maestro boomerang wah- info, innuendo and inference

DiscoFreq · Post by **DiscoFreq** » Fri Feb 10, 2012 10:49 am

$103,50 is not cheap, it's almost exactly the average price ($103.12)

joegagan · Post by **joegagan** » Fri Feb 10, 2012 4:39 pm

yes, BG2s are all over the map. i have seen nice ones sell for over 200, not so nice ones sometimes slip by for 60. 105 sounds like a good average, one has to keep in mind that the odds that it has the wrong pot installed, or a scratchy worn-out original pot are very high. i think there mght be a high turnover of these because there are many in circulation that are not working right, so people give up on em. out of the dozen i have bought, only one had a correct, non-scratchy original pot. and it is the only one that has a functional, non-tonesuck bypass (volume pedal function).

i will make a comparison video to show you guys how nice the volume pedal side sounds vs a true bypass box.

jagermonster · Post by **jagermonster** » Fri Feb 10, 2012 5:08 pm

I've got two BG2s (both of which are on their way to Joe for a tune-up). One was $40 with non-original pot and arrived to me in pieces. It sounds good NOW, but was non-functional when I got it.

The other one I've got was $20, non-original pot, no bottom plate, replaced electrolytics.

I guess the lesson here is that I am a cheapskate?

joegagan · Post by **joegagan** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 8:09 am

finally got a batch of those PEC 25k pots in for testing.

made 3 test videos for comparison. guitar and amp settings remained identical for comparison purposes. you can compare them once they load by using the pause button on each. first up, for comparison purposes is the 67 BG1. it has a slightly fuller, juicier sound than the 71 to my ears. they both are very close to each other in tone tho.

67 BG1

now the stock 71 BG2

next, same 71 wah with new PEC rev log pot.

i hear subtle differences, let me know what you are hearing after comparing. there are slight electronic reasons that make up the differences, will post more after giving members a chance to comment.

Creepyfingers · Post by **Creepyfingers** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 8:47 am

Mine has a replacement improvised bottom plate. Original non scratchy pot though! Who loses the bottom plates on these things!??? I hate that. Its like when you find a sweet 70's drum kit and the dude has no idea where the bottom hoops to all the drums went. Grrrrr

tekbow · Post by **tekbow** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 11:59 pm

is it me or is the PEC a touch grittier/gainier? in a good way i mean. I think it sounds a touch crisper as well, more strident? i think it got closer to the BG1 jj cale thing (which i had thought had a slide involved until i saw you play it) than the BG2. i think the highs on the BG2 are softer (muted, not sweeter) than the BG1 and the PEC wah gets closer to the BG1, and there's less warble on the 2 than the 1, and again i think the PEC wah gets closer to the BG1. The PEC is also very very slightly shriller in the highend, but still sweet. sorry for the disjointedness, was writing as i was listening. the PEC wah certainly seemed to be able to do the "riding the sweet spot" thing. Or was that in fact the man playing it ;)

Anyways, other than the tonal differences i perceived which may not be there because i was looking for something to be different, the overall character of the PEC wah seems bang on and the sweep sounds right too. You might be there with the search for a replacement pot Joe.

Any chance you can do shaft? then we'd know

joegagan · Post by **joegagan** » Sun Mar 11, 2012 2:54 am

tekbow, great report. you hit the nail on the head with the 'riding the sweet spot" comment. this is the element that has previously been missing from other replacement pots. this PEC is the only thing i have found that comes close.
interesting, i will have to go back and listen again, but i thought the PEC had the least high end of the three. the 67 has more high end to my ears, which makes it a more pleasing wah overall.
as far as the grit, i believe this is the beauty of these wahs. people who want a clean sound should seek out a (boring sounding ) shin-ei from the 70s.

more to come after i re-listen...

tekbow · Post by **tekbow** » Sun Mar 11, 2012 9:59 am

maybe it was the recorded tone joe, or me hearing something that wasn't there, or may well have sounded different in the there and then, or might have been my description didn't describe what i was hearing accurately. but the sweet spot pseudo slide thing is def unmistakeable. It seems quite unique to the Boomers

Could be with the PEC one that the highs were clearer than the BG2, there was a good element to the PEC highs that the BG2 didn't have and got closer to the BG1. i'll stick with strident if that makes sense, more projecting

tekbow · Post by **tekbow** » Sat Mar 17, 2012 12:29 pm

At joe's request

possibly the fastest ebay delivery I've ever had! bought yesterday at about 10am, arrived today at 0730.

Awesome condition! however..

Pot ain't original (you can see the resistor across the pot), Joe spotted that for me. Looking on the bright side, i'm grateful that it's in a healthy state overall, we all know how hard a good pot is to come by in these..

Other stuff that appears to have been done is the addition of the true bypass switch, which, in the absence of a correct working pot, i would have done anyway.

So i'm gona have to get me a PEC for this, and also i think i'll have the input and output switched around. never realised they were the opposite of what we're normally used to.

joegagan · Post by **joegagan** » Sat Mar 17, 2012 5:52 pm

it's a beauty! i find those propot type replacements in them a lot. how does it sound? can you make some clips?

maestro boomerang wah- info, innuendo and inference

Re: boomerang wah, why a 25k pot is essential (+misc notes)

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