ray charles,stevie wonder wah pot test.

[Philip]

The ones I liked had a more obvious mid honk/vocal vomit thing going on. Pedal 1 is probably my fav, it has all of the above and you also sound a bit more inspired by it in your playing.

They all sound good though, but the more mid focused ones do it for me.

[HorseyBoy]

Maybe I'm just realizing that the pot doesn't make as much of a difference as I thought it did? Everything sounds good to me just not a whole lot different.

Exactly the same boat for me. Honestly, I was expecting the differences to be more obvious/clear cut. Every time I've changed a pot in a wah (and I've done it a lot) I've noticed a change in the sound as well as the feel. But, as redeye says, maybe it's not as important to the overall sound as I thought.

[innerflight]

I'm sure in the room you can hear all the subtle nuances that can't really be heard through the recordings, its like when people say to me "why have a few different MKII's? they all sound the same" its the little things that makes us freaks / nerds

[Philip]

I thought the recordings were done well enough to allow differences to come through. But, I'm not much in to wah's so might be listening for different things from wah freaks.

[HorseyBoy]

Gave all the clips a second listen today and I still reckon 4 and 6 are my favourites, although there's something going on with 2 I quite like as well. Number 4 just had a wider, wetter sound, which is what I prefer. Number 6 was similar, with really nice definition at the treble end of the sweep. So for me, in descending order of preference, I'd go 4, 6 and 2.

[joegagan]

Ah, thanks, great insights all around. Much appreciated.
There is a poll on same exact test at gear page, last I checked, test 2 was winning, with test 4 close behind.
1 and 6 get mentioned a lot in both forums.

It is true and I've said it a long time, my playing DOES get influenced by what I'm hearing and feeling, so the ones I like are pretty obvious in the way i play if you listen.

I don't like the idea of a pre recorded clip going into the various versions, tone frenzy used to do it like this 17 years ago, I did not like it. At that point, I'd also need a machine to rock the wah too, correct?

What we're left with, then, is a biased test. But the result might be more valid than a cold clinical approach- if a different or better sound inspires a player to play differently, then this is an aspect as important as the sound itself.

Phone mic? It's good enough, I am not making abbey road! I do take the time to place it well.

Thanks for all the comments- all great stuff. Appreciate you all talking the time to listen.

[fernieite]

I only had a quick listen with headphones over my laptop. However, even on full volume it wasn't really loud enough for my liking.

I suppose it could be on my end - am I going deaf!

I do think that perhaps #6 was the best sounding to me, but as I said, I would like to hear the clips at better volume. TURN IT UP!

that's funny!
you had me worried, i usually think my volume is pretty good.
i went to "that pedal show" to compare, i am within 10% of their volume so i think i'm ok.

Damn, so I am going deaf then!

Looking forward to seeing which pots are where. Like the others have said - It doesn't seem to make that much of a difference to the actual sound of the wah. Is that what you're hearing too Joe? I imagine there's more of a discernable feel difference.
You're the guy in the room afterall.

Thanks.

[redeyeflight]

It's the same when I listen to demos of compressor pedals. More on the feel than the actual sound.

[jerms]

yeah they all sound good... after listening a few times #4 may be the winner for me... although i think dif pots have more to do with the interaction of your foot and the sweep, which would be easier to rate in person playing the pedal...

[joegagan]

yes, it really IS a feel thing.
i think many players adjust quickly to different tapers, if they are using their ears.