While we all know those cliche jokes about bass players not being important parts of bands, things couldn’t be further from the truth. Yeah, you’ll automatically think that having only four or five strings and being part of a rhythm section makes a musician less important, but you can’t ever have a good band without a good bassist.
And, at the same time, bassists also love to dabble with effects pedals. Although you’ll mostly find them using compressors and an occasional distortion pedal, it’s also not uncommon to see them implementing wah pedals as well.
Although it may seem weird to some, bass guitars paired with wah pedals can sound awesome, both for rhythm and solo sections. Whatever your choice might be, we’re here to help you out by bringing a list of the best wah pedals for bass guitars. Sure, you could use a regular wah for a guitar.
However, these devices are specially designed to deal with lower frequencies and get the best out of them. Although not that common compared to regular wah-wah pedals for standard guitars, you can still find some awesome stuff for basses out there. With this in mind, we decided to help you out by bringing out the best examples that we could find.
Also, if you’re looking for some top-notch bass guitars at a fair price, check out our rundown of the best budget bass guitars on the market right now at this link. Anyhow, let’s move on with the best wah pedals for bass!
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Dunlop 105Q Cry Baby Bass
If we’re talking about wah pedals of any kind, there’s no brand out there like the good old Dunlop, and that goes for best wah pedals for bass as well.
After all, they’re the ones who are continuing the decades-long tradition of the first-ever wah circuitry that was made back in the 1960s. But if you need something for bass guitars, you can’t ever go wrong with the 105Q Cry Baby model.
Essentially, what is the classic Cry Baby GCB95 for guitarists, 105Q is for bass guitarists. It’s a fairly simple one with a very useful auto-off switch, as well as the adjustable “Q” control on it.
Of course, it also comes in the company’s now well-known and easily recognizable metal housing that can withstand even prolonged heavy use. When it comes to reliability and sturdiness, this is pretty much a go-to bass wah.
Taking a closer to listen to the tone, we can notice a very unique boost to the mids, lower mids, and highs of the audible spectrum. Depending on the settings that you prefer, you can have anything from a subtle wah and up to that “crying” and ear-piercing tone.
However, the pedal’s main intention is to leave the bottom-end almost intact while adding that rich harmonic content on top of it. This way, you can still keep that important deep end that keeps the groove in pretty much any band. In short, this is the one product no bassist out there can go wrong with.
Dunlop GZR95 Cry Baby Geezer Butler Wah
And who else would be the most famous wah pedal user in the world of bass guitar other than Black Sabbath’s almighty Geezer Butler? After all, he used some wah devices over the years both for studio recordings and live shows, hence it’s no surprise this model on our list of best wah pedals for bass.
But while in the old days he implemented some guitar-based wahs, Dunlop teamed up with the legendary bassist for the GZR95 pedal, the Cry Baby Geezer Butler signature model. In fact, this is the first-ever signature bass wah in the Dunlop’s arsenal.
Aside from keeping the lower frequencies the way they are, this pedal provides a massive boost to the mids, making it super-useful for lead sections. The more you push the rocking part forward to the toe-end of the pedal, the tone gets more aggressive and full of those crispy mids and even sharp highs.
The pedal comes with factory settings that Mr. Geezer himself prefers. However, you can remove the bottom plate and set the “Q” parameter control to your liking.
This is all accompanied by amazing Sabbath-inspired aesthetics, making the pedal really stand out compared to other wahs on the market. What’s more, Geezer uses the same exact model, completely unchanged compared to what Dunlop offers as a commercial product. If it’s good for the man himself, there’s a good chance it’ll work just fine for you too.
Hotone Audio BP-10 Bass Press 3 In 1
While we usually all focus on very specific and specialized wah pedals, things can sometimes be made a little more interesting with the addition of a multi-functional floor-based effect unit. For this list, we have one very interesting device by Hotone Audio called BP-10.
Aside from being relatively compact for this type of device, we have a very smooth and comfortable operation for any setting. However, what makes it really interesting is that this is not only a wah that’s voiced for both guitars and basses but also a volume pedal and an expression pedal.
Whether it’s a high-end digital amp modeling unit or a small and cheap multi-effects processor, this one will help you add a new dimension to different effects.
But when it comes to the BP-10’s wah mode, it’s mostly intended for bass guitars, especially due to its specific voicing. You’ll get that deep wallowing and wailing tone and a significant boost to the mid-section of the audible spectrum, making this simple pedal very useful for lead bass guitar sections.
Just press on it, and you’ll be ready to rock – it’s as simple as that. In addition, you also get an awesome pedal that features both the volume and expression pedal modes. Let’s move on with our best wah pedals for bass now.
