PHOTO BY SMIAL VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
E F F E C T : MU-TRON C200 VOL-WAH
Those who have seen a Mu-Tron
C200 wah likely can’t forget it—it’s a
monstrously huge wah pedal with two
footswitches near the heel position.
The look is unmistakably Mu-Tron; it’s
adorned with a geometrically pleasing
treadle cover, and is all grey with flecks
of color. The pedal’s size dwarfs almost
any contemporary pedal, including
every wah ever made, and it runs only
on AC mains juice, leaving an unsightly
cord dang ling from its rear. Yet, despite
its gnarly size and unfortunate power
requirements, Sonic Youth enthusiasts
would be hard pressed to find a picture
of Thurston Moore’s pedalboard
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TONE TALK //
without one. Like many other wahs of
its era, the C200 offers both Volume
and Wah settings, but unlike every
other similar pedal, the C200 allows
users to activate both settings at once.
This leads to crazy wah swells that are
unlike anything else in the pedal world.
However, its sweep is also incredibly
expressive and lengthy, which, in
Volume mode, is mostly how Mr.
Moore uses it to great effect.
He Played What? 6 Signature Sounds Using Lesser-Known Pedals