Xotic Effects XW-1 Wah pedal - Exceeding All Expectations

For all players in pursuit for high-end products and possibly the best wah pedal in the world, we bring you the mighty XW-1 from Xotic Effects. Packed to the gills with top-level components and sound of the highest quality, this item has been branded as the holy grail of wah pedals by fans and critics. We took this puppy for a spin and we have to agree that this is indeed one of the top models out there. Let's see what it's about then!

Features

Crafted in California, USA, the pedal comes in an elegant and sleek white casing. It's all metal, sturdy as a tank and just feels really nice under your foot. While we prefer the so-called "step on, step off" mode of operation, this fella feels as smooth as it can get. The device features a 20 percent smaller footprint than standard wah pedals, along with some of the finest, lowest noise circuits we have ever seen. Some wahs tend to suffer from high noise levels, or gain injections or sonic alterations, but this baby has none of that stuff – it's just your guitar tone and that sweet, sweet wah vibe. As for other features worth mentioning, the product weighs in at 2.5 pounds and comes with a total size of 6 x 4 x 2.5 inches. It features an adjustable pedal torsion, a set of four control knobs, an of/off switch, as well as one input and one output.

Controls

First of all, let's focus on the pedal – smooth as a whistle! We believe that smoothness is of utmost importance for wah jamming, and this fella will just suck you in to jam on forever. Apart from that, we are looking at four control knobs – Bias, Wah-Q, Bass, and Treble. These allow more than sufficient control of the sonic frequencies, as well as the general sound of the wah effect, allowing you to cover a massive chunk of audio specter and utilize the device both for guitars and basses.

Performance

Now this is the winning ticket! The overall experience of using this pedal has been nothing but top-notch for us. While controls offer you the possibility of making a solid array of audio tweaks, the strongest point of this pedal is the essential sound it offers. Regardless of the settings you dial in, that basic sonic attack will always be strong enough to blow your socks off. Some of the main things that craft such audio excellence are volume quality and rock solid frequencies. Unlike many wah pedals, this fella will NOT alter your volume even in the slightest sense when turned on. The same goes for audio frequencies – they all remain unchanged when the wah is turned on, which is especially rare in the case of bass frequencies, which always tend to get altered.

Conclusion

Is this the best wah pedal on the market? It just might be, yes. It belongs in the high-end domain, and the price is perhaps a tad hefty, but still very reasonable and ultimately worth every cent. As a matter of fact, we can't think of a single pedal within this price range to beat the Xotic, yet we can think of more expensive devices that the XW-1 can beat without a hassle. So highly recommended, this is one of the ultimate wahs! More about the Xotic Effects XW-1 Wah pedal, click here. For more Wah-Wah Pedals On The Market , click here.