ZVex Wah Probe

This effect is a natural continuation of the probe series... the fuzz factory probe, the volume control/manual tremolo probe, and now a wah. It's probably exactly what you think it is: a theremin-style antenna controlling a wah, getting brighter as your foot approaches. It has one extra feature, however. There's a Super Hard-On boost circuit in front of the wah, with a knob to set the exact level of boost for driving your wah sound. It can be turned up high enough to make the wah crack up a little for that "something's gonna blow" sound. It gets pretty darn loud!

The probe circuit generates a small (one or two inches high) "bubble" of RF energy at about a million cycles per second above the copper plate. As your foot or hand (or any wet or metallic object, for that matter) approaches the copper plate, the RF field is disturbed and the circuit reacts by increasing the brightness of an LED, which drives a photoresistive cell and controls the Z. Vex wah circuit. The wah circuit is actually the Seek-Wah sound circuit without the sequencer control. It's also the same wah circuit as the one in The Drip guitar that I make. The only difference is the boost circuit in this Wah Probe model.

Adjustments: The simplest one of these is the volume level of the "drive" knob... just set it so that when you kick on the wah it's doing its stuff at the right intensity. It goes from slightly lower than the normal guitar volume to completely bonkers when turned up all the way. I personally don't think it's necessary to turn it up all the way, in fact, it seems to pretty much obliterate the wah sound, but, to each his own. Abuse those transistors, please!

The next adjustment is the RF field screwdriver adjustment on the bottom of the pedal. If you turn it in the direction of the arrow (usually to the left for that one) it will make the probe circuit more sensitive and set the "bottom" setting of the wah higher and higher. It's best to hold the pedal completely upside down so that the cords are dangling away from the antenna, with your hand and arm completely away from the antenna, and strum your guitar's open strings (you probably have to have it on a stand or strapped on) thru the Wah Probe. Gently adjust the RF pot with a tiny screwdriver in the direction of the arrow until you hear the wah get to the level you'd like it to be when you are not putting your foot near it. There's a region where the sound of the guitar is kind of "muffled" and the wah kicks in after your foot gets near the pedal, which is how i ship the unit. If you like the wah to be partway cocked into the lower wah region just park the adjustment right where you like it. As you get closer to the unit, it will wah higher.