There are many differing opinions on how
the wah was actually conceived, so I again
decided to dive into one of my favorite
books, AnalogMan’s Guide to Vintage
Effects, to really find out the story behind
the conception of this seminal guitar
pedal. It was introduced around 1967,
and was originally marketed towards horn
and trumpet players to do away with the
need for a mute (much to the chagrin of
the original designer, who was a guitar
player and meant it to be used for guitar).
However, the inventor of the original wah
pedal was Del Casher, a session musician
who was asked to be a Vox endorsee, and
later became an engineer for Vox. He was
toying with the Q section of the Vox amp,
and subsequently created the wah pedal we
know today, which in essence is a sweepable
low-pass or band pass filter with a bit of
resonance, which creates that vocal tone.
This first wah was named the Clyde McCoy,
42
TONE TALK //
who was a trumpet player famous for his
use of mutes. While it didn’t really catch on
for its originally marketed purpose, guitar
players on both sides of the pond snapped
up this cool new sound, and it made its way
to the forefront of many guitar solos in the
‘60s.
Examples: Jeff Beck Group – "I Ain’t
Superstitious" (Truth - 1968)
Cream – "White Room" (Wheels of Fire – 1968)
Funkadelic – "Maggot Brain" (Maggot Brain
– 1971) **While not a song from the British
Invasion, I find this soulful and powerful
10 minute solo by guitarist Eddie Hazel
almost always necessary to mention when
talking about the wah pedal. There are many
legends as to how this incredible solo came
to fruition, and you can do well to look them
up yourself, but the fact remains that this
solo remains a poignant statement to the
sheer emotion created by this one effect.
A People’s Guide to the Gear of the British Invasion