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Hatsubai « The standard for all Wahs »
Published on 03/21/11 at 01:39Thanks in part to Hendrix and the like from the 60s, it's generally accepted that nearly every guitarist needs a wah pedal on his or her pedalboard. The Dunlop GCB-95 is to wah pedals as the TS808 is to overdrive pedals. Nearly every wah pedal out there is compared to this one, and once you use it, you can understand why. Housed in a nearly nuke-proof enclosure, the GCB-95 features the bare minimum of things you need to get started in your quest for the latest adult film soundtrack.
UTILIZATION
This is one of those pedals that'll withstand any abuse you throw at it. The main problem that ever goes wrong is that the pot goes scratchy/bad. Aside from that, there's not much that can go wrong. The recent revisions of this pedal are all surface mount components, so if you're looking to modify one, be sure you get an older model. Older models also had some different parts that many argue were better sounding than the current ones.
SOUND QUALITY
The sound of the GCB-95 is that of a typical wah pedal. It sounds like ... a wah. Stock, there is some decent tone suckage going on thanks to the buffered bypass. The most popular mod is to change out the stock switch with a DPDT or 3PDT one and make it true bypass. This mod is a must, IMO. There are also other voicing mods you can do, change out a few resistors for pots, adjust the sweep, add an LED and so on.
OVERALL OPINION
Those looking for a first wah, you're probably better off looking at the 535Q or one of the newer ones. This particular wah is starting to get a bit dated. However, if you find a non-surface mount component one and aren't afraid of modding, you can voice this mod to be more versatile than any of the boutique wahs out there. It'll sound just as good, or better, than some of the more expensive ones out there if you take your time to experiment with component values.
UTILIZATION
This is one of those pedals that'll withstand any abuse you throw at it. The main problem that ever goes wrong is that the pot goes scratchy/bad. Aside from that, there's not much that can go wrong. The recent revisions of this pedal are all surface mount components, so if you're looking to modify one, be sure you get an older model. Older models also had some different parts that many argue were better sounding than the current ones.
SOUND QUALITY
The sound of the GCB-95 is that of a typical wah pedal. It sounds like ... a wah. Stock, there is some decent tone suckage going on thanks to the buffered bypass. The most popular mod is to change out the stock switch with a DPDT or 3PDT one and make it true bypass. This mod is a must, IMO. There are also other voicing mods you can do, change out a few resistors for pots, adjust the sweep, add an LED and so on.
OVERALL OPINION
Those looking for a first wah, you're probably better off looking at the 535Q or one of the newer ones. This particular wah is starting to get a bit dated. However, if you find a non-surface mount component one and aren't afraid of modding, you can voice this mod to be more versatile than any of the boutique wahs out there. It'll sound just as good, or better, than some of the more expensive ones out there if you take your time to experiment with component values.