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.

Easy. Two knobs, one switch. Duh.

Horrible. People try to say this is a close version of the Mutron III. No friggin' way, pal. This thing sounds like a wah pedal rocked halfway open and then wiggled back and forth about an inch. Not a lot of diversity. Doesn't offer anywhere *near* the depth and vowel like pronunciation as a Mutron III. People have said this pedal has been used on the solo to the New Bohemhians tune "What I Am". Nope. Not this one. No can do. Tone is mucho sucky sucky.

If it sounds like shit, it'll last a million years. If it sounds great, it'll break.

This will most certainly last a million years.

Don't know. Don't care.

Blech. This will be going on Ebay soon. It sucks much ass.

Not that hard to use, though sometimes it can be hard to match it to the instrument. I play bass, and sometimes find the unit frustrating, but usually once I get the sensitivity about right, then it just takes a little tweaking.

OK, this is the section that made me want to write this review: my TW-1 is microphonic!!! It's hilarious, with distortion and stage volume, if you tap the pedal while you aren't playing, you can hear it through the amp! Why is this?!! Fortunately, you can't hear it when you turn the pedal on and off. I'm not complaining, I'm more from the Can/Sonic Youth/Grateful Dead school of noise, so I find it charming.

With distortion, this thing sounds incredible. Almost like a synthesizer. I thought it sounded cheesy by itself, but in listening to a tape of my band, it actually sounds cool without any other effects.

Oh yeah, one other thing, and this one's really important. As a bassist, I must point out that when you kick it on, the bottom end drops out noticably, especially when playing with drums and band. So what I do is put my Boss bass parametric eq with the volume and bass boosted next to it, and kick them both on with one foot whenever I use it. Sneaky huh?

Oh yeah, how could I forget: you know how if your pickups are microphonic and your gain is really high they emit a horrible high-pitched squeal? Well, with the TW-1 on, that squeal becomes a usable tone - just stick your bass up near the speakers and move it around and instant Jimi Hendrix!!! Just get your soundman to add some delay and it sounds great.

I've been using it at gigs and it hasn't given me any trouble.

Although I've owned Boss effects for almost 20 years, I've never dealt with the company.

I bought this thing almost 20 years ago when I was in high school in Japan. I actually never used it live (due to the low end dropoff described above) until this year. But with an eq pedal to boost the lows it's great. I might not pay full price for one now, but if you can find one used go for it!

Just turn it on and tweak those knobs! Get it?

Ahh,yes.As far as auto-filters go the TW-1 is pretty good.When you tweak the knobs,it can make very dramatic changes in it's response. From pick-wah to ultra compressed,slow attack.BUT THIS IS GOOD!Both up and down modes are very sensitive and useful.Tone is also very deep,not nearly as much as the Mutron III,but kind of juicey.I've played almost all of the auto-filters,the TW-1 is in the middle of the pack.Pretty standard,but very funky! Oh what the hell,I'll give it a 9!

These things are built very well! It stands in for my AF-9,which can be a little frail at times.

Forget it!

I play a lot of R&B these days and Wedding Music,but Rock and Funk are my first loves!
I grew up with these auto-filters(Mutron3,AF-201,AF-9,TW-1,Zipper, Dr.Q and others)so I'm very critical of them.Uhh,the T-Wah is very good,but it's NO MATCH for the AF-9.It's just not as flexible...not as much "SPANK" to it!!However,I love it just the same.You'll get rich,soupy auto-wah sounds(no sweep)that'll you smile.And $75.00 is a very fair price for this FUNKY,brown nugget!Since I'm from that era,I can confidently say,the TW-1 is worth checking out.

Two knobs and a switch; definitely not brain surgery. As far as getting it to react the way you want, that tends to be a combination of how the TW-1 is set, and the setting of whatever signal drives it. So, sometimes, the best setting will come by leaving the TW-1 alone and altering the volume, tone, and overdrive (or attack, etc., if it's a synth) of the guitar, bass or keyboard or any other audio signal that manages to get something workable from it. Truthfully, the TW-1 doesn't have the most tweakable filter by a long shot, but it is bot really designed to function as a straight filter, but as an envelope follower. For guitar, bass or CLAVINET (!!)... *or* Rhodes or Wurlitzer, too... it's a no-brainer. By the way, I once had a client who wanted to put a seventies "string ensemble" keyboard through the TW-1, and I started to try to tell him why that wasn't a good idea. Glad I didn't, because I turned out to be totally wrong. By some careful setting of volumes, the string ensemble's ultra slow attack (which I thought would be of no use combined with the TW-1) yielded some very cool polyphonic synth sounds at a time when I could never afford one. So, while it seems "made" for guitar, bass, and percussive keys, you might find some cool snare drum snap and 100 other uses if you experiment.

