New BOSS pedals!

[zentropa]

Very, very good information. Now let the FZ-1W hunt begin.

They were going for fairly cheap recently. A friend of mine got a brand new one for $100 shipped from a store that liquidated theirs by calling their new stock used/mint (it came with that store's receipt that indicated this).

Historically, most fuzz pedals don't mesh well with my play style. The FZ-1W is one of the few that I really enjoy and it doesn't suffer from a lot of issues that some fuzz circuits do, e.g. it does just as well with humbuckers and single coils, it doesn't glitch out on chords using 4+ strings, it doesn't need you to roll back on the guitar volume, and it can take a buffered signal input so you can place it anywhere in the chain. When I play it, I feel like Boss really tried to address the shortcomings of classic fuzz designs. I know a lot of fuzz players like how classic fuzz circuits glitch, so the reduced glitching part may not be a feature for everyone.

Another waza note, but the CE-2W has a similar volume reduction that the DC-2/CE-3 had.

[bigtone23]

Current MT-2 and MT-2W are such a different animal than MT-2 from the 90s and early 00s. The current ones have much lower gain op amps in them, so they don't compress into high-speed bee fight territory as easily. I seem to remember the change happening in phases around 2010-2011? There was a period of 1 original op amp and 1 new op amp, and after that it switched to 2 of the new.

My favorite use for the MT-2W is in custom mode as a dirty boost into an overdriven amp, which also happens to be my favorite use for the SM9.

I have owned all of them except for the TU-3W. I have mixed feelings about them in general. The dirt pedals tend to be more articulate and have a much lower noise floor than the standard versions. With that in mind, the only one where I like the waza definitively more than the standard is the DM-2W. I find most of them play and feel differently than originals, with slightly different harmonic content, less smoothness, etc. I sold the CE-2W and DC-2W because I preferred my originals. I kept all of the dirt pedals because I see them as different animals than the originals.

The underrated gem of the line is the FZ-1W IMO. It is one of my favorite fuzz pedals.

That's interesting about the op amps of the MT2 changing. It certainly makes sense, as the 90s era MT2 was 100% unusable for me. Even the lowest gain setting on those was too much gain, too much compression.

I too don't necessarily find much need for the Waza versions, as i have most of the originals and like them a lot. The TU3W will get scooped up when one pops up for a good deal. I like the black and blue motif of it. Same with a FZ1W, I don't have any BOSS Fuzz, but would like that one (and a FZ2!).

[zentropa]

That's interesting about the op amps of the MT2 changing. It certainly makes sense, as the 90s era MT2 was 100% unusable for me. Even the lowest gain setting on those was too much gain, too much compression.

I too don't necessarily find much need for the Waza versions, as i have most of the originals and like them a lot. The TU3W will get scooped up when one pops up for a good deal. I like the black and blue motif of it. Same with a FZ1W, I don't have any BOSS Fuzz, but would like that one (and a FZ2!).

I actually like the original MT-2, but I'm a fan of massively saturated 90s tone seeing as that is when I started playing, but I also take full advantage of the parametric mid and boost the crap out of it. I don't get to play loud very often, so it ends up meshing well with my playstyle at lower volumes. With that in mind, I think the newer version and the waza probably fit most people better.

I really like the FZ-1W, although I don't care much for the the TB-2W, FZ-2, or FZ-3 even though I have them. I sometimes classify the PW-2 as a fuzz since it's the closest thing Boss has to a Big Muff. The FZ-1W has been regularly going on sale for $149 since last November.

The weirdest of the Wazas to me is the DS-1W. When I think DS-1 I usually think of the MIJ/Black Label MIT circuit, but I have owned (and modded) plenty of V2, V3, and V4. I found all 4 versions of the standard feel similarly when played regardless of the tonal differences. The DS-1W I think sounds in the realm of a DS-1, but I don't think it plays at all like a DS-1. I think it feels a lot more like a Rat in that regards.

I end up with most of the Waza because when my family asks me what I want for my birthday or X-Mas, I just send a link to whatever Waza is out that I don't have yet. I have found the ones I am most excited about tend to leave me feeling disappointed and the ones I think will probably disagree with me I end up liking.

