Electro-Harmonix Wailer Wah

The Electro-Harmonix Wailer Wah is an analog wah pedal released in 2016 and discontinued in 2025. It took the circuit of Electro-Harmonix's earlier Crying Tone and put it into a conventional treadle pedal, with a rack-and-pinion mechanism rocking the filter the way a classic wah does. The maker pitched it as "the great sound and tone of the award winning Crying Tone Wah in a rugged, lightweight pedal" that produces "killer wah and cocked wah sounds!"¹

At launch it was one of the least expensive wahs on the market, listed at $62.75 in the US in September 2016, with UK street prices expected around £64.99². MusicRadar's buying guide later recorded its launch price as $62³.

The treadle and rack-and-pinion mechanism

The Wailer Wah's operating mechanism is the traditional kind: a rack-and-pinion drive that links the treadle's rocking motion to the sweep of the filter¹. MusicRadar's buying guide noted that "It still utilises the ol' rack-and-pinion mechanical approach, which you can certainly feel underfoot"³. For players used to a Cry Baby or Vox-style wah, this is the feel they already know, and it was the main point of difference from the Crying Tone circuit the Wailer Wah borrowed.

Because the treadle stays where you leave it, the pedal works as a cocked wah as well as a swept one. Guitar World's reviewer found that "Its traditional rack and pinion mechanism allows you to rock the treadle or leave the pedal half-cocked for thick, juicy" midrange lead tones⁴. A half-cocked position parks the filter at one spot in the midrange, giving a sustained vocal honk rather than a sweep.

The build keeps weight down. The main enclosure and treadle are lightweight, high-impact plastic, with a removable metal bottom panel⁴. MusicRadar's review called the pedal "lightweight (by design) - which means you'll want to velcro it down" on a pedalboard⁵. There is also a jack for power from a 9VDC adapter for players who would rather not rely on the battery⁴.

History: from the Crying Tone to the Wailer Wah Pro

Electro-Harmonix has a long history with the wah, which the maker traces "from the original Crying Tone and Queen Triggered Wah in the 1970s, to the forward-thinking Next Step series" of the early 2010s⁶.

The Crying Tone, released in 2012, was part of that Next Step series⁷. It had no treadle at all: it was a motion sensor-equipped wah you tilted and rocked with your whole foot², with input and output jacks on a compact shell⁸. MusicRadar's review of the Crying Tone described it as "an affordable wah that sits nicely between vintage growl and modern clarity," but the design was unconventional enough that it divided players.

The Wailer Wah, in 2016, was the answer to that. As MusicRadar's review put it, Electro-Harmonix "has taken the innards of its interesting - yet slightly flawed in practicality - Crying Tone wah and put them inside a t"raditional pedal, at a budget price⁵¹. The same circuit, the same wah and cocked-wah sounds, but in a housing with a treadle and a rack-and-pinion drive that players already understood¹³.

The Wailer Wah ran until 2025, when Electro-Harmonix discontinued it¹. In 2026 the company returned to the format with the Wailer Wah Pro, which the maker describes as its "take on the classic wah" and an upgrade of "the original Wailer Wah chassis"⁶.

Wailer Wah vs Wailer Wah Pro

The Pro carries the same true-bypass switching and the same battery-plus-optional-adapter power arrangement as the original¹⁶, in a more rugged housing at a higher list price.

What reviewers said

MusicRadar's review was positive on both tone and value, concluding: "An affordable pedal that delivers big tone. We love it!"⁵ The same review noted the lightweight enclosure as the practical trade-off, recommending velcro to keep it in place on a board⁵.

Guitar World's reviewer highlighted the roundness of the tone and the half-cocked capability, while pointing out the plastic construction of the enclosure and treadle, with only the bottom panel in metal⁴. At the 2016 launch, MusicRadar's news coverage summed up the value proposition: "with a price tag of $62.75, we can't argue"².

Videos

Click to load

Click to load

Click to load

Questions