One of the most influential guitarists to come out of the Seattle rock scene, Jerry Cantrell's epic riffs and searing tone have been the driving force behind Alice in Chains since the late 80's. His melancholy wah-drenched melodies in modern classics like "Man in the Box" and "The Rooster" left an indelible mark on a generation of guitarists. Jerry favored wah-wahs with a wider, darker response, and Dunlop has painstakingly replicated that moody sound to create his signature pedal. It's custom-voiced for a tight, punchy heel-down tone and a rugged side-control knob lets you fine tune the toe-down frequency. And with its antique, oxidized "road worn" brass casting and custom Alice in Chains tread, this is one pedal that looks as great as it sounds.
Isn't it essentially a standard Crybaby with two or three component swaps and the pot? I saw a Crybaby awhile back and did it It sounds awesome but maybe I'll have to build the whole thing over now.
ReplyDeleteyou're spot on jim. in all honesty nearly all crybaby and crybaby like wahs are essentially the same with some component value differences. this goes for the legendary vox wahs, colorsound, boomerang, etc. the thing is that it's a very tweakable circuit, and little changes make huge differences. so if you look at all the wahs i've posted recently they're all the same with component differences. i could just put up a generic layout and list values for different parts to make each one, but it's actually easier and quicker to modify the layout and make a new post.
Deletethere are differences though in some of the newer wahs from morely, ebs, and a few others. i will say that the newer ones that are based on the Q535 crybaby circuit have additional features around the same overall 2 transistor wah circuit. the first stage is an input buffer, which was not found on the vintage ones. when i have time i plan on working on a layout for those wahs as well.
personally i don't plan on buying a new wah again, and would much rather build one. i can tweak it to how i like, the build quality is better, and i use better components.
Thanks for the confirmation on that Zach. The Cantrell wah is definitely worth building if anyone is considering it.
ReplyDeleteOh my God, great work Zach, thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteCaught an error, there should be a cut next to the 10k to ground off of the emitter of q3. will update the layout shortly.
ReplyDeleteShouldn't the sweep 2&3 and Wah 1 go to ground like the modded GBC-95??
ReplyDeleteYes. It's missing from the notes.
DeleteOn the photos I've seen of the Cantrell wah guts, it appears that lug 3 of the sweep pot is open. Does that change anything about the operation of the pot, or does lug one just ground the chassis of the pot?
ReplyDeleteI can't assure you that it's not open. If it was there wouldnt be any sweep to effect.
DeleteI meant lug one. I really looks like 2 and 3 were used and 1 was open.
Deleteagain, it wouldn't work without that connection to ground. if you look at any of the gutshots you'll see a small black wire, which goes to ground coming off lug 1. all dunlop wahs based on the gcb-95 circuit, which is essentially the original thomas organ wah with an input buffer, have the same connections for the wah pot, and same circuit topography.
DeleteThanks for the clarification. I already built this and installed it. I accidentally wired the sweep backwards. It works but in the reverse direction. I need to swap it and wanted make sure I understood the right way to do it. I actually did the sweep knob and the switchable input cap from the Modded Crybaby layout. Probably should have posted on that thread instead. Thanks for the help.
DeleteAnytime man and no worries. Glad to help. It can be confusing wiring wahs or pedals in wah shells cause the pots orientation is kinda backwards since you're looking at it completely different then in a normal enclosure.
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DeleteI have Cantrell wah here - second lug of 5k pot is on the ground and first is on 1 lug of wah. Third lug is disconected and there is no jumper or any small black wire cos i disasembled it and can tell it with sure
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't make any difference whether lug 3 is disconnected or connected to lug 2 but your comment made me notice a different error in the layout. The cut under the inductor should not be there.
ReplyDeletei think that it will change max position of pot little bit but it is not very important. now i think that cut is mistake too.
DeleteThe thing with lug 3 does not affect the sweep or resistance in any way. The pot is being used as a variable resistor.
ReplyDeleteSo... I'm curious y'all. would the 5k toe down pot thing work on a Vox847?
ReplyDeleteHi guys!Thanks for this layout it sounds amazing!!I have a problem with the sweep pot.It doesn`t work.I think there is supposed to be a cut after sweep 1 or else all the pins are grounded.Am i missing something?I did a cut and it still doesnt work.I have sweep 2&3 to wah1 and to ground...Any help??
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