Boss FW-3 Foot Wah

just plug it and play it...even you are blind or deaf
you do not need any manual to teach you how to use because there is only one range button!
something trouble is you need to get a remote pedal or your wah would always on...

I am a bassist and I love metal, chain it to disortion pedal and it sound good, it is sure to wake somebody up.
but it is not suitable when you are not playing bass solo because it cut low end when it is on.

it is reliable and bulit like a tank.

whatever how you smash it, it is still no damage.

no deal with cs

i bought it for 180HKD and it worths for every penny.
If I lose this pedal, i would find another one,no remorse

the sound of this wah is good and a bit funky color in this wah
its has a peak knob for adjusting the range of the wah. when you set this wah in max volume it sounded like a crybaby wah

this wah has a problem althought boss has a credibilty of durable pedals in terms of electronic this wah has a small problem when this wah is being rock their are some choppy or static sound that could harm the speaker of the amp.this is good to combine with a boss super overdrive and boss dmm3 delay

i alwyas rely on it even i don't have any spare or back up wah,if it doesn't work any more im going to modify or restore this work of art

no comment

i had read some review about this wah they rate this as a fuynk wah but i try to experiment this wah in other kinds of music, i play alternative rock and metal song and its ounded great. one time i play the intro of buls on parade by RATM and i've copy the exact sound

Extremely easy. Just one know, usual on/off switch. Have had it for quite a long time.

It is not especially noisy. It has a special "voice", it seems the range of frequencies is fairly wide (can go from quite low to very treble), yet you can still increase or decrease the Q. I recently compared it side by side to a Crybaby Dime Wah (one of the most fully featured wahs out there, based on the 535Q) and the Dime has not such a wide range, in any position. This Boss is very funky, somewhat aggressive on high freqs, and it takes out some of your lows (so it is not so good for bass guitar). Still, it manages to maintain some nice bottom end "filter" quality (which is mostly lost in the Dime if you tune the range to get more treble), and this makes it sound funkier. The Dime is milder overall, and I guess the Boss has a wider range in all Q positions (all useful and sounding good, by the way). I spent three hours last night comparing the two and couldn't decide on one, honestly. All in all, an excellent wah that beats the crap out of the recent PW-10 V-wah and other simulations.

Very large and bulky, feels very solid. Have had it for many years, used it live, and still works perfectly. It can be powered with the usual Boss 9v adaptor. It makes mechanical noise when you rock it, not good for recording if you have sensitive mics placed nearby.

Very good wah. Recommended for those wanting a solid wah, a bit on the aggressive side as regards to high frequencies, but funky throughout. The range of the rocker is not large, but still it manages to be sensitive enough to do slow sweeps.

This review is based on several guitars with humbuckers, running through a bunch of other pedals (line 6, adrenalinn, digitech,...) direct to mixing desk.

As easy as can be. Input, output, peak frequency knob, Adaptor powered or 9V battery. (De)Activated by depressing pedal all the way down (you gotta stomp a bit more weight on it). The peak frequency provides a good range so you can have a "tight" wah or wider range so you can get a phase effect if you use it very slowly (though some complain that there is not enough pedal swivel on the axis, so it's like riding a very shallow see-saw). Using your guitar's tone control effectively tightens the frequency range as well, which is probably more convenient than bending down and turning the knob.

Mine was given to me by a friend...almost a decade old and has been through a few users.

Great...straight forward, unadulterated wah effect - a real purist's wah pedal. However, it can get pretty noisy when running through an overdrive circuit. Here's my set up:

Guitar->Korg DT-10 tuner->Boss FW-3 Foot Wah->Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive->Amp (Traynor YCV40)input -> FX Loop: Boss CE-5 Chorus and RV-3 Digital Reverb/Delay -> good sound :P

The overall tone and sound quality is good overdriven or clean. A bit tingy for clean lead, but great for funk skanks.

As I said above...this thing is old but built like a tank.

