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Best Auto Wah Pedals 2024

Auto-wah pedals function similarly to automatic filters, shutting off different frequencies according on how loud you play. If you lightly pick or strum, the wah wah effect will be light as well. An auto-wah pedal, on the other hand, will add more distortion to your sound if you select more vigorously. To remove undesired frequencies from your sound, some auto-wah pedals utilize a combination of envelope and cutoff filters, while others use a low-frequency oscillating filter to constantly vary the tone and distortion of your electric guitar.

It’s difficult to name just a few excellent guitarists who routinely employ wah to bring their riffs and chord sequences to life. Jimi Hendrix was a true pioneer of the wah pedal, using it in conjunction with fuzz to produce his characteristic tone. Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave, as well as John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, employed the effect regularly.

Donner Mini Auto Wah Pedal

Donner Mini Auto Wah Pedal Dynamic Wah Guitar...
  • 【Auto Wah】: Fully controllable envelope filter with unique decay...
  • 【Four Function Knobs】: SENS controls sensitivity; RES controls filter...
  • 【LED Indicator & True bypass】: LED indicator shows the working state;...

Guitar players looking for their best wah pedal for the money and seasoned distortion fans will both agree on Donner’s pedal. This small pedal has practically all of the controls of more expensive competitors for a budget-friendly price point. The sensitivity knob is large enough to provide you precise control over your sound effect, and a resonance knob is included to adjust the effect’s sharpness. There are also options for decay and range to further customize your sound. At this budget point, you might anticipate the auto wah effects to be a little thin, but that isn’t the case with the Donner Mini Auto-Wah foot pedal.

The sound impact is incredibly sensitive, and there is no fake wash over your music, thanks to the unit’s totally analog circuitry. Even better, when the bypass footswitch is turned on, the analog circuitry connects the input and output ports directly, eliminating any electronic interference. Although it isn’t required, the fact that this amazing little auto-wah pedal is small and light doesn’t hurt. You can easily store it out of the way and transfer it with your amplifier without worries. Because the casing is entirely made of aluminum, you won’t have to worry about the bypass’s longevity.

Even if your budget requires you to look for bargains, you can still add an auto-wah effect to your sound arsenal thanks to Donner’s tiny gem. It’s not only very affordable, but it’s also very space-efficient, with a compact and lightweight design that fits effortlessly into any guitarist’s setup. It lacks some of the more expensive guitar pedals on the list in terms of features, but if all you need is a simple effect pedal, it does the job for a fraction of the price. This is the best mini wah pedal.

Mad Professor Snow White AutoWah Effect Pedal

Mad Professor Snow White AutoWah Effect Pedal
  • Works both with guitar and bass
  • Sensitivity control sets the filter trigger level
  • Bias knob controls the filter resonance frequency

The Mad Professor Snow White Auto Wah is without a doubt the best-sounding auto-wah pedal currently available. However, the exceptional sound quality comes at a price – this auto-wah pedal costs about $200, compared to less than $60 for most of its competitors. As a result, this pedal is best suited to professional guitarists who intend to use it on stage. The Mad Professor auto-wah gets the closest to recreating the sound of a manual wah pedal, which is why guitarists adore it.

While the settings aren’t very distinctive – there are sensitivity, decay, resonance, and range (bias) adjustments – the responsiveness is excellent, and it’s much easier to create unique wah effects without over-saturating your tones. Another benefit of this auto-wah is that it can be used on both bass and guitar. This is certainly one of the greatest auto-wah units available for bass players, and all it takes to activate it for bass is the flip of a switch. Of course, the pedal is created using analog circuitry so that when the wah effect is turned off, you get a pure bypass with no electronic interference. Mad Professor’s two-year guarantee covers the circuitry and the pedal as a whole.

The main reason why this pedal has become so popular in a fairly short period of time is due to its impressive performance. Of all the auto wahs currently available, Mad Professor Snow White Auto offers the most organic wah effect. It’s almost identical to what you can experience using some of the best standard wah pedals on the market. You can dial in perfect sensitivity and decay that doesn’t over saturate the signal. In our opinion, with its best bang for your buck ratio, this is the best auto wah pedal for the money.

Xotic Effects Wah XW-1 Guitar Effects Pedal

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Xotic Wah Pedal
  • Bass Controls; True Bypass; LED Indicat
  • Wah Pedal with Bias
  • Treble

The Xotic XW-1 is a sophisticated, stylish wah pedal that is one of the most flexible on the market. The pedal looks and sounds the part, with a circuit that closely resembles the classic Clyde McCoy wah from the 1960s.The Xotic is a joy to use because to its numerous onboard controls. The bias, Q, resonance, and frequency range of the pedal can all be adjusted using the various parameters. For guitarists who prefer to change up their tone from song to song, this is quite beneficial.

