Affordable Wah Pedals

TOTAL GUITAR DECEMBER 2016
A
solid wah pedal is a great
addition to anyone’s
pedalboard – whether
you’re assuming the role
of a musical chameleon in
a covers band, or going full
Hammett in a Metallica tribute
act. The point being, a good wah
pedal has you covered for an
awful lot of musical ground.
Unsurprisingly, there are
loads of diff erent wah pedals out
there to choose from – even if
you look no further than the
Dunlop Cry Baby family, there
are over 20 models! And that’s
why we’ve narrowed our search
down to four price-conscious
choices. In this round-up, we’ve
kept our ceiling to around £100,
and we’re going from the
ultra-aff ordable to the super-
small – as well as including a
couple of industry standards.
Forget fasels, halos and all the
other stuff , we’re gonna let
these pedals do the talking…
AFFORDABLE WAH PEDALS
102
Y
ou know the Cry Baby, it’s the wah pedal
that’s graced a million pedal boards,
and when you picture a wah in your
head, this is probably what you’re thinking of.
But unlike older examples, in 2016 the Cry
Baby GCB-95 is fi tted with an easy-access
battery door (so you don’t have to remove its
rubber feet to get to it) and, if you want to go
with a PSU, the power jack is standardised.
Tonally, the Cry Baby is the same classic tone
it’s always been. It does get a little piercing at
the top of its range, but for features and
sound, it’s like classic Coke. The only thing
that’s missing? We’d love an LED please!
F
or many of us, pedalboard real estate is a
big concern in this age of playing gigs on
tiny stages. If that’s you, look no further
than the diminutive Wahter from Mooer.
Those tiny metal ring plates are hinged, so you
can fold them in when you pack away, but still
get a decent sized footplate overall. We expect
the travel on the pedal to be diffi cult, but in
reality, you forget you’re playing such a small
stomper pretty quickly. The Wahter’s tone is
sort of a smoothed-out version of the vintage
wah sound, and without a pot mechanism it
feels slick under your foot. Plus, it has three
diff erent switching modes, including ‘Sensor’
which engages the eff ect as soon as your sole
touches the pedal.
Jim Dunlop
Cry Baby GCB-95
IT’LL BRING A TEAR TO YOUR EYE…
Mooer Wahter
IS LESS MOOER?
£82
£109
TH
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FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
TGR287.gear_pedals.indd 102 11/3/16 7:50 PM