Del Casher, Guitarist Who Invented the Wah-Wah Pedal, Dead at 88

Musician and inventor who played with artists like Elvis Presley, Gene Autry and Frank Zappa died October 1 after cancer battle

Del Casher, the guitarist and inventor whose innovations included the wah-wah pedal, has died at the age of 88.

Casher died October 1 following a battle with cancer, according to a GoFundMe to raise money for his widow Eiko. TMZ was first to report on Casher’s death.

Born Delton Kacher in Hammond, Indana, Casher first performed with artists like Gene Autry, Lawrence Welk and the Three Suns while also experimenting with new techniques and technologies in an effort to make his own electric guitar playing stand out.

In the early Sixties, while playing with the Thomas Organ company’s Vox Ampliphonic Orchestra, Casher asked about making his guitar sound like the trumpet, complete with the ability to mildly suppress the instrument mid-playing. While Casher often credited Thomas Organ’s Brad Plunkett as the engineer of the device, the wah-wah pedal was considered Casher’s brainchild.

First dubbed the “Cry Baby” pedal, Casher also recorded a demo for instrument stores showcasing how to use the pedal, as well as an accompanying single. Both the pedal and the single failed to catch on with the music-playing public upon release in 1967.

However, Frank Zappa, who used the wah-wah pedal in 1966 when Casher sat in with the Mothers of Invention, gifted a pedal to Jimi Hendrix, solidifying the wah-wah’s place in music history soon after.

Hendrix would employ the pedal throughout his classic Electric Ladyland — including on “Voodoo Child,” “Burning of the Midnight Lamp,” and “All Along the Watchtower” — while fellow guitarist Eric Clapton wah-wah’d on Cream tracks like “Tales of Brave Ulysses.” 

Soon after, many of the great rock guitarists of the era, like Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi, David Gilmour, and more, were experimenting with the wah-wah pedal. By 1971, the wah-wah pedal had featured on a Number One single and Oscar-winning song thanks to its use on Isaac Hayes’ “Theme From Shaft.” Generations of guitar players have used the pedal since.

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Outside of inventing — Casher is also credited with contributing to the creation of the Ecco-Fonic and the Fender Electronic Echo Chamber — the guitarist also found work with artists like Elvis Presley, appearing in his 1964 film Roustabout. Casher also contributed film scores later in his career.

“I feel gratified that I was there at the beginning,” Casher told the New York Times. “I would just like guitar players to think of me once in a while. The only thing I ask is: remember me.”