The Xotic Effects XW-1 is also made to work with your fuzz pedal of choice. The inner circuitry utilized to build this wah pedal is perfectly equipped to bear some heat, so this combination can become a little messy at times. The Xotic XW-1 is ideal for guitarists who don’t want to be restricted in their tone choices. The pedal has a lot of adjustment options and may produce a wide range of effects.

The XW-1 is a fantastic wah pedal that blends the best of classic models with some well-thought-out current features. The pedal’s additional settings let you to manipulate practically every aspect of the wah effect, including the frequency range, depth, and “Q.” It has genuine bypass and does not color your tone when turned off. Bottom line, this is one of the best auto wah pedals.

EarthQuaker Devices Spatial Delivery V2

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EarthQuaker Devices Spatial Delivery V2 Envelope...
  • Envelope Filter Effects Pedal with Momentary Latching Operation

The EarthQuaker Devices Spatial Delivery V2 is a highly configurable envelope filter pedals that is well suited to most guitar playing styles. Adjusting the major parts of the filter effect is simple thanks to the simplistic three-control design. The filter parameter, which ranges from highpass to lowpass, is used to select which frequencies are affected by the effect.

Then there’s the resonance control, which works in tandem with the filter to produce a wide range of wah sounds and sweeps. If you’re seeking for a funky auto-wah effect that adds a sense of motion to your rhythm guitar playing, this pedal is a must-have. Furthermore, the Spatial Deliver V2 can be placed in a variety of places in your signal chain to achieve varied results. When placed before a compressor, for example, the effect’s dynamic range is constricted, resulting in a refined sound from this auto wah effect pedal.

Electro-Harmonix Micro Q-Tron Envelope Follower Pedal

Electro-Harmonix Micro Q-Tron Envelope Filter...
  • Drive control sets sensitivity and filter sweep range
  • Selectable low pass, band pass or high pass filters
  • Q control sets the filter's bandwidth from smooth to funky

With their initial Q-Tron pedal, Electro-Harmonix helped to develop the auto wah segment of the market. The one we’re looking at right now is a newer version of this legendary model. It’s more complicated than the others we’ve looked at so far, and it has a lot of fantastic features that most post users will love.

A 24v power supply is required for this double-wide effects pedal. You can tell you’re dealing with a big stompbox right away. A set of knobs dominate the front panel, allowing you to adjust virtually every aspect of signal modulation. The first knob allows you to choose the sort of filter you want to employ. Low Pass, Band Pass, High Pass, and Mixed are the four options. After that, you can select the sweep mode, range, peak, gain, and boost. That’s a lot of wiggle room.

Because you have so much control over everything, you can tune in just about any kind of wah effect you want. On the one hand, it’s a welcome break from previous models that streamline the process, but it can also be overwhelming for certain guitarists. Q-Tron is undoubtedly the greatest auto wah pedal for you if you need a wide range and don’t mind the pedal’s complexity in the best wah pedal for blues rock.

MOOER Funky Monkey Wah Effect Pedal

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The Mooer Funky Monkey auto-wah pedal has excellent sound quality in the mid- and low-ranges, making it one of the best auto-wah pedals for blues. Rock guitarists, on the other hand, may struggle with this auto-wah since it begins to produce an artificial whooshing sound at higher frequencies. You’ll notice right away that this wah pedal lacks a decay control, instead opting for a low, mid, and high peak switch. This limits your control over the signal decay, something some guitarists who want full control over their wah effects may miss.

Furthermore, the range and resonance knobs are extremely small, making it difficult to fine-tune these features of the filter. The huge sensitivity knob, on the other hand, makes it much easier to control when and how much the wah effects pedals is used. The Mooer tiny auto-wah pedal, like its competitors, is made of a durable aluminum case that will withstand years of stomping. When the wah effect is switched off, the analog circuitry is designed to provide real bypass in the best wah pedal under 100.

BOSS AW-3 Dynamic Wah Guitar Pedal

Boss AW-3 Dynamic Wah Pedal
  • Wah Envelope Filter Pedal f Guitar Bass with Tempo Control
  • Expression Pedal Input
  • "Humanizer" Effect

Without the need of an expression pedal, the BOSS Dynamic Wah Guitar Pedal provides a genuine sounding wah instead of a digital auto wah. It’s essentially two pedals in one, with inputs dedicated to electric guitar and bass, respectively.

There are two different modes to choose from: the Fixed Wah setting produces a constant, rhythmic wah that you can play in time with. Alternatively, you may utilize the Auto Wah preset to have the pedal interact with your playing by triggering the wah effect in response to the dynamics.

