Ernie Ball Wah

[JaykeDW]

Hey, this is my first post here so if this is in the wrong spot/has already been asked and handled, let me know.
I bought an Ernie Ball wah the other day off eBay after watching the Blues Sarenceno vid on youtube, and I just got it a few hours ago. After playing with it for a while I was honestly a bit let down by it...it seems to be built sturdy, the little green lights are great...but the wah range is all top end and it really doesn't sound very wah-y at all.
It sweeps very smoothly which is nice, but the sweep just isn't very wide at all...the second I put some distortion on it, the wah sound is almost completely gone.
Anyone have any ideas of what could be the problem/what could be done to fix this?
I ran it like: Strat w/Texas Specials -> Ernie Ball Wah -> Laney GH50L.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!


Jayke

 

[ScoobySteve]

Hello Jayke, welcome to the Forums!

If you believe you have a technical issue with your Wah, I think contacting Ernie Ball Customer Service would be your best bet. I've dealt with them on several occasions, and they're just fantastic there.

As for the Wah and its Tone itself, I'm not quite sure I relate to what you're describing. I've had the EB Wah on my pedalboard for some time now and if anything, I think I'm getting slight signal boost (both clean and distortion) from the Wah itself, which is odd, considering that you've mentioned that you lose almost all of its effect on distortion.

Even more so bizarre considering you've got a pretty simple chain as you've supplied us.

Give CS a call.

 

[JaykeDW]

Will do. My chain WAS had much more stuff in it, but after trying it like that I thought I better try it straight into the amp to make sure one of my other pedals wasn't sucking the tone out.

Thanks for the response,
Jayke

 

[spkirby]

Before going to CS, maybe the best use of everyone's time is for you to go back to your dealer and A/B it against another EB Wah as tone is very subjective.

I have an EB Wah, to me it's at it's best on distorted sounds, for clean I prefer something more vintagey.

 

[JaykeDW]

Sadly I got it on eBay, but I'll ring around some of my local shops and see if any of them stock the EB wah.
So from what you guys have said, I'm guessing there is something wrong/different about my wahs? I just wanted to make sure this just isn't how they sound...if it is, I might have to sell it for a 535Q or something.

 

[spkirby]

I too found the EB wah more subtle than I was expecting it would be based on the Saraceno videos but then the rest of your gear, particularly the amp will have a big effect on how the pedal sounds. Some amps really shine with FX, others dont, and I dare say your EB Wah may sound better (to your ears) through a different rig. Since you bought it on ebay take it to your local music shop, try it through other amps, try other wah pedals too just to be sure...not that you're looking to buy another amp! I doubt there's anything wrong with it but you never know.

 

[candid_x]

My GH50L loves pedals, more so than my other amps. I'd absolutely eliminate that amp as the source of this problem.

If possible, I think the A/B-ing with a new one suggestion would be my first step. Who knows what "mods" the last owner has done to that thing. I doubt EB would make a distortion unfriendly wha. Have you experimented with positioning the wha differently in the signal chain? Also, are you running it to the front of the amp or to the loop?

I have to retract something. I've not been impressed with the fx loops on the GH50L, so I hit effects on the front end. Wondering if this may be a factor in Jayke's case.

 

[SteveB]

Put the wah in front of the amp, not in an effects loop. Mine works infinitely better that way.

 

[spkirby]

I'm with SteveB there....the wah is the first in line before any other fx and the amp!

 

[Smellybum]

Put the wah in front of the amp, not in an effects loop. Mine works infinitely better that way.

mee too - best wah I've ever played, if you're having sound problems I'd look at the rest of the setup....

 

[JaykeDW]

Well I've only ever run my wahs infront of the amp, because the one time I tried putting a wah through the loop, it sounded like ass so I never bothered again.
Tried it just then to be safe, and it was awful.
At the moment it sounds pretty nice for really really really modern wah sounds, but the sweep is still very minimal. I'm heading off to my local shop now to try it out next to some other wahs and see how it all goes.

I'll keep you all updated.

Jayke

 

[JaykeDW]

Ok so I didn't end up going to the guitar shop...
I feel so damn stupid right now...the reason the sweep seemed all top end and really really shallow was because my lead had found it's way underneath the heel of the wah, thus stopping it before it could get to the low end of the sweep.
I can't believe I didn't even notice it...it managed to get under there everytime I set it up.
Really sorry for wasting everyone's time...but at least now I can say that I really love my wah pedal

 

[JohnnyBoy]

No probs Jake, happens to us all @ times!

BTW I find in using my EBWah that if you put it on and set the pedal to the half way mark, you get a thinned out funk tone - a trick used by Mr. Rudy Shenker.

 

[candid_x]

That's cool, Jayke. Thanks for not leaving us hanging on it. Glad you're diggin' it.

 

[Spudmurphy]

I have to fess up too!!
I took my gear along to a jam night on Thursday. Using my BCB AL I wanted to send my mags to a Blackstar and my piezo to my AER.

Spent ages trying to get it to work
First I swore at the AL Piezo pre amp. Then swore at the EB stereo pedal - in the end I used two leads but didn't have the control I wanted with the pedal.

Got my leads out last night and checked my stereo lead out on a meter, and discovered that I had a short in the lead.

Spent an hour immersed in Piezo goodliness, and worked out "Behind Blue Eyes" (The Who) which we'll put into the set. The pedal will be essential with this number when the second part breaks into mayhem and I can switch between Piezo / Mags effortlessly!!

Sorry I misjudged you EB - I have sinned!!

 

[SteveB]

Ok so I didn't end up going to the guitar shop...
I feel so damn stupid right now...the reason the sweep seemed all top end and really really shallow was because my lead had found it's way underneath the heel of the wah, thus stopping it before it could get to the low end of the sweep.
I can't believe I didn't even notice it...it managed to get under there everytime I set it up.
Really sorry for wasting everyone's time...but at least now I can say that I really love my wah pedal

NO problem. I've had an amp cord get tugged under my volume pedal before. These things happen. Glad you figured it out.