BJFE / BearFoot fx Guitar Effects Community

Currently:

Klon
Fuzzfaceless MkI 'bender
Fuzzfaceless Mk1.5
Area 51 wah
Wilson Effects wah
Strymon El Cap
Diamond Memory Lane Jr


... and a bunch of vintage stuff I dig out now and again for particular gigs - including various tape echoes, and a model 16 Leslie cab.

I tried an Area 51 wah not long ago... very very nice... I wakkawakka want one! How does it compare to the Wilson?

Strat-o-lux wrote:Currently:

Klon
Fuzzfaceless MkI 'bender
Fuzzfaceless Mk1.5
Area 51 wah
Wilson Effects wah
Strymon El Cap
Diamond Memory Lane Jr


... and a bunch of vintage stuff I dig out now and again for particular gigs - including various tape echoes, and a model 16 Leslie cab.

I tried an Area 51 wah not long ago... very very nice... I wakkawakka want one! How does it compare to the Wilson?

Hmm... it's a bit difficult to say, as the Wilson has a ton of added control functions: sweep control, gain control, bass control, 6 position Q-switch. So it doesn't have a single characteristic sound. My Area 51 is just a straight ahead wah.

They're both excellent. I'd describe the Area 51 as much like a vintage stack-o-dimes Crybaby but with a longer sweep and slightly more growl. For me that's just about perfect. I can almost tune in that same sound on the Wilson, and it offers a huge range of other wah sounds as well.

In general I prefer a simple, vintage-style wah. I happened to get the Wilson as part of a deal, didn't seek it out. It's been a lot of fun exploring its many possibilities. I've had correspondence with both builders - both seem like good folks who'll build you pretty much whatever sort of wah you want.

I have an Area51 with all the knob and buffer options. If I did it all over again, I wouldn't bother with the knobs, just wah and fuzz friendly buffer. Terrific wah with a little extra sweep from others I have owned. Plus, as mentioned before, the builder seems like a good guy.

Thanks for the feedback!

The area 51 that I tried had the 5 way switch, quack & growl controls. I really liked finding new sounds there... The Wilson demos I just saw were really good too.. but I hear what you are saying about keeping things straight ahead though.

I'm still using the same crybaby I got in the mid eighties. I did a pretty simple mod to it ages ago and haven't looked back.. I chopped off the little rubber feet at the front for some extra sweep

Of course I do admit those extra controls would be nice to have... Dialing in some sax and horn sounds is always lots of fun!

This is a cool thread, shows what pairs well with BJFEs.

I only have 3 BJFEs (in my sig), the HBOD is my main overdrive, the PH is going to be first in chain used mainly to fatten up my single coil guitars, RRB I'm still trying to figure out how to use it (solo boost vs gain boost into HBOD), so my non BJFEs cover everything else

Sonic Research Turbo Tuner - super accurate, great tuner
Analogman Mini Jimi - Octavia, Fuzz Face and Univibe tones
Eventide Modfactor covers all my modulation needs
D*A*M - covers my fuzz needs (I have a lot, so I rotate them) and Sonic Titan for distortion
Timmy - for stacking after HBOD
Strymon Flint - mainly spring verb but also the other verbs and trem occasionally

I love my D*A*M fuzzes, they are all great. I have one Cornish (P1) and rotate it in sometimes, but I don't use Muffs live much. Strymon makes great verbs and delays as well.