice-pick to brown note unless I balance on it like a unicyclist.
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The tone on mine is fantastic (actually has a sweep knob on the side and a kick switch to choose between two on the fly and a kickable boost on the other side)... it's the mechanics of an uncoordinated doof like me actually PLAYING the wah through the entire song.

I would probably be better suited to an auto wah with a TAP TEMPO switch to let it waka waka to a preset tempo.... I just love eeeking out those crying notes with it during a solo. That's when I love it! :baimun:

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baimun said:
Honestly.... Wah pedals.


They sound so cool in the right context.... but... they take up way too much room if they're on your board, are awkward and weird next to your board, and then there's the engage/disengage issue.

I've used the spring loaded Bad Horsie... I've used the Frampton where it's an optical engage when you move it... I've used timer bypass with expression pedals... and now I"ve gone to one with the traditional toe switch.

This one has the absolute best sound of all the ones I've owned, but I feel like I'm going to need to dedicate several practice sessions to smooth engage/disengage... and how to keep a good steady wacka-wacka when I'm playing reggae. I accept the fact that this is 100% user error... but it's still a love/hate issue.

:helper:
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This largely nails it. Love wah sounds but there's always a compromise in usability.

My first wah was branded Crybaby but had JHS (John Hornby Skewes - British distributer iirc) stamped on it rather than Dunlop. It was a Wah/Volume and every time the Wah was engaged, it always had a volume drop which is down to the filtering but when your lead disappears in the mix as a result, it kind of defeats the object. Sold it years ago.

Second wah was an Akai Variwah, still got in the cupboard. It has a separate footswitch for on/off and expression pedal as it had various modes and functions but when you want to go straight into wah mode, clicking the switch and then transferring to the expression pedal is a pain. Also has a huge foot print.

Same issues applied to all the processor based wah options I've tried, need a momentary switch to turn it on, and then transfer to the expression pedal. I'm currently trying to get the Boss Katana Gen 3 50 EX combo to be an all in one solution with a GAFC-EX controller, dual momentary switches and expression pedal. I've got the Wah sounding great but it's still that click->move across delay issue.

I've been using the Mooer Wahter for a few years which if I use my Trace Elliot combo and the 4 cable method is ideal as it has 3 modes for operating. Toe click on/off, foot pressure on/off (which I use) and a hybrid version of the first two. Sounds great, doesn't suffer a volume drop, is a mini pedal with fold out parts to make a foot pad, and is easy to operate but doesn't fit with the all in one idea and means running extra cables front to back.
 
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After decades of trying to sound decent with a wah and failing, buying multiple wahs and failing I just bought an expression pedal to use with the wahs in my M5. What is wrong with me?
 
baimun said:
Honestly.... Wah pedals.


They sound so cool in the right context.... but... they take up way too much room if they're on your board, are awkward and weird next to your board, and then there's the engage/disengage issue.

I've used the spring loaded Bad Horsie... I've used the Frampton where it's an optical engage when you move it... I've used timer bypass with expression pedals... and now I"ve gone to one with the traditional toe switch.

This one has the absolute best sound of all the ones I've owned, but I feel like I'm going to need to dedicate several practice sessions to smooth engage/disengage... and how to keep a good steady wacka-wacka when I'm playing reggae. I accept the fact that this is 100% user error... but it's still a love/hate issue.

:helper:
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If you can’t be with the pedal you love, hate the one you’re stuck with.
 
I've tried to make peace with them but I'm probably the only person on the planet who doesn't like an OCD.
 
dmn23 said:
I've tried to make peace with them but I'm probably the only person on the planet who doesn't like an OCD.
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I can't get along with the OCD either, but it's pure hate. No love.

On the Wah front, I paid big money for a Jam Pedals Wahcko. Nothing but love.
 
jrockbridge said:
I can't get along with the OCD either, but it's pure hate. No love.

On the Wah front, I paid big money for a Jam Pedals Wahcko. Nothing but love.
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My son has the Whacko. He loves it. I don't know if it's the pedal or, just how he has his set but, it's just too much ______. Sorry, can't come up with a word to describe what I'm hearing. I much prefer his Bad Horsie.
 
Bob411 said:
My son has the Whacko. He loves it. I don't know if it's the pedal or, just how he has his set but, it's just too much ______. Sorry, can't come up with a word to describe what I'm hearing. I much prefer his Bad Horsie.
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I had a love/hate relationship with wah pedals in the past, including multiple Dunlop and Vox. The Wahcko is less spiky, less piercing, and more vocal, than the others I’ve owned, or tried. It also has a wider sweep than many.

The Wahcko is adjustable. The wide sweep allows the player to emphasize a lot of different frequencies. It could be that you don’t like the way he has his adjusted, or you don’t like the frequencies he chooses to emphasize.

Bottom line, you dislike the Wahcko, and prefer tbe Bad Horsie. There’s nothing wrong with your preference.

Steve Vai uses a Bad Horsie wah. Jimi Hendrix used a Vox. Jerry Cantrell primarily uses a Dunlop Cry Baby with a dark character. Nile Rogers and Steve Lukather prefer the Jam Pedals Wahcko. Kirk Hammet endorses Dunlop, but has a collection of multiple brands. Plenty of players have a collection.

We like what we like and dislike what we don’t. The player is right.
 
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