Hardware improvement suggestions

[eriky]

Hi,
I like to propose a list of hardware changes/improvements from the user community to Sonuus for the Wahoo.

Here is my first:

1 - the level knob is blocking my view on the actual Fxx or Pxx number of effect that I am playing when not looking from straight above the pedal on the display, e.g. sitting. I like to see what number I am on without having to rise, esp. when using the pedal mode for switching between presets.

Please add your suggestions to this topic.
Thanks,
Erik

[james]

There is limited space on the control panel, and the knobs need to be spaced out so you can actually use them (you don't want your fingers hitting an adjacent knob when trying to adjust another one).

Also, hardware changes are not possible at this time. But, comments like this are still useful for future product development.

[gastric]

I would like to suggest future products include a LCD display and simplified hardware controls that simply manipulate the LCD based UI, similar to what you find on most digital multieffects on the market.

There's so many benefits to this from both a user and designer perspective. It's so much more flexible and future-proof, and typically is much more user friendly and intuitive to the end user. Sometimes not as stage friendly for instantaneous tweaking, but for a device with saved presets I don't see that outweighing the many other benefits of a LCD based display and UI.

[gastric]

Other suggestions:

* Include real 5-pin MIDI IN and OUT/THRU. Considering the hardware for this has been around for 20+ years I cannot imagine this adds significant cost to the unit, though it would add significant usability for those users who actually use MIDI CLOCK or other MIDI features. There appears to be plenty of I/O panel space for this already.
* Including the pitch-to-MIDI functionality found in your other products in the Wahoo. It sounds like that functionality may already be in the Wahoo already. I wouldn't look at this as robbing your other existing products of functionality, but giving users more reasons to purchase the Wahoo which is significantly more expensive. I could then see some users purchasing the Wahoo purely as a MIDI note generator and MIDI expression / patch controller.
* Provide a way to externally adjust the pedal tension.

[gastric]

Provide a 2 pole as well as 4 pole LPF.

[gastric]

Make the LPF fatter sounding.

Honestly, I don't know how to articulate this well but comparing it to my other analog filters such as the Moog MF-101 it just doesn't sound as fat, huge, and warm when used with bass / bass fuzz. Particularly once you start applying resonance. I'm not saying the Wahoo sounds bad or thin, it's just not quite as beefy when A-B'ing them.

[james]

Make the LPF fatter sounding.

Honestly, I don't know how to articulate this well but comparing it to my other analog filters such as the Moog MF-101 it just doesn't sound as fat, huge, and warm when used with bass / bass fuzz. Particularly once you start applying resonance. I'm not saying the Wahoo sounds bad or thin, it's just not quite as beefy when A-B'ing them.

When you apply resonance, the filter will always start to sound thinner. This is the nature of a resonant filter, once the resonance gets so high that it self-oscillates, it only lets through a single frequency (with only a small amount of signal beyond that).

You can get it to sound fatter in four ways:

(1) increase the drive level. This will overdrive the filters and induce harmonic distortion. When the filter itself is overdriven it won't be able to reject all the frequencies it would otherwise reject, so it becomes less precice = less thin = fatter.

(2) increase the dry signal level. Adding some of the dry signal can thicken up the sound by letting through some of the original tone, particularly if there is some overdrive before or after the Wahoo.

(3) increase the output level. This will cause the output stage to overdrive and add more harmonic distortion and thicken the sound by adding in new harmonics where there were none before. It will likely cause your next effect, or amp, to overdrive more too adding yet more harmonics.

(4) use two filters with the same settings, setting the filter mix to 50%. Because the filters are analogue, they can't be perfectly matched so there will always be some difference between them. This gives a much thicker sound than one filter on its own, with very organic subtle phasing sounds going on too.

[IanCon]

It would be great if there was a way to change presets while playing (with a foot switch, so I don't have to stop playing, bend over and use the up/down arrows) also it would be cool if there was a way to use an external expression pedal to control a different parameter (I don't know what I would use this for, maybe one for LFO and one for manual wah). Oh and it would be super cool if it sensed when your foot was on the pedal, so you could set it to bypass when your not using it! (I know there's a perfectly good switch, but this less foot work/ pedal dancing I have to do on stage the better. also I'm lazy)

All in all, I feel the need to say that although I've only had my wahoo for a day, I still think it's a killer product, and more innovative then any pedal I've seen in the last few year.

-Cheers

[james]

There are a few ways to change presets without having to bend over:

(1) Press and hold the footswitch (default time is 2 seconds) until the main LED flashes. Then, pressing the footswitch will increase or decrease the preset number, depending on the position of the pedal (the up/down LEDs will flash to show you which direction it will mode).

(2) If the pedal is configured to enabled/disable the effect, another method is available. Now, pressing the footswitch will increase the preset number. Press and hold the footswitch to reverse the direction of preset selection (inc -> dec, dec -> inc).

(3) MIDI can be used via USB to remotely select presets.

(The latest version of the manual (http://www.sonuus.com/downloads/sonuus-Wahoo-Manual.pdf) describes both these methods on page 11.)

Obviously, all the other suggestions would need significant hardware changes.