Up to date user manual for the EMB Pedal wah by Ampli-Fier. Hand made in france As seen on the Facebook pages: EMB Audio and Ampli-fier

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OWNER'S MANUAL
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2. CONTENTS
Welcome and History
Pedal Wah Features
Power
Getting Started
Front Panel Controls
Side Panel In/Out
Pedalboard Mounting
Dipswitch Controls
Suggested Settings
User Settings
Certificate of Authenticity
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EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 2

3. WELCOME AND HISTORY
! Thank you for purchasing the EMB Pedal Wah by Ampli-Fier! What you hold in your hands and
place under your foot represents over three years of dedication towards bringing you the
awesomeness of twenty-five years of EMB Audio Wah history. Each EMB Pedal Wah is 100%
handcrafted in the UK (chassis) and France (circuit). We hope that you will find the EMB Pedal
Wah to be inspirational on your journey towards finding your unique sound and that you will
come to love it as much as we do. ! !
Before we dive into the actual Pedal Wah specifications and features, let's take a short journey
back to where it all started with a little background history on how we arrived at this point. ! !
Back in the 1980s, Bay area resident Matt Bacchi was creating custom equipment for local and
touring musicians. Some of those names were and still are household names, what many would
call guitar heros. Well every hero needs superpowers and awesome goodies and Matt Bacchi
provided them. Among the custom gear he made, one piece in particular would become highly
sought after for many years. This was the EMB Audio Remote Wah. Long before other
rackmounted wahs, long before the term boutique pedal was around, and long before you
could run into a local shop to buy a hot-rodded wah pedal, Matt was there. ! !
The EMB Audio Remote Wah was a rackmounted wah unlike any other, custom or mass
produced. In time, major companies which produced wah pedals began to release variations of
their own pedals, which were and are still based on 1960s designs. One also released their own
rack mounted wah, but still based in traditional design. The EMB Audio Remote Wah was
anything but traditional. By taking his unique and custom design, Matt was able to introduce a
unique product that also solved a major headache which touring professionals often had: reduce
long lengths of cable and keep the audio signal clean and pure. With the wah circuit in the rack
enclosure, the user could run any length of cable from the rack to a control pedal (modified
volume/wah pedal chassis) onstage which would control the voltage to the rack unit, thereby
controlling the wah’s audio circuit. It was genius, simple, and sounded amazing! ! !
The original Remote Wah was custom built but had three main controls: Low, High, and Depth.
Low determined the Low frequency starting point (Pedal heel position) and High determined the
High frequency ending point (Pedal toe position). The Depth control changed how prevalent the
actual wah effect was. From soft and sweet to extremely vocal and highly exaggerated. It
purred, it roared, it growled like no other wah could. ! !
While several guitar heros of the 1990s were using the EMB Audio Remote Wah, it remained a
custom built, one at a time situation until Matt finally bowed out of the music business in the mid/
EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 3

