Conference napalm::guitar

Cry Baby's rule.  I've had one of those, a Morley and the other guitarist
in the band has a DOD Volume/Wah.  Expect to pay $50-$70 for a CryBaby.
Hendrix made the CB well known me thinks...
jc

    
    
    	I have a coloursound wah......really good wah noise and the plate 
    	where you rest you foot is quite wide....I prefered it over the 
    	cry baby....the coloursound seems to have a wider Wah range.
    
    	J

    
    Hmmmm.....I have one stashed in a box somewhere....tried to turn it
    into a volume pedal, but failed.....I wish I knew which wires went 
    where....;-)
    
    It was made by DeArmond or something like that...
    
    Anyone ever heard of them?  Anyone got an address?  I'd like to get
    schematics....
    
    guy

    The original Vox Crybaby and the Dunlop version are two different
    animals, despite what the ads tell you.  The older Vox version has
    a somewhat ratty sound, but the wah really snaps.  The Dunlops
    are cleaner and mellower.  I'm not saying either is better, just
    different.  If you try one type and don't like it, check out the
    other.
    
    Dallas-Arbiter made a pedal identical to the old Vox, sometimes called
    a Wah-Face.  These may be a bit easier to find than an original Vox;
    I saw one in new condition a couple of years ago.
    
    I've heard of (but never heard) Colorsounds; they also seem to fall into
    the "cheesy but cool" camp.  Supposedly a unique and very highly regarded
    pedal.

    
    	I believe wah's to be a far more flexible useful tool than people
    give credit to. They do alot more than provide the sound from SHAFT,
    and when used in a very subtle context, they can be enormously
    useful.  But then again, subtly in rock is not always an obvious
    concept...  However, i'd never keep mine locked up in the closet. It's
    like having a trumpet with out a mute - you deny yourself a greater
    range of expression (and no a fist is not as effective as a mute).
    
    	bob
    

    
    
    
    	speaking of wah's.....my personal favorite player would have to
    	be Stephen Stills......check out his first solo album...the tune
    	Think I'll Go Back Home....some awsome wah playing there....as
    	well as one of my favorite Clapton solo's...incredible tune...
    	
    
    Ray

>    But then again, subtly in rock is not always an obvious concept...
    
    But if it were obvious, then it wouldn't be subtle, would it?
    

    ... and I thought everyone had switched to dynamic filters for their
    wah effects, to free up their feet for diving off stages!
    
    re: .0 - I've got a dunlop crybaby in mint condition (because I bought
    it new and never used it!) ... make me an offer.
    
    Steve

Folks, I have got the schematics for the Cry Baby and Vox Wah pedals, so if 
any of you musician/electronic engineers want to make your own.......

By the way, the component that gets the boosted tone is a 1/2 to 1 mH 
inductor, so be prepared to wind one.

PS. I noticed a "build into your Guitar"  TONE X product, which in essence, is 
a hand controlled Wah pedal (complete with inductor).

The idea being, that lots of guitarists use the Wah pedal to get "that" 
tubular tone and tend to switch the pedal on about halfway to solo with.

Seems to me that building it into the guitar (simply replaces the tone pot), 
is a good/low cost option.

Dave

    
    The VOX wah-wah was called a VOX Clyde McCoy Wah-Wah. It was I believe
    made for and marketed by the American VOX company owned by Thomas Organ.
    I have one. It is what Hendrix used. I never heard of Cry Babies until
    long after Hendrix was dead. In many photos of Hendrix you can see VOX
    on the front of the pedal. I bought mine in '68. Snap is right. It's
    tricky to use. Has almost too much range to it. Way back and your tone
    all but disappears. Way forward and you will I am certain damage small
    animals and children.

    And don't ask me who Clyde McCoy was cuz I've never seen his
    name printed anywhere except the bottom of my Wah-Wah.

    --rjb

    A guy I'm playing in a band with uses a Colorsound fuzz box. He swears 
    by it, and I must admit it gets a nice sweet tone and complements his
    Vox AC30 rather nicely. Only problem is it is apparently poorly
    shielded and picks up RFI. Some nights he gets radio-free Europe
    through the thing! It even buzzes when certain incondescent lights
    are turned on. When it gets intolerable, he switches over to a Marshall
    "Govenor" which he claims is the closest thing he's found to the 
    Colorsound, and is built much better. 
    
