Wah-wah
Wah-wah (or OAU-OAU in French) is a Onomatopée describing the sound of a deterioration of resonance of the musical notes to extend the expressivity from it, making them sound like a human voice pronouncing the syllable OAU , thus imitating tears or sniggers. The wah-wah effect is a spectral slip, a " modification of vowel quality of a son" .
Although it in the beginning was used by coppers, this effect, generally used in pedal, is primarily known for its made use by the Electric guitar.
Use by the coppers
Wah-wah is the name of a Sourdine generally out of rubber (a debouchor of sink is often used) or out of metal used by the Trompettiste S or Tromboniste S mainly, to modify the stamp of their instrument. This silencing device adapts hermetically to the house and is bored of a central hole in which slide a small cylindrical tube finished by a house. The sound changes according to the position of the tube. While acting on the opening of the tube with the hand during the play, one obtains the wah-wah effect.
By extension, this term indicates also the style of the musicians who employ this process, especially emphasized at Duke Ellington during the period jungle. The principal specialists in this style are: Bubber Miley, Cootie Williams, Rex Stewart, Cat Anderson, King Oliver, Hot Lips Page, Snooky Young, Charlie Green, Quentin Jackson, Al Grey.
Pedal wah-wah
The Pedal wah-wah, is used for the Electric guitar (on " Voodoo Child (Slight Return) " of Jimi Hendrix which was an uncontested Master, for example), but also for the electric Basse (for example at Parliament), even for any other electrically amplified instrument, such as for example the Violon played by Jean-Luc Ponty.
Technology
The pedal wah-wah is made up of a filter low-pass/band pass whose cut-off Frequency is variable, one varies this frequency using the pedal.
This type of filter slightly accentuates the frequencies located right before the cut-off frequency, with an aim of emphasizing the effect. This peak of amplification is called the Résonance .
Use
The silencing device wah-wah:- East St.Louis Toodle-oo of Duke Ellington
Using musicians the pedal wah-wah:
- Kirk Hammett
- Eric Clapton (with Cream)
- Miles Davis starting from 1970
- Jimi Hendrix
- Brian Robertson, guitarist of Thin Lizzy
- Joe Satriani
- Zakk Wylde, guitarist of Black Label Society
- Frank Zappa
- Dimebag Darrell
- Tom Morello, guitarist of Rage Against The Machine, which will then play in Audioslave
- Slash
- Buckethead (on Jordan for example)
- Steve Vai
- Jack White guitarist of the White Stripes
- the Funk
- the Rock'n'roll psychedelic
- the Jazz
- the Reggae