Judging sound quality is tricky ? you have to combine that assessment with what it is. In other words, it isn't the quietest of such effects, but the classic envelope follower funk sound is nasty by nature. Bite is good. When I use extreme settings that raise the noise floor, I sometimes use a noise gate. For choppy rhythm sounds, a noise gate is perfect; it opens up to let the nasty bite come through and instantly shuts down for silence between. This noise was never an issue with live use. I only gated it for recordings. And although I did find it necessary to gate, noise is more or less inherent in this type of device. Some newer "salon" devices will be cleaner for the silent passages, but if you take them one on one doing the same thing, the TW-1 will fly. It won't be as flexible, but for the basic funk thing, it is there full blown.

Mine is approximately twenty-five years old, and it looks and works like new. When you hold it, you feel like it should have a pin... like a hand grenade! As long as you know your battery or power supply are ready for the gig, I'd trust this as much as ANY piece of audio musical equipment on earth. It literally feels like it must be military spec.

I've never had a reason to contact Roland/Boss about this device, but my dealings with them in general have been fine when you consider the sheer glut of products they have now and have had over the years. The real key to Roland/Boss Customer Support in general has been to make products that are ultra solid. There have been some exceptions, but for the most part, very solid. They are friendly, but they are also a large corporation, so you have to be ready to press 1 if you are having a bad day. :o) Personally, I can't see needing a manual with a device this simple, and I don't even recall the manual. Roland/Boss is not generally real consistant with manuals, though. If I was them, I would consider updating that department, because having excellent products and so-so manuals can be frustrating for the user. Their Turbo Guides and Video Manuals help, although I think they should take the Video Manual thing further on their more complex devices. Having said this, I should also say that Roland/Boss compares very favorably with other large music/tech products manufacturers' Customer Support.

I got the TW-1 mainly for a studio environment initially, but I was playing keys in a funk band at the time, so it wasn't uncommon for the Clavinet to pass through it on gigs or sometimes an electric piano (Rhodes sometimes, Wurlitzer sometimes). For funk and dance type stuff the TW-1 is a natural, but having witnessed its use in unexpected places, I try to remember to count it amongst the usual possibilities. It's a good idea. Filters, in general, can be used a lot if subtlety is applied. Depending on the price for used, I think these are still a great value. However, if you want to take the whole filter/envelope follower/wah thing further and into the realm of better quality and expanded features, there's the new BOSS AW-3 (digital, very cool sounding, though), or the Big Briar Moogerfooger MF-101 Lowpass Filter ("the classic Moog filter", along with follower for funk, pedal for wah, LFO for swirls) and the Lovetone Meatball (can't go wrong with a name like that) for vintage/state-of-the-art analog higher price spread. It's all good.

Two knobs - One for Level one for sensitivity. There is also a groovy little toggle switch to select the direction of the envelope drive. in the Up position you get a standard wah sound. The Down offers up Mutron sounds and is much more interesting for me. i leave this thing set with the knobs maxed and with the drive Down. I use a DOD fx25 for Up drive tones as they sound better than the TW1's.
The manual is pretty good - Mines really old (1979) and (curiously) stinks of fish! Infact the carton AND the pedal both stink of raw fish....its annoying really but doesn't affect the sound.
My pedal is the Touch Wah with metakl thumb screw and inked on serial number. These were the second run of TW1. First came the T Wah but no-one knew what T meant so they printed Touch wah. This changed back again later though. Later Boss models had plastic thumbscres too - All this is meaningless when you talk about the sound of the thing but if you like your vintage and collectables then keep a look out for the metal screw.

Very nice sounding. As I said earlier I prefer the down drive but the up is cool too. Nice wah sounds clean and distorted. I use my TW1 with a Digitech Whammy/wah,a BigMuff,a DOD BuzzBox and loads more - check out http://nadzb.tripod.com/thepedallair/ for some nice pics and info. The sounds produced are nice and strong and the TW1 has a tendency to boost the signal alot too - sometimes too much but its easily sorted. I like to use this pedal to play Radiohead,Sonic Youth and loads of other stuff too - It does inspire you to play new stuff and this can only be a good thing -even if it does have you learning (shock horror) Funk and Disco licks!!!

OCH! Its a Boss - It is invincible! Mine's older than I am and in better shape than me too!

The TW1 is a permenant fixture on my pedalboard. I like to use my Envelope filters after distortion pedals but this one will perfrom well where efer it is in your signal path. I've been collecting pedals for a couple of years and so far this is the best envelope pedal (to my ears) I have found. Ok so its old and stinks of fish.....but so does your Grandad but you love him don't you? Think of it as the Grandaddy of Boss Auto wahs and you won't be far off - This is one of Boss' coolest offerings if you ask me and I intend to use it for along time yet. Now where's the odour eaters.........