    I would expect a Colorsound Wah pedal would probably be just as poorly
    shielded as the fuzz box. Chances are pretty slim of finding one
    anyways. My buddy has been looking for a spare fuzz box for a long time, 
    with no luck, and he works in a music store! 
    
    I think Stevie Ray Vaughan used his wah pedal very effectively, and
    was one of the few players that used one in the last 20 years. Of 
    course his wah technique was taken directly from Hendrix.
    
    I had a wah pedal years ago, which broke on me twice. Most wah pedals
    have a potentiometer with a pinion gear attached to it. The pedal has
    a rack which turns the pinion and makes the pot spin (rack & pinion).
    Morley pedals all have photo-optic mechanisms with no mechanical parts
    to break, and are really bulletproof. Only problem is Morley really
    does not have the classic tone of a Cry Baby or Vox wah wah. I have
    a Morley volume/panning pedal which is about 12 years old, and I have
    never even had to replace the bulb. It has seen a great deal of use
    during that time, too.
    
        I think my choice for a wah-wah would probably be the Cry Baby,
    which are available from Jim Dunlop. I believe these use the rack
    and pinion setup like all old wah-wahs. Here's a couple of tricks
    you can do with wah-wahs which might make them a little more useful:
    
    	1. Pull off the cover. By pulling the rack gear away from the 
    pinion gear, you can turn the potentiometer from one end stop the
    other. The rack & pinion does not spin the potentiometer it's full
    travel. By adjusting the pot one way or the other you may be able to
    find a range which suits you better than the factory setting.
    
	2. If you find the wah-wah has too much range from top to bottom
    position, you can drill one or two holes in the base under the pedal
    and install a nut with two bolts (one on top of the base and one inside). 
    This nut allows you to set a top and/or bottom limit. Some pedals may 
    have this feature already on them. Morley pedals allow you to set the 
    pedal "throw" and upper and lower limits with some pots on the side of 
    the pedals.
    
    Regarding DeArmond: This manufacturer has been around for decades.
    Their add-on pickups are very common. They have made pickups for
    acoustic guitars which mount in the sound hole, as well as add-on
    pickups for archtops which attach to the strings between the bridge
    and tailpiece. Their volume pedals are very popular. Larry Carlton
    has used one for years for volume swells, and they are the volume
    pedal of choice with steel-pedal players. 
    
    
    	Mark

    I just remembered seeing an Ernie Ball Wah awhile back and it seemed to
    be really solidly constructed.  It also had an easily replacable pot
    and you can get replacement pots for it from them.  
    
    I haven't heard one in action though...
    
    I've used one the the little DOD ones (FX-17?) though and I didn't like
    the way it sounded.  The range was wierd.
    
    I have an old Vox Wah.  It doesn't really see much action, but I like
    to dig it out every now and then to mess with.  I go through periods
    when I really like it and when I don't (the ones where I don't like it
    usually last longer then the ones where I do...)
    
    Greg
        

    	I have a Dunlop Cry Baby and I use it mostly to get a little extra
    	tone. But lately I've had a problem with it. I get a scratchy noise
    	when I move it up and down. I know little or nothing about 
    	electronics, so, maybe someone could tell me what might be the 
    	problem and possibly how I would go about fixing it.
    
    	Besides the recent problem I've had, I think this pedal is great
    	and I use it all the time. I've had it for about four years now.
    
    	I kind of have a funky set up, playing a Gibson Les Paul Custom
    	through a Rockman and into a set of small amplified speakers.
    	Suprisingly, with the Wah-Wah I get a relatively nice sound, for my
    	bedroom anyway.
    
    	Thanks in advance for any help!
    
    	Scott
             

    The potentiometer's got gunk on the carbon track.  Replace it.

Scott,

	Ref -1:


>    The potentiometer's got gunk on the carbon track.  Replace it.

On the button, but if you don't want the hassle you could try squirting switch 
cleaner into the pot. Providing there is no physical damage to the carbon 
track, this can often help to restore the pedal. Also, depending upon 
mechanical construction, some pots can be taken apart, if yours can, try 
rubbing a little soft pencil lead on the track after cleaning it as above.

By the way, if you intend to replace the pot anyway, AND there is no way to 
get inside the pot, why not drill a small hole in the edge of the pot to get 
the cleaner put on the track (first set the wiper against one end stop so you 
don't drill into it!).  Seal the hole up with Blu-tack.

