🤝 The Big Exchange

Ayy mates! Been a long time eh? Well, it only felt long because I was posting so much at one point then total silence after that. School's to blame. But I'm back already, so hey, it's all good. 😊

Recently, I was surfing through Carousell and a particular pedal caught my eye. It is the Jim Dunlop Mini Cry Baby Wah. It looked super cute and I could see more pros than cons about it replacing my Classic Wah. The main reason is real estate issues on my pedalboard. Yes, I have reached that point where space is everything. The Classic Wah is taking up 2 standard-sized pedal space on my board and I could see no way of squeezing a tuner pedal in. Well, everything is settled now.

People should have just named it Cry Fetus.

The Mini Wah is less than half the size of the Classic Wah, which proved its worth on my board. The Mini even has 3 switches under the pedal for 3 different modes (Low, Vintage and GCB95), something which the Classic doesn't have. Talk about downsizing but upgrading. Next, maybe it's just me, but I feel the Mini has a wider range than the Classic, after testing them side-by-side. The Mini is amazingly clearer than the Classic so that's a plus. The only con I feel is the size of the pedal because I have big feet. Well, nothing a little practice can't resolve. 😁

This is one very cool picture.

Bought the Mini Wah for $100, second hand, on 15th November 2016. Albeit a little dusty and old, it is still an amazing pedal for its worth. Now, this brings me to my next point. What did I do with the Classic Wah? Yes, obviously, I sold it. Or rather, I traded it. I didn't intend to trade at first, but somehow, another pedal caught my eye too. That pedal is the Boss Digital Delay DD-5.

Alright, those who read my previous posts know that I owned a DD-3 before and sold it off. Now I am back in the DD business again. Why? Because of the tap tempo. Firstly, I am already using my Line 6 M5 as a Digital Delay, but it is very troublesome to power up the M5 with another plug. Then, the M5 is too bulky for my pedalboard. Every rearrangement was in regards of having my M5, which limits my pedal arrangement by a lot. Thirdly, it isn't a true standalone pedal. It's a tough choice for me, knowing that the M5 is like a "Swiss Army Knife" on my board. But the day has come when space is everything. So I have to give up the M5 for a smaller pedal, yet retaining the tap tempo function.

Honestly, I have considered the DD-7 before, but it's too complicated compared to the DD-5. I won't really use much of the other modes because I only want it for the tap tempo dotted 8th delay. Also, the DD-5 sounds better than the DD-7, so the DD-5 it is. Bought, or rather, traded away my Classic Wah ($80) and topped up another $70 for this DD-5. Surprisingly, this pedal is of amazing condition. It's like so new, considering this is a discontinued model. Just wow. Now, where I can find a tap tempo pedal? Hmmm... Should I build one myself? Or should I just buy it whole?

And so, the M5 is gone as well. Bought it for $120 at the start of this year and sold it off tonight for $130. Not bad at all. Profit is $10 with 9 months worth of playing! So technically speaking, I have successfully swapped the Line 6 M5 for a DD-5 and swapped the Classic Wah for a Mini Wah. Not bad at all. 😎

That's all for this update folks. My pedalboard looks so much neater right now, increasing to version 1.81. As of today, I am only lacking a Tuner pedal as well as a Volume pedal, both which I have already reserved space on my board for. I am thinking of getting rid of the Ditto Looper for either pedal. Yes, I love the Ditto a lot, like really a lot. I use it at home most of the time, but never on live. There's just no need for the Ditto on stage, sadly. And stage-playing is everything to me so the Ditto Looper is a pedal that I can live without. I am listing it on Carousell for now. Hope the day won't have to come so soon! 😣

Edwin Ang

16th November 2016

Tags: PBv1.81

***Update as of 13th July 2017: The Boss DD-5 and Dunlop Crybaby Mini Wah are no longer with me. They have been sold for $140 and $90 respectively.

***Update as of 4th January 2019: I have re-obtained the Dunlop Crybaby Mini Wah. Got it for $90 through a direct-trade.