A no brains thing. One up or down frequency adjustment that most of the others pedals dont have.

Not really like a good wah unit like Dunlops, Voxes, RMCs (no Morleys please) but they do the job quite nicelly.
They give you a beef up on your tone.

I am lucky to have this thing for 18 years now. Never broke, never let me down. Its a Boss what more can you say about it.
In fact it was my very first pedal, bought brand new for U$80,00

Who cares, they will last forever.

One of my favorite pedals until I get a "real" wah.
Its funky, very funky. I give it a 9.

One sensitivity knob, one for the sweep, and an up/down switch. As soon as I can remember if turning the sensitivity control clockwise increases sensitivity to picking or if it actually raises the treshold (eg the higher the treshold the harder the strings must be hit to trigger the wah), I'm pretty sure I'll find the tones of yesteryear!

It's an envelope-followed wah-wah, and I find that I must bash the strings rather hard to get a full wah sweep. I use a Squire Standard Telecaster and a home made double cutaway Les Paul special, through a Fender Blues Jr amp, sometimes through a Zoom amp simulator ( the Fender amp sounds best IMOHO).

Either I've set the sensitivity control the wrong way, or the electrolytic caps need to be replaced ... for the price I paid for it, I wouldn't mind paying for a cap replacement. I used to own one of those back in '83, and I've kicked myself for selling it ... for a pedal of its type (envelope-followed filter) the sound is quite good (though I must bash the strings quite hard, for that funky, chunky rythm part.

It's a Boss! Caps may dry out and need replacement but Boss construction is legendary.

Bought it second hand!

For those times where a wah is required, and if one enjoys the intensity to match your playing dynamics, those babies do the trick quite well. Boss no longer makes them, which is why I jumped at the purchase when I saw it for that price!

I think DOD still makes their envelope filter (same effect, different make), and Guyatone makes a version of this too ... but having as many pedals working off the same AC adapter is a major bonus. I take a few points off due to wear and tear and the fact that new caps may be required, but make no mistake this one's a keeper!

The TW-1 is an auto wah. That means its not like a regular wah. It changes the wah sound for you, instead of you pushing the pedal up and down. Its very easy to get a good sound out of. It's also good for playing Kirk Hammet's solos with. I didn't get a manual (bought it used). The controls on it are Sensitivity and Peak. There is a switch to make the sound like it's below the water, or above the water. (Drive: Down, Up). I just crank the controls, and play with the drive (water) switch when I feel like it.

I'm using two guitars: Synsonics Pro Series Strat Copy and Alvarez Dana II. My amp is a Tubeworks RT-2100. The pedal sounds great. I can get Jimi Hendrix's tone, especially in Voodoo Chile, very easily. It's also good for playing Kirk Hammet's solos with. Its sounds great with or without distortion. If you use a distortion pedal, put the wah first in your pedal setup (going from guitar to amp)

Very sturdy, reliable, would gig without backup.

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They dont make this pedal anymore. If you find one, buy it. It'll be worth money in a few years. Great pedal!

Pretty simple pedal.. sensitivity and peak knobs w/a switch between drive down/up (ie: underwater or not). you can flick it with yr toe so it's pretty decent. it's a little hard to find a 'perfect' setting but after a little fine tuning it's the bomb. we run impulse tracker through it (a tracking program on the computer) and it gives like a whiplash effect on the beats. it can get a little harsh when used with a distortion pedal, but it's fixable. i'm debating "upgrading" to the autowah, but i prefer a pedal that wah's with your picking rather than being a continual thing like a flanger.

Very easy to use. Just plug in, set how much you want it to wah for you, and you're off to funky weird twang out heaven.

It isn't very noisy. It has two knobs: Sensitivity and Peak, and a switch for up/down. In the up mode, it changes the EQ of the insrument by cutting out the bass, and in the down mode, it cuts highs. The purpose of the pedal is to wah for you, but it dosen't really sound like a wah. It sounds more like your guitar is "scatting", a very bubbly sound for lack of a better term. Only problem is it drops your volume a little bit.

Very reliable. Wouldn't need a backup

Don't know, I've got tons of Boss pedals and never had any need to speak to customer support.

Man, I love this thing! It makes you feel funky! This is one of the few "vintage" pedals that haven't gotten out of hand pricewise, so get one while they're still cheap! It does contribute greatly to making music in an weird way....you don't think the same way when you play through it. I love the twang it provides, the roundness it gives to notes, and just the overall sound. The only downside is that it doesn't do chords well, and sometimes it gives some weird overtones. I would buy it for 4 to 5 times what I paid.