Before re-assembling, GENTLY bend the track wiper to increase the pressure 
against the track.

This "mid-life kicker" works equally well for any pots ie. amp/guitar/effects.

Good luck

Dave

	I used a Colorsound (they used to be called SolaSound) WahWah in
	1972 - over the years it turned into a *noisy* mother, but I swear,
	I've never met a wah-wah pedal like it ever since!

	/ravi

	PS:  It died an awful death in a car accident.

    
    
    	Well, I bought a Dunlop last week at Mr C's - what a riot!!
    	I never played one until now (except trying one out once in
    	awhile).  I'm sure I'm overusing it at the moment because
    	I'm experimenting but it really is fun!!  
    
    	I'm finding it makes me "think" about every note alot more
    	than before.
    
    	Tom
    
    

I've got on of the old VOX "Clyde McCoy" models too.   I think
Clyde McCoy was a trombone player who used a toilet plunger head to
create a trademark wha wha sound in the 40s (?). Fleeting fame? ;-)
Then again, he might have been a trumpet player who used his hand.
Ask your parents or grandparents.
Dave

    Just a suggestion:
    
    I picked up a 9v wall bug at Radio Shack with a connector that allows
    it to replace a regular 9v battery. I use this with my CryBaby so I
    don't have to worry about eating batteries. Just open the base and plug
    it into the battery connector, and you have an AC powered Wah Wah. That
    way I can leave it hooked up all the time, even though I use it very
    rarely.
    
    - Ram

    RE: .18....PEEWEE HERMAN uses his hand too but I don't believe he
    plays trumpet! *:^)
    -Bill

RE: 20:  Clyde McCoy/Thomas Organ/wah wah /cry baby 
         You make up the jokes....

Dave

    Doesn't the wall bug add "noise" to the ckt?
    Most wall bugs add a good amount of noise so for toys that take a 9v
    battery (like my Dunlap Wah) I use a battery instead of an AC adapter.
    Maybe I should experiment with one also...   but if it adds more noise
    to the ckt...  I think I'll pass.
    
    Fred

    Depends on the bug.  Know how Boss says "use only Boss adapter" on
    their FX?  With a Radio Shack adapter I get lotsa buzz and hum, with
    the Boss adapter I get nada.
    
    							Brian  

    RE: wall AC adapters

    You want to be sure that the AC supply can provide plenty more current
    than the device that it's powering consumes. When the supply is taxed,
    it will produce a 60 Hz (120?) ripple on the DC output that goes right
    into your most beloved signal. I've found the ratings to be very liberal
    on these things. My experience is that a unit rated 200mA is not going
    to cut it with an effect rated 150-200mA. (it might, but don't be
    surprized if it hums) For the most part these things are intended to
    power calulators and the like. Units marketed expressly for powering
    audio gear are probably just heftier supplies.
    
    -rjb

    Boss sells several differant wall bugs. The PSA120 supplied with my
    PSM5 is rated at 200ma. This is suppossedly enough current to drive
    7 of their stomp box units.  They make a power supply to accompany
    their old 1/2 rack series (RPW-7) which can provide 700ma. I would
    think that a 100ma wall bug would be plenty of power for most any
    wah-wah pedal.
    
    Mark
     

    I'll have to go home and check the rating on the bug and the wah.
    Normally, I don't have any noise problem with the bug. However, I was
    playing a gig recently, and when I first hooked things up the wah was
    unusually noisy. I couldn't get the noise out, so I just decided not to
    use it that night. Later on in the evening I tried it again, and it was
    fine. Gremlins? Maybe I ought to look into a more powerful bug.
    
    - Ram

        This past  weekend,  I  was  down  in the Worcester area.  My
        girlfriend and I went for  a  walk and passed a lawn/sidewalk
        sale.    Under  a  Realistic  cassette  deck,  was  a  Morley
        Boost/Wah Pedal.
        
        `How much is this unit ?' I asked.
        
        `$5.00 !' the lady said.
        
        `SOLD !' was off my lips before she could say otherwise. 
        
        Haven't had a chance to check it  out  yet, but the lady said
        that  it worked, and even if it doesn't,  I'm  enough  of  an
        electrical gizmo geek to fix it otherwise. :^)
        
        Matt

    
    
    
    
    
                  "geek"?
    
