The PW-3, an analog wah pedal, has a durable, space-saving design that saves precious pedalboard real estate. It delivers pro wah tones. The PW-3’s Rich mode offers a wah voice that is rich in low end definition and richness, which has been newly created by BOSS and is missing with conventional wah circuits. Do you want a more conventional tone? For that vintage wah vibe, just toggle the rear-panel switch to Vintage mode.
Unlike other pedals that sacrifice feel and functionality when shrunk in size, the PW-3 strikes a great balance between practicality and playability. It features a solid and substantial die-cast aluminum chassis that feels great underfoot, as well as a long, smooth pedal action. While your foot obstructs the view, it’s difficult to tell when the effect is on or off when the pedals are downsized. Status LEDs on each side of the pedal make it far simpler to know when the wah is activated, which solves this problem.
Features Boss PW-3
- The thin tone of typical wah designs is absent in Unique Rich mode, which retains low-end fullness.
- For a classic wah sound, choose Vintage mode.
- Low-noise operation and pro playing feel with smooth pivot action and adjustable tension.
- Fits perfectly on a full pedalboard due to its space-saving design.
- The rugged, die-cast aluminum frame offers a stable and travel-ready feel.
- Pedal has on/off LEDs that enable you to view the status at a glance.
Boss PW-3 Wah Pedal Video YouTube
Benefits PW-3 Wah Pedal
This is a nice wah. But I ran it head to head against my Dunlop 535Q, and it can’t match the sound. The BOSS smokes a standard base CB wah by far. But it still retains a little of that harshness in the mid range when run with high gain/metal settings. I’m running it on the “RICH” setting which is better for gain in my opinion, but the versatility of my 535Q enables me to squash all the harsh scowling that you get on basic wahs and end up with a mellower, subtle sound. I will keep the BOSS for sure, but it’s not on my starting line up.
- Status lights
- Perfect footprint
- Fits well on a board without the awkwardness of mini pedals
- Sturdy, and gets a great classic sound.
The pedal travel is shorter than a CB, takes some getting used to, sounds good, works great on a board with top i/o and the on lights are really handy. Worked best for me after the gain pedals. I don’t find it’s missing anything with the 2 settings freq wise, just wish it had more throw and sweep to make easier to ride. If you find it too hard to press to turn on just remove one or 2 of the grey rubber pads under the pedal to adjust the pressure…….not talking about the feet.
Conclusion
Smaller than a standard Vox or Crybaby, but not too small, this thing sounds great and is built like an absolute tank. I love the two frequency options, they both sound great, with “full” being my favorite. I took off the bottom to see how it works and how it was built and I’m very impressed by the guts. Boss builds things to last for decades and this is no different. Looks-wise it doesn’t have that vintage appeal, but this, like all Boss stuff, is built for the working musician. It needs to do its job sonically, not give you warm fuzzies and make you think of the 60’s every time you look at it. I’m no wah expert, but I can’t imagine anyone who wants a good sounding, highly durable wah pedal being disappointed with this, especially given how reasonably priced it is compared to boutique offerings or even the higher end CBs and Vox’s. I got mine basically new for under a hundo, look around and you can really score a deal on these.
