McWah

Tone and Reliability

The McWah started it all for McCon-O-Wah. 18 years ago founder Mike McConachie had the idea to create a wah pedal that had a vibe and tone that rivaled the best classic vintage pedals, while also providing the necessary feel, usability, and roadworthy reliability that modern musicians demand.

Hand Crafted and Assembled

Every McWah is wired and assembled by hand in our Baltimore workshop with hand selected components that are the highest quality we can source. From our in-shop, Hand-Wound 500mH “Small-Hole” Halo Inductor, to the CTS ‘Premium Series’ McCon-O-Pot II Potentiometer, or SwitchCraft Jacks, and True Bypass Wiring: rest assured that if we could make our pedals any better, we would.

McWah

To our ears, the McWah very closely tracks the sounds of early wah pedals because it is based on the original Clyde McCoy circuit. We wanted “that” sound, but we also wanted for it to have an easily usable middle range and feel. It had to be extremely vocal. The McWah, a mainstay on the pedal boards of Jesse Johnson of The Time, and Jesse Jonhson’s Revue, Ricky Rouse of Parliament Funkadelic, Tyrone Vaughan, Greg Koch, Randy Hansen, and more; is a pedal that nails the old Clyde wah sound while being far more versatile, musical, and reliable.

Product Description

*** UPDATE 11/1/2022: After almost three years of enclosure sourcing problems, we’ve finally received more! We bought all the remaining NOS stock that was found in our original supplier’s warehouse. Clients have asked for a pre-order option, so we’ll implement that in the store ASAP for you to get in line. If you’re interested, please Contact US.**

How the McWah came to be, was a carefully studied and concerted effort. Our sole mission, to stay true to the characteristic original vibe that we expect from a vintage wah, while re-creating the necessary bite, warmth, and feel that a modern pedal must have.

In the prototyping days, circa 2003, we acquired several wahs from various companies and manufacturers, paying special attention to grab as many unique units from as wide range of dates as possible. We did this to see how each design evolved from the original 1967 patent. We experimented with modern, vintage, and retro/reissue wahs in our quest for tone, documenting what we did and didn’t like about each pedal we evaluated. This provided us with invaluable information.

To our ears, the McWah closely mirrors the tone of the earlier units, because our circuit is based primarily on the original Clyde McCoy design. This was a fundamental part of our design requirements. We wanted “that” sound, but we also wanted it to have an easily usable middle range and feel. It had to be extremely vocal.

If you’re reading this, then you’ve probably encountered the same problem we sought out to fix. You have a wah that sounds good sometimes, but you can only move your foot for what feels like half an inch before the good tone goes away, and in its place is thin, gross, stank. The sweep and feel of the McWah completely alleviates that problem.

Other design and implementation requirements were roadworthiness, and slower battery consumption. Add in a DC jack, power filtration, reverse-voltage protection, and a custom case that provides a longer throw and we were almost there. Last, but not least – we needed a custom tapered and long-lasting potentiometer to take advantage of the extra pedal throw. So, we engineered our own potentiometer, in collaboration with CTS, to fit the bill.

The result is a glorious thing. A pedal that nails the old Clyde wah sound, while being far more versatile, musical, and dependable.

Additional Information

Weight 4.5 lbs
Dimensions 11 x 8.5 x 5.5 in
Product Specifications
 
  • The McWah-2B showcases:
    • All Hand-wired circuitry. Every wire and component is placed one at a time by us, not an outsourced entity.
    • An Adjustable Tension Foot Treadle to accommodate various playing styles
    • Heavy Duty Custom Powder Coated Zinc/Aluminum Case (…Really, its pretty hefty)
    • True Bypass wiring to prevent excessive tone sucking when in the “off” position (millennium wiring available upon request)
    • 1% tolerance resistors for better consistency in tonal recreation for each wah as compared to the last
    • All High quality, Low-Noise capacitors for better filtering, and freq. response characteristics
    • A Potted, Wax Sealed, Hand Stamped, and Hand-Wound (by us) 500mH “Small-Hole” reproduction “Halo” Inductor; nearly identical to the ones found in a “Vintage” 1967 Clyde McCoy (which various monumental recordings showcased over the years).
    • Carefully measured, and hand selected modern transistors (for maximum chewiness and range of expression through out the operating band with low power consumption, consistency, durability, and shelf-life).
    • A RoHS Compliant, through hole soldered, solder-masked, and protective coated board made in the USA (designed by us in our shop, not a foreign entity) which greatly reduces the chance of poor solder joints and cracks – as the woes of gigging can be hard on gear.
    • Heavy Duty 9VDC Battery Connector
    • Heavy Duty On/Off Switch (LED Compatible TPDT)
    • Heavy Duty SwitchCraft Input/Output Jacks
    • Standard 2.1mm “Boss Style” 9VDC Input Jack
      • Diode protected for accidental reverse power conditions. (Plugging the wrong power supply in for example.)
      • An Electrolytic Capacitor has been added inline to thwart input voltage ripples (cheap power-supplies for example).
    • CTS ‘Premium Series’ McCon-O-Pot (II Gen) Wah Potentiometer
      • ROHS
      • 100K Impedance
      • 2% Precision Linearity
      • 3.3 Million cycle-life rating
      • Robust ‘sealed’ construction
      • Water Resistant Rated (IP54, IP67)
      • Wide Temperature Range of operation
      • NO CLEANING: “MAINTENANCE FREE” Design

Who Plays A McWah

The following artists use a McWah in their touring or recording rigs

Who Plays A McWah

The following artists use a McWah in their touring or recording rigs

Antonin Vanneyre

McWah

Jesse Johnson

Bell-Tones McWah

Greg Koch

Bell-Tones McWah

Ricky Rouse

McWah

Randy Hansen

Bell-Tones McWah

Tyrone Vaughan

Bell-Tones McWah

Tommy Katona, Jr.

Bell-Tones McWah

Larry McCray

McWah

Jesse Davey

McWah

James Ryan

Bell-Tones McWah

Andy Aledort

McWah

Dominick Tardogno

Bell-Tones McWah