Wah and Filter Pedals

Wah and Filter Pedals For Sale on Reverb

The groovy guitar licks during the bridge of Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusherman,” the throbbing bass throughout Muse’s “Madness,” and the Bootsy Collins’ grooves on pretty much every Parliament song would be less exciting without wahs and other types of filter effects.

Filter-based effects create interesting sounds by manipulating specific parts of the sonic spectrum. This could be controlled by an envelope that kicks in at a certain level or a time-based waveform. Along with envelope filter guitar pedals, synth and ring modulation pedals are cousins of filter effects. Check out the Meris Ottobit, Jr. for an excellent, modern example.

Wahs are special kinds of filters that are usually controlled by a tilting foot pedal, allowing the player to manually shift and move the affected spectrum as fast or slow as they desire. Wah pedals, sometimes called wah wahs, have been around since the mid-'60s, when the Bradley J. Plunkett modded a Vox volume pedal, a design that would lead to many variations of the Vox Wah. The Dunlop Cry Baby series are also popular examples of wah pedals.