Z-Vex Seek Wah II

Z-Vex Seek Wah II Description

How to explain the seek-wah. I have put off making this instruction sheet for quite a long time. It's already been used on several major label recordings, and I'm finally getting around to this. Oh well. Gotta start sometime.

I know it may be confusing, but just relax and let the seek-wah guide your tempo. When you turn it on, it will probably be playing a pattern already. Put the leftmost knob in about the middle, and turn a couple of the other eight knobs to the left. There's a little notch in each knob so you can tell it's position, and an LED by each wah control that shows which is active and by it's brightness, the wah setting. Put the tiny switch in the MIDDLE position. That sets it to 8 steps. Strum a chord and let it hang, and listen to the tempo of the unit. Bob your head to the tempo, and strum again... If you want it to be a little faster turn the leftmost knob (speed) to the LEFT, and if you want it to be a little slower turn it to the RIGHT. I know, I know, all the knobs are backwards... that's because when i tried to make them go forwards they got jumpy at the rightmost position. It just sounded so much better to have them go the other way. Complain to Alpha manufacturing. They make 'em.

Demo Video

Basically, the seek-wah is sort of a combination of a tremolo and a wah wah pedal. If you're familiar with seventies synths, it's exactly like an analog sequencer controlling a mellow bandpass filter. You have a choice between 4, 6, or 8 steps for your wah. The 6 step positions works well with 6/8 or 3/4 time songs. The seek-wah steps through from one wah setting to another and starts over after it gets to the end of the sequence. There's a total of 9 knobs, the leftmost being a speed control, and the other being wah settings, which get brighter when you turn them to the left. You can set up patterns which accentuate notes in arpeggiated chords at particular spots... it can be really pretty if you play in time with the tempo and play repeating patterns, with the same or changing chords. Rather hypnotic.

Or, you can set the thing to do a sort of tremolo echo, with the knobs set like this: 7:00, 5:00, 8:00, 5:00, 11:00, 5:00, 2:00, 5:00 (these are o'clock positions, not spinal tap 1-11). Then set the speed control for a happy tempo. Heck, there's so many things you can set it to do, like set a tempo that closely matches the tempo of a song you're overdubbing a part on, sample a nice part on the seek wah, and midi trigger the sample so that it stays in time with the song perfectly. I know you can come up with a zillion ways to use it... How do I know? CUZ IT HAS SO MANY KNOBS!

Give me enough knobs, I can control the world. -Z. Vex

Specs:

• Power Source: 9V dc battery
• Controls: Speed (tempo), eight wah settings for sequencer, eight LED's to indicate which wah setting is in use and it's level, Switch for 4, 6, or 8 total steps, and True Bypass Stomp Switch.
• Each pedal is hand painted and each circuit is hand assembled, with no two boxes quite alike. Enjoy!