Product: Kay W-1 Wah Wah
Price Paid: UK Pounds 7.50
Submitted
12/22/2007
at
10:46am
by
Mark Gardiner
Email: ma_gardiner at hotmail<dot>com
Ease of Use
:
8
I bought this new in 1974 with my pocket money - 7.50 ukpounds! It was my only gain boost and efx for over 12 years! Simply add PP3 battery, jack in/out and flick switch. Use the undamped, simple leaf sprung pedal to operate(!) but can be left in various (sweet-spot) positions for interesting degrees and tones of gain/OD
Germanium Transistors - all the rage today!! Oh and HANDWIRED!
Pics of the pedal here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/32763809/bfd51755/kay_wahwah_001.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/32763816/36713b85/kay_wahwah_002.html
Sound Quality
:
9
You can hear some soundclips here...
http://www.4shared.com/file/32763890/17cb14b8/KayWAH_Quo.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/32763873/1041688c/KayWAH.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/32763851/cc796b22/SemiAccousticWAH.html
I sampled these through a Korg Triton Extreme worksynth and didn't realise some of the Triton's channels efx were added. But still shows atmospheric quality.
Reliability
:
10
I had to repair the leaf spring - after 23 years of solid wah-ing! It got split. Still, epoxy resin and a credit card holding out... That's all!
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
??
Overall Rating
:
No Opinion
It will do a job for anybody. Has a 'thwock' rather than Quack, but offers a good bass-treble spread. you have to learn how to coax wails - as much as by string bends, but it is a defined wah wah sound and now Vintage and unique! AND RED!
Product: Kay W-1 Wah Wah
Price Paid: US $50?? used
Submitted
11/28/1999
at
08:54pm
by
TUBESCHEMATIC
Email: pat at nanaimo<dot>ark<dot>com
Ease of Use
:
4
easy, but cheap.
it has a SLIDE SWITCH for on off.. impossible to switch while playing.
i leave it ON, and use an external true bypass loop
its also ODD , in that you cant FREEZE the wah anywhere..it always
springs back to full treble, as it is a LEAF SPRING type .
Sound Quality
:
9
ABSOLUTELY THE BEST , MOST VOWEL sounding wah around.
i have had EM all...
this USES A TRUE VARIABLE INDUCTOR, unlike ANY OTHER WAH, to my knowledge.
cheap little system..a foot activated LEAF SPRING brings a piece of iron CLOSER TO A COIL, physically, to change THE INDUCTANCE.
NORMAL pedals change RESISTANCE.
this is WAY WAY BETTER..nicer "Q"
I may design a COMMERCIAL improved version of this, as the GAIN
is AFTER the PASSIVE INDUCTOR UNIT.
it could be MASSIVELY imPROVED, in terms of USING TUBEs for gain,
and better mechanical inductor section, etc.
I LOVE THIS THING.
its INDISPENSABLE to me.
(one thing to note..it sometimes makes a click at the end of its travel...nice, rhythmic, but not exactly HI END for a wah)
Reliability
:
5
CHEAP
YES, I WOULD USE IT.
I DONT CARE
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
LONG GONE
Overall Rating
:
No Opinion
LOVE IT.
SMOKES THE REST, FOR SCREAMING LEADS.
long battery life, FROM "c" CELL
(FORGET aBOUT EXTERNAL POWER)