4. late 1990s. It would roughly be another fifteen years before Matt would even entertain the
thought of getting back into the music industry. ! !
Now, you must recall during the early to mid 1990s, most information was shared word of mouth
or via magazines. One might read an article and if you were lucky, you could find a mailing
address and compose a letter for more information on a product. Hopefully a phone number
would be listed and you could quickly resolve any questions over the phone. Unfortunately,
since EMB Audio was out of business and Matt had moved out of the country, obtaining any
information (let alone purchasing) on the EMB Audio Remote Wah was rather difficult. My hard
work paid off and I eventually tracked down two original EMB Audio Remote Wahs.! !
Fast forward to June 2011 and I found myself staring at a phone number. I had been searching
for Matt for many years, since at least the late 1990s. I had spoken with several friends and
former associates of his, but could never quite pinpoint his current location. After many phone
calls, letters, emails, reaching out to any possible lead I could....I had located him. Finally. As I
began entering the number into my phone, I wondered what would happen? I had heard from a
friend that Matt was still out of the music industry. Would a stranger, calling him out of the blue,
completely seal the door shut on all EMB Audio wahs forever? I knew I wanted to speak with
him about possibly repairing one of my EMB Audio Remote Wahs and I figured that could be
my foot in the door to see how he felt about anything else. ! !
To my relief, Matt was a delight to speak with! I was surprised to learn that after doing his own
research online for anything related to EMB Audio, Matt actually knew who I was. The timing
was utterly incredible as I was phoning him just before he had planned on opening a brand new
shop under his current business, AMPLI-FIER, in France! After all those years of being out of
the industry, he felt it was time to return. We spoke about repairing my Remote Wah and
eventually the talk turned towards possibly creating NEW Remote Wahs.! !
2012 saw the release of five Reissue EMB Audio Remote Wahs. These were all handmade by
Matt using components he STILL had in his possession. Only five could be built because
several components which are crucial to the original design are virtually impossible to obtain
today. This fact led us to redesign the Wah with components that are easily obtained today. One
of those that received a Reissue Remote Wah was Lewis Monks, whom I had already known for
many years. We are now proud to have Lewis onboard to handcraft our custom chassis for the
EMB Pedal Wah!! !
2014 saw the release of the EMB Pedal Wah which 100% designed from the original Remote
Wah as used by the guitar heros of the 1990s. We may have taken a different road to reach our
destination, but believe me....WE HAVE ARRIVED! !
-Monty Jay July 2014!
EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 4

5. SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
• Never use your EMB Pedal Wah near water or areas where dust is present!
• Only use the suggested power supplies, failure to do so may result in but not limited to:!
• temporary or permanent damage to the pedal!
• excess noise or hum!
• Clean only with a soft cloth!
• Always replace bottom cover plate when not making adjustments!
• Do not attempt to open/dismantle the pedal as there are no user servicable parts inside.
Failure to comply may result in temporary or permanent damage. The EMB Pedal Wah is
tuned and set by hand which includes the switching mechanism. Please do not attempt to
change or modify anything as it will alter the preset tuning/switching mechanism!
• There are two trimpots located near the dipswitch bank. DO NOT adjust these as they
are used for switching calibration! !!!
PEDAL WAH FEATURES
• 100% handcrafted design based on the EMB Audio Remote Wah!
• Completely analog signal path with studio quality headroom!
• True bypass!
• No traditional wah pot, switch, gear, or optics to wear out!
• Illuminated foot plate!
• Handcrafted Big Foot pedal chassis!
• Adjustable START and FINISH controls!
• Adjustable DEPTH control!
• Adjustable WEIGHT control (NEW)!
•W-Port (reserved for future effect integration/expression)!
• Four pedal sweep tapers !
• Selectable effect ON/OFF at HEEL and/or TOE position!
• Extremely wide and customizable range: 50 Hz to 4,500 kHz!
• 4 output levels!
• Predrilled holes for easy pedalboard mounting !
• Requires 6AA cells or 500ma 9V center negative power supply !
• Chassis available in: Dark Grey, Light Grey, Green, Blue, White!
• LED lighting effect available in: Amber, Red, Green, Blue!
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EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 5

6. POWERING YOUR EMB PEDAL WAH
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The EMB PEDAL WAH requires six (6) AA batteries or a 500ma 9V center negative power
supply. We HIGHLY recommend a BOSS PSA(S) series or 1SPOT power supply. When using
batteries, unplug from the input when not in use.! !
NOTE: A six (6) second startup delay upon initially powering your EMB PEDAL
WAH is a built in feature to protect your speakers against unwanted transient
noise.!
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GETTING STARTED
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Your EMB Pedal Wah ships with the original Remote Wah taper response as default. This
includes the front panel WEIGHT control, dip switch TAPER, and OUTPUT LEVEL switches. As
a general guideline, it is best to start with all front panel controls set at 12:00 except the DEPTH.
Try this at 3:00. This will provide you with a good starting point and allow you to get familiar with
the many tones and textures that the EMB PEDAL WAH can produce. ! !
NOTE: You must always set the START control before the FINISH control.
Forgetting to adjust the FINISH control after adjusting the START will result in a
shift in wah frequency range response. !
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To turn the effect ON, simply stomp at the heel or toe position. There is no traditional wah switch
or pot. Rather, there is a sensor in place which controls the switching and sweep.! !!!
FRONT PANEL CONTROLS
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• START: Sets the wah pitch at the heel position. You must always set the START control first,
prior to adjusting the FINISH control. If you readjust the START control, you must also
readjust the FINISH control. !
• FINISH: Sets the wah pitch at the TOE position. Always adjust this after you have adjusted or
readjusted the START control. !
• WEIGHT: Adjusts the thickness in sound and feel of the Wah. Original Remote Wah response
is at 12:00. !
• DEPTH: adjusts the articulation in sound as the Wah pitch changes. This determines the
speed of the Wah sweep, from soft and subtle to quick and vocally exaggerated !
EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 6