    
    
                  Naaa, couldn't be.
    
    
    
    

        Well, I plugged this little hummer in at band practice Friday
        night and WOW !  Works  like  a  charm  !    No  glitches, no
        scratches, nothin' but a descent working unit !
        
        I've already got four  people  on  a `if you see another deal
        like that, GRAB IT FOR ME' list and have been called names by
        a couple `read only folks' from BTO cause of that deal.
        
        YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE ! :^)
        
        Matt

    My Crybaby Wha pedal is weirding out of late.  It doesn't seem to
    be making quite as 'pronouced' a "wha" sound (filter sweep) as I'd
    like it to.  Also, there seems to be a glitch in the poty, where it
    starts off fine on the low end, the sort of jumps to full treble,
    missing all that sweep range in the upper end.
    
    What do you all of you suggest I do?  Who could fix this dumb thing for
    me?  HELP -- MISTER WIZZARD!

   First, if you looked for the proper spelling ("wah" not "wha") you might
   have found something.  :-)  Like in notes 369 or 2276.  (You're welcome.
   :-))

   Secondly, as to your problem, it could be a weak battery causing the recent
   change in sound/performance.  It could also be the pot going bad.  These
   things tend to eat pots, especially if you play Voodoo Chile all the time.
   :-)  That's one reason Morley was so successful using a LED/light activated
   system instead of pots - they don't sound like a CryBaby, though.

   -- Sam (who's probably replaced the pot in his E-H pedal about a dozen
   times over the years.)

    Well, Buckaroo, iffn the jump in the sweep is consistent, I'd say first
    off that the pots gotta be replaced. Once that's done the unit's
    operation can be better evaluated. But that'll probably fix the thang
    right up.

    But before you go off on that tangent, first make sure the connections
    of the wires going to the pot are OKEEDOKEE. Maybe the motion of the
    peddle is moving one just enough to open the circuit at some point int
    the peddle travel. If they seem OK, try spraying control cleaner into
    the pot's opening (beware that some pots are sealed and can't be
    cleaned). Work the pot back and forth while you do this and it should
    loosen and dirt. BUT FOR GODSAKE BE CAREFUL THERE'S 5,000 VOLTS INSIDE
    THAT THING. Just kidding. If none of this does any good, your mission
    will be to have the pot replaced.

    Mine's a VOX so I caint help you on the value pot you'll need. Some
    soldering (three wires) is undoubtably required, too.

    re BUT FOR GOD SAKE BE CAREFUL THERES 5000 VOLTS IN THERE
    
    Man,.. I fell off my chair when I read that one,...thanks for the
    laugh
    
    	:-)
    							/Bill
    

    One of the bend wheels on my synths exhibits the same type of problem
    occasionally; works OK for the first n% of travel, then takes a big
    jump.
    
    I hit it with a squirt of pot cleaner and it smooths right out. 
    
    
    Edd

    >  works OK for the first n% of travel, then takes a big jump.
    
    Hey, the Master Volume knob on my Boogie used to do the very same
    thing!!!!
    
    ;-)  ;-)  .-)

    Ok, 'nother question.  I have an 80's Morley power wah (one of the big
    pedals that plug directly into the wall), which used to work just fine. 
    The last time I tried it, it didn't work; no sound came through.  All
    variations of buttons, etc, produced no output.  I'm experienced with
    electronic repair, so I've tried most of the obvious stuff.  In any
    case, does anyone have a schematic for one of these things?  It'd sure
    make signal tracing a little easier....

    Thanks,
    steve

Buck,

	Seem to remember I gave this advice before in these notes but......

Sounds like the pot alright, but as said previous, renew the battery first 
just in case.

The jump to treble sounds like either the carbon track is worn/and/or the wiper
has lost its pressure against the track.  Try this before replacing......

1. If it is a sealed pot, carefully drill a small (1/8 inch) hole in the casing
   and sqirt pot cleaner in while working the pot back and worth.

2. If the pot is semi-sealed (metal "lugs" bent over), prise off the metal cover
   and:

	a. carefully bend the wiper closer to the track to ensure a firmer 
           contact.

        b. using a soft pencil, work the lead well into the track.

3. If neither of the above works...replace or call a wizzard!!

Dave

    Re. Morley pedal.
    
