Boss TW-1

"Ease of use" is sort of a Catch-22 (if you don't know what that means, you're probably under 30...see Wikipedia...); with two knobs as previously described, an up/down switch and the standard bulletproof Boss footswitch it's a no-brainer - unless you think it sucks, has limited range or sound constricted, isn't close to (fill in the name of a boutique $800 pedal here).

That's because this pedal, like just about EVERY envelope filter, "auto-wah", phaser, flanger and other "spacey" effects, if you buy a used one it is NOT a "plug 'n play" device.

I'd wager folks posting bad reviews didn't do the one *required* setup activity: remove the bottom plate, gently lift the circuit board (which is not screwed down for a reason that will shortly be obvious), find the little white trim pot (a small, mini-screwdriver adjustable variable resistor) and carefully adjust the settings with guitar, pedal and amp all ON! THAT is how you adjust it for more top-end, a wider sweep, more bottom, less sensitivity, a "fixed Q" setting - and on other types of pedals trim pots adjust sweep range, speed, and frequency response.

They also have a HUGE effect on noise.

If you have some experience working with and tweaking your own equipment and know what you are doing with pedals/amps/guitar electronics it's bonehead-simple to use. If you don't - buy a book and learn something.

When I got mine (in a trade deal) it was "not working". In 5 minutes it was working fine, and in 15 minutes I had found *my* sound - the right sensitivity, sweep and low noise. It's not rocket science folks, but I'm still, after decades of this, stunned by how many experienced players know exactly zero about how to make adjustments in pedals - or understand that they were *designed* to be adjusted, since no two players' "tonal target" is alike.

Yes, it WOULD be nice if Boss and everyone else put this stuff in the manual (some of the boutique guys do) but it's such common knowledge it's a waste of print. Then again, most players don't read the manual for any gadget they get hold of so it's probably a lost cause.

Anyway - once you make the fine adjustments it's tremendous. My setup (today - it'll change tomorrow...hehehe) is a Partscaster Pullstring Tele with a custom Fralin (switchable, extremely high output) boost-coil bridge and Harmonic Design Mini-Strat neck pickup, Klon, T-Wah, Way Huge Green Rhino, Way Huge Blue Hippo, Marshall Vibratrem, EH Flanger Hoax, Ibanez Soundtank Phaser, SIB Mr. Echo, Musitronics Octave Divider, Sireko tape echo, MXR Noise Gate/Line Driver, Fender volume pedal and Holland Little Jimi (modded with EL34's), '64 Vibroverb Custom, '69 Pro Reverb or '55 Deluxe.

By carefully working with multiple "One Spot" power supplies and some individual units the noise floor is very low - I still like having the gate so it's zero when I'm not playing.

The T-Wah is set so that I could leave it on all the time with almost no effect and then have it quack/wah just by digging in. It sounds incredibly good with my setup. I tend to pick very lightly with the amp cranked so that I can "play" the dynamics of pick attack - and this pedal is made for players like me. If you use one consistent level of picking dynamics, a triggered or touch wah is NOT for you; if you have to rely on a compressor to keep your sound consistent - it's not for you. But if you vary your pick attack and work the dynamics of guitar=>effects=>amp you'll really like it.

I dislike most Boss pedals - to me they are "lowest common denominator" tone tweakers, but don't come close to many high-end pedals. But they ARE built like tanks and I have no worries about it. The trim pot is not a "reliability" issue so I won't address it in this category - it's a "know how your stuff works" issue.

Never tried to call them as I've had so few Boss pedals (usually throw ins on trade deals and quickly dumped) for such a short time I haven't had a chance to break one - and I've never purchased one new.

I play everything from classic rock to blues to country-rock to worship-band music (and crossovers of ALL those styles) on the aforementioned Tele, a couple more similar ones (Including an elusive and rare Nashville West), a Trussart Steel DeVille, '63 Jag, and modified 50's/60's Fender pedal steels. I use it with all of them, and it's especially effective on pedal steel and lap steel. In 45 years or so of playing I've been through hundreds of pedals, amps, guitars and other instruments/gadgets. VERY few are in the category of "if it disappeared or broke I'd flip out". This is one of them, and I'd replace it in a heartbeat.

