G-Lab WW-1 Wowee-Wah

SOUND:



Some wahs have a growl or dirt to them, which is fine, but I found with the Wowee-Wah is how it stood out in the mix due to its great clarity. Certainly its non-potentiometer photo element has much to do with it; as well as its increased voltage wiring (to prevent distortion). But another big factor is the ability to customize your wah sound. This is important since what works well with a clean tone may not be best with a high-gain tone; likewise, what wah quality is best for some crunch rhythm may not be ideal for lead playing in a higher registry. The ability to customize your tone by giving it more or less bass (deeper wah tone), to keep the wah shallow or deep, whether there’s an increase or decrease in the wah boosting (Q Factor) and how loud you want your wah in the signal is both impressive and versatile to meet the needs of just about every wah user. When set for the biggest sweep, most depth and range/boost the Wowee-Wah ranges from typical to good. I heard and experienced larger sweeps, although sometimes that results in a very deep growl wah that sounds a touch muddy. Nonetheless, a feature of this wah is that it takes very little foot movement to create a wah tone (due to the photo element vs. a potentiometer).

OVERALL IMPRESSION:
G-Lab obviously selected a good name for a Wah that is so diverse and so clear in the mix. There is a lot of quality in this wah, including its all steel structure (with rubber foot pads and base feet), the photo element (rather than a potentiometer that wears) true bypass function that necessitates smaller resistance-to-motion for smaller effort and greater reliability, its fully analog circuit with increased voltage (which decreases distortion and lowers noise level), its battery on/off switch (if powering by battery) and its front light indicators for easy finding on a dark stage. Although the overall quality of the Wowee-Wah is impressive, there are a number of external switch elements that allow you to shape the sound of the wah and relative to your gear and the tone you’re trying to create. G-Lab provides guidance as to how to switch among lower- and higher-intensity settings when working with clean, crunch or high-gain tones, although you can adjust any of those parameters as desired and to your own liking. The Wowee-Wah allows control of the boosting of the resonance (how strong the wah sounds), how broad a sweep you hear and also if you want more high-end or low-end resonance to be heard. On top of that, you can select a classic mode (wah shuts off when treadle is all the way down) or touch mode (the wah only activates when you step on the treadle). Those are a lot of features in a wah for 198 Euro and a very reasonable price considering.

GENERAL USE:
There are a number of elements in the Wowee-Wah’s operation. First, there is a battery on/off switch. And so, if powering by battery you need to turn the pedal on (turning it off means you preserve battery life without having to unplug your guitar from the IN connector every time you’re not playing or not wanting to use the Wowee-Wah). Second, there are two modes of operation (switch located near the side of the treadle). The SWITCH mode operates like a classic wah, and shuts off when the treadle is all the way down. In TOUCH mode the treadle can be in any position and the wah does not activate unless placing your foot (there is pressure) on the treadle. If you want to park the Wowee-Wah and use a particular tone for some rhythm or lead, then obviously it needs to be on SWITCH mode.

Now we get to the part where you can customize your wah tone. Obviously you can set the Wowee-Wah and use it for any application you wish, and there is a particular setting that mimics a typical and classic type of wah. However, if you want subtle or more extreme wah settings, and based on whether the tone is clean, crunch or high-gain, then you have options to customize a wah sound. Fortunately G-Lab has provided suggestions in its manual (that can be altered) that tend to work best in both low-intensity and high-intensity conditions when working with clean, crunch and high-gain gear settings. These are presented in the demo video, and so I will not belabor the six different applications here. Suffice to say that the differences are changes in the degree of sweep, the degree of high-end or low-end of the resonance and the boost or strength of the resonance. It takes a little getting used to, but it’s easy to zero in on combinations you like and it only seconds to ‘switch’ parameters.

OTHER DETAILS:
Standard weight and size at 1.4 kg (3 lbs) and 25 (l) x 9.9 (w) x 8.5 (h) cm or 9.8 x 3.9 x 3.3 inches, the Wowee-wah is made of steel, both powder coated (base) and stainless, which accounts for its solid weight and build. The top of the treadle has two rubber pads for secure footing. The bottom has rubber feet to prevent slippage when used, but there also are two pre-drilled holes in the base if you wanted to affix the Wowee-Wah to a pedalboard. Its use of a photo element, as opposed to a potentiometer, means smooth and reliable action without the wearing of any pots. There are two front LED lights to easily find the Wowee-Wah on a dark stage. It has a power supply ‘switching off function’ that protects from accidental battery discharging after unplugging the cable jack IN connector (and you don’t have to unplug your guitar if using a battery and when not playing). There are six switches to allow for various settings, all of which have a solid click and are low profile enough that they will not catch or be prone to breakage. The Wowee-Wah works on a typical 9VDC regulated power supply and only requires 10mA consumption. Finally, like any good wah, you can adjust the resistance to motion so that the Wowee-Wah’s treadle is a bit stiffer or looser in use by adjusting its spring set screw.