    Before you do anything else, check to make sure the bulb works.
    Morley pedals are photo-optic. There is a light bulb and photocell.
    The photocell is attached to a cable which moves the cell in 
    relation to the bulb. The bulb can be replaced from the outside 
    without even removing the bottom cover.
    
    If that doesn't work, you've got a more serious problem. Morley
    pedals do not have potentiometers in them like other pedals.
    
    Mark
    

    Slash has been using an Ernie Ball wah pedal of late...sounds good
    to moi.

    If I remember right, those new Ernie Ball wah's look pretty nice!  Real
    sturdy and you can replace the pot and stuff real easy.  Designed to
    work for a long time.  But I haven't heard one yet.  If I was in the
    market, I'd probably consider one of these.
    
    Greg

    re. 40.   Thanks Mark, but no the bulb is fine.  I think I've covered
    all the basics on this thing and believe it's signal tracing time.  So
    how 'bout it, anyone with a schematic of one of these things? I could
    get the exact model number if necessary.

    Thanks,
    steve

    A friend of mine was asking me about something and I didn't really
    know, so I thought I'd ask you experts!
    
    How tough is it to change a dirty pot in a wah pedal?  (sorry don't
    know what kind)
    
    If you change the resistance value of the pot, what will that do to the
    sound?
    
    Greg

    I'm no expert, so you can take this with a grain of salt...
    
    To some extent, a wah pedal is sort of a glorified tone control.
    By changing the value of the pot, you are going to change the
    "dynamics" (for lack of a better word) of the pedal -- it could
    become more treble or more bass intense, and the pedal could become
    either more or less sensitive (a small change could bring a large
    change in tone, or the entire range of the pedal would only 
    cover a portion of the former range).
    
    I don't know if a wah-wah normally uses an audio or linear taper pot,
    but using a pot of the same max resistance, but different taper would
    impact the sound more than a small difference in the resistance, but
    the same taper.
    
    						Jim
    

    Not difficult.  Based on my CryBaby, do the following:
    
    1. Remove the bottom cover.
    
    2. The pot's obvious.  Before removing it, squirt some contact cleaner
       into the little hole on the 'can' that covers the working part.  If
       there's no little hole then it's a sealed pot, meaning skip this
       test.  It also means the pot is probably better than average
       quality.  Hook it back up temporarily...you should hear a change in
       the noise if it's the pot.
    
    3. Presuming it's the pot, you can probably get away with contact
       cleaner for a while.  Eventually it will fail again, so you might
       as well bite the bullet now.
    
    4. Fire up your iron and remove the solder securing three wires leading
       to the pot, noting their position/color.  Wiggle the wires loose
       while the solder is fluid.  Try to be as quick as possible to avoid
       melting the wire insulation.
    
    5. Loosen the nut concentric with the pot shaft which secures pot to
       its mount and remove the pot.  Usually a rack gear is attached to
       the pedal and a small pinion sits on the pot shaft, secured with
       a small fastener, maybe a socket head, maybe a screw.  Remove the
       pinion.
    
       Less common is 'string drive' which uses a string attached to the
       pedal and then wrapped around the pot shaft...same effect as pinion
       and rack.
    
       I've never been inside a Morley pedal, so I'm clueless there.
    
    6. The value and taper of the pot are usually stamped on the side of
       the can.  Replace with new parts of the same value for a duplicate
       of the sound you had originally.  Don't worry about wattage: a 1/4
       watt job will do great.
    
    7. Test and replace cover if successful.  Swear at me if not ;^)  
    
    I think this is a fairly easy repair.  You need an iron, solder,
    perhaps a solder sucker, tiny wrench to remove pot nut and probably
    a Phillips to get the cover off.
    
    As for the values, changing the R will change span from bass to treble.
    What wah-eah's do is position a bandpass filter in the spectrum.  As
    you tune the circuit by pedaling, you move the center frequency of the 
    filter from low to high, to use one example.  In one instance you might
    be able to tune from 100 Hz (bassy) up to 3kHz (trebley).  By changing the 
    pot's resistance, the span might be 100 Hz to 1.5kHz. (or it might be 100 
    Hz to 6kHz).  Experimentation might be required.
    
    Changing the taper will change how quickly you go from one end of the 
    frequency span to the other end, but will not affect the beginning or
    final frequency.  I think a linear taper would be better than an audio
    taper.

