Up for sale, a 1976 Shin-Ei Companion Wah Wah in exceptional condition and in perfect working order. A rare pedal offering five effects in one, this vintage Japanese expression pedal has the usual Volume and Wah functions as well as Surf, Hurricane, and Siren.

When engaged, there is notable top-end roll off, and four settings are available via a rotary dial on the side of the pedal, rotating clockwise: Volume-Surf-Hurricane-Wah. Volume does what you’d expect, Surf is a white noise blast like a rolling surf, pitched favoring treble frequencies, while Hurricane is a richer sound variable via the pedal in terms of frequency range. The Wah works in reverse of most, with the most bass-heavy frequencies when tipped towards the toe, and more treble as you back it off.

There is a toe switch for activating the selected effect, and a second switch forward of the primary pedal to engage the Siren. The Siren is well…a siren. Just picture your favorite ambulance, and that’s the sound. Engaging the switch slowly ramps the volume and pitch up, and disengaging the switch drops the siren sound back down. Heed its call.

Cosmetically, this vintage pedal is stunningly clean, with the circuit diagram intact on the inside of the back panel, and the small battery compartment label intact too. The Shin-Ei Companion stamp dates to the 51st week of the Showa period (1976). The original knobs are intact and the silkscreen text is flawless.