Re: Auto-Wah for Harp

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I own a DOD FX25 auto-wah, which is the model Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead guitarist) used.  I more frequently  use the auto-wah in the Digitech RP-200.  There's a page at my website (http://www.hunterharp.com/effectset.html) that lays out a basic envelope filter (a/k/a auto-wah) patch for the RP200, using the boutique amp model as a base.  It should work on the RP100 and RP300 as well.

I prefer the RP200 autowah to the FX25; the latter is a very hard-hitting filter, and you have to be careful how you set it.  But I've used both on gigs with good results.  

Lately I've tried running the RP200, set up to double an octave below the original tone, into the FX-25.  That provides a deeper, more compressed signal to the auto-wah, so the filter tracking is a lot better and smoother.  I don't know whether I'm going to make it a permanent part of the rig yet.

Whatever you use, practice with it.   The filter in an auto-wah responds to volume, so you can continuously work the filter by changing the volume of your playing on harmonica.  It's pretty intense when you learn how to work it.

RP200s sell used for about $100.  It's a good deal for a pedal that does amp modeling and compression as well as autowah, chorus, flange, phasing, leslie, delay, reverb, and a few other effects.  The reverb ain't great, but all the other stuff works well with harp.

Regards, Richard Hunter