AND open the back and adjust the trim pot....

;-)

With two-knobs and a direction switch, it's easier to tweak than high end filters like the AF9 or Lovetone, but the up/down switch still gives more control and variety than you get with the Guyatone or DOD designs. This switch sets this box apart from the others, and was the main attraction. Too bad you can't flick it with your shoe in mid-song.

The two knobs are very responsive and do what the labels say. Peak controls the highest frequency the filter hits. It's like a tone control that takes the edge off the quack. Sensitivity is the input gain, and controls where the filter starts and idles after initial decay. So the two knobs can control the highest and lowest point of the filter sweep to an extent.

This is a very early model with a silver-screw for the battery compartment and momentary LED. After using this pedal, I understand why Boss changed these two little details.

Sounds similar to Eric Krasno's envelope filter, which I think actually and envelope PHASER made by Pigtronix. The filter decay is quite slow which is good in both modes. Long sweeps are easy to get, though you can also get some quick quack and flatulent pops. A lot of this depends on your picking, which is also very good. It's very sensitive. I've been using an Ibanez GB-10 which has very hot pickups, so I've got to keep the sensitivity down to about 8 o'clock. I hear some distortion, which could be the at the pedal's input, low-batteries or excessive mid-range driving my Mesa-Boogie Studio 22. Using a Barber Tonepress in front helps control the sweep (I wonder how many other compressors without a dry-mix could do this?) The sound can be a bit grainy without it.

Generally, I don't use distortion with this effect, but welcome a little bit of grunt on my clean sound. The distortion it creates is not really desirable though. For me it works well enough for synth-like tones on Jamiroquai and Headhunters songs, and gives my my solos something extra that makes them stand out.

This pedal is 30 years old. I rescued it from the trash. I think it's built to last, though I have had two Boss pedals die on me in the past.

Called Roland today about a different 30-year old pedal. They were EXCEEDINGLY polite in Japanese, but couldn't help me.

This is a good pedal - not a great one. It sounds good, and has two or basic sounds which are both usable for adding flavor to the extended improvisations on Stevie Wonder tunes I love to play. It's much more responsive and warmer than the filter algorithms I played with in Zoom, Korg and Boss multi-FX processors. Being able to switch direction beats the DOD.

It IS possible to get a bad sound with this by turning everything up too high, but I can dial in a good sound when I play Too High. Eventually I may sell this one, and get a Guyatone or Meatwad instead.

As with every Boss pedal the operation is very simple. It has two knobs for controlling the senstivity and intensity and third controller is the toggle switch for forward/reverse wah effect behaviour. I think the T relates to touch and its means that this pedal basically works on the concept of string picking force. The more force you apply for picking the more intense the wah effect will be and vice versa.

I bought it brand new probably in 1985. I do not use it very often but this does not mean that is not good but I think it has a very specific sound so I cannot see using it all the time. However I found its sound very interesting and it is a real fun to play with this type of pedal. The sound is very clean and there is no much background noise. My set up for this pedal is here; Guitar=T-wah=Boss Distortion=Boss graphic equalizer=Behringer tube ultra gain preamp MIC-200=Fender amp FM212R. You can produce very interesting crying type lead sound combining with distortion & setting T-wah intensity knob at Full and senstivity knob at Zero and toggle switch to Low. As I said earlier that this pedal has a specific sound for specific music so I use it not very often but I must say that every guitarist at least should have one such type of pedal in his collection to give a different/classic touch and flavor to his sound.

No words for Boss pedals they are life-time guranteed.

Never ever had a chance to deal with them and that is proof for Boss reliablity.

I mostly play rock, blues, popular and country. I have been playing guitar for the last 28 years and I own lot of amps, guitars and effect pedals mostly from Boss. If this one stolen I would buy there new Auto wah pedal AW-2. There is nothing to hate about it but rather its use is somewhat limited in general music. I choose this one because it was a new item in the market in 1985 and I wanted to experiment with it to explore something new with my sound.

