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DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
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Post by DefJef on Mar 6, 2020 0:12:38 GMT
Ah found some reviewers with similar though not specifically the same problems. It looks as though that modding inside may solve the problem of hearing it switch on. And one guy says the spring CAN come out so that's a bonus. No apparent workaround for the heel down toe up functionality though.
MAYBE I should delve inside...but my warranty???
Here's what a couple of more in depth users found:
"mjcg reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 April 2015
I'll just say before I berate this pedal that I really like Behringer by and large, so I'm not some pedal snob or anti Chinese made stuff...
I bought this on the premise it had a changeable frequency range (thought I'd be clever and get a two in one wah for guitar and bass), but the actual range of 'wah' is tiny regardless of freq. range. I don't know if it's digital or not but it doesn't sound proper. People are saying it's great for beginners or first-time wah players, well I say that's rubbish - for an extra tenner you can get a vox or shop around and find a cheap Jim Dunlop crybaby.
It's hard to explain to someone who's never used one before but a proper wah pedal has an on/off press when the pedal is DOWN, this pedal is UP as standard then automatically engages on moving the pedal.. While this is maybe handy for some for me it's terrible, I loved my old wah where you could leave it switched on and at 2/3 the way back for a real Clapton esque muddy fuzz thing. Even after messing with all the settings for an hour or two I could only just about get a semi decent sound, but only one worth jamming with, recording/gigging forget it.
For £30 it wasn't worth returning, on the plus side battery seems to last.. Saying that though I never use the thing! And it's quiet when on too, not quite as quiet as it is stored in my bag of old/useless pedals though.. Buy a vox/crybaby instead, you won't regret it"
" Mr. Pastry 2 years ago:
I generally use a Dunlop Crybaby but I had tried the Dunlop Crybaby that this is an almost exact copy of, the Cry Baby From Hell, and liked it. So I thought for such a cheap price I would get one of these clones just if it was nearly as good. It wasn't.
I'd read about all the problems that other people had had with the sweep range not kicking in until the pedal was three quarters of the way down. I'd also seen many fixes and mods that didn't look too difficult or, more importantly, exxpensive!
When it arrived it felt heavy but the reason for this turned out just to be a weight inside the bottom of a really crappy plastic housing. I knew it would be plastic but that tacky chrome plastic knob is so bad. A normal plastic one would have been better. Anyway, I tried it out and it had the sweep problem. I also could hear it switching on and off with a weird slight delay. It was awful. Especially in the middle of using it. It sounded like glitches. So I took it apart.
There actually isn't much inside the pedal at all. First I lined up the optics of which there are two, one switches it on and the other makes the effect sweep. I adjusted the ON one so if I just put my foot on it then it switched on and I moved the sweep one until it was aligned properly. There are also little trim pots you can adjust. Which I spent a while doing. Eventually after an afternoon of screwing about I did get it to work well. The sweep gave me the full travel which made the Q control and the main 6 position switch work brilliantly. My bass sounds cool through it on 1-3.
I found the boost was useless. I don't use it.
But then in use I came to the problem you mentioned. I like to leave my Crybaby in a certain position at times and use it's sound. I managed to disconnect the spring underneath to get it to stay in a given position but the problem remains that the heel down is still the 'off' position.
So to summarize, if I hadn't done the mods and fixes I wouldn't use it at all. It would go into my pile of 'pedals that I have no regular use for' but now it is actually functional even if I don't like the way it functions! It is by far the cheapest and cheapest LOOKING pedal I use but I do actually use it now if I want its oddities but I keep my Crybaby right alongside it for general use. Unless you feel confident of doing the work definitely buy a Vox or a Crybaby, or even stretch up to the Cry Baby From Hell if it's not out of your budget. I agree, you won't regret it."
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Post by MASTERYO on Apr 1, 2022 15:29:18 GMT
I followed this: www.freestompboxes.org/viewtopic.php?t=1889 and talk.philmusic.com/index.php?topic=43524.0But I did more than removing the rubbers outside ... 1) Inside, I moved the LED 1 to match Sensor 1 of the large notch on the plastic light blocker so the sweep would start early in the rocking action, (u need finesse as u might break the LED wires) and then 2) to make the sweep longer and wider, I moved the LED 2 to match the Sensor 2, once set, I lenghtened and widened the sweep notch but maintain its factory slope. (Too much cut and you will lose the sweep). Then at the very end of the slope - I used a screwdriver to widen the end round so it let the full LED light to hit the sensor instead of doing partial - With that done, The wah opens soon as you step on it, Theres the long and wide sweep with a hellraising "Bwaaahwrrr". That's it, no further mods required.
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2 posts
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Post by spudmurphy on Feb 9, 2024 20:54:11 GMT
My first post on here. Been playing 50 years and bought a Hellbabe HB01. It's great that people post videos on this pedal, but invariably I find that the demonstrators aren't able to accurately describe the capabilities of the Q and fine controls, six position range knob and skip over them. I've not really heard a good video accurately demoing the range knob. I use Wah a lot, and was disappointed with it. I have a bright sounding set up .... a Music Man Albert Lee guitar, either through a MM RD50 amp or lately through a Line 6 HX XL and Headrush FRFR speaker. Even so, I find the HBabe to be pretty much too muddy, not cutting through as much as my old Crybaby. The sweep is not very good. I have tonight pulled out the rubber feet and will put some small rubber pads on the case to stop it sounding like a woodpecker on heat as I use the pedal.
Of all the mods I've seen on you tube, the simplest one of a 100pf capacitor on the output jack, appears to cure the tone suck this pedal has. I'm interested in the widening of the slot which activated the optical sensor, but have yet to come across a before and after photo of the mod, and it seems like a catastrophe can happen if you were to F it up! I can restore a classic car , but scratched my head trying to get inside the Hbabe case!! ... nowhere as easy as a crybaby to get into.
When I first unboxed it many months ago now, I almost sent it straight back. Each time the wah went on and off , it clicked like hell. It would have been impossible to play live. I remedied this by tweaking the timer adjust, and solved that problem.
I just feel that this WAS ALMOST a fantastic pedal. Would I recommend it? The jury is still out, but it doesn't fill me with confidence when I get to a venue, have an hour to set up and do a quick sound check .. get changed and I'm playing the first set, and it comes to use the wah for the first time. I don't want to dedicate an expression pedal to act as a wah with my HX XL , but may have to bite that bullet or just go back to a GCB 95.
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2 posts
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Post by spudmurphy on Feb 19, 2024 15:08:01 GMT
The Jury has now given its verdict. I played it live again after improving slightly the sweep, but it's not a good pedal. A good friend of mine plays guitar in a Hendrix tribute band, he tried it too .. and said it wasn't good.
Ironically, a new circuit board, from Dunlop turned up for my crybaby. I installed it and .... ahhhhhh lovely.
So wah on a budget ... ok get it. But you may be sorry after playing a Dunlop.
it's going in my spares bag, and that'll be the only time I use it. It's s shame Behringer didn't listen to the feedback from owners. It's been out quite a while now, and they could easily have done something about it. Ah well, lesson learnt.
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