Recording a Wah Wah??

Z

Zeekle

New member
Just a curiosity question.. Is it better to record the wah wah when initially tracking the guitar or better to leave it untill later.
2 reasons for asking, the tone I get through the wah wah sounds better than when I'm adding it later, but my timing can suffer a little with my foot, hand co-ordination when I'm tracking.
Any ideas appreciated.
Cheers Zeek
 
Not a pro but...

Normally wah wah should be the first box in your chain when playing live. I think this applies to recording too, unless you record your guitar dry while tracking. As wah wah is a different kind of compression it ruins the signals when placed last.

And for your timing problem;
There is no strict rules for the use of wah. You cradle it any time you feel it would be right. So if you practice a bit more before recording you won't suffer that much. Adding afterwards may not be as natural as you will feel while you play.

that was my 2 cents.
 
To add a wah wah later, you'd need a Reamp or its equivilent to match the impedence of the wah to that of the recorder. Other wise it'll sound like ass.
 
Thanks chaps, a little food for thought. I suppose it will sound better to record the wah wah as I play and (bugger it all) practice more before I do so!
Cheers, Zeek
 
I don't really think it's possible to get as expressive a performance by adding the wah later. The more you play the wah with the guitar, the more it becomes a part of you, and it's just not going to have the same impact. Same can be said with just about any effect that is more of a compositional part of a song.

Also, because the focus on the wah is on the mid-sweep, you can easily get a decent tone that will almost always sit well in the mix. If it doesn't, then the guitar tone probably sounds bad even without the wah.
 
Cyrokk said:
I don't really think it's possible to get as expressive a performance by adding the wah later. The more you play the wah with the guitar, the more it becomes a part of you, and it's just not going to have the same impact. Same can be said with just about any effect that is more of a compositional part of a song.

Also, because the focus on the wah is on the mid-sweep, you can easily get a decent tone that will almost always sit well in the mix. If it doesn't, then the guitar tone probably sounds bad even without the wah.
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I agree that it should be part of the tracking.I have a wha with a sweep-
able mid switch on the side.Man do I love that peddle.
 
That's been my experience too. A wah isn't something I "practice" - it's a color I add to the sound while I'm playing. Having said that, the ol' CryBaby hasn't been off the shelf for many moons now.....
 
i've never tried adding wah after tracking. Now I want to.

Time to get it out and find a reason to....
 
lpdeluxe said:
A wah isn't something I "practice" - it's a color I add to the sound while I'm playing. QUOTE]
What I mean by practice is getting it to sound good within the context of my song... rather that the outta time / tempo rocking that I sometimes get dragged into 'cause Im trying to play something tricky for me and still wah wah at the same time.
Thanks for the insight into this though...
Cheers Z
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Eaglion said:
As wah wah is a different kind of compression it ruins the signals when placed last.
Click to expand...

Uhhhh, no.

A "wah wah" is a very 'high Q' variable frequency midrange EQ, it has nothing to do with compression... nor does it "ruin" the signal when placed last in the chain [though your sense of aesthetic will dictate it's postion in the chain].

It's usually best to incorporate the effect with the performance, but if you want to add it later, it's doable. You'll need to record a "direct" track then bring that track out of the recorder to the wah pedal, then to an amp and record it... FWIW, I've found that a Littlelabs "redeye" works brilliantly as both a DI for recording the direct track as well as for the re-amplification of the recorded direct signal.
 
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