Boss AW-2 Auto Wah

The manual comes with some good examples to choose from but it doesn't really do a great job of explaining what each knob does. I still don't know what the MANUAL knob does! Once you play around with it a little you will be able to adjust it how you want it to sound. There are basically to modes that I use: modulation wah, and automatic wah. Everything else is pretty much just variations or combinations of the two. You really need to give this pedal a little time though because it is definately one of the more confusing BOSS pedals but it will come eventually.

I personally really like the way it sounds. I thought that it might just have modulation wah but you can set it so that every single note you play will automatically be wah-ed. It is noisy when you use the modulation but the cool effect makes up for it. You can also control how deep you want the wah to go. The mod is definately a cool effect but I wouldn't use it for long time periods, like a whole song becuase it does get kinda annoying. Sounds GREAT if you use it sparingly. The mod wah will sound great with distortion but the automatic wah doesn't sound so hot with my distortion (BOSS OD-3, BOSS FZ-3).

Of course this pedal will never fail you-except maybe the batteries.

Must be good if I never have to call them!

I play rock/ska but I like to add this effect every once in a while to get a more funky effect. Works great for playing disco/funk and everything in between. I have been playing for 2 years and so far I have three pedals: BOSS FZ-3 Fuzz, BOSS OD-3 OverDrive, and BOSS AW-2 Auto Wah. If any of these got stolen I would call up the music store and order the exact same items and I would gladly pay full price. I always loved the "wah" effect but I didn't like playing tricky rythms on the manual foot pedal. My favorite part of this pedal is that it does all the work for you. The only thing I hate is that it uses batteries pretty quickly and as the battery gets weaker, so does the effect. I listened a little to the Ibanez Auto-Wah but that seemed to have a little distortion to it. The only thing this wah may do to your sound is increase your tone a little when it is on. It has everything I could want and more. It gives me a lot of new ideas for songs and sounds great in solos.

Very weird to use if you are looking for an envelope filter. 4 nobs, speed (a sign this is a REAL automatic Wah wah), depth, manual, and sensitivity. I got it used so I didn't have a manual to work with, but I tried it out at the store and found the sound I was looking for. I use it as a modualtion effects with the speed set high. Some of the nobs seems as the really don't work, or don't do what they should, but I found my setting for it an I am happy. Others who use this as an envelope filter might have a hard time with it.

For the way I use it, it gives me a full on weird effect. I am not sure what noisy exactly is, but it will definietly change your set-up tone (but that i swhat it is supposed to do). I am into Sonic Youth, Garbage, Mudhoney, Devo, Pixies, Ramones, and this pedal really is used for my more Sonic Youth type stuff. I have it in my set up in this order: customized strat style guitars - DOD FX90 Analog delay - Ibanez CP-9 Compressor - Arion Stage Tuner - BOSS AW-2 - Sovtek re-issued Small Stone phaser - Big Muff - Fender Bandmaster Reverb amp. It sounds great in this order, but it really depend swhat you use it as. I noticed an lot of change by simply moving it around in my effects chain.

Its used, so maybe some of the nobs are a bit fried, but it still works.

I HATE BOSS!!! There are only a few pedals that they make that are actually good in my opinion. I would trust them with any help. I had a used PS-3 that didn't have a manual, so I called them and asked if they could photocopy one and send it to me. They seemed irritated at my call, but said they would do it in the next week. At the end of the call, the person then told me that it would cost $12 fo rthem to do it. $12 for a sheet of paper!!!!!!!!! T

I play more experimental music+old alternative stuff, and this pedal is weird enough for my effects loop. Like I said before, it is really dependant on position and how you use it, but for my weird use, it sounds great. Like i said before, mine might be a little out of wack, because I can't really hear to much of a dfference with my manual nob, and the sensitivity has to be set below 8 o-clock on the dial to really work. mayb ethey are all like that, I don't care, I got my use out of it.

I bought my AW-2 used and as a result didn't receive any instructions. The unit isn't particularly intuitive - unlike many of the other BOSS pedals, so some guidance is definitely required. I checked out the settings suggested in the BOSS Effects Catalogue in order to get an initial feel for the pedal - however it took me a long time to discover the various sounds that can be achieved using the AW-2.
There are four controls for Rate, Depth, Manual and Sensitivity, but I guess finding the right settings is in some ways a case of trial and error. Depending on your playing style you can create a variety of wah sounds, but the most common ones are picking wah, modulation wah or a combination of the two.

