On Monday, Dinosaur Jr. released a new single called “Tiny”, and in the music video, frontman J. Mascis skateboards in a park with his dog, Beefy. And yet, incredibly, that’s not the coolest thing Mascis has been involved with this week.
Seriously, there is something cooler than a dog riding a skateboard. And it involves a Wah pedal inside a Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star sneaker.
Yesterday, Converse unveiled its new shoe, the All Wah, which includes a built-in Wah pedal embedded in the sole. It was conceived by design agency Critical Mass three years ago, and fashion technology brand CuteCircuit made it wireless. Simply, the technology in the shoe allows a human foot to control its sound.
“It’s definitely its own thing,” Mascis says in the video below. “I have to write new songs with this.”
As Consequence of Sound writes: “A flexible sensor in the sole of the shoe registers movements similar to those of pressing an actual Wah pedal. That information is sent via Bluetooth to a Wah Box, giving your guitar that desired distortion. What’s more, you can even connect the All Wahs to a Mac or iPhone instead of an amp.”
There’s no street date available for the All Wah, but as soon as it does become available, no doubt Converse’s Boston headquarters will be the first to have it.
Check out Mascis’ test drive in the video.