>       I've never been inside a Morley pedal, so I'm clueless there.
    
    Morley doesn't use pots in theirs, they have a photo-electric control
    circuit, so you won't ever get problems with scratchy pots.
    
    Greg

    Unless you get a stock replacement part from the manufacturer
    you will need to use a drill and drill bit to drill a hole in the shaft 
    for the pin that holds the gear. A bench clamp or vise is neccesary
    for drilling the hole. To get the pin in the shaft out you will need
    some sort of thin rod to push it out.
    The Vox/Dunlop pots were Allen Bradey if I remember correctly,
    but I don't remember the value (50k or 500k?)
    If your slightly mechanically inclined it's a pretty easy job that can
    be done on a lunch hour....
    
    
    							Rick
    

    I've got an old Morley Volume/Wah pedal whose wah-wah half stopped
    working a while back.  It still works just fine as a volume pedal.
    
    Any ideas about how I might be able to fix this?
    
    Paul

    Actually, Morley's *do* use a pot, they just apply it a little
    differently. CryBaby's use the pot's variable resistance as part of
    an RC (resistance-capacitance) circuit to vary the bandpass filter
    center frequency.  Morley's use the resistance to modulate the output
    of an LED which is coupled in a sealed can to a photosensitive element;
    the output from the photosensor is used to do the tuning.  The theory
    is that not running the actual signal through the pot will improve 
    the sound.
    
    As for repairing the half-dead Morley, the standard trouble shooting 
    approach of tracing voltages with a multimeter seems applicable.  For
    Morley's, EXTRA CAUTION is required since they have a 110VAC ( :== 
    lethal ) supply.  For anything more than just the simplest circuit, I
    find a schematic to be mandatory.

    Re: 50
    
    Actually, at least *some* Morleys do *not* use pots.  I have a
    wah/volume that uses a small piece of fabric to cover the light source.
    The fabric is attached to the pedal so that as you move the pedal, the
    amount of fabric covering the lamp varies.  This is an older unit, so
    the circuits may have changed since this one was made.  But the bottom
    line is: no pot!
    
    						Brian

>    Actually, at least *some* Morleys do *not* use pots.  I have a
>    wah/volume that uses a small piece of fabric to cover the light source
    
    Yeah, the one I had was like this too.  That's why I said what I did. 
    It ran off a 9v battery too, no 110v AC power supply.
    
    Greg

    Wow...I stand (well, sit, actually) corrected.  I had only ripped into
    one Morley; I assumed they all worked the same.
    
    Paper occluding the light, eh?  Mon, that's high tech!

    >Paper occluding the light, eh?  Mon, that's high tech!
    
    Yeah, that's what I thought too when I opened it up.  The circuit board
    was a hand-drawn layout, looked kinda like a jr. high science fair
    project.  But the thing *is* reliable.  I don't like the wah sound much
    but then I hardly ever use it.  
    
    						Brian

    Also some Morley's use the same light that is used for the "power" 
    indicator.  Thus when it seems to fail to power up, while you might
    think (as I did) that something really bad has happened, it's
    just a matter of replacing the light.
    
    Now of course, replacing the light can be no small matter.  I couldn't
    find one at radio shack, so I took a bulb out of a printer, put it
    in my Morley and my printer and the Morley both worked.
    
    	db

    
            I have a dunlop cry baby, and am having trouble with the 
    level difference. When the effect is on, my signal is dropped(a lot)
    and when off returns to normal. Yes it has new batteries(tried three
    different ones) and still can't figure it out. Could something inside
    be adjusted to compensate this. I'v heard people mention the pot as
    being the problem for other things. If it was only a slight difference
    in level change it would'nt bother me, but this is anoying!!
    
    
    
    
         Thanks in advance,
              Jeffy

    I seem to remember having a similar problem with my old Vox wah.  I
    don't use it much (partly because of that).
    
    Greg

    I dunno....my Dunlop seems to *boost* the signal a bit.  Have you tried
    it with an AC adaptor?
    
    

    
    
            No, but I think I will. Hopefully that will make a difference.
    
                                    Thanks,
    
                                     Jeffy
    

    What should I do about my Vox?  I don't think it'll take external
    power.
    
    Greg

    
    
    Phantom power?
    
    New dilithium crystals?
    