Never dealt with them. Product is no longer in production and not listed on the websites.

I play everything from classical to rock. I mainly use the wah for funk skanks, phasing and wah leads. Been playing 8 years. I mentioned my gear above. If stolen I'd probably get a very similar model that is straight forward (maybe not Boss as they don't seem to have a simple model anymore!). I love it because it's so SIMPLE - no nonsense - just gives me the wah effect I need. Bless God for the friend that gave it to me since Boss has ceased its production.

Fairly easy to get a good tone out of. Mind you, it does come with one whole knob to adjust the peak of your wah, but I'm sure we will all manage to figure that out. I don't find that it alters the entire sound of my chain like the previous reviewer, but I guess that all depends on what you use to get that tone and how you want your setup to sound. It's a wah, so it's not like anybody is going to have a hard time setting it up. Didn't come with a manual.

I'm using it with a DOD Tec4 MultiFX, Ibanez TS7 TubeScreamer, and a Godin LG HMB and a Squier Standard Stratocaster. I don't find it noisy at all until I crank the drive really high on my setup. The wah sounds consistently good. The higher the peak setting, the stronger the wah and tone that you get when you step forward. Great sound at about 2 O'Clock.

This thing, as all BOSS products, has a heavy die-cast casing which I would absolutely trust to no end to protect the electronics inside. As they say, it's built like a tank.

I have never had to deal with BOSS for any of the products I have used or bought from them. I was once sold a DS-1 with a bad pot switch by MusicStop, but they took it back immediately and gave me a few packages of strings for my trouble after I returned with it. No complaints there.

I've been playing for 2 and a half years. I own a Black Pearl Godin LG HMB, Squier Black and Chrome Ltd. Edition Stratocaster, Marshall MG15DFX amp for practice, a 50w Peavey for jamming, the FW-7, DOD Tec4 FX processor, and an Ibanez TS7 for an extra boost of gain. My favourite thing about this is that I got a decent souding wah, comparable to my old Crybaby, at only 1/3 of the cost.

It's easy to use just like any other wah. Has a peek control at the top that seems to adjust the taper of the wah well. It easy to use but getting a good sound is not so easy with this unit.

I have a Tele a Strat a Les Paul and a CNTarasi. My amps are a modded Bassman a Showman and a Marshall Plexi. This pedal is not noisy at all in fact I can't tune in the radio station that I can normally get with other Wah's ( thats good ). I have tried this before the distortion ala Hendrix and afrte it like everyone else but I really can't get a ggood sound out of it at all. If you use it after the distortion it is real harsh sounding. The only half way good sound that I can get is with the peek control all of the way down playing softer rythem stuff. That it nothing more this Wah is good for.

I have never used it on a gig because I cant get a good sound out of it. I always use my Teese for that kind of stuff. However I would say you could depend on it because it was actually in a flood in my basement! Under water for two days and it still works just like it did before. Of course it didn't sound good before the flood.

Never called them.

I play rock and blues and have been playing for 20 years or so. This Wah is way too harsh for me. I have a Teese and I love it. I also have a crybaby that is on the fritz and a few other crybabys that are long dead just laying in a pile. If this was lost or stolen I would not even bother to look for it. In fact if you took it right in front of me I wouldnt stop you. I would not get another. I like the fact that it was flooded and still works. I hate that it sounds real bad. Its too big. It does not have a true bypass and because of that it makes the rest of my chain sound bad when it's in line. I love the way my effects chain sounds but this things just kills it when its in. I plug it in every now and then thinking that this is the time I get a good tone but am always unhappy by the end. This thing goes from flat sounding to shrill and just skips ove the wah part so quickly. It's a wah but not vocal at all.

This wah pedal is easy to use.However,you'll have to push the on/off
switch a bit harder,on the pedal.It has a knob on the upper part of the pedal which you can use to adjust the wah frequency to your liking.