7. SIDE PANEL IN/OUT
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• W-PORT - Reserved for future use (effect integration/expression)!
• INPUT - From your guitar or previous pedal!
• OUTPUT - To your amplifier or next pedal!
• DC 9V - We recommend the BOSS PSA(S) and 1SPOT series adapters !
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Pedalboard Mounting
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Your EMB Pedal Wah comes with predrilled holes for easy mounting on a pedalboard. Please
refer to the following diagram for measurements and specs:!
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EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 7

8. DIPSWITCH CONTROLS
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1. TONE TAPER: Changes the way in which the tonal character changes as the pedal is swept
from heel to toe position. It's use is a matter of personal taste and works in conjunction with
the PEDAL TAPER switches (2 and 3). Setting the TONE TAPER switch to ON shifts
articulation towards the HEEL end of the Pedal sweep. Likewise, setting the TONE TAPER
switch to OFF will shift the articulation towards the TOE end of the Pedal sweep. !
2. PEDAL TAPER B!
3. PEDAL TAPER A!
The PEDAL TAPER switches modify the rate of change in wah sweep/feel according to
the following table:!
TAPER OPTIONS
DIP 2 DIP 3
OFF OFF LINEAR The Wah pitch is distributed evenly over the Pedal travel (DEFAULT TAPER)
ON OFF FUNK 1 The Wah pitch increases slowly for the lower range of the Pedal travel then
increases rapidly towards the end of the Pedal sweep. Use this setting for a
more traditional Wah taper response.
OFF ON FUNK 2 Similar to FUNK 1, but slower at the START and faster at the FINISH.
ON ON HARMONIC SURPRISE The lower range of the Wah pitch change is spread over a larger sweep of the
Pedal travel. This setting is useful for finding a sweet spot with the notes on
your guitar.
!
4. Heel SWITCH - enables effect on/off at heel position!
5. TOE SWITCH - enables effect on/off at the toe position!
6. GUITAR/BASS - OFF = Guitar (high range), ON = Bass (low range) !
7. OUTPUT LEVEL A!
8. OUTPUT LEVEL B The OUTPUT LEVEL may be changed to suit any given situation!
OUTPUT LEVEL
DIP 7 DIP 8
OFF OFF +6db
OFF ON 0db Original Remote Wah gain structure (default)
ON OFF -6db
ON ON -12db
EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 8

9. !
SUGGESTED SETTINGS
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To help you get started and become familiar with the EMB Pedal Wah, try out some of the
following settings. Please remember that these are suggested starting points and will most likely
need adjustments to work with your particular setup and equipment. Where possible, we have
listed the suggested guitar/pickup/amp setup that the setting comes from. ! !
GUITAR SETTINGS
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ORIGINAL REMOTE WAH (SHOP DEFAULT)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OFF X X X X
ON X X X X
The ORIGINAL REMOTE WAH setting is what you would expect from an EMB Audio Remote
Wah using a control pedal with linear taper. It is the shop default and an excellent starting point
to become familiar with the EMB Wah Tone. Remember to always adjust the START control
first. When we first built the EMB Audio Remote Wahs, a user would supply their own control
pedal. This could be a volume or wah pedal chassis by any brand. Because of this, all the EMB
Audio Remote Wahs could sound the same but might not feel the same. This is due to the
differences in pedal potentiometers, more specifically, the potentiometer's taper. To offer this to
you, we have presented four different taper options which can be selected via dipswitches 2 and
3. ! !!!
EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 9

