why is the original whammy wh-1 so sought after?

goldenmean · Post by **goldenmean** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:38 am

i bought 2 of these years ago for cheap when a used store was going out of business. i randomly looked on ebay and see them going around 500 bucks! i didnt know they were rare or anything..i remember seeing nels cline use them at some free jazz shows and thinking they sounded cool. i noticed that the pitch effect def sounded different than the newer reissue versions but i didnt really closely analyze the tone past that. i hardly use mine anymore, might be a good time to sell. just wondering why people are so into them?

chris harris · Post by **chris harris** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:24 am

Jack White.

RefD · Post by **RefD** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:25 am

they suck less than the follow-ups.

i like the Whammy II cos you can switch presets with a pair of footswtiches instead of twirling a knob, but it has the same tone-sucking problem the WH-4 has today...just to a lesser degree!

also, the best presets on the WH-1 and Whammy II were, for some unknown reason, REMOVED from the WH-4 in favour of fake twang bar bullshit.

when the WH-1 came out, the big turnoff for me was how flimsy it felt under my size 15 EEEEE foot.

mighta bought one otherwise.

RefD · Post by **RefD** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:27 am

subatomic pieces wrote:Jack White.

no, this nonsense pre-dates Jack White.

mjau · Post by **mjau** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:43 am

RefD wrote:
subatomic pieces wrote:Jack White.
no, this nonsense pre-dates Jack White.

True.
I love them, but because of how prohibitively expensive they've become, I go without and instead do my own octave slides with my fingers on the fretboard. Slummin'.

Rufer · Post by **Rufer** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:52 am

Why wouldn't Digitech cash in and start building them to the first generation's specs? 1990 or whenever wasn't so long ago that the same electronics have disappeared right? Maybe it's just an economies of scale type issue or something.

oldguitars · Post by **oldguitars** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:07 am

Rufer wrote:Why wouldn't Digitech cash in and start building them to the first generation's specs? 1990 or whenever wasn't so long ago that the same electronics have disappeared right? Maybe it's just an economies of scale type issue or something.

Because they won't be "vintage" anymore and nobody will buy them!

RefD · Post by **RefD** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:09 am

Rufer wrote:Why wouldn't Digitech cash in and start building them to the first generation's specs? 1990 or whenever wasn't so long ago that the same electronics have disappeared right? Maybe it's just an economies of scale type issue or something.

you think they design this stuff themselves?

most music electronics companies hire this stuff out to electronics engineering and design consulting firms.

almost all the original Whammy stuff was done for Digitech by IVL Technologies and they parted ways long ago with IVL still owning alot of the IP.

so good luck on an actual reissue.

linus · Post by **linus** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:38 am

Rufer wrote:Why wouldn't Digitech cash in and start building them to the first generation's specs? 1990 or whenever wasn't so long ago that the same electronics have disappeared right? Maybe it's just an economies of scale type issue or something.

In terms of the same chips and components being available 1990 is ancient history. That may be the case. Reverse engineering these things wouldn't be so hard so unless they are prevented from recreating them for legal reasons I'd imagine it's because the exact parts are no longer available.

Rage Against the Machine had a big part in driving up the price long before Jack White.

I have a Whammy II. I do switch between presets with my foot. You can go back and forth between two presets or just scroll through them all. During the end of a howling solo with feedback squealing scrolling through all of the presets sounds like nothing else. It's very cool.

kdarr · Post by **kdarr** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:28 pm

linus wrote: Rage Against the Machine had a big part in driving up the price long before Jack White.

And let's not forget "The Radio Heads."

[<|>]

Professor T · Post by **Professor T** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:32 pm

Yes, Johnny Greenwood has sold a few of them.

RefD · Post by **RefD** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:39 pm

Professor T wrote:Yes, Johnny Greenwood has sold a few of them.

and Ed O'Brien, don't forget him.

his pedalboards dwarf Johnny's!

goldenmean · Post by **goldenmean** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:09 pm

thanks for enlightening me guys. a little bit of jack white/radiohead/steve vai/ratm, a little bit vintage gear lunacy, and a little bit of the euro going wild i guess. this thread has made me realize i wasnt crazy and missing something. for a second i thought there was a hidden button somewhere i didnt know about that would kick in a miraculous 500+ dollar effect that cant be replicated in any other way, ha ha.

i remember when these first came out in the early 90's i thought "this thing is lame, even looks lame. this is one of those things dude with neon green guitars and big white nikes would be into, wheres the big muff pedals??"

maybe i can perform a magic trick and turn a whammy pedal into a moog or something that is expensive and deserves the hype!

AstroDan · Post by **AstroDan** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 4:13 pm

Yeah, I'd always assumed because of Tom Morello. Didn't know Radiohead used them, but that would definitely be a factor.

And five is cheap. I've seen these go for $900.

Bulls on Parade, Y'all.

Holy Wolf · Post by **Holy Wolf** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 4:41 pm

Things just become collectible no matter if they are good quality, better quality or great quality. I agree the late whammy models are better but people are stupid and think it is better to own the original, if it is better or not. I do not see a point in it if you are a working musician but whatevs.

Message Board

why is the original whammy wh-1 so sought after?

why is the original whammy wh-1 so sought after?

.

Who is online