A wah that follows your playing instead of a pedal or a clock. A resonant peak rises up the spectrum as you play harder and falls back as you play softer: the funk wah that tracks your dynamics.
The idea
An envelope follower listens to the level of the input, and that level moves a narrow, boosted band up from a resting frequency. Nothing runs on a timer, so the sweep only happens while you play, and its shape is the shape of your playing: a hard pick snaps it open, a soft one barely moves it.
Controls
The face groups the six controls into two strips.
Sweep
- Base Freq is where the filter rests when the input is quiet, the closed position of the pedal.
- Octaves is how far above that a full-level input opens it. Six octaves from 100 Hz covers most of the audible range, a full pedal sweep.
- Sensitivity matches the wah to how hard you play. Lower values let quieter playing open the filter fully.
Shape + Blend
- Q sets how narrow the moving band is. Narrow gives the vocal quack; wide turns the sweep into a broader tone shift.
- Peak Gain sets how far the band stands out from the rest of the sound. The peak stays at about the input level and the rest of the spectrum sits lower, so raising it does not push the output into clipping.
- Mix blends the wah against the untouched signal. A wah is usually fully wet; pulling it back keeps the dry attack under the sweep.
Getting started
Auto Wah is a mono audio effect. It suits clean electric guitar best, but anything with clear dynamics works. Start from the Default preset, play a funky rhythm part, and adjust Sensitivity until your hardest notes open the filter all the way.
