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Boss AW-3, dont quite understand the hate

Thrill-House

Thrill-House

Jul 19, 2010
372
21
Ontario, Canada
#1
So heres the scoop, i have really never used any effects for bass on a regular basis. I recently picked up a digitech Bass driver just to have a decent dirt pedal on hand. About 2 weeks ago i bought a Roland Bass Cube to have a decent practice amp around, and the built in effects were decent. Infact, they got me thinking of getting a few effect pedals to fool around with on my larger amps.

Anyway, the T-wah effect on the Bass cube was unexpectedly fun to play with. So i looked around for a decent auto wah pedal. From what i read on this forum, the Boss AW-3 was not that great, but when i tried it at the store, it seemed just what i was looking for! Sounds great and works well, at least to me. Is there something im missing? Im not very knowledgeable on bass effects so that may very well be the case... but i dont see it so far. Enlighten me, talkbass!
 
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#2
Congratulations! You've discovered one of the truths of effects . . . Everyone's mileage varies. Do I like the aw3? Not really. Do you? Yes. Do others? Some do, some don't. :smug:

As for you, play through it and enjoy it. That's what it's about.

Does it work for what YOU need it too do? If it does, you've answered it for yourself - even if it just inspires you to pick up the bass and play.

But, to answer your question more directly, it simply comes down to the perceived and, of course, actual effect of the filter envelope opening and closing in response to one's playing. Some such pedals sound 'better' with bass (don't lose low end, etc.). I've found the aw3 to just not get it right with my playing and bass selection. That by no means tells me you're 'wrong', it just means that it works for you and not me.

Oh, and welcome to the effect world!
 
#3
Good on you, mate!

Envelope filter effects are really hard to resist, no matter what style your music is :D It should be a staple effect if you play funk

I have a Boss FT-2, the older one. Although I mainly play rock in the band and I rarely got the chance to use it, it is still sitting in my pedalboard until now :)
 
#4
Chopdog said:
Congratulations! You've discovered one of the truths of effects . . . Everyone's mileage varies. Do I like the aw3? Not really. Do you? Yes. Do others? Some do, some don't. :smug:

As for you, play through it and enjoy it. That's what it's about.

Does it work for what YOU need it too do? If it does, you've answered it for yourself - even if it just inspires you to pick up the bass and play.

But, to answer your question more directly, it simply comes down to the perceived and, of course, actual effect of the filter envelope opening and closing in response to one's playing. Some such pedals sound 'better' with bass (don't lose low end, etc.). I've found the aw3 to just not get it right with my playing and bass selection. That by no means tells me you're 'wrong', it just means that it works for you and not me.

Oh, and welcome to the effect world!
Click to expand...

+1000000000000

I tried the AW-3 and even owned it twice: not for me. BUT if it's for you then play it proud and it dosen't matter what others say when the music sounds sweet in your ears. :bassist:
 
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#5
Thrill-House said:
....Sounds great and works well, at least to me. Is there something im missing? Im not very knowledgeable on bass effects so that may very well be the case... but i dont see it so far. Enlighten me, talkbass!
Click to expand...

Well a lot of wah or envelope filters can really suck the low-end out of your bass. I had an AW-3 and there was a lot of low-end loss when I used that pedal. This can be alleviated by having an EQ or preamp pedal at the end of the chain before the effects hit the amp to beef things up. I have a VT Bass Deluxe and it does a fine job with effects that can thin out your tone too much. I'm not in the market for a wah at the moment, but I had fond memories with that pedal! :bassist:
 
#6
VanillaThundah said:
Well a lot of wah or envelope filters can really suck the low-end out of your bass. I had an AW-3 and there was a lot of low-end loss when I used that pedal. This can be alleviated by having an EQ or preamp pedal at the end of the chain before the effects hit the amp to beef things up. I have a VT Bass Deluxe and it does a fine job with effects that can thin out your tone too much. I'm not in the market for a wah at the moment, but I had fond memories with that pedal! :bassist:
Click to expand...

Interesting. Did the loss of bass happen when the effect was on, or off?
 
#8
First and foremost another +1 for those comments saying use it proudly if it gives you the sound you want. Some of my favorite pedals are on the inexpensive side and lack "snob value". But to answer your question, I've got one that I'm not currently using. When I bought it, I tried it out against an EHX Bassballs, and EHX Micro Q-Tron, and a few others. At the time, I liked the Boss the best. But the longer I owned it, the less I liked it. I noticed loss of low end, and the response was almost too even and predictable (an asset for many people, but not what I wanted). Eventually I replaced it on my board with an EHX Enigma Q-Balls. The blend knob on that is invaluable, and I use the built-in distortion more than I thought I would too.

So why haven't I sold my AW3? You know that crazy "humanizer" setting? I can't shake the feeling that I'm gonna want that someday.
 
#9
Chopdog said:
Congratulations! You've discovered one of the truths of effects . . . Everyone's mileage varies. Do I like the aw3? Not really. Do you? Yes. Do others? Some do, some don't. :smug:

As for you, play through it and enjoy it. That's what it's about.

Does it work for what YOU need it too do? If it does, you've answered it for yourself - even if it just inspires you to pick up the bass and play.

But, to answer your question more directly, it simply comes down to the perceived and, of course, actual effect of the filter envelope opening and closing in response to one's playing. Some such pedals sound 'better' with bass (don't lose low end, etc.). I've found the aw3 to just not get it right with my playing and bass selection. That by no means tells me you're 'wrong', it just means that it works for you and not me.

Oh, and welcome to the effect world!
Click to expand...

Welll said.
 
#13
fleizenkruz said:
Good on you, mate!

Envelope filter effects are really hard to resist, no matter what style your music is :D It should be a staple effect if you play funk

I have a Boss FT-2, the older one. Although I mainly play rock in the band and I rarely got the chance to use it, it is still sitting in my pedalboard until now :)
Click to expand...
I have both. They are brilliant pedals. I don’t use the ft-2 anymore. It’s rare and I don’t want to damage it. In fact I don’t use any pedals, preferring mfx units. But my boss gx10 has a humaniser pedal. I do use that. A to u.
 

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