    More meth in the hamster feed?
    
    How about just wiring your own AC adapter by using a spare 9v battery
    connector?
    

    
    Take the thing apart. Usually there is small pot inside for adjusting
    the level.
    
    Poul
    

    My CRY BABY doesn't give me any volume changes on my rig. Hmmmmm...
    interesting.
    
    	Pedal on,
    		Fred

>    Take the thing apart. Usually there is small pot inside for adjusting
>    the level.
    
    EXCELLENT!  I've been wanting to use it lately but I can't deal with
    the volume loss!  Thanks Poul!
    
    Greg

    
    
             Thanks,
     I'll rip it apart tonight and figure it out. Hopefully that will solve 
    the problem. Jam on Poul!!
    
    
              Jeffy

BTW, Acton Music has the CryBaby wah-wah on sale thru the end of the year
for $65.

alan

The original CryBaby doesn't do volume per se, just wah (outside of the 
tweaking of the frequency thing which may alter how loud it sounds). 
The CryBaby Mister is a volume pedal and a wah-wah pedal. Go from Jimi to 
Duane in one click.

But... you guys probably knew all this.

	Got the chance to test a new unit of the classic VOX wah-pedal
	this week-end. It's great! Indeed it has the classic WAH..
	IMO, it's far better than the CRY BABY, which I also had a
	chance to test at home. My own Morley wah/volume pedal s*cks
	in comparison to both of these, it's only advantage being the
	less noise sensitive light dependent resistor implementation...

	Now, I own a very old VOX wah-pedal with the very same look as
	the new one and with about the same kind of sound as the new
	one, just being far more noisy.

	Well, I stuck my noise into this new one, and guess what? It's
	the same circuit as the old one, except for another type of
	transistors and a single resistor change from 470 to 510 ohms!

	So I guess the coil has the same data. All I need to do is to
	get new components (the new metal film resistors are less noisy
	as well), which just meen a few bucks, then I have a brand new
	pedal with the classic sound - and the new VOX cost here in
	Denmark is app. $160 - $180!!

	I'm also thinking about putting the VOX circuit into the Morley
	pedal, but I'm stuck in the problem about the potmeter - the pot
	in the VOX is a normal one with three terminals, whereas the
	light sensitive pots onle have two terminals, no middle outtake.
	This problem could be solved, but it's not so easy..

	Poul

    
    
    
    
    You could just cheat and throw away the Morley's guts, and then put in
    a mechanically-linked pot.  The light-controlled pot doesn't go all the
    way to zero ohms, so you'd probably lose the w part of your wah...
    
    

    I have a VOX that I bought in '68. Plugged it in the other day for the
    first time in many years. The kids came walking into the room with WTF
    expressions on their faces.

    I also have the circuit from another old one which came from a unit
    owned by the late Bob (Bob-o) LaPalm of Clean Living (and Al Anderson's
    "When She Smiles" single) fame. (He was another master of the
    Telecaster. Anyone remember him?)
    
    Poul, your note said "transistors". Mine has only a single transistor.
    Yours has more than one? If possible I'd like to try making those
    component changes to my extra circuit and comparing it with the
    original, which I always thought could stand a wee bit of improvement.
    But if it's a different animal then I'll just never mind.

    --Ron

	Hi Ron - I most definitely remember Clean Living.  As a matter
	of fact, I was singing "Mare Take Me Home" last nite!!  That's
	them, right?

	My highschool band won a "Battle of the Bands" prelim at South
	Hadley High and made it to the finals.  We brought our stuff
	in the afternoon and Clean Living was doing a sound check on
	stage (we didn't get to!).  They stopped us in our tracks and
	we wondered if we could call in sick!  ;^)

	... er, we finished 5th of 5...  I'll never forget when our
	drummer's seat broke and he fell to the floor in the middle
	of a song - pretty sure we lost a point or two on that one!

	Tom

    
    re .71: throw in a mechanically-linked pot into the Morley? And then
    what would the advantage be? I could use the advantage of no-contact
    LDR (Light Dependent Resistor), but I tell you it's not easy to change
    a circuit with a pot with three outtakes to an LDR with just two ter-
    minals...
    
    re 72: Ron, I have two transistors in my VOX pedal. And the circuit is
    quite simple, the difficult thing is to reproduce the exact coil cha-
    racteristics - which will also be the key point for producing the
    right sound...
    
