If your wah has the big knob on it's side (called Q dial) then it's either the 95Q or the 535Q. The 95Q has a distortion boost from 0 to +26dB and uses only one 9v battery. The 535Q has a distortion boost of 0 to +15dB boost and another knob I can't remember. Because of these two controls the 535 uses two 9v batteries. I have a friend who owns a 535 and he was having the same problem. He figured it out and told me that the pedals over do themselves with new batteries. He also said that lowering the distortion boost got him the sound he wanted.It sounds like you own a 535. The pedal comes with a piece of paper that shows you how to adjust the wah to certain players like Jimmy Hendrix, Van Halen, etc...You should ask the guy you got it from for it. Though my friend was aiming for a Satriani effect lowering the distortion might not be what your looking for. Just remember new batteries give it a whole lotta juice.