Whammy Pedal Tips is a free lesson series by Masaki Watanabe covering all the ways you can use a whammy pedal. Masaki offers up some great insight, so be sure to subscribe for more lessons to come.
This first example is an introduction to the basic usage of the Whammy pedal – pitch shifting. Here I will demonstrate 2 Octave Up and 1 Octave Up.
One of the most important factors you have to keep in mind is to keep tight rhythm and a strong pocket. The first part of the example is the intro section of one of my tunes – “The Three Kings.” I am playing a whole note for each bar so there isn’t any movement of your picking hand that you’d have to worry about. However, in the second section of the video I am playing the main melody where there is pick hand movement. That’s part of the learning curve in the beginning of working with a Whammy pedal – the coordination between the hands and the feet. If you’re thinking this is much like the brain power required for wah pedal playing, you’re right!
The Whammy playing in this section does not require any complicated, fast movement, but you’ll need to stay aware as to when you are bringing back the pedal to “heel down” position. Make sure you step “toe down” the Whammy as soon as that first note is being played. Then, bring it back up. Though it may sound simple, when first starting out you may tend to rush the rhythm.
Thanks for watching the video and make sure you guys check out my website! Masaki Watanabe.
Gears Used:
Vigier Guitars
Ernie Ball Strings
Whammy pedal
Axe-Fx Ultra