Up until recently, U.K.-based Sonuus had been primarily known for its work with guitar-to-MIDI converters. But for all the company’s focus on software and interfaces, the new analog—yes analog—Wahoo pedal proves it’s not quite ready to commit whole-hog to an all-digital future. This dual-filter wah for guitar and bass captures the squawky goodness of vintage-voiced wahs, harnesses the musical potential of LFO and envelope filters, serves up pitch-detect functions, and delivers cool twists on familiar modulation effects. But it also takes advantage of Sonuus’ copious expertise in the digital domain by marrying an analog signal path with digital controls that yield an impressive range of fat-toned effects—up to 100 of which can be stored as presets.
Spaced-Out Box
The first thing most people will notice
about the Wahoo is its not-at-all retro
design (as well as the two convenient roll
bars protecting the knobs from errant
sneakers). At about the same size as a
DigiTech Whammy, it’s not a small pedal.
But for all the sonic resources it puts at
your disposal, many will be happy to ditch
a dated or underutilized box (or two) to
squeeze it on their board.
The top third of the Wahoo’s control panel has an LED readout that registers preset numbers, buttons for scrolling through the presets, and a level knob. Pressing and turning the latter selects the level of preamp gain, the proportion of signal from the two filters, the dry/wet signal, and the output signal. You can also set presets from this section. The middle third controls filter characteristics. You can switch between filters to shape them individually, control the Q (resonance) at high and low frequency extremes, control cutoff frequency in the high and low ranges, shape the filter curve, and select between low-pass and band-pass filters. The lower third is home to the mode selector, which selects LFO, envelope filter, pitch shift, or customized modes.
Envelope mode is essentially an auto-wah, and pitch mode can track notes so the filter cutoff follows the note, or it can track when you bend a note to give a unique auto-wah effect. With patience, vision, and a little time, you can shape these effects in very unique ways. And if you’re into precise signal arrangement, you can use the USB port to plug the Wahoo into your computer and tweak the mode templates with software available on Sonuus.com.
One notable aspect of the Wahoo’s hardware is the presence of a patent-pending position sensor (which the company says will never wear out) instead of a potentiometer to control the wah and filters. If you’re a wah addict, you probably know the hassle of greasing up or changing mechanical pots well, so it’s an intriguing evolution, and it works well on the Wahoo. Sonuus also made improvements to the true-bypass circuit, enhancing transparency and eliminating mechanical pops and cracks during engagement.
Wave After Wave
The Wahoo’s preprogrammed presets alone
are more wide-ranging than could possibly be
covered in this review, but the pedal reveals a
galaxy of possibilities the more you explore—whether you’re looking for familiar sounds
or more far-out textures. Using a Fender
Stratocaster and silverface Fender Bassman, I
set up the Sonuus Wahoo side-by-side with
a Crybaby Classic. The first preset on the
Wahoo is dialed in to simulate the latter, and
moving the rocker to the toe-down position activates the pedal with clickless engagement.
To my ears, the Sonuus seemed the more
precise and sensitive of the two units, with
a broader range of sweep and brighter tone.
The sensor technology is surgically accurate
and actually feels touchy if you’re used to the
clunky dynamic of a standard wah.
Ratings
Pros:
Wide range of high-quality wah, filter, and modulation effects. Easy to use and save presets. Top-notch build quality.
Cons:
Deeper wave-tweaking functions have a bit of a learning curve.
Tones:
Playability/Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$349
Company
sonuus.com
Other notable presets include F91, a phaser with variable speed you control with the treadle. It doesn’t yield an intense, strobe-like/UFO-engine-room pulse, but it’s still very sci-fi sounding. And altering the speed does allow for some unique twists on the phaser effect. Initially, I felt the top end could use more color, so I engaged the filter knob and increased the hi-Q to give the phase a whistle effect when the wave reached its peak. The result was an intergalactic police-siren effect.
Preset F61 is an LFO that uses a saw-up wave with a backbeat and a rate you control via the foot pedal. While the sound never gets too mushy, you can turn the effect level down with the wet/dry control. My Les Paul gave this preset a bit more linear continuity—and therefore better tracking—than I got from single-coils, and with the rocker set about midway, I sat back and ran a few funk-laden riffs using the backbeat as a drum machine. It’s a cool effect, although if you start missing notes or aren’t striking them evenly, the tracking gets a little off and loosens up the beat—but it can be a fun tool for improving your timing, too.
Smaller amps—even solid-state practice amps—still sound very rich, but you’ll want to watch your gain settings to make sure you don’t lose clarity if your amp has less headroom or a lot of inherent compression. Also, because of the wide frequency range of some presets, extreme signal shifting can distort the output or yield shrill sounds at certain wave peaks. You’ll still get some of this distortion if you’re using a tube amp, but a 10" or larger speaker and an amp with a little headroom is definitely preferable for exploring these more radical effects.
The Verdict
The Sonuus Wahoo captures the spirit of
simple synthesis, the vocal responsiveness of
a great wah, and both classic and unusual
modulation effects in a single robust design.
What’s more, it’s extremely functional and
easy to navigate, considering its depth. The
$349 price tag is steep, but this is not a
stompbox of ordinary capabilities either.