10. CIVIL WAH
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OFF X X X X
ON X X
! The CIVIL WAH setting is based on a certain 1990 EMB Audio Remote Wah tone which many
have come to love. This works best with a mahogany single cutaway guitar loaded with PAF
vintage style pickups and plugged into a classic overdriven tube amplifier. !
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APOCALYPTIC WAH
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OFF X X X
ON X X X
The APOCALYPTIC WAH setting is based on a more current sound that you might be familiar
with but with an EMB twist! The frequency ranges are the same but the feel is completely
different. Be sure to experiment with different taper and output options.! !!
EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 10

11. EARLY 90S SCREAMER
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OFF X X X X
ON X X
! !
The EARLY 90S SCREAMER setting is based on an early 1990s EMB Audio Remote Wah
which has traveled the world! This setting works best with a boost pedal, neckthrough double
cutaway guitar loaded with high output humbuckers, and a high gain tube amplifier. !
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LATE 90S SCREAMER
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OFF X X X
ON X X X
! !
The LATE 90S SCREAMER is similar to the EARLY 90S SCREAMER, but it takes things
several steps further and REALLY SCREAMS!! This has an extended range for a very extreme,
vocal, yet, pleasing tone. Again, this setting is based off an EMB Audio Remote Wah from the
late 1990s and works best with a boost pedal up front, neckthrough double cutaway guitar
loaded with high output humbuckers, and a high gain amplifier. Add a little delay or reverb to
really make this one sing!! !!
EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 11

12. VINTAGE BLACKTOP (traditional)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OFF X X X X
ON X X
! The VINTAGE BLACKTOP setting focuses on a traditional frequency range which we are all
familiar with but with EMB style and tone. Try your double cutaway guitars with single coils here.
Use the WEIGHT control to decrease/increase overall thickness.! !!
VINTAGE CHROMETOP (traditional)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OFF X X X
ON x X X
! !
The VINTAGE CHROMETOP setting is another familiar frequency range which works great with
single coils. Use the WEIGHT control to decrease/increase overall thickness.! !!!
EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 12

13. PASSION WAHFARE
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OFF X X X
ON X X X
! The PASSION WAHFARE setting is based on the actual EMB Audio Remote Wah setting
used on a certain popular recording in 1990. Try this with a basswood doublecutaway guitar
loaded with medium gain pickups into a high gain amplifier. The Audience will definitely be
Listening to you!!! !!
SLIP OF THE WAH
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OFF X X X
ON X X X
!
The SLIP OF THE WAH setting is another based on an actual EMB Audio Remote Wah setting
used on tour to perform some slithery Snakey White hot licks all over the world! Works best with
a basswood doublecutaway guitar loaded with medium gain pickups into a high gain amplifier. !
!
!
EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 13

14. !
BASS SETTINGS
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MAJOR RAGER
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OFF X X X
ON X X X
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The MAJOR RAGER setting is an excellent starting point for bassists fond of insane fuzz driven
high gain tones. If you need more output, turn DIPSWITCH 8 to OFF for an output level boost. !
!
SMOOTH FUNKY BASS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OFF X X X
ON X X X
! The SMOOTH FUNKY BASS setting is a general good starting point for bass guitar in the EMB
Pedal Wah's BASS MODE. ! !!
EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 14

15. User Settings
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NAME:
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NOTES:
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NAME:
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NOTES:
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 15
OFF
ON
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OFF
ON

16. User Settings
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NAME:
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NOTES:
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NAME:
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NOTES:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 16
OFF
ON
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OFF
ON

17. Certificate of Authenticity
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(not available in download version)
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EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 17

18. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AMPLI-FIER
3223 ROUTE
DE SAJAS
31370 SAVERES
FRANCE
tel: 33 (0) 5 61 91 52 05
!
WWW.AMPLI-FIER.COM
WWW.MONTYJAY.NET
FACEBOOK.COM/EMBAUDIO
TWITTER.COM/EMBAUDIO
INSTAGRAM.COM/EMBAUDIO
EMB PEDAL WAH MANUAL v1.2 18