The Dynamic Wah Pedal is housed in a solid metal Boss enclosure. If necessary, it can also be connected to a tempo control or expression pedal. The Humanizer effect, which turns your guitar or bass into a wah-inspired vocoder, is another intriguing function. Who is this pedal best suited for: The Boss Dynamic Wah pedal provides responsive auto wah, making it ideal for players who don’t want to deal with the inconvenience of using an expression pedal to regulate the effect.

With two separate settings, the BOSS AW-3 stompbox wah pedal boasts BOSS’ famous durability. Guitarists and bassists can select the fixed wah setting to keep the results more consistent and predictable, or they can set the pedal to create auto wah based on their playing dynamics. Overall, this is the best wah pedal for metal.

Valeton Guitar Wah Effects Pedal, Yellow (CAW-1)

Valeton Guitar Wah Effects Pedal, Yellow (CAW-1)
  • Fully controllable auto wah pedal
  • Highly accurate, very fast tracking
  • 100 percent analog signal path

Guitarists rave in speeches about the value of this compact and quality-sounding mini auto-wah pedal from Valeton. The pedal control board is designed to mimic the much more expensive Mad Professor Snow White, which means you have much of the same ability to adapt your wah effect as with that high-end pedal. However, the Valeton is even smaller in build, which frees up space on your soundboard.

Of course, for just $50 the sound quality of the Valeton pedal can’t match the Mad Professor. But, users loved the funky sound effect and were quickly able to dial in reasonable effect settings in the mid tonal ranges. It’s only at very low or very high ranges that a slightly artificial sound becomes apparent as the wah effect becomes saturated.

In addition to being small and lightweight, users were generally impressed with the build quality of this pedal. The aluminum casing and stomp pedal are highly durable, and the pedal features an analog circuit construction. Like the other auto-wah pedals we reviewed, there is a true bypass when the wah effect is disabled so that you get a completely clean sound through the unit.

Fender Pour Over Envelope Filter Electric Guitar Pedal

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Fender Electric Guitar Electronics, 1/4-Inch...
  • Envelope filter pedal
  • Onboard distortion
  • High-, Low- and Band-Pass filters

The Pour Over envelope filter, a novel take on the standard envelope filter (aka auto-wah), has a few tricks up its sleeve. We included an internal distortion circuit with separate knobs that may be toggled to punch things up a touch, in addition to reacting to your picking dynamics. Selectable High-Pass, Low-Pass, and Band-Pass filter types, as well as sweep direction control, round out the extensive control set, allowing you to adapt the sound perfectly to your musical needs.

The Pour Over Envelope Filter is an all-original Fender circuit designed by our in-house team of experts. The Amp Jewel LED provides your pedalboard a vintage Fender aesthetic, and the chassis is made of lightweight, robust anodized aluminum. On a dark stage, the switchable LED-backlit knobs illuminate your control settings.

The Fender Pour Over envelope filter pedal offers far more sonic variety than a normal autowah effect thanks to its built-in driving circuit. With lowpass, bandpass, or highpass filter modes, the Pour Over pedal responds expressively to your playing dynamics. You may add harmonic richness to your tone by raising the drive amount, which takes this effect to the next level. Spend some time experimenting with the Fender Pour Over envelope filter pedal’s Frequency, Tone, Q, and Drive control parameters to come up with some very unique sounds and power adapter.

Dunlop Crybaby 535Q Mini Wah Guitar Effects Pedal (CBM535Q)

Jim Dunlop Mini 535Q Wah (CBM535Q)
  • The perfect balance of wah control and pedal board efficiency
  • Choose from four different frequency sweep ranges via the Range Selector
  • Adjustable, switchable boost allows you to step out in front of the mix

The Crybaby series from Dunlop is widely regarded as the gold standard in wah pedals. Since 1966, when the first Crybaby pedal was released, the collection has grown in popularity among guitarists. With its tiny form and superb responsiveness, the 535Q Mini is possibly Dunlop’s best wah-wah pedal.

There are some pretty handy user-adjustable features on the Crybaby Mini 535Q. You can modify the overall tone of the wah effect by changing the pedal’s core frequency and deciding how broad you want the sweep to be.

There’s also an adjustable boost switch, which comes in handy when you need to protect your instrument from the rest of the band onstage. It’s hard to think that such a small wah pedal can provide such smooth playing, but the expression pedal’s ergonomic shape makes it surprisingly simple to operate.

The Crybaby Mini runs on 9 volts DC and features a single 14-inch input and output connector. It has an all-analog inner circuit and generates a variety of changeable wah tones that can be used with other effects.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does an auto-wah pedal work?

An auto-wah pedal is effectively an envelope filter, which means it reduces the high and low frequencies of your guitar’s sound. The wah effect is created by an oscillating envelope filters, and the intensity of the filter is proportional to the volume and sharpness of your picking and strumming. Every auto-wah pedal has control knobs that allow you to adjust how aggressive the frequency filter is and how long the filter effect lasts after it is activated.