In a recent interview, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett openly addressed the flak he’s often received for his blatant overuse of a wah pedal by softly capitulating, “I can’t get away from it. I love the wah…” And instead of throwing more shade toward his lead-footed wah tendencies, I'm just gonna flat out agree with him.
With that, there are many wah pedals I’ve unabashedly swept through with impunity like Mr. Hammett, and as a bit of a wah connoisseur (I own well over 30 wahs), I can unequivocally say that all wahs are not the same.
For instance, Xotic hasn’t exactly flown under the radar as far as wah brands go. Still, if you dig deep enough, you’ll find their Xotic XW-1 has made its home on many popular artists’ pedalboards – mostly because the XW-1 allows for a plethora of tone-shaping versatility with its side-panel controls for Bias, Hi and Low EQs and Wah-Q (width/range of sweepable frequencies).
This time around, Xotic has proven “Less is more” with a new finely tuned wah that’s similar to the XW-1 and based on the Italian-made ’67-’68 Clyde McCoy Wahs, but now arrives without any fiddly control knobs.
For many wah enthusiasts, Clyde McCoy wahs are considered the “Holy Grail” and Xotic has seemingly replicated its tonal recipe for their XW-2 Wah that not only says “wah” with a sweetened sweep but arrives in a bold red metallic finish that’s limited to 1,000 pieces.
The first thing you’ll notice about the XW-2 is its shrunken footprint (it’s about 20 percent smaller than a typical wah pedal), but I can tell you it makes little to no difference in feel; if anything, your toebox ends up blocking the LED indicator at the top.
Speaking of which, that LED will flash if the battery power falls below 50 percent, which makes it a useful indicator. What I dig is that the new XW-2 is a case study in simple refinement combined with premium components and a superb build.
Features include a proprietary wah potentiometer and custom-wound inductor, gold contact relay true bypassing (for transparent true bypass tone) and ultra-reliable switching that’ll last for over a million stomps.
For its quietly smooth operation, Xotic installs a self-lubricating nylon bushing pivot under the hood, so there’s no goopy internal grease to be found. You can also fully adjust the rocker pedal tension, and the rubber stopper on the treadle’s backside can be shimmed for more travel range on the pedal.
Even without the control set found on the XW-1, Xotic cleverly simplifies the XW-2 to achieve the same Clyde McCoy-inspired wah tones by optimizing the EQ and moving the Wah-Q control inside the chassis.
Regardless, it’s a wonderfully vintage-voiced wah – much like the famed Clyde McCoy – that exists primarily in the very vocal-like range, with a pronounced quack and brassy honk that sounds like a horn section when you need to poke out.
It can also get more dramatic or aggressive in its sweep, but for that, I would adjust the width of the filter peak from the internal Wah-Q knob and remove the rubber stopper.
However, to my ears, the Wah-Q factory setup is dialed in perfectly – with a sweetened intensity à la Cream’s White Room, and combined with its smooth throw on the foot treadle, the XW-2 allows for total wah expressiveness without a fight.
Specs
- PRICE: $220 / £279
- TYPE: Wah pedal
- FEATURES: Adjustable rocker pedal tension, self-lubricating nylon bushing pivot, LED batter indicator, ltd to 1,000 units
- BYPASS: True Bypass
- CONTACT: Xotic California
