Wah-wah Pedal - Other Instruments

Other Instruments

Many bassists have also used the wah-wah effect, for example Michael Henderson on Miles Davis's album On the Corner (1972). Bassist Cliff Burton of Metallica used a Morley Wah pedal (along with a Big Muff Distortion) extensively, including on "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth", which is primarily a bass solo recorded for Kill 'Em All (1983), and "The Call of Ktulu" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls", both recorded for Ride the Lightning. Geezer Butler, bassist of Black Sabbath, used it when playing his solo "Bassically", along with the bass line in "N.I.B.". Chris Squire of Yes used a wah-wah pedal on his solo piece "The Fish" on the album Fragile.

John Medeski of Medeski, Martin, and Wood uses a Wah pedal with his Clavinet.

Many Steel Guitar players use a Wah-Wah, such as Robert Randolph from the Robert Randolph and the Family Band

Melvin Ragin better known by the nickname Wah-wah Watson, was a member of the Motown Records studio band, The Funk Brothers, where he recorded with artists like The Temptations, The Jackson 5, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and The Supremes. He played on numerous sessions in the 1970s and 1980s for many top soul, funk and disco acts, including Herbie Hancock.

Keyboardists have also made use of the wah-wah effect both in the studio and during live performances. Garth Hudson famously used a wah-wah pedal on a clavinet in The Band song "Up on Cripple Creek" to emulate a Jaw Harp. Rick Wright of Pink Floyd played a Wurlitzer electric piano through a wah-wah pedal in their song "Money" to give the impression of many consecutive chords being played. Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater made an extensive use of the wah-wah pedal on Dream Theater's album Train of Thought.

Many jazz fusion records feature wind and brass instruments with the effect - Miles Davis's trumpet being a well-known example. Davis first used this technique in 1970 (at concerts documented on Live-Evil and The Cellar Door Sessions) at a time when he also made his keyboard players (Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea) play electric pianos with a wah-wah pedal. Napoleon Murphy Brock played a saxophone amplified through a wah-wah pedal in the Frank Zappa movie The Dub Room Special, as well as on some of Zappa's albums. David Sanborn can be heard playing an alto saxophone modified by a wah-wah pedal on the David Bowie album Young Americans. Noted saxophonist King Curtis was also known to use a wah-wah pedal. Dick Sims, the keyboard player with Eric Clapton in the late seventies, used a Hammond organ in conjunction with a wah-wah pedal, sat on top of the organ operated by his palm.

The effect is also extensively used with the electric violin. Notable examples are Jerry Goodman with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Jean-Luc Ponty, Don "Sugarcane" Harris and Shankar, with Frank Zappa, all usually engaged in long wah-wah violin/guitar duels. Boyd Tinsley of Dave Matthews Band is known to use a wah-wah pedal live.

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