Fulltone Clyde Wah Settings Guide
The Fulltone Clyde Wah is a true-bypass wah pedal based on the original Thomas Organ Clyde McCoy wah circuit — the first wah pedal, used by Hendrix on Voodoo Child and Eric Clapton on White Room. Fulltone's version retains the original Fasel inductor-based filter topology with true bypass and a carefully selected component set for authentic vintage wah character.
Used by: Jimi Hendrix
The best Fulltone Clyde Wah settings start with: Sweep at 5/10, Q at 5/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Blues-Rock: Sweep 5/10, Q 6/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Sweep | 5/10 | Bass → Treble |
| Q | 5/10 | Wide → Narrow |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Standard wah sweep — the Clyde Wah for blues-rock lead playing. The Fasel inductor produces a mid-forward, vocal wah character. Rock the pedal in time with the playing for the classic sixties wah-filtered lead tone.
Used rhythmically with faster rocking motion — the Clyde Wah for funk rhythm. The vintage inductor produces a more musical, less harsh filter character than modern wah circuits, which suits the continuous rhythmic wah motion of funk.
Parked at heel-down position (bass emphasis) — the Clyde Wah parked at a fixed position provides a fixed-wah filter effect. Parked at heel-down produces a bass-cut, mid-emphasizing fixed filter. Used by Hendrix in this way for specific rhythm guitar tones.
Toe-forward emphasis with standard Q for an aggressive, cutting wah lead tone that sits above a dense, distorted rhythm section.
A wider Q than the standard funk setting keeps the sweep smoother and less nasal, useful for clean or lightly driven rhythm parts where a peakier filter would sound too aggressive.
Artist Settings
Documented settings used by professional guitarists on this unit.
The original Clyde McCoy wah was Hendrix's primary wah pedal — he used it on Voodoo Child (Slight Return), Still Raining Still Dreaming, and Bold as Love among others. He rocked the pedal aggressively on leads and occasionally parked it for fixed-filter rhythm tones.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- The Fasel inductor at the core of the Clyde Wah is the key tonal component — it produces the vocal mid-peak that distinguishes vintage wah from modern versions. Modern wah pedals that use substitute inductors sound harder and less musical. The main advantage of the Clyde is its original-specification Fasel.
- Because the Q is set internally rather than with an external control, the Clyde offers less real-time flexibility than a variable-Q wah like the Dunlop 535Q — a deliberate trade for authentic vintage character over modern versatility.
- True bypass means no tone loss when off, but also no buffering — placing the Clyde after a long cable run or several other true-bypass pedals can introduce noticeable treble loss; a buffer earlier in the chain helps.
- Parking the pedal at a fixed position (rather than only rocking it) is an underused technique — different fixed positions produce genuinely different fixed-filter tonal colors, useful as an alternative to a dedicated EQ or filter pedal.
- Regular pedal maintenance (checking the pot and gear mechanism for wear) matters more with a true wah than with most pedals, since the mechanical sweep sees constant physical use — a scratchy or inconsistent sweep is usually a mechanical issue, not an electronic fault.
FAQ
Fulltone Clyde Wah — Common Questions
Best starting settings for Fulltone Clyde Wah: Sweep at 5/10, Q at 5/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Blues-Rock: Sweep 5/10, Q 6/10. Standard wah sweep — the Clyde Wah for blues-rock lead playing. The Fasel inductor produces a mid-forward, vocal wah character. Rock the pedal in time with the playing for the classic sixties wah-filtered lead tone.
For Funk: Sweep 5/10, Q 7/10. Used rhythmically with faster rocking motion — the Clyde Wah for funk rhythm. The vintage inductor produces a more musical, less harsh filter character than modern wah circuits, which suits the continuous rhythmic wah motion of funk.
Sweep: Wah sweep position — heel down is bass emphasis; toe down is treble emphasis. (Bass to Treble). Q: Filter resonance width — narrow Q produces a more vocal, peaky wah character. Set internally on the Clyde. (Wide to Narrow)
The Fasel inductor at the core of the Clyde Wah is the key tonal component — it produces the vocal mid-peak that distinguishes vintage wah from modern versions. Modern wah pedals that use substitute inductors sound harder and less musical. The main advantage of the Clyde is its original-specification Fasel. Because the Q is set internally rather than with an external control, the Clyde offers less real-time flexibility than a variable-Q wah like the Dunlop 535Q — a deliberate trade for authentic vintage character over modern versatility. True bypass means no tone loss when off, but also no buffering — placing the Clyde after a long cable run or several other true-bypass pedals can introduce noticeable treble loss; a buffer earlier in the chain helps. Parking the pedal at a fixed position (rather than only rocking it) is an underused technique — different fixed positions produce genuinely different fixed-filter tonal colors, useful as an alternative to a dedicated EQ or filter pedal. Regular pedal maintenance (checking the pot and gear mechanism for wear) matters more with a true wah than with most pedals, since the mechanical sweep sees constant physical use — a scratchy or inconsistent sweep is usually a mechanical issue, not an electronic fault.
Jimi Hendrix settings: Sweep 5/10, Q 6/10. The original Clyde McCoy wah was Hendrix's primary wah pedal — he used it on Voodoo Child (Slight Return), Still Raining Still Dreaming, and Bold as Love among others. He rocked the pedal aggressively on leads and occasionally parked it for fixed-filter rhythm tones.
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