Saguaro Wah (Weener Wah)

[blackhatboojum]

Like my last post, I'm gonna show some appreciation to another friend I've made through the world of DIY effects building.  This time it's Will, aka @harryklippton.  Not only has this guy very graciously designed a brand logo for me but, he also sent me a Weener Wah pcb recently.  Dude has been another of those builders that I noticed early on, and instantly became a fan of.  Next thing I know, He's complimenting my work, we start chatting, we send each other stuff, and boom!  We're where we are today.  Now that I'm done kissing ass, let's talk about this wah.  Man...  this was a fun one.  As a lot of you already know, wah pedals are simple circuits but perfect for modifications.  I had a blast auditioning various component to voice this wah to my liking.  In the end, I didn't stray too far from the original schematic.  True bypass switching with an LED.  A high gain 2N5088 for the first transistor.  A red Fasel inductor and a 10nf frequency cap.  No switches for different cap values and no Q adjustment pots.  Just straight up, "This is how it's voiced, now play that shit!"  This is what sounded good to me and this is now my wah pedal. 

Aesthetically, I'm still doing my "embrace the Southwest thing" and called it the Saguaro wah.  There are a lot of things that people think of when they think of the old west.  Wyatt Earp, Tombstone, Doc Holliday, and the O.K. Corral shootout for example.  Arguably though, the most iconic thing is actually the mighty Saguaro cactus (pronounced suh-waa-row).   When you think of the old west and cactus, I can almost guarantee that the Saguaro is what you picture in your mind.  Native only to the Sonoran desert, the Saguaro is the largest cactus in the United States.  They can live to be 150 to 200 years old, can grow between 40 to 60 feet tall, and when fully hydrated from the summer monsoons, weigh between 3,200 to 4,800 pounds.  As big and mighty as the Saguaro can get, it's slow growing.  A 10 year old cactus may only have a height of 1.5 inches tall.  It could also take 75 years before a Saguaro grows its first arm.  Despite it's slow growing nature, the Saguaro has been the life blood of the Sonoran desert.  Animals and humans have depended on it for thousands of years.  It has been a source of food, shelter, and building materials in area where these things are scarce.  The Saguaro is such an important piece to us folks here in the Sonoran desert, that it's actually a protected species.  Harming, defacing, or vandalizing the mighty Saguaro could get you a class 4 felony charge here in Tucson.  Drink, smoke weed, openly carry guns... we don't care.  Deface our cactus though and we're putting your ass and jail.

To keep with the Saguaro cactus theme on this build, I painted my enclosure to match another important piece of plant life here in the desert... The Palo Verde tree.  Like the Saguaro, the Palo Verde is an iconic figure here in the Southwest.  It's actually a nursing tree that helps protect and help the mighty Saguaro grow.  But... that's a story for another build.  I'll stop boring you with stories about my local plant life and show you some pictures.

[zombie_rock123]

Man please never stop including the history in your posts! Love cactus, almost as much as that build.

[harryklippton]

That came out killer! And not only did you paint it my favorite color, but you appealed to my inner plant nerd too? 🥵🥵

[Thewintersoldier]

[Bret608]

Man, I love the color on that! Great build. Is the Palo Verde that tree in the Southwest where the leaves, branches, and everything are this uniform pale green? I really liked those when my family and I did a roadtrip through Arizona, Utah and Colorado back in 2014. I don't remember seeing these trees much once we got a bit north of Phoenix.

[blackhatboojum]

Man please never stop including the history in your posts! Love cactus, almost as much as that build.

Thanks!  I love that you dig the stories and history lessons.  I'm trying to do this for all of my builds now.  It makes it that much more fun.

That came out killer! And not only did you paint it my favorite color, but you appealed to my inner plant nerd too? 🥵🥵

Thanks Will!  I dig plants too!   

Huge thanks!  And see that Blanche approves too lol.

Man, I love the color on that! Great build. Is the Palo Verde that tree in the Southwest where the leaves, branches, and everything are this uniform pale green? I really liked those when my family and I did a roadtrip through Arizona, Utah and Colorado back in 2014. I don't remember seeing these trees much once we got a bit north of Phoenix.

Many thanks!  Yes the Blue Palo Verde (even though it's not blue lol) is what you probably saw and yes, just about everything on it is green.  The palo verde actually does most of its photosynthesizing through its bark.  The bark is filled with chlorophyll, hence its green color.  Around springtime it produces, really pretty yellow flowers.  When they're in full bloom, they look like the color I used to paint my wah.  Here's a picture for reference  . 

[zombie_rock123]

UK resident here: Kinda leaning towards not believing that's a real tree. Someone sprayed a tree didn't they...

On a serious note, Harry Klippton mentioned being a plant nerd and I saw some pots next to the wah - does anyone know if we have a "Show yer plants" thread on here?

[Bio77]

Very cool! 

[gordo]

I always like reading the back story and that's a great one along with a great build.

[blackhatboojum]

UK resident here: Kinda leaning towards not believing that's a real tree. Someone sprayed a tree didn't they...

On a serious note, Harry Klippton mentioned being a plant nerd and I saw some pots next to the wah - does anyone know if we have a "Show yer plants" thread on here?

Lol!  I know.  It's hard to believe the trees look like that but I assure you they do.  Great question about the "Show your plants" thing.  I haven't seen that thread so we should start one  .  I have plenty to contribute to it.  Including the 3 species of cacti you saw in my pics.

Very cool! 

Thanks!

I always like reading the back story and that's a great one along with a great build.

Thanks!  I love a good back story too  .

[jimilee]

That's a nice lookin wah, nicely executed.


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[jjjimi84]

Very cool wah and I love the story behind it! Killer work

[Paradox916]

That's a sexy ass cactus wah you got there!


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