What to remember about Del Casher and the wah-wah pedal

• Del Casher was an inventor and guitarist best known for his role in creating the wah-wah pedal.
• Early invention Casher developed the portable Ecco-Fonic tape device while touring with the Three Suns.
• Wah-wah breakthrough The pedal gained wider attention after Frank Zappa introduced it to Jimi Hendrix.
• Musical legacy Guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi and David Gilmour used the wah-wah pedal.

This article recounts Del Casher’s life, the development of the wah-wah pedal and the events that helped the effect become part of guitar history.

Del Casher helped create the wah-wah pedal and introduced the instrument effect to guitarists.

Del Casher, the guitarist and inventor best known for creating the wah-wah pedal, has died at the age of 88.

News of Casher’s passing was shared through a GoFundMe page set up to raise money for his wife, Eiko. “Over the last year, Del battled cancer and passed away on October 1st,” the page said in part. “Before that loss, COVID devastated his sound studio business and forced him to sell valuable guitars and equipment just to survive.”

Born in Hammond, Indiana, Casher moved to Hollywood after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh. His first major gig as a guitarist came on The Lawrence Welk Show. He went on to tour with the Three Suns, the pop group known for its hit song “Twilight Time.” While on the road with the group, Casher came up with one of his first notable inventions: the Ecco-Fonic, a portable tape device that let performers use echo effects in concert.

Casher later worked as a session guitarist with notable artists including Elvis Presley, Gene Autry and Sonny & Cher. One of his inventions, however, made the most lasting impact on guitar music.

How did Del Casher develop the wah-wah pedal?

In the mid-1960s, Casher worked with the Vox amplifier company and played with the Thomas Organ Company’s Vox Ampliphonic Orchestra when he proposed an effect that could help a guitar compete with brass instruments. The idea led to the wah-wah pedal, although Casher initially struggled to persuade others that guitarists would want to use it.

The wah-wah pedal grew from Casher’s idea to give the guitar a sound that could compete with a trumpet or trombone.

“I want to sound like I can compete with a trumpet or a trombone,” he recalled telling the Vox engineering team as he described the effect he wanted. Their collaborative work produced the device now known as the wah-wah pedal.

Casher recalled trying to persuade James Brown that the pedal was “really a thing of the future.” Brown replied, “I just think it’s a passing fad.”

Vox initially had no plans to release the device for guitar, believing it might be better suited to other instruments. “Nobody saw any future for the guitar being used with this device,” Casher told the New York Times. “They thought I was a crackpot.” Casher eventually convinced the company to let him make a promotional recording with its prototype, then demonstrated the pedal in instrument stores, though the demonstrations did not generate much commercial interest.

The wah-wah pedal gained momentum after Frank Zappa became interested in its distinctive sound when Casher sat in with the Mothers of Invention. Zappa gave a pedal to Jimi Hendrix, who used the effect throughout his groundbreaking 1968 album Electric Ladyland. The wah-wah sound soon became widely sought after by guitarists.

Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi and David Gilmour are among the iconic rock guitarists who used the wah-wah pedal. Generations of guitarists have continued to use the effect.

Casher told the New York Times that he felt gratified to have been there at the beginning of the pedal’s history. “I would just like guitar players to think of me once in a while. The only thing I ask is: remember me.”

What made the wah-wah pedal important to guitarists?

The wah-wah pedal gave guitarists a distinctive effect that Casher first imagined as a way for the instrument to compete with brass. Its use by Jimi Hendrix and other prominent players helped establish its place in rock music.

The wah-wah pedal became a recognizable guitar effect through its use by influential rock musicians.

• Sound design: Casher wanted the guitar to compete with a trumpet or trombone.
• Early advocacy: Casher demonstrated the prototype and promoted its potential to musicians.
• Wider recognition: Frank Zappa’s interest and Jimi Hendrix’s use on Electric Ladyland helped bring the effect to wider attention.
• Continuing use: Rock guitarists across generations have used the pedal.

The pedal’s path from prototype to widely used guitar effect shows how an instrument’s sound can gain recognition through both invention and use by influential musicians.

What other invention did Del Casher create?

Casher created the Ecco-Fonic, a portable tape device that allowed performers to use echo effects during live performances. He came up with the invention while touring with the Three Suns.

The Ecco-Fonic brought portable tape-based echo effects to concert performance.

The Ecco-Fonic was an early example of Casher’s work connecting music performance with sound technology. Unlike the wah-wah pedal, which shaped the guitar’s tone, the Ecco-Fonic provided an echo effect.

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What was Del Casher best known for?

Del Casher was best known as a guitarist and inventor associated with the creation of the wah-wah pedal.

Who helped bring the wah-wah pedal to wider attention?

Frank Zappa helped draw attention to the pedal, and he gave one to Jimi Hendrix, who used it on Electric Ladyland.

What was the Ecco-Fonic?

The Ecco-Fonic was a portable tape device that allowed performers to use echo effects in concert.

Which guitarists used the wah-wah pedal?

Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi and David Gilmour are among the guitarists named as users of the effect.