    Poul
    

    Bob LaPalm was also in a band called Bold (they did one album for ABC). 
    I never saw Bob play, the few times I saw Clean Living were after Bob's
    death and they had chosen not to replace him...there was no lead guitar
    in the band anymore.  
    
    Both "Mare Take Me Home" and "When She Smiles" are Al Anderson songs;
    did Clean Living cover them (never owned the two LPs myself)?  
    
    							Brian

    The Bold (1968-1970?) was sort of the predecessor to Clean Living.
    Drummer Tim Griffin was also in both bands and he gigged with Mitch
    Chakour and the Mission Band as well. Clean Living has up until recently
    done a reunion gig in Holyoke every year. I think they did one last
    year. Bob-o's death hit them (and everyone else) pretty hard.

    Poul, I'm going to check out the circuit board again. I'm pretty certain
    that the ones I have contain only one transistor.

    --Ron

    I recently cleaned up my VOX wah wah and Poul was right -- two xsistors.

    After putting back in fine working order and using it some I remembered
    what my main complaint about these babies is, the control has too much
    range to it. The real usable wah action occurs in a small range in the
    middle of the control (pedal/pot). I'm going to (attempt to) modify this
    so that the useful range is expanded to the full range of the control. I
    expect that I can do this with a handful of resistors. If it woiks, I'll
    post the mod here.

    --Ron

    Re: .77
    
    Interesting observation.  I notice that among the many Cry Baby models
    that Dunlop sells, one is the "Jimi Hendrix wah" which supposedly has
    the circuit modified to alleviate the problem you mentioned.
    
    Anybody out there actually auditioned all the different Cry Baby
    models? There's the basic Cry Baby, a Bass Cry Baby (the John Wetton
    signature model???), Jimi model, now even a "vintage" one...sheesh!
    
    							Brian

    re: .78
    
    The Hendrix model must be fireproof, too.
    
    Dave

	Ron, the new VOX pedal didn't have that problem. I think the
	WAH pot was a 100K instead of 470K - but it was hard to recog-
	nize because it was squeezed into the box, and I didn't want to
	take it apart (since I had no intention to buy it). All of the
	other components were the same as in the old pedal, except for
	the first emitter resistor, which is 510 ohms instead of the
	old 470 ohms. And I think the capacitor and the resistor in the
	input stage are swapped around, so in the new pedal the 68K re-
	sistor is first (looked at from the input), then the 10nF cap.
	And oh, the transistors are low-noise HMPS A18, which should be
	equal to BC550's (the old ones are 5117 GE's).

	Now these pots are hard to find - they seem to be special
	'heavy duty', I tried to get one in the local radio parts store,
	but they never heard about these. And I definitly don't wanna
	put in a normal 'cheep' one, since it's gonna take a great deal
	of 'abuse' - including the 'fire test' ;-)

	Poul

    
    Poul,

    Thanks for the most excellent info. I'll report back after I get into
    the unit. I'm fairly certain that the pot in mine is either a 1.0 or a
    1.5 Meg. I bought it new in 1968. Maybe they changed the pot value after
    that.

    --Ron

    
    1.0 Meg?!! I think then your pedal is a complete different design.
    Anyways, you can try to shunt it with another resistor, to get rid
    og the too dark-too sharp problem. Try with a value af say another
    1.0 Meg. on the two outermost terminals on the pot, that will lower
    the value to 500K (if you're right about the 1.0 Meg. value)...
    
    Poul
    

    Poul,

    I opened it up last night. Although the pot appears (it's difficult to
    be certain) to be stamped 100K, with the pot in the circuit I measure
    1.8M across it.

    I thought of lowering it as you described in -1, but thought that it
    might shift the LC parameters too much. So for starters, I tried simply
    adding extra resistance to each end of the pot. This seemed to work well
    towards reducing the pot's offect, and had no decernable effect on the
    center frequency, etc. I ended up with 300K at the bass end and 10K at
    the treble end. making the 10K smaller opens up the treble end more, so,
    although I'm pleased with it just like this, I might reduce the 10K down
    to 5K or so in the future. When it goes to zero is when you better look
    out. Bottom line is that it "wahs" better than before.

    I'd like to find a pair of those lower noise transistors that you
    mentioned in your earlier note.

    --Ron