The Zen of Wah Wah Maintenance (Part 1) – by Dan Albrecht, owner/founder of Area 51, area51tone.com
Where would we be without wah? Where would Kirk Hammett be? (just kidding Kirk) This fun little device has been making our guitars whine, wail, and cry since about 1967 with the Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, and so many more since. But since they are constantly being stomped on and rocked back and forth – stuff wears out. Switches and pots being pretty typical replacement items. But there are things you can do to keep your wah working its best.
After building and servicing thousands of wahs, from vintage to current, I’ve noticed quite a few common problems, and most of them are easily fixed – even by the user. So here are some of the most common wah failures and their fixes…
1. Dead battery. I shouldn’t even have to say it, but damn…I’m going to anyway. You would not believe how many have been sent to my shop over the years for exactly this. When someone emails me requesting service info, that is the first thing I tell them. Check the battery and/or power supply! And no, putting the 9v battery on your tongue is not an accurate way to check voltage. We live in an age of cheap tools – so get your ass to harbor freight, or online and get a DMM – digital multimeter. Use it to check your battery voltage (which should be above 8.7 volts) and/or your incoming voltage from your pedalboard power supply. That should be a regulated 9 volts or whatever is shown on the unit. My pedals can take up to 14 volts. Either way – make sure you have ample voltage the pedal is seeing. Too low will make them sound pretty weak.
2. Intermittent connections Because a wah gets moved and stomped so much, it’s common for some connections to go bad. Input and output jacks become dirty or sprung, and many newer wahs have molex push-on solderless connections in them. First thing you need to do is purchase a can of Caig brand Deoxit D5 cleaner. Every gear owner should have some of this. It can be found on amazon. You can spray a little on your plugs and insert them in the jacks to keep them clean (I’ve even fixed my cell phone this way). It leaves a little bit of lubrication behind too, which helps to prevent future corrosion. Pull your molex connector off, and spray a little inside – then reinstall it.
3. Dirty pot This is a biggie. What’s that scratchy sound you get when sweeping your wah back and forth? Chances are the pot is just dirty and needs cleaning. Because the pot is getting abused being turned constantly, special pots designed for wahs have thicker traces inside that a small metal contact called the Wiper runs across to make the pot work as a variable resistor. But over time, little microscopic bits of the track get scraped off, and dust can get inside too. That makes them sound scratchy and noisy. People get worried when they hear this, and think their pedal or pot is defective. I do sell replacement pots. And I’m happy to sell you one too. But have you tried cleaning your pot first? There’s a possibility you can save it. Hell, I’ve un-froze the pots on a 61 Showman with the Deoxit D5 I mentioned in the last section. However, your pot has to be the non-sealed type to be able to clean it. You can tell easily by seeing if it has an opening under the solder lugs. If so, you’re in business. If it’s a sealed pot like the black “hot potz 2” or the new thin square ones – you’re sunk. Time to buy new. Even the old Clarostat type J pots can be cleaned, although it’s a pain in the ass and you’re probably better off replacing it. To clean one, you have to partially disassemble the pot by taking the cover off, being careful not to touch the carbon track inside. Hose the wafer and wiper inside with Deoxit and carefully replace the cover and mash the tabs back down. I’ve had mixed results with this, and I usually just replace them. They never seem to take to cleaning as well as the un-sealed types. This is also the reason that I build my own wahs with the unsealed, old style pots. You can clean them! And thus, get shit-tons more use out of them. (I'm not getting paid to sell Deoxit - just so you know. I probably should though. I've been using it for 20 years and counting!)
4. Switch adjustment The switch is another weak point of just about all wahs, no matter how good they are. I’ve gone over this with switch engineers even….and the simple fact is this: A wah pedal is a really bad place for a switch. It gets constantly partially depressed. And because of the mechanism of the treadle it can cause the switch to be depressed too slowly, causing it to possibly hang up mid-cycle. This is bad. You will hear your sound cut out. The knee-jerk reaction is to mash down on the switch again. That usually causes the switch to break – since it’s stuck mid-cycle….CRUNCH. Broken switch. This can be avoided by adjusting the height of your switch properly. Most of the available footswitches, whether spdt (single pole, double throw), dpdt (double pole, double throw) or 3pdt (3 pole, double throw) have enough threaded shank to allow adjustment. Many have a nut inside between the switch and enclosure that your can adjust after you loosen or remove the outside nut. Sometimes an easier way is to just replace the felt that is on the underside surface of the treadle. It gets compressed over time, and you switch becomes harder to depress. I sell these by themselves, and as part of my Wah Refurb Kit. You should also make sure you have good rubber bumpers installed. It’s common on old wahs for them to be missing. That puts stress on the switch also. In adjusting the switch, to make it easier to trip – give the inside nut a turn clockwise. If the switching is too easy, go the other way. It’s my opinion that you should be able to activate your wah while seated in a chair. But at the same time, you don’t want it so easy that you trip it accidentally…like when you’re right in the middle of bringin’ the funk and … click. You turn it off. Tip: if your switch ever hangs up mid cycle, do NOT stomp on it again. Reach down and gently cycle it with your finger. It will probably take a few tries to free it up. Then adjust your switch!
5. Sprung jacks This is a very common problem with the 70s Crybaby Pedals made by Thomas Organ company. They used a type of jack that very commonly becomes sprung and there’s really no good way to remedy it other than replacing with a better jack. I only use the Switchcraft 11 and 12B and highly recommend them. In a world where pretty much everything is made like crap, these are still made like they used to be. This is the same type of jack you’ll find in all the vintage Fender amps going all the way back to the late 40s!
6. Loose Jacks This is also pretty common. In wahs that have enclosure mounted jacks (like the Switchcraft ones mentioned above), you just have to re-tighten the nuts. Use a 1/2” nut driver or socket (11mm for most of the newer board mounted jacks). A wrench or God-forbid….pliers are just gonna chew your nuts up. Nobody likes chewed nuts. Ok…I don’t like chewed nuts. Anyway..tighten them up and you’ll be good to go. Loose jacks can cause the signal to drop out especially if grounds are made using them.
Next time we’ll dive even deeper into this wah wah rabbit hole and I’ll show you more of the common ailments and how to fix them and keep that funk machine in top condition!
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