To be fair to BOSS, they really produced this pedal for use with electric guitar. I bought the AW-2 for use with a bass guitar though because BOSS suggest the AW-2 can help create a 'modern bass' sound in their catalogue. I had previously had a go at building my own Auto-Wah unit because I love the sound and wah-wah is back in fashion again.
When I first started using the AW-2, I was extremely disappointed with the adverse performance when used with a bass. However, I later discovered a faulty connection with my BOSS PCM-5 Power Supply & Master Switch was responsible and once this was sorted out, I started having fun with the AW-2.
Used alone, the AW-2 can produce a rich bass sound when fingered, and when slapped the wah effect is awesome. Even better, is when I connect my CE-2B Bass Chorus after the AW-2 - this really brightens up the sound and really does give the 'modern bass' sound which BOSS describe in their catalogue. I also play keyboards and I've had a lot of fun when using the AW-2 together with the guitar sounds on my Roland synth.

The AW-2, like every BOSS pedal, is built like an armoured car. The knobs feel robust and the pedal has a solid action. I would always rely 100% on a BOSS pedal and do not see the need for a backup.

I contacted Roland/BOSS in Germany and asked them to send me the original instructions for the AW-2, which they have promised to do. I have always found them to be helpful in giving product advice and sending brochures etc.

There aren't many effects pedals which are suitable for bass guitar. However the AW-2 is a useful addition to your bass setup as it allows you to create a totally different sound which cannot be achieved by other means. It took me a long time to get to grips with the AW-2, but eventually it was worth it. I don't recommend that you use the Auto Wah all the time, but it brings a refreshing change to your sound when used from time to time.
If my AW-2 got or lost or stolen, I would probably try and replace it with another secondhand unit. I bought my AW-2 as an ex-demo in good condition for approx. 40% below the regular new retail price. I wouldn't like to pay any more for an AW-2 pedal and I think that the full new retail price is a little bit expensive - especially considering that the pedal has a somewhat limited usability, when say compared to a Bass Chorus pedal which costs less and is much more versatile.

This pedal has 4 knobs: rate sens, manual and depth. The knobs can get confusing a bit, but when you get to be familiarized with the controls you'll get more comfortable with playing with it. I gave it an eight because the knobs are set-up in an unusual way, meaning that a person usually expects effects to be turned way up if it is turned clockwise all the way over, like the last two knobs: manual and sens.
AS I've said you have to play with this pedal in order to really get the full potential of this. it comes with manual.

I use two amps, a Charvel that came with my Jackson and a Roland GC405. I use a Les Paul, Jackson, and Fender Tele. One of the cool settings and effects combination i use is with the distortion, DS-1 or HM-2, with the RV-3. With the correct settings you can get radical sounds. The only thing that i don't like about this is that the Wah doesn't stop when you've stopped strumming or picking the strings, even with the delay off. - 2 points.

It's a boss! I may take a Vox Wah but other than that...nada!

Havent dealt with them yet

Its a very cool pedal if you know how to use it. Mix and match!

The AW-2 did not get good sounds when I used it. You kind of need the manual to figure out what the hell the pedal is trying to do (many of the controls seem to work backwards). The manual is descriptive, and the example settings are good illustrations, but it's just not my kind of thing... I guess. I didn't like it at all. I thought the settings were weird, and the sound was bad. Worse still, it sucked my tone away. All Boss pedals do this to some degree, but the AW-2 was the worst yet. While I was looking for something different, I was dismayed that I couldn't find a reason to keep it. This is highly unusual, because I'm a gear packrat.

Yuck. I didn't think it was possible for my gear to sound bad until I added this pedal to the equation. I use a customized circa 1940 Epiphone archtop through a late-60's Fender Twin. A bigger sound is hard to find. The AW-2 could be used as a cheese pedal. Dial in more "suck," when necessary. It was noisy, thin, and hard to control. I wish I hadn't bought it. I'd return it, but I got it via an online auction. now I'm stuck with it, unless I can trade it or sell it. At least it's got the original box & manual. I pride myself in staying away from the extremes when rating something, but this was the worst pedal I have ever owned.

Solid as a Boss can be. "Boss solid" should be a standard by which other pedals are rated. I would use any Boss (stompbox) pedal without a backup.

N/A

I'm a utility guitarist. I use a lot of different effects to enhance my arrangements. I was looking for some kind of Envelope Filter. The AW-2 was just awful, in my opinion. Ironically, it will probably never go "bad," because Boss builds their stompboxes so well. I have no use for this gizmo. Admittedly, this isn't the TYPE of pedal I was looking for, so I can't grade it on its usefulness to me. But my goodness, it sounds bad. I can't believe the decision-makers at Boss chose to discontinue the Slow Gear pedal, and actually manufactured this turd. What a tragedy.