[Pepe]

I sometimes classify the PW-2 as a fuzz since it's the closest thing Boss has to a Big Muff.

That's why I cannot really bond with my PW-2. I rarely use it, because the Big Muff sound is something that has always left me unimpressed. A friend of mine has a model from 1974 and I had the chance to use it with my gear for some weeks. No love, I'm sorry.

The weirdest of the Wazas to me is the DS-1W. [...] The DS-1W I think sounds in the realm of a DS-1, but I don't think it plays at all like a DS-1. I think it feels a lot more like a Rat in that regards.

Oh, that could be the first DS-1 version that I could like. I have tried them all. So far orange BOSS pedals aren't appealing to me.

I have found the ones I am most excited about tend to leave me feeling disappointed and the ones I think will probably disagree with me I end up liking.

Some of my pedal purchases were very similar. There were some pleasant surprises and some unexpected disappointments.

[zentropa]

That's why I cannot really bond with my PW-2. I rarely use it, because the Big Muff sound is something that has always left me unimpressed. A friend of mine has a model from 1974 and I had the chance to use it with my gear for some weeks. No love, I'm sorry.

Oh, that could be the first DS-1 version that I could like. I have tried them all. So far orange BOSS pedals aren't appealing to me.

I like Big Muffs, but I'm fairly selective in how/when I use them. I think they do a great job of texture for certain parts of songs, but I don't really use them as a primary tone.

If you are looking for more touch sensitivity and responsiveness, the DS-1W is that compared to other versions, and it's particularly noticeable when playing in a staccato style. It uses JFETS to clip and doesn't saturate as much and has less compression. I've probably owned 75 DS-1 and I found the primary variability between the V1s is the level of compression (with the component variance due to drift/tolerance in the tone stack being #2). Long-dash tend to have far less compression than later ones.

The wildcard of orange pedals IMO are the germanium DS-2s, both MIJ and early MIT. I have had 7 and every single one of them sounded completely different. Some were entirely unusable in one of the modes for me due to being extremely harsh and ice pick while the other mode sounded great (this has happened with both standard and turbo modes). The last one I sold sounded like a Klon and a TS9 had a kid, and not even remotely like a DS-1 in either mode. Least consistent Boss pedal ever for me, sometimes they are really cool/unique, other times meh, other times very similar to a DS-1.

[zentropa]

Well, one of the most complicated pedal purchases I have ever gone through is nearly complete.

Found this on Los Angeles craigslist. Seller wouldn't ship nor take any form of electronic payment, but they were price flexible. Had to line up a friend to buy it in person. Next step is another friend is going to be bringing it to me in about 2 weeks.

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I wasn't planning on getting one of these, but my 2022 X-Mas bonus unexpectedly arrived on my paycheck a couple of weeks ago. I was dead set on getting one with an LED that stays on when the pedal is active.

[Pepe]

Awesome! It's a one-trick-pony and lots of people at YouTube are complaining about in the comment section of my demo video. But try to do the same with the volume knob or a pedal and you'll see that it requires a lot of practise.

[zentropa]

Awesome! It's a one-trick-pony and lots of people at YouTube are complaining about in the comment section of my demo video. But try to do the same with the volume knob or a pedal and you'll see that it requires a lot of practise.

I'm okay with it being a one trick pony. These were $250 in the 90s here back when a USA Standard Strat/Tele was $499 brand new. From a % standpoint, it has gone up in value by the less than most other MIJ Boss.

The pedal shop owner I talk to a lot thinks they won't do an SG-1W because there isn't an obvious custom mode, with the possible exception of a "fade out" pedal, aka noise gate, but marketed as something different.

[Pepe]

We talked about a Waza Craft Slow Gear from time to time at this place. We think that a custom mode could have an impact on the attack time which is pretty short in the original model.

[zentropa]

Well, had a development. Turns out the SG-1 got shipped and will arrive Monday. Today I went to a pedal swap at a music festival hosted by 1 of the 2 pedal nerd shops in town and there was this...

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Got it for $500 in hand. My girlfriend pushed me to get it. So... I will now be selling one of them.

This sort of thing always seems to happen to me.