just got the boss Dynamic Wah AW-3

ethnotime · #1 12-13-2007, 10:33 PM

Well i just got this in the mail today and wow! This thing is awesome! I've never had a wah pedal before but a friend had it and I tried it out and loved it. I bought one immediately.

I'm kind of surprised because after playing around with the sound i've discovered that this wah sound seems to be THE sound on those pfunk records. Am i wrong? I had a q-tron (not a mutron but close i suppose) but it didn't exactly mimic the sounds on "thumpasorus peoples" or "bop gun" and I was a little confused. I figured the qtron just wasn't up to par. But after fooling around with the wah, it's awesome! Nice sounds and the "bass in" feature is nice.

Thought i'd give my two cents on the matter.

Jimbob Jones · #2 12-14-2007, 04:48 PM

I like my AW-3. But i found that when you use and expression pedal, it isn't great because instead of actually having a sweep like a real wah, it just triggers and un-triggers the filter.

Other than that, I love the sound...amazing with distortion

johans · #3 12-14-2007, 06:29 PM

Boss AW-3 is an auto-wah but its a kinda different 'animal' if you will. Definitely different feel and tone from a real wah pedal, and in comparison with other auto-wah or filter pedal, AW-3 is just unique. =)

It has some humanizer and vocal thingy if I'm not mistaken, something that most auto Q / wah pedal can't produce ..

phatbass30 · #4 12-18-2007, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethnotime

Well i just got this in the mail today and wow! This thing is awesome! I've never had a wah pedal before but a friend had it and I tried it out and loved it. I bought one immediately.

I'm kind of surprised because after playing around with the sound i've discovered that this wah sound seems to be THE sound on those pfunk records. Am i wrong? I had a q-tron (not a mutron but close i suppose) but it didn't exactly mimic the sounds on "thumpasorus peoples" or "bop gun" and I was a little confused. I figured the qtron just wasn't up to par. But after fooling around with the wah, it's awesome! Nice sounds and the "bass in" feature is nice.

Thought i'd give my two cents on the matter.

try it live on big stage, see if it cuts through when you step on it. i sold mine, it compress the volume and made my bass sound thin live whenever i step on it, i spent days on it trying to find the right setting. unfortunately, this is not for me. i might wanna try the emma discombobulator. but maybe it's good for you, we have all different tastes. good luck!

Baird6869 · #5 12-28-2007, 11:23 AM

I bought one of these today as my MXR Auto-Q is a little complex to set when playing funky tunes live at different speeds (the slap songs I play have wildly varying BPM).

I tried the Boss AW3 Dynamic Wah beside my Auto-Q and an EHX Bassballs. The Boss AW3 is by far the best pedal IMO for funky Bootsy or RHCP type slap/funk. Easy to set/use and the wah effect sounds more old school than the swooshing of my Auto-Q.

I am gigging it tonight for the first time (my Auto-Q will be on my pedalboard just in case I have issues with it cutting in the mix.

We play 3 RHCP tunes (Tell Me Baby, Hump da Bump, Higher Ground), Play that Funky Music, Brick House, etc.

saxofunk · #6 12-28-2007, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimbob Jones

I like my AW-3. But i found that when you use and expression pedal, it isn't great because instead of actually having a sweep like a real wah, it just triggers and un-triggers the filter.

Other than that, I love the sound...amazing with distortion

Good to know, you just saved me buying the expression pedal to go with my AW-3. I like the AW-3 for what it does but found I wanted to be able to do some of the things it doesn't do - like control tempo and depth real-time, park the peddle half-way, etc.

Baird6869 · #7 12-29-2007, 06:16 PM

Amazing how different effects can sound in a music store and on a gig.

I loved the sound of the AW3 when I bought it and ABSOLUTELY HATED IT at last night's gig. Terrible for gigs as the sound is compressed enough to make the bass completely dissapear in the mix. There is no way (that I know of) to boost the volume of this pedal.

It is being returned and I guess I am sticking with my Auto-Q.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baird6869

I bought one of these today as my MXR Auto-Q is a little complex to set when playing funky tunes live at different speeds (the slap songs I play have wildly varying BPM).

I tried the Boss AW3 Dynamic Wah beside my Auto-Q and an EHX Bassballs. The Boss AW3 is by far the best pedal IMO for funky Bootsy or RHCP type slap/funk. Easy to set/use and the wah effect sounds more old school than the swooshing of my Auto-Q.

I am gigging it tonight for the first time (my Auto-Q will be on my pedalboard just in case I have issues with it cutting in the mix.

We play 3 RHCP tunes (Tell Me Baby, Hump da Bump, Higher Ground), Play that Funky Music, Brick House, etc.

mpace · #8 12-19-2010, 10:09 AM

I just got one and I am starting to tweek it- I do agree that it cuts out on vol and I am thinking that my best bet will be to use my overdrive as a booster with some gain w/out distortion to compromise. Any thoughts on settings for getting a nice drawn out wah sound? So far I am setting it on down with the decay at 1 oclock, manual at 9 oclock and sens at 1 oclock. Thanks!

PS- I like adding chorus for a real spacey effect and that also seems to help with boosting the vol, but I am also trying to boost with a more clean sound.

saxofunk · #9 01-02-2011, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johans

It has some humanizer and vocal thingy if I'm not mistaken, something that most auto Q / wah pedal can't produce ..

I find the Humanizer effect is fairly worthless as a wah unless there's a sweet spot I haven't found. However, with both vowels set the same it makes passable fuzz.