Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has unveiled his new signature wah-wah pedal for bass guitar.
The Geezer Butler Cry Baby Bass Wah was the result of a collaboration between the legendary bassist and Dunlop. The pedal is intended to complement Butler's iconic sound with punchy midrange that maintains the low-end of the bass.
In a promotional video for the pedal, Butler recalls the first time he used a wah-wah pedal on a recording:
"The first time I played a wah was on the first album that we did," Butler says. "We came to do a bass intro to the song 'N.I.B.' The producer at the time says, 'Why don't you try a wah pedal?' It wasn't in my mind that I was the first bass player to ever use a wah or anything like that. It just seemed like the natural thing to do."
Butler continues saying that using wah inspires him to play bass in an unconventional way. He says he arrived at using Dunlop pedals because the pedals that were available to him in the early days either didn't sound right for bass or weren't durable enough.
"A lot of them, if they did have the sound, weren't reliable or kept breaking all the time. I desperately needed something that I could rely on. When you're playing in front of 10—20,000 people and you have to do a bass solo and your wah packs up halfway through, it's really embarrassing," he laughs.
The pedal is scheduled for release in mid-October. You can get more information here.
Photo: Getty Images