So first up you might be thinking why is this T-Rex Effects Wah pedal called the Gull Wah? Well it is a tribute to the old Mercedes Gull Wing 300 SL, it has the same Chassis colour, the car had Gull Wing doors which obviously relates to the Wah action, the control Knobs are the same as trip counter on the Mercedes and the red rubber platform is inspired by the Gull wing’s red interior design. How about that for a bit of inspiration! It’s pretty rare that you get that kind of back story for a pedal design, very cool if you ask me.
Ok so aside from the cool styling of this Wah pedal another feature that sets it aside from other Wah Pedals is that it features 3 different modes or voicings which are easily accessible from the top of the Wah with a big toggle switch. I should point out that the on/off LED is also placed on the top of the Wah which makes it very easy to see if the effect is switched on or not, you might be surprised how many Wah pedals don’t have an LED indicator and if they do they are usually on the side so this is a welcome feature. Back to the voicings, “Gull gives you two distinct wah-wah sounds a light wah that’s great for clean guitars and rhythm parts and a heavy, smoking wah for distorted leads – plus the unique dual-filter yoy-yoy effect… basically a wah effect with an ultra-high-frequency sweep soaring overhead.“. I have demonstrated each of these so you can see the differences, most people will probably stick with Wah 1 or Wah 2 but if you play around with Yoy Yoy you will see you can get some very interesting effects not possible with a standard Wah which may give you that creative spark to write something new.
There are two control knobs on the top of the pedal, one is for Slope which lets you shape the character of your Wah effect and Boost to set a higher output volume. I have demonstrated how the boost can be used to overdrive your amp a little more too should you wish. There is also a HOTSPOT button next to the mains input that gives you the option of slowing the onset of the effect, therefore allowing you to use more of the pedal’s sweep before the effect peaks. This feature comes down to personal preference and how heavy footed you are.
The only minor gripe I had with this pedal is that the super smooth switch used to turn the effect on and off isn’t the stiff clicky type that I’m used to so you don’t feel or hear the effect come on, it does have a big bright LED display on the top of the pedal however so it is very clear when the pedal is on. Like I said a minor gripe which also comes down to my own personal preference but it’s just a switch so presumably pretty easy to replace should you wish.
Like all T-Rex effects the Gull Wah is a versatile pedal which covers a lot of ground, having the 3 modes make it easy to tailor the Wah effect to a clean or overdrive tone or from a funk track to a searing Rock solo.
Read more about the T-Rex Gull Wah on their website – http://t-rex-effects.com/products/wah/gull-wah-wah-1.aspx.
The Gull Wah is available in Australia from Australis Music for $349.
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