Sounds okay.It can closely mimic the sound of a Crybaby,but a bit treblish in some aspects.It does not alter the overdrive sound of my Fender RocPro 700,which is good.

Very reliable,this thing is very road-worthy.It has a solid metal case that protects the circuits inside.But take note that,like all standard wah pedal designs,its potentiometer(pot)can be the first thing to wear out after years of use.You can clean this device with an electronics cleaner or if not,replace it.

Never dealt with them,though.

I play mostly metal,but this pedal is also good for funk and other types of music.I like the adjustable frequency sweep coz it lets you vary the sound of the wah effect.I have an Ibanez RG550 which sounds pretty nice,and the Foot Wah takes the cake in my sound.If you can't afford that CrybabyFuzz wah or Morley,consider this thing!!!

Its very easy to use! Zero IQ required! i assume no guitarist will buy these kind of stuffs and dont know how to understand what does "input" & "output" mean! plug n play as they say!

i've used a dunlop GCB535 crybaby before and a VOX wah (i forgot the model) and compared to the two, these wah has the edge. its tone is clean yet crisp and it even have a peak adjuster in case u want to adjust the wah range. i also used it with a DOD deathmetal n a BOSS hypermetal n it really sounds good specially when connected to a TS-5 tubescreamer!

definitely reliable im using it for 1 year now n it doesnt even have a scratch! or a glitch in the sound!

u wont need backup.

i play diverse style of music but my dominant influence is classic rock,blues, n grunge. this wah fits me n my playin very well we are like soulmates! ive been playing for almost 8 years now n among the wah ive used before this one i love the most! nuff said go get urself one! believe me!

Well it's very easy to get a sound out of this one and it sounds just great I tell ya.

I play a les paul studio and an ibanez Jem7sb , my amp's a fender deluxe pro 112 and I'm also using a GT-5 processor. I haven't figured out how to connect the GT-5 and the FW-3 though.
I hope to reach a Steve Vai/ Joe Satriani wah sound with this. We'll see.

It's looks realiable but you're never sure right. Like I just got it and every time the wah goes up and down it's makes this really anoying noise. (it's some mechanism in the wah).

Off pat, any wah pedal you play should make you sound like a pro, the FW3 included. Didn't have a manual for it but, hey, I'm not retarded. My only gripe is that the freq peak isn't gradual, so you've to practice a bit of foot control for the rounded vowels. Great for those funk vamps though.

Best sound I got from it I ran it through a Valvestate, but the solid-state Fenders gave it a nice enveloped tinge too, and that's what I'm into. I use it, peak knob maxed, as a filter sometimes. Best settings for the peak knob are the extremes: 9 o clock and 5 (maxed).

Thing's built like an anvil. Use a remote switch. And keep an eye on that battery cover thing. Those could get lost.

Never called em

Great for those funky horn grooves and sevenths vamping. I'd probly get another (used) if I lost this one.

Easy,Very easy...

Very good quality (when it worked)

I don't know how "Reliability" means in English...

I don't know

I play Punk-HardCore and Reaggae-Ska music with my band... but a day when I was very drunk (like now), I pressed my feet too hard and I broke it (GOD BASTARD!!!!) so I tried to get it work making some thing and it work a lot now, but i'm drunk anyway... I'm drunk always.... nye bye bye bye

I bought it used over eBay. Looked cosmetically perfect. Pretty much was appearnce-wise. A handsome pedal, but not as solid as other Boss products. Didn't receive the manual, so I can't comment on that.
Step and go. Tweak the peak knob. Step mo'. I could not get it to switch off, I had to unplug it to cycle the power.

Used it with a Peavey solid-state amp which I've been real pleased with with my other pedals, (some Boss, some not). Also playing thru a Tacocaster/Mexistrat. Didn't like the lack of richness in the wah. It sounded a bit thin and squirrley for my tastes--even on a non-tube rig..

It's metal.

Never had to deal with Roland/Boss. But their stuff looks solid (usually).