And given the quality of both the sounds
and construction, it’s an investment that
may well pay itself back and then some.
“I am thrilled to announce the launch of The Collection: Kirk Hammett. I’ve worked diligently on this curated collection of vintage and modern guitars for the book. I feel the book captures the rich history and artistry behind each of these unique and rare instruments. Every picture tells a story and thanks to Ross Halfin and his exceptional photography, every picture in this book is worth a million words! This book could not be possible without the help of Gibson, so I’d like to thank them for making my passion for Greeny, and guitars a reality. I hope all of you enjoy this journey as much as I did.”
“It’s exciting the time has come to release The Collection: Kirk Hammett by Gibson,” adds Cesar Gueikian, President and CEO of Gibson. “We have been working on this project with Kirk for years now, and I had the opportunity to work closely with Kirk on the composition of the collection for the book. It was a thrill to put this together and it took a village to get it done! I hope everyone appreciates the work that went into this book and enjoys every story behind the guitars.”
The Collection: Kirk Hammett, Custom Edition is limited to just 300 numbered copies signed by KIRK HAMMETT and comes in a huge 19 x 14.5” (490 x 370mm) presentation box featuring custom artwork and an outstanding case candy package. In addition to the large-format 17 x 12” (432 x 310mm) hardcover version of the book with a stunning lenticular cover, the boxset includes a frameable 16 x 11.6” (407 x 295mm) art print of a Ross Halfin portrait of KIRK HAMMETT signed by both Halfin and the Metallica guitarist. Other case candy includes an Axe Heaven miniature replica of Hammett’s 1979 Gibson Flying V with case and stand, an exclusive pick tin complete with six Dunlop® Kirk Hammett signature Jazz III guitar picks, and a Gibson Publishing Certificate of Authenticity.
Explore The Collection: Kirk Hammett book HERE.
Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst have been making music as Shovels & Rope since 2008. The husband-and-wife duo from South Carolina specialize in rootsy, bluesy rock, Americana, and alt-country, but they don’t confine themselves to traditional two-piece arrangements. They switch off on vocal, guitar, percussion, and synth duty throughout their shows, orchestrating a full-band ruckus with all available limbs.
Their seventh full-length, Something Is Working Up Above My Head, released in September last year, and while touring in support of it, they stopped at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl in late February. PG’s John Bohlinger caught up with Trent before the gig to see what tools he and Hearst use to maintain their musical juggling act.
Brought to you by D’Addario.Black Bird
Trent’s not a guitar snob: Generally speaking, he plays whatever he can get his hands on. While playing Eddie Vedder’s Ohana Fest, someone loaned him this Gretsch Black Falcon, and he fell in love with it. He likes its size compared to the broader White Falcon. It’s also the band’s only electric, so if it goes down, it’s back to acoustic. Hearst takes turns on it, too.
Trent loads the heaviest strings he can onto it, which is a set of .013s. It lives in standard tuning.
Ol' Faithful
As Trent explains, he and Hearst have done some DIY decorating on this beautiful Gibson J-45—it’s adorned with sweat droplets, stains, and fingernail dust. It runs direct to the venue’s front-of-house system with an LR Baggs pickup. This one is strung with Martin heavy or medium gauge strings; lighter ones are too prone to snapping under Trent’s heavy picking hand (which holds a Dunlop Max-Grip .88 mm pick). And it rolls around in an Enki tour case.
On Call
These second-stringers—a Loar archtop and an LR Baggs-equipped Recording King—are on hand in case of broken strings or other malfunctions.
Need for Tweed
Trent doesn’t trust amps with too many knobs, so this tweed Fender Blues Junior does the trick. It can get fairly loud, so there’s a Universal Audio OX Amp Top Box on hand to tame it for some stages.
Shovels & Rope's Pedalboard
Because Trent and Hearst trade off bass, guitar, keys, and percussion duties, all four of their limbs are active through the set. Whoever is on guitars works this board, with an MXR Blue Box, Electro-Harmonix Nano Big Muff, EarthQuaker Devices Hummingbird, and Boss OC-5, plus a pair of Walrus Canvas Tuners for the electric and acoustic. Utility boxes on the board include a Walrus Canvas Passive Re-Amp, Radial J48, Livewire ABY1, and a Mesa Stowaway input buffer.
A Roland PK-5 MIDI controller, operated by foot, sits on the lower edge of the board. It controls the board for “Thing 2,” one of two MicroKORG synths onstage.
Thing 1 and Thing 2
There’s no one backstage helping Hearst and Trent cook up all their racket; they handle every sound themselves, manually. During the first few sets of a tour, you’re liable to see some headaches, like forgetting to switch synth patches during a song, but eventually they hit a rhythm.
Affectionately given Seuss-ian nicknames, this pair of microKORGs handles bass notes through the set, among other things, via the foot-controlled PK5. “Thing 1” is set up at the drum station, and runs through a board with an EHX Nano Big Muff, EHX Bass9, EHX Nano Holy Grail, and a Radial Pro DI. A Walrus Aetos keeps them all powered up.
The board for “Thing 2,” beside the guitar amps, includes an EHX Mel9 and Bass9 powered by a Truetone 1 SPOT Pro, plus a Radial ProD2.
