Del Casher, Wah-Wah Pedal Inventor and Guitarist, Dies at 88
“I feel gratified that I was there at the beginning,” Del Casher told the New York Times, adding, “I would just like guitar players to think of me once in a while.
The only thing I ask is: remember me.”
Del Casher, the guitarist and inventor who helped create the wah-wah pedal and permanently altered the sound of modern music, has died at the age of 88, rollingstone.com reported.
Cancer battle ends career of innovation
Casher died on October 1 following a battle with cancer, according to a GoFundMe campaign established to raise funds for his widow, Eiko Kacher. TMZ first reported his death.
Born Delton Kacher in Hammond, Indiana, his early professional music career included performing alongside artists such as Gene Autry, Lawrence Welk, and the Three Suns. While working in the industry, he actively experimented with new techniques and technologies to make his electric guitar playing distinct.
In the early 1960s, while playing with the Thomas Organ company’s Vox Ampliphonic Orchestra, Casher inquired about modifying his guitar to sound like a trumpet. He wanted the ability to mildly suppress the instrument mid-performance. While Casher frequently credited Thomas Organ engineer Brad Plunkett with engineering the device itself, the wah-wah pedal was widely considered Casher’s brainchild.
The device originated from a transistorized midrange-boost circuit originally developed for Vox amplifiers, thecount.com reported. Casher noticed that adjusting the amplifier’s tone control produced a distinct vocal-like effect.
He pushed to install the circuit inside a volume-pedal housing so guitarists could control the sound continuously with a foot while playing. Engineers Brad Plunkett and Les Kushner worked on converting the circuit into a pedal, while Casher helped shape its sound.
From failed launch to rock history
Initially dubbed the “Cry Baby” pedal, Casher recorded a demo and an accompanying single for instrument stores to showcase its operation. Both the pedal and the single failed to catch on with the public upon their release in 1967. However, Frank Zappa used the wah-wah pedal in 1966 when Casher sat in with the Mothers of Invention. Zappa subsequently gifted a pedal to Jimi Hendrix, cementing the device’s place in music history.
Hendrix employed the pedal extensively throughout his classic album Electric Ladyland, featuring it on tracks such as “Voodoo Child,” “Burning of the Midnight Lamp,” and “All Along the Watchtower.” Eric Clapton utilized the effect on Cream tracks like “Tales of Brave Ulysses.”
Within a short period, prominent rock guitarists of the era—including Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi, and David Gilmour—began experimenting with the device. By 1971, the wah-wah pedal appeared on a Number One single and Oscar-winning song through Isaac Hayes’ “Theme From Shaft.”
Casher performed with Elvis Presley and composed film scores
Beyond his invention of the wah-wah pedal, Casher contributed to the creation of the Ecco-Fonic and the Fender Electronic Echo Chamber. His career also included performing as a session and touring musician.
He worked with Elvis Presley, appearing on screen in the 1964 film Roustabout, and performed in Jerry Lewis’s film The Patsy. Later in his career, Casher composed film scores and worked within Los Angeles’ celebrated studio-musician scene alongside the group known as the Wrecking Crew.
Following his death, a fundraiser was organized to assist his widow, Eiko, with financial challenges and the costs associated with moving into assisted living. “Eiko is now facing overwhelming financial and personal challenges at a time when she should be surrounded by peace, care, and stability,” organizer Al Burg wrote in the fundraiser description.