I'm going to look for a good used Digitech XP100 Whammy, or maybe even a Digitech Space Station. I was tired of it's limited sound within a couple hours of playing it. There was not much pedal travel reange, so it was a challenge to modulate.

It's easy, just rock the pedal back and forth and jam with it. It has a filtering knob, wich I think adjusts the bandwidth of the frequency response. Set the knob at taste, and it's done.

It's good (i've never seen a bad wah pedal yet) BUT it's not as good as a crybaby, for example. It's more limited and (I don't know if this happens on a crybaby) there are some problem frequencies when the pedal is full back: it enhances a particular frequency, wich varies on something I haven't yet found out, so it might be more difficult to get a good sound in opposite to other pedals. There is a volume loss when on.

Boss! If you ever saw and/or tried one, you know what I mean.

Never even tried to contact them (didn't need to).

I only bought this because I coudn't afford a crybaby (here in Portugal they can actually cost $200) and some guy wanted to sell his wah pedal. I tried it and it's ok. With my DS-2, I can easily play Rage Against the Machine on my solid state amp. If you find one cheap, go ahead.

I bought it second hand and there was no manual but it has one knob. It's not too hard.
Every wah-wah pedal should get 10. Except when you think about it, to get it to sound good it's actually very difficult.

It's very good clean, but distorted, it can go a bit sudden change like bass bass bass bass bass bass bass treble treble treble and that sounds a bit shit. But clean its great it's like a gradual thing. 10 for clean, 7 for distorted, but I only use it clean.

Solid metal. I think the switching system might die on me one day - it looks pretty fragile - but it's second hand and shows no sign of going out yet. It's just speculation ...

I like BOSS - I called them to get pedal information and they were really friendly and sent me back stuff very fast.

As I said, great for clean stuff, a bit iffy distorted (well, when I say iffy, I mean not stunning). I love the adjustable peak knob thing, but it tends to be on either full or minimum when I play because that's all I ever use.
A couple of problems - the pedal doesn't rock back and forth that far so it's very sensitive and changes can be a bit sudden because of that. You just have to get used to it, but then it's great.
If I lost it and had to get a new pedal, I'd get a VOX, the silver metal one. It's really good, but huge and not great distorted. Oh, and why is it brown?

one knob which is called peak which adjusts the range of the wah.

I don't really know how to judge a wah but it sounds really good to my ears. It's really quiet too.

Can't say because it still new. But it is made of metal so I guess its real durable like the crybaby.

As I've said, I don't know how to judge a wah-wah because I've only owned a crybaby and I can only make comparisons with them. But I think it is a very good wah. One drawback though is its size. The thing is huge compared to the crybaby. It would take alot of space in your pedal board.

Iits a wha pedal for god sake, but the pick control makes it a litle harder to use

On a clean sound its good but when you use a distortion unit (I used a DS-1 and a MT-2) it sucks whan you connect the distortion before the wha the wha is too weak if you connect it after the distortion whan you press the pedal the volume goes down

never had a problem with it

for rythem guitar its a good wha pedal but if you try to play hard metal solos get a vox or a crybaby. for the price I paid for it its pritty good

Plug it and play

It sounds a little bit noisy with overdrive. Clean sound works preety well. Sound is like Crybaby but you can change pitch.

BOSS!!

Great pedal for all of you who have trouble with money and can't afford Crybaby but also for others because it can be used as some kind of filter.

IT'S A WAH-WAH PEDAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IF U CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT YOUR RETARDED!!!!!!!

I love this pedal. I thought the cry-baby was too extreme so i started to look at other wahs. You can adjust the amount of wah, and there is the option of having a remote to turn it on and off. It makes just as much noise as a cry-baby though, which surprised me since it's a boss.

IT'S A BOSS!!!!!!!!!

Who has actually had to call boss????

I love this pedal. The ability to adjust the frequency range is what really put this over the edge for me. The ability to have a remote is also a GREAT feature. Just remember...there are other wahs besides crybabys.