(Originally written by Desaxé/translated from Audiofanzine FR)
Wah-wah pedal with soft touch function that allows you to enable the effect simply by putting your foot on the pedal and to disable it by removing it. Comprehensive settings: color control, depth control, resonance control, etc. plus true bypass function and optical technology.

You can even adjust the resistance of the pedal itself.

It doesn't look sexy but it's very sturdy an super effective.

UTILIZATION

You'll need quite some time to try all available settings. Their effectiveness changes depending on the guitar pickups and the amp.

The sound is good regardless of the settings!!!

Easy playability.

SOUND QUALITY

Great clear and dynamic sound. I've had several different wah pedals. The G LAB belongs to the best ones.

I use it with my Gibson and my Strat (and other guitars) and I always get a killer sound.

You can get every imaginable sound both clean and with distortion.

OVERALL OPINION

I've been using it for one month and I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again.

It's more expensive than some famous competitor products but it's worth its price considering the huge sound possibilities.

Pros: Versatility, setting possibilities, soft touch function that ensures the effect always turn on or off when you want it to. With the G LAB, playing a wah becomes a pleasure and you can concentrate on your playing. The true bypass function is also great: no power on/off noise, no level difference and total sound neutrality...

(Originally written by ghana02/translated from Audiofanzine FR)

I'm no specialist at describing specs but you'll find the main features bellow:
. Analog wah pedal.
. True bypass.
. Standard 9-volt power supply.
. Bass, Q-factor, Volume, Switch and Touch mode controls.
. Two effect activation modes, either as a normal wah pedal or by foot pressure detection.
. Weight: 3 lb.

You'll find all the specs on the GLab web site.

UTILIZATION

It's a wah pedal so the configuration is very simple. Just plug and play. I just bought it so I don't think I've tried all possible settings. However I would like to note that it is very easy to make settings with your foot.

SOUND QUALITY

I use it with a Parker Fly Deluxe and a Mesa Dual Rectifier. I also tested it with my Behringer amp. It doesn't seem to produce any noise when not active. The sound is really great.

OVERALL OPINION

I can hardly be objective because I'm so enthusiastic. I tested it at a trade show and since then I have been eager to get it.
I've been using it for one week and after 8-10 hours of use I have no regrets.
I previously used a Behringer, a Dunlop and a Trinity (I still have it).
I find the wah is the most difficult effect to control. I've always had a big activation/deactivation problem: Every time I have a solo I can't seem to manage to activate it on time so the first notes have no wah effect, and when I finish the solo the first chords of the rhythm part always come out blasting with the last shrill of the filter... The best of this pedal is that it turns on as soon as you put your foot on it and vice versa. This allows me to use it for two or three notes without risk.
The pedal has a pretty large control range and a terrific sound! I'm no wah master but I have lots of fun with it. But be careful because it is quite responsive and you'll probably need some time to control it.
It is made out of metal so I expect it to last a long time. Talk to you in ten years .
As a conclusion, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again.

(Originally written by ghana02/translated from Audiofanzine FR)

I'm no specifications specialist but you'll find the main features bellow:
. Analog wah pedal.
. True bypass.
. Standard 9-volt power supply.
. Bass, Q-factor, Volume, Switch and Touch mode controls.
. Two effect activation modes, either as normal wah pedal or by foot pressure detection.
. Weight: 3 lb.

You'll find all the specs on the GLab web site.

UTILIZATION

It's a wah pedal so the configuration is very simple. Plug and play. I just bought it so I don't think I have experimented with all possible settings. However I would like to note that it is very easy to make settings with your foot.

SOUND QUALITY

I use it with a Parker Fly Deluxe and a Mesa Dual Rectifier. I also tested it with my Behringer amp. It doesn't seem to produce any noise when not active. The sound is really great.

OVERALL OPINION

I can hardly be objective because I'm so enthusiastic. I tested it on a trade show and since then I have been eager to get it.
I've been using it for one week and after 8-10 hours of use I have no regrets.
I previously used a Behringer, a Dunlop and a Trinity (I still have it).
I find the wah is the most difficult effect to control. I've always had a big activation/deactivation problem: Every time I have a solo I can't seem to manage to activate it on time so the first notes have no wah effect, and when I finish the solo the first chords of the rhythm part always come out blasting with the last shrill of the filter... The best of this pedal is that it turns on as soon as you put your foot on it and vice versa. This allows me to use it for two or three notes without risk.
The pedal has a pretty large control range and a terrific sound! I'm no wah master but I have lots of fun with it. But be careful because it is quite responsive and you'll probably need some time to control it.
It is made out of metal so I expect it to last a long time. Talk to you in ten years .
As a conclusion, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again.