Re: [Harp-L] xmas wah pedal for harp?

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

John Walden wrote: "I used to use a Vox wah-wah pedal back in the
late '60s and early '70s.... The only problem is feedback... It is ok
when recording  but hard to get enough volume when giging..."

In my opinion, saying that "the only problem (with a wah-wah for harp)
is feedback" is a little like saying that the only problem with
sun-bathing at the South Pole is that it's kind of cold.  I've tried
several wah-wah pedals of various vintages with harp.  Feedback seems to
be what they do best. It's certainly what they do most frequently.

I've had better luck with the auto-wah in the Digitech RP200.  The great
thing about auto-wah is that it responds to pressure, including breath
pressure on the microphone.  That means that a harp player can use it to
produce long "filter sweep" effects, short, powerful accents, or
anything in between, all by controlling breath pressure.  Further, once
the tone is set up for the player's system, it rarely feeds back.

The RP200 auto-wah is the only auto-wah that's worked well for me, and
I've tried models from DOD, Boss, Akai, and others.  Like standard wahs,
most auto-wahs emphasize the frequencies in their range too heavily, and
push the harp over the line into feedback.  So this is definitely a
try-before-you-buy kind of tool.

Regards, Richard Hunter
hunterharp.com