EBS WahOne
One of the most prestigious brands in the world of bass guitar, EBS are well-known for their premium products, including great effects pedals. Knowing how great their stuff turns out, it’s impossible to avoid them on a list like this one.
If we’re talking about wah pedals for bass guitars, then we’d definitely put up the company’s WahOne as one of the finest examples in this category. And, to be fair, there’s hardly any similar piece of gear that could challenge it.
It takes no more than a glance to realize that we have a high-end product on our hands here. Encased in a sturdy, well-designed, and well-made metal housing, it comes as one of the best pedals that you’d want to take on a tour.
But aside from being able to withstand heavy use for extended periods of time, the pedal actually sounds way better than the most stuff that you can find on the market these days.
WahOne manages to keep all the essential bottom-ends in your bass guitar’s tone, making it a viable choice for experienced bassists of all genres. This fully analog pedal also has a very wide frequency range, with a very pronounced sweet.
There’s also the low-pass control on it suitable for lead sections, a “Hi-Q” feature, and even the so-called “tubesim” switch that even adds some characteristics of tube-driven amps in the mix.
What’s more, there’s even an option to use it as a volume pedal and you can set the minimum level or the sweep range if you’re using it in the regular wah pedal mode. It’s just one very versatile wah that comes as a powerful tool for every experienced bassist. It’s a bit expensive, but it’s more than worth the price. Consider it a high-end contender among the best wah pedals for bass.
EBS EBS-SC Stanley Clarke Signature Wah
Bearing in mind how awesome their stuff can get, it’s obvious that we’re going to include yet another product by EBS on this list. Up next, we’d like to take a closer look and inspect the company’s Stanley Clarke Signature wah pedal.
Of course, this pedal is very expressive, which you would expect from a piece of gear that was done in collaboration with a musician like Stanley Clarke. The pedal’s sweep really takes you to some unexpected territories and really helps you add a new dimension to the tone, especially if you combine it with a nice compressor or a limiter pedal.
Pretty much based on the same principles and circuitry of EBS’s WahOne that we described above, the pedal has the same type of a durable metal casing.
However, we have a different set of controls here, giving us a mode switch, a sweep range parameter control, as well as a width knob. There are also two additional switches on the side, one of which lets you use it as a simple volume pedal. The other one lets you toggle between the pedal’s active and passive modes.
As far as the mode switch that we mentioned, there are four presets that you can choose from – low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, and boosted band-pass.
This one is even noticeably more expensive compared to the EBS’ WahOne, but it’s clearly a high-end product especially intended for professional bass players.
But even if you’re not at that level of playing, you just can’t go wrong with the Stanley Clarke Signature wah since it provides you with so many great options and it works well in pretty much any setting and any type of a signal chain that you might already have. Stanley is one of the best bassists of all time, and this model if one of the best best wah pedals for bass.
G-Lab Bass Wowee-Wah BWW-1
Lastly, we would like to mention yet another higher-end bass wah pedal to conclude out best wah pedals for bass rundown. Now, G-Lab might not be as popular and big compared to some other brands that we mentioned in this list.
However, all of their stuff is of pro-level quality, in terms of tone, functionality, as well as build quality. And we really mean it – this pedal is built like a tank!
While we have some classic features on it, the BWW-1 is more than just a boring old wah pedal. First off, the pedal really manages to keep the low-end frequencies in there.
But at the same time, it keeps the tone really clean, all without adding any unwanted distortion in the mix, even if you’re pairing it up with a bass guitar that has high-output humbucker pickups.
And with the pedal’s unique circuitry, the bottom-end of the tone remains unaffected and you’ll be able to keep both the power of this end of the spectrum while adding a nice sweeping wah effect to it.
There are also some very useful controls on this wah pedal. With additional switches, located on the front panel’s corners and edges. You can add some higher ends in the mix, as well as a boost for the bottom end.
There’s also an option to change the switching mode and have the effect turned on any time you step on the pedal. And with the additional control, labeled as the “Q Factor,” you can even add more intensity and sensitivity to the pedal’s original wah effect.
What we should also point out is the fact that this pedal features a true bypass circuitry.
In short, this is one very versatile wah pedal, intended mostly for experienced and advanced bass guitar players.
But nonetheless, it’s a great addition to anyone’s setup, no matter their skill level and preferred musical styles. What’s more, there’s even an option to turn it into a regular volume pedal just with one press of a switch. And that wraps up our list of best wah pedals for bass. We hope you enjoyed this list as much as we enjoyed researching the products. Make sure you are staying safe and rock on, folks!
