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walrus121
Silver Member
USA
187 Posts |
 Posted - 10/20/2005 : 02:57:14
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I have been in university schooling as a physics major for six-and-a-half years now, dropped out three times, lost my honors status about two years, all because of my mental illness, and now I am bouncing back. One of the things that had been holding me back was that I received an "incomplete" grade which expired into an "F" on my senior honors project proposal for not turning it in. It has taken me over three-and-a-half years to come up with a topic, and I've finally done. This is the culmination of all of my education and training as an undergraduate physicist in a 11-month-long project. Are you ready?
The Quantitative and Qualitative Study of the Wah-Wah Pedal
That's right folks, my serious scholarly physics topic will be the wah-wah pedal. Sorry, I won't be studying any Boss pedals, no Morleys either, I'm focusing on regular old-school-style wah-wahs, specifically these brands and models:
Vox The Clyde McCoy Wah-Wah Pedal (original)
Dunlop GCB-95 Crybaby (current production model)
Vox Wah-Wah Pedal (V847 reissue)
Real McCoy Picture Wah
Vox The Clyde McCoy Wah-Wah Pedal (V848 reissue)
Dunlop GCB-95F Crybaby Classic (current production model)
WooHoo!    |
Edited by - walrus121 on 10/20/2005 06:17:58 |
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pawnshop_trash
Gold Member
USA
603 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2005 : 07:33:55
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hey, congrats on yr senior thesis topic, walrus!  
I wish I could help you in any way with this, but I've never owned a wah pedal... I've been playing for 13 years, but don't sound like it because I didn't seriously pursue guitar until I was 21, and then grad school (et al.) got prioritized over 'woodshedding' (which included being able to use a wah properly, in my book). for whatever it's worth, you'd get extra credit from me if you included anything about the so-called 'cocked wah' sound (e.g., Michael Schenker)... I'd been pursuing that sound for my cråp guitar lead breaks for years before I realized there was a name for it.... |
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walrus121
Silver Member
USA
187 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2005 : 08:01:09
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By "cocked wah" I'm assuming that you mean leaving the wah stuck in one position?
I don't know where this study is going to take me yet (I'm not even going to begin it for about another two years due to my part-time academic shedule), but I'm currently planning on using the moving wah technique, as that is what the wah is traditionally known for. [cut out because I don't want Dunlop to find out yet]. Adding cocked-wah passages will just make it longer, harder, and more expensive. I will quantitatively study cocked-wah positions, but I will probably have to skip the qualitative portion on those.
My first effect pedal was a Vox V847 Wah-Wah Pedal, I've probably had it for about 10 years now, but I've never really been able to use it well either. I added electronic switching to it and due to a broken internal cable it did not work for about six years of that time. I just fixed it about a month ago. However I'm going to have to learn how to use it in order to conduct this study. Actually I'm going to take a number of steps to make sure that all of the wahs are consistent with each other (and technically in the end product of studying them I won't be moving the wahs myself but rather using a computer to do it). However I can't get into the details of that at this point because I don't want anybody getting any smart ideas.  |
Edited by - walrus121 on 10/21/2005 01:24:11 |
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bossarea
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
3652 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2005 : 09:50:50
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That's a great project. Best of all you can prepare for it by playing guitar
Best of luck man. I'm sure you're going to ace it. |
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arcanon1313
Silver Member
USA
414 Posts |
Posted - 10/21/2005 : 01:50:50
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Good luck on your thesis man! I hope it works out the way you want it to. |
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jallen
Copper Member
USA
15 Posts |
Posted - 11/05/2005 : 01:56:47
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I'd LOVE to see it when you're done! Sounds more fun than my Master's thesis that I finished this summer("the effect of stereotype threat on special education students in a mainstreamed environment"). But if you want to read that, you know, just let me know...  |
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visserman
Platinum Member
1072 Posts |
Posted - 11/05/2005 : 21:06:50
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And once you have finished all your eduction you may wonder why you did not become a full-time muscian much earlier in your years |
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walrus121
Silver Member
USA
187 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2005 : 19:50:19
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quote:
Originally posted by visserman
And once you have finished all your eduction you may wonder why you did not become a full-time muscian much earlier in your years
You're sarcasm is actually right though (maybe you aren't being sarcastic, I'm not really sure). In order to get my education paid for I had to say that I plan on going to graduate school for electrical engineering, but my actual plan is to fix electronics or teach at a private school and go to school part-time in music for a while. |
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visserman
Platinum Member
1072 Posts |
Posted - 11/19/2005 : 20:20:15
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Walrus I was just poking some fun, and it is certainly not personal, more like an observation about what I myself and others around me who I know, have experienced as well: Do your eduction first, because your parents and the rest of your environment wants you to do so, but once you have finished it you may feel like a "free man" and enter into a world you really wished you explored a lot earlier.
I have a background in education, and yes is very useful for my guitartuition, but you do not really need a teaching degree to become a teacher. In the case of teaching music you do need to understand the steps it takes for people to grow, and be able to help people with these small steps, so they can progress naturally to the next step. All very simple, and.............you do need some patience, and in some cases.............a whole lot of patience, but same could be mentioned for learning to play yourself, learing about tone and effects and how to obtain a truely unique sound.
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My senior honors project (aka "thesis") proposal