Pretty straight forward, if you enjoy constant sweep...

Used through my Reissue LP Special or Epiphone Les Paul Jr, the effect is nice and funky, I just wish it would just follow pick attack like the old T-Wah, the constant wow-wow-wow gets a bit annoying after a while but all in all a cool, funky sounding effect!

It'a a Boss...'nuff said!

Never had to deal with them!

I'm into Brit rock and 70's groups...a good wah effect just reaches that "tonal Nirvana". My gear includes both Ibanez & Boss pedals - Phasers, Flanger, Tube Screamer Sound tank, compressor, eq... through a Marshall Valvestate 20. My rating of the unit is based on the fact that I miss the old T-Wah ... hell I miss the old Phase 5 too! But Roland isn't into reissues and finding the said units second hand has become prohibitive... it's a good unit, but not quite what I'm looking for. Hey, you top hats at Roland? Bring back the T-Wah! Bring back the Phase 5! Bring back the Slow gear!

Fairly easy to use; it has 4 knobs, "Rate", "Depth", "Manual", and "Sensitivity". The rate knob controls how quickly the auto wah cycles, and the depth knob controls how deep the wah effect is on each cycle. The manual knob essentially acts as a filter. The sensitivity knob controls how much the auto wah responds to your playing attack, i.e., you can have the wah effect respond more strongly when you play more heavily.
Although the controls are straightforward, it can take some tweaking before you get a sound that you like. I personally like this effect a lot, but there are lots of knob settings that are too nasal or too shrill for my taste.

The sound is good, but as I mentioned above, you do need to play around with it to get sounds you like. The auto wah can sound absolutely great if you use it with a distortion pedal; for example, you can approximate the guitar sound on U2's "Mysterious Ways". With cleaner sounds, it can be OK, but you wouldn't want to have it on all the time.
When the effect is on, there is some background noise; it's more noticeable if you have the "Depth" turned up.

Boss pedals are nearly indestructable -- the casing is all metal. I've had mine for about 3 years with no problems.

Never had to deal with Boss/Roland.

I'd buy this again. In terms of effects, any auto wah is not in the "I can't live without it" category, simply because you get pretty tired of listening to a guitar that's constantly wah-ing along. However, if you're looking for a wah sound, particularly wah + distortion, this is a great buy.

Pretty hard to figure out (especially w/out the booklet). Finding the right sound can take a long time.

This thing never shuts up. Shut it off between tunes or your audience will probably leave. The noise is pretty bad on all settings. If you have active pickups, look out because the thing will start cliiping if your output is at full. The effects sound strong, though.

Never dealt with the company, but I'm sure they like the Monkees.

I am a bass player, and this pedal is definitely not made for the bass. It rips the bottom end right off of your instrument, letting you get buried in the mix as soon as you turn it on. It cuts the signal even when used with a guitar. It gets some nice effect sounds, so if you have time to EQ it, go for it, but don't use it live. I would not buy this pedal again.

It's very difficult to get a good sound because the pedal attempts to combine the envelope filter wah effect and the traditional wah tone pedal type effect. One must fiddle endlessly to get an appropriate setting. The rate feature simulates a wah pedal sweep repeatedly at some rate and some depth you set, also the envelope filter has sensitivity and "manual"(depth) settings. It is difficult to get a proper rate of the pedal sweep, often it sounds like there is some cyclical tone problem with your equipment. This is not to say the effect isn't good, it just takes alot of knob twisting.

The envelope filter/auto wah section is great, since it is one of the few pedals I tried like this (have tried all, inc. mutron) that can create an excellent effect even at low input volume. For instance, the DOD envelope filter is a piece of suck because with many guitars I tried the effect would only be created with the volume cranked and the sensitivity at max.- what the hell? The boss effects are good, but the pedal is noisy. I was suprised since many other boss pedals I have used were not this noisy. The noise isn't too terrible.

It's a boss= metal tank

Hasn't "shit the bed" yet

If you're really serious- get a vintage mutron III envelope filter. Otherwise also try the Ibanez soundtank auto-wah. It is quieter, easier, and sounds better.

I found it hard to learn to use this pedal, the only sounds I really liked on it were the ones that come in the book.

It has pretty good sound quality especially at high volumes.

Hey, it's a Boss, only thing is you'll need an AC adapter cause it sucks the batteries.

It's a good pedal if youre looking for an automatic wah-wah, but I prefer the manual wah's myself