JH1B Hendrix Wah
The Dunlop JH1B Hendrix Wah may have Jimi Hendrix's name on it, but that's because the Jim Dunlop company pays a licensing fee to the Hendrix estate. On the other hand, Jimi, it seems, owned and used a number of [Vox] 846 wah-wah pedals. This is not so difficult to look up and find out.
So all it really took for Jim Dunlop to make the Crybaby "authentic Jimi Hendrix" was some licensing fees, a chrome treadle on a black base, and white trim. The Crybaby "Hendrix" wah is very similar to the Vox - the main differentiator being the Vox logo that runs up-and-down the face of the treadle.
The real secret is that in 1967 when the Thomas Organ company invented the Wah-wah, they had a Vox-branded market to cater to, but also sold into other markets under the "Crybaby" name. Thomas Organ sold BOTH the Vox Wah and the Crybaby, setting up a fake rivalry between the two pedals that only served to highten awareness of the Wah-wah. However, Thomas also failed to enforce their patent for the wah-wah, and soon wah-wah pedals of all different kinds of makes and brands were being sold around the world.
Electronic components may have changed over time, but the circuit architecture of the wah-wah circuit remains remarkably similar to the wah circuit Brad Plunkett developed for Thomas back in 1967. So despite Jimi Hendrix never having played a "Thomas Organ-branded Crybaby wah-wah, the Vox and the Crybaby were (and are) essentially the same.
The latest version of the "authentic Jimi Hendrix" wah by Dunlop is the JH1D. Instead of a chrome treadle it has a black one along with the black base. We think the chrome treadle looks smarter, but the truth of the matter is that the color of your pedal won't make any difference how your pedal sounds.
- Thermionic Studios has two(2) JH1B Hendrix Wahs available for rental
- However, they may get cannibalized for other Wahs or treadle-controlled effects
Controls
- Footswitch - "On/Off": Toggles the pedal between active (on) and bypassed (off).
- Treadle - "Wah": Sweeps the voicing of the wah effect.
On-and-Off
There are a few different kinds of Wah-wah pedals that use different on/off mechanisms. Most Dunlop wah-wahs use the original Thomas Organ method of on-and-off.
This includes a push-button footswitch under the treble (or toe-down) throw of the treadle. To turn the wah-wah on and off, you must end up in a toe-down position on the wah, and then press even harder. Most wah-wahs with a toe-down toggle switch have a felt pad under the treble side of the treadle. To ensure you're toggling the pedal correctly press down the toe-down side of the treadle, and keep pressing until you feel a "click" through the treadle. This may require more of a jerking, than a smooth motion. It's very easy to understand the operation after a few such trial runs.
Wah-wah pedals have become really fine-tuned over the 40 years they've existed and this tends to make the toe-down "on-and-off" function a relatively easy thing to do.
Bypass:Unknown
General Information
Pedal Manual
Phase Inversion
Schematic
Artists
We are currently unaware of any artists actively using the pedal now, or who have in the past.
- Additional Sources
