Strangest Volume problems with Snarling Dogs Wah

[Dandny]

So my wah experiences a volume boost, and I mean a LOUD boost when its clicked on, and it just started doing it. Thats not even the weirdest part. When a fuzz or any other pedal is clicked on in the chain, the volume returns to normal. But when its just the wah by itself its ear splitting. I tried the wah by itself with several amps and still experience the same problem. At this point I'm pretty sure its {censored}ed, and was wondering if they even do pedal repair for these things or should I hunt for another? Is this a common problem? Any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[WRGKMC]

Its hard to tell by that description what the problem might be. If I were to guess you have a cold solder joint to one of the components or possibly a switch problem. There could be a resistor that limits the gain level and when you run other boxes into it, it zaps the connection and returns it to normal connectivity. Caps can do flaky things like that as well as a stomp switch contact . What I'd do is resolder any connections that look flaky. You may wind up getting lucky, otherwise you have to signal trace the circuit and see where its taking the gain jump.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Snarling Dogs is long out of business, so you'd have to take it to a local tech for diagnosis and repair. You'll need someone who knows how to do component level troubleshooting and repairs, and not all shops offer that anymore, but it's a wah pedal, not a more complex electronic device, so it should be reasonably easy for a decent tech to repair.

 

Whether that's the most cost-effective route forward for you is another matter. Back when I managed a repair shop, we had a $75/hr bench charge, with a one hour minimum - you can buy a new (and very cool) EHX Wailer Wah for less than that... so I guess it really depends on how much you like the sound of the Snarling Dogs wah when it's working...

 

But don't toss the SD wah. Some of those things (somewhat less for the red Whine-O wah, more the yellow Mold Spore) have been going up in price for a while, so even if it's got issues, you might want to hang on to it.

 

 

[daddymack]

Phil makes a good point. Is this a Wonder Wah/Addicted to Wah, Black Bawl Wah, Mold Spore, ...?

The Mold Spores are still selling @250+, so even putting a $100 into it may not be a bad investment if everything else is in great shape.

Wonder Wahs can be had pretty cheap...maybe just buy a used one and keep your original for parts....

[Dandny]

thanks for all the advice guys! Ill take it to a tech and see how much they charge. if its 60+ thats close enough for another one, so id just get a new one, or try modding myself to get a volume knob.

[WRGKMC]

I started out doing bench work when techs were paid $12 an hour. That sure changed in 45 years.

 

If EH is only charging $75 the techs must be making minimum wage. The cost of doing business requires most of that money to pay for the cost of the facility.

 

In the business electronics field I work in, the going rate is $150 and hour. Even then they haven't done component level repairs in 25 years, its all board swap now. This allows them to hire less educated techs who only have to determine if its a board is bad (and they guess wrong quite often)

 

For a customer without a contract they have a 1 hour minimum charge, of course our techs travel to locations so you have the added cost of travel involved. Most customers buy a service contract and roll it into the lease. If we had to do COD on every repair the paperwork, collections, credit charges, bad checks etc would easily double the hourly charge.