Opinions on AW-3 ?

[StrangerDanger]

Thinking about a wah pedal. Any thoughts on the Boss AW3?

[StrangerDanger]

Preferrably from those who have used it.

;0>

[mcapote]

bought one on here and sold it on here a month later. real wahs are 100 times better imho. autowah lacks alot of the control you get with a real wah.

[6810]

I bought two weeks ago. Simple run down (all IMO/IME)

Pros
- Diverse sounds. Up/down/sharp
- Bass Input. Depending on your sound you can choose which input. Both are calibrated differently.
- Tempo based auto-wah is cool and really useful for guitar solos.
- With a bit of tweaking you can get Rollins Band "End of Silence" era growl-wah.

Cons
- "Sensitivity" is a bit too sensitive. IME, finding the sweet spot can be very different depending on the bass (active/passive output level etc). I wish it was a bit more insensitive, because I really have to back off a lot on my attack. This is no deal breaker, but just be aware. Sensitivity at "0" is basically "off". Over halfway opens up if a breeze passes through the room. You can compensate with rolling back the volume a bit ob a hot bass though.
- Humanizer. On one hand it does sound cool, but is too messed up/dirty/distorted to have any serious application. There are better, cleaner and more useable humanizers on equivalently priced multi-effects units such as the Zoom BU2 (which was my first FX unit after a long musical absence...). My feeling is that this effect was still in its primitive form and wasn't ready really. That said, with guitar it can give a bit of a talkbox-ish sound. Personally, I would have preferred an envelope filter over the humanizer... maybe next time, boss?

Verdict?
My cons are long and drawn out and perhaps over shadow the pros. But, I am a big fan of the AW-3. In the end, it depends on how you want to use it. For me, it adds a vocal growl to my sound which helps cut through a very sludgy/psyche/stoner mix. The up mode can get out of hand (maybe you want that, some times I do, and it gives me some cool whining feedback with tons of sustain for leads), but can be tamed by rolling back the highs on your amp or else on any other signal boosts (distortions/ODs included) coming after the AW-3. The Down mode is more useable than you might think and has real grunt. I have not used the sharp mode much on bass, on guitar it is very quacky. And the tempo mode works well, but can be a bit fiddly in live use due to the whole "step and hold then tap tempo" regimen.

Outside of a stoner-psyche racket, it has enough squelch and quack to please a nimble-fingered funkster. How does it compare to others? Dunno! But it doesn't suck too much tone, sounds great with overdrive and lets you get heard in a dense stoner mix.

[DONZI97]

i have one, but ended up going the envelope filter route, liked those sounds better. i was thinking about putting mine up on the local craigslist, but if you want a used one PM me.

[StrangerDanger]

Originally Posted by 6810

I bought two weeks ago. Simple run down (all IMO/IME)

Pros
- Diverse sounds. Up/down/sharp
- Bass Input. Depending on your sound you can choose which input. Both are calibrated differently.
- Tempo based auto-wah is cool and really useful for guitar solos.
- With a bit of tweaking you can get Rollins Band "End of Silence" era growl-wah.

Cons
- "Sensitivity" is a bit too sensitive. IME, finding the sweet spot can be very different depending on the bass (active/passive output level etc). I wish it was a bit more insensitive, because I really have to back off a lot on my attack. This is no deal breaker, but just be aware. Sensitivity at "0" is basically "off". Over halfway opens up if a breeze passes through the room. You can compensate with rolling back the volume a bit ob a hot bass though.
- Humanizer. On one hand it does sound cool, but is too messed up/dirty/distorted to have any serious application. There are better, cleaner and more useable humanizers on equivalently priced multi-effects units such as the Zoom BU2 (which was my first FX unit after a long musical absence...). My feeling is that this effect was still in its primitive form and wasn't ready really. That said, with guitar it can give a bit of a talkbox-ish sound. Personally, I would have preferred an envelope filter over the humanizer... maybe next time, boss?

Verdict?
My cons are long and drawn out and perhaps over shadow the pros. But, I am a big fan of the AW-3. In the end, it depends on how you want to use it. For me, it adds a vocal growl to my sound which helps cut through a very sludgy/psyche/stoner mix. The up mode can get out of hand (maybe you want that, some times I do, and it gives me some cool whining feedback with tons of sustain for leads), but can be tamed by rolling back the highs on your amp or else on any other signal boosts (distortions/ODs included) coming after the AW-3. The Down mode is more useable than you might think and has real grunt. I have not used the sharp mode much on bass, on guitar it is very quacky. And the tempo mode works well, but can be a bit fiddly in live use due to the whole "step and hold then tap tempo" regimen.

Outside of a stoner-psyche racket, it has enough squelch and quack to please a nimble-fingered funkster. How does it compare to others? Dunno! But it doesn't suck too much tone, sounds great with overdrive and lets you get heard in a dense stoner mix.

I knew this was the place to come. Thanks man. Im gonna go for it.

[StrangerDanger]

Originally Posted by pearson206@

i have one, but ended up going the envelope filter route, liked those sounds better. i was thinking about putting mine up on the local craigslist, but if you want a used one PM me.

ewe gotz pee-em

[6810]

To simplify even further -

AW-3 is a solid if slightly touchy auto-wah. The humaniser ain't so great and it is definitely a "find the sweetspot" type pedal depending on your gear. With patience it can be made to sing. May take time to get to know the real "me" (err, aw-3)...