Once you get the hang of it it's pretty easy.

I run this through various setups. It is a bit noisy but in a live situation you wouldn't notice. I was about to sell it then I tried it with my Nord Electro on a Rhodes setting, concentrating on the bass register. I loved the sound ('Down' position) but thought I could get it with another filter. Nine filters later and I couldn't get there. I then played bass guitar with it live and everyone's eyes lit up when I turned it on. It retains the bass but adds that wonderful squelchy sound on top. As someone said to me, "not too much effect, just right". For the moment it's a one trick pony that does the trick beautifully.

Ironically this is one of the Boss pedals that people seems to have issues with. This one is OK for now.

I play a mix of stuff with guitar, bass and keyboards. This pedal has cemented itself into my bass lineup. The 'Up' position is quite trebly and might be useful on guitar but getting down with the 'Down' position is the go. My 10 rating is for bass with the down position only. It may seem limited but it really does sound that good.

Mine says Touch Wah on it as opposed to T-Wah so I guess it's older. My review is for the Touch Wah version since I have not tried the T-Wah. I don't know if there is a difference in sound.

This box kicks out some seriously warm, organic filter tones. It really surprised me.

It doesn't sound exactly like working a wah with your foot but it will do things a normal wah cannot. After all it is an envelope follower so is contours to the dynamics of your playing. It DOES sound like a wah though and it has a real inductor in it just like a cry baby etc...It makes other auto wahs sound fake by comparison.

This is a great vintage wah sound. I much prefer its thick organic tone to the anemic and fake sounding auto wahs boss has made since. I thought the FT-2 was pretty cool until I heard this, but this stomps all over it.

Just another stomp box, hence very easy to deal with. No patches, no firmware, no nothing. A funny manual (together with some bumper stickers and aboundant marketing brochure) came stuffed in the box. I still miss that old days.

Everybody here seems to be pretty content with this old box (I have mine for as long as I care to mention). I was never able to get one usable timbre for me. Probably at that time I was way too impulsive at buying effects (I had a zillion!) and was not careful enough in order to select what I need. Everything I could desire I did obtained later with a conventional Wah Wah. I'm in no position to say if this auto wah effect is rich or poor in its own right, only that I did learn to hate the auto wah effect as such with it. I guess that if you play brit pop, or phsychodelia, or some other fluctuant wavy guitar style you might find this one appealing. Otherwise, please give it a good long check at it before purchase...

Made in Japan. Boss old school. As good as it gets...

N/A

As I said "is not you, it's me". I dislike everything about this one. From the way it looks to the way it sounds. A word of advice: TRY IT carefully.

Very straightforward autofilter. Simple and very easy to dial in a good sound.

I'm using a strat and les paul into Victoria Bassman. Here is the chain - WH-1 Whammy - T-Wah - Keeley BD-2PH - Keeley Comp - MJM Blues Devil - Maxon AD-900.

The sound quality is excellent - it is a very laid-back medium-slow attack auto filter. For the hardcore funk crowd, there are better filters. However if you are into more ambient, semi-electronic, layered music - this is the best filter I've come across. Think U2 Achtung/Zooropa, or Radiohead OK Computer. It puts forth your standard filtering type effects, but it also adds some nice feedbacky overtones which sound heavenly in front of a good analog delay and overdrive. It reminds me somewhat of the sound of a DOD 440, but a little more rich and more flexible in my opinion. I also own an Ibanez AF-201 which is much better suited for six string funk, keyboards, bass guitars - the ibanez has a much 'zippier' filter. But if you're looking for a nice rich slow-filter sound, this is your baby.

Well everyone seems to say boss pedals are extremely reliable, I tend to agree.

I've been playing for 11 years, and I've had a lot of experience with standard wahs and auto filters. If it were ever lost, I'd seek out another one, since it is such a unique filter. It is one of those effects that really helps your writing and playing and it'd be a shame to go without one now - and since all the rockstars seem to be playing Lovetone Meatballs, Mutron III's, ibanez AF's, and DOD 440's, those units are selling for stupid high prices. This pedal is fantastic even at $100 and it's the best filter I've heard for layered rock.

