Showing posts with label Cube. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cube. Show all posts

Friday, January 22, 2016

Boss Waza Craft Amp Head

New at NAMM. The guys at Roland\/Boss have announced the new Waza amp head. Boasting 150 watts of power and 'Ultimate high-gain, modded sounds'. So Boss have had a checkered past with it's amps. They've never really have a high successful amp line. The Roland cube is probably the closest they've come, but that is mostly due to the beginner pricing and the laundry list of features. Is this poised to be the amp that sends Boss and Waza into the into the respected ranks of prestigious amp makers? Well...



It's Solid State

This is kind of a head scratcher, but only from the outside. Yes, most amps that tout high end specs are tube driven. Most pro and active musicians own and use tube amps. There have been some very good solid state amps. Oddly, most of them are no longer in production or live on with a lot of never-really-bypassable effect built in. Boss has never had a large production tube amplifier to my knowledge. The Jazz Chorus amp and the Cube series are solid state. The Blues Cube amp is priced at the same price as a Fender Blues Jr and a Vox AC15, but lacks the authenticity to warrant the price. Does The Waza head do the same. Do they want to appeal to the high-gain, boutique amp users? It appears so, but they have doubled down on the side of the debate that most agree is long over...

It's Overpriced

If you remember when Waza first came out, then you remember that there were three original pedals. The BD-2 DM-something and the SD-1. The DS-1 and BD-2 were both priced at $150... that is a $50 pedal (the SD-1) for three times the price! Why? Who knows... I had no idea what Waza was. Keeley was already the kinda of overcharging for Boss gear. In fact you could probably get a modded Keeley pedal for less than what Boss wanted for the Waza stuff. I, and probably some other people, have to somewhat of a stigma about Waza products. Waza means overpriced. Whats the price tag hanging on this mysterious head? $2900. Nearly three grand for a solid state head. That's Marshall Plexi or Orange Thunderverb 200 (or two of any of Fenders flagship heads) money...

It's Unfinished

Yeah, do you remember the Randall head that had modular tone decks that allowed you to change the pre-amp tones. Evidently Roland/Boss/Waza doesn't either, because that is what they've done with this amp. The amp contains a internal section that hold tone 'capsules'. Except, there is only currently two options with space in the head for a third. This is underwhelming, although I'm glad that it is internal with a external switch.

Conclusion

This amp is the most exciting offering so for from Boss this NAMM. I like what I've heard from Boss' promotional video. But when reading the details, I get a sense that this amp is just another offering from Boss that misses the mark.



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