Two knobs and a switch......if you can't figure this one out, good luck to you in life! I don't have the manual, but my guess is that you won't need it.

Sounds great! If you are looking for a regular wah-wah sound, buy a wah-wah pedal, not an auto wah/envelope filter. This unit does a great job of getting that Garcia tone as heard on shakedown street and others. The only noise I get is when the toggle switch is set to "down", which is not the setting I use anyway (I use "up"). I keep the "peak" cranked and the "sens" rolled back from full crank just a bit. I''m into Hendrix, Clapton, Dead, Phish, and just about everything short of Death Metal. My set up is:

1. Guitar signal chain: Fender Lone Star Strat/Les Paul DC Standard>Boss TU-2>Crybaby Wah with Fasel inductor and ICAR pot mods>Boss OC -2>Boss TW-1>Ibanez TS9>Boss NS-2>Marshall TSL 122 combo

2. Effects loop:Boss PH-1r>DOD Fx-64>Boss DD-3

Bought mine from ebay and it looks like some 500 pound champ put it under his/her mattress for years, but works 100%! Like others say, it's a Boss.......only cockroaches and Boss pedals will be left after a nuke fallout.

never had to deal with Boss, but I'm guessing there isn't much help available for a used pedal that is 20+ years old, as reasonably expected.

This pedal rocks. If stolen/lost I would have a beer, take a deep breath, then buy another one.

I'd give it a 10, but finding the right sensitivity is kinda tough, i find it better if you can control the level in with an eq pedal or something, so you don't have to dig in any harder.

Once it's set I think it sounds great. I've noticed a lot of reviews here where people were dissappointed it didn't sound like a foot wah... get your s#!t together people, it's not supposed to! It's supposed to sound like a greatful dead solo, and it does.

I play bass, so I use it to synth up my tone, it works great but there is a volume drop I find quite annoying, I'm looking into moding it to correct this. I'll let you know how it goes.

It's a boss, you could drive over it with your van and it would still work fine.

it's a boss, if it doesn't break, you don't need to call someone to fix it.

I've been playing for most of my life (over 20 years) I play a 7 sting bass through an ampeg svtpro3 and two ampeg 410 classic cabs in a tech/house influenced rock band. It's great for dynamic shifts and synthy sounds and using it with an octave and a touch of overdrive sounds a hell of a lot better than any bass synth pedal... no one has those down yet at all in my opinion.


i wish it had a pre amp in the sensitivity section, but other than that, it gets a thumbs up from me.

This thing is as easy as one two three. 2 Knobs for the sensivity and the other for the amount of effect. Just play chords a bit aggresive and you can get a nice sound (I don't want to call it a wah sound, but you'll hear that next). Of course it's got the typical Boss battery change stompbox thingie idea bla bla har har yakkerdiesmackerdie... it's a Boss, go to a guitar store to see what Boss pedals look like. Very easy to use.

Make sure you have this pedal in front of your distortion (so do it like guitar->t-wah->distortion->amp) otherwise it'll kill your whole distortion sound leaving you with nothing but crappy wah.

But as I said before, you can't call this a wah nowadays (2003). The effect is an imitation of a wah, and you shouldn't buy this thing 2nd hand (they're discontinued...) if you want a WAH. Go buy a crybaby and move your lazy feet :-) or buy a newer Boss AW-2 if you want a more natural autowah.

I'll give it an 8 for not sounding like a typical autowah and for the fun I have just doing weird stuff with this.

It's Boss and it's built like a tank and it never breaks bla bla bla bla bla bla har har yackerdiesmackerdie. It's a Boss!

Dealt with Boss once because I had to get a new rubber ringthingie for my Boss tuner because it broke, they send me 5 of those things so it's good customer support.

I play experimental/alternative/indie music, this pedal works pretty good in creating that weird sound. It's experimental and you're a real original if you use this pedal, nobody would want a crappy autowah. I'd like to call this pedal the crapwah, and I like it.