Is the Xotic XW-1 wah pedal worth it?

[Snake Aces]

Anybody have it?

 

[PFDarkside]

I’ve not used it but I’ve used a lot of other highly tweakable Wahs. Have you played other tweakable wahs and you’re wondering Xw-1 vs. 525Q or have you only played basic Crybaby/Vox wahs before?

Looking at the manual, the XW-1 has Q which is typical, it’s got Treble/Bass which is nice and it’s got input gain/bias which are rare outside of the Teese and other super tweakable wahs. What’s curious is that it’s only got two sweep
settings (Sweep Capacitor) in a dip, and even the 535Q has 6. It seems like it wants to be squarely in the “vintage crybaby/vox” camp with some tweaks to make it more personalized.

My initial thought is you get more band for the buck from the 535Q and you get more tweakability for a similar price with the Teese RMC3.

I’m curious to see what others say, it’s an interesting wah that I haven’t had the chance to play yet.

 

[Snake Aces]

I have used a handful of wah pedals over the years. My favorite was a Snarling Dawgs Blues Bawls wah. It was great but some of the features were not always reliable. I have used a Morley. Didn't dig it. I have used a lot of CryBaby wahs including my current wah.

I guess I am just curious what else is out there. In 2015, I bought one of these in Greece and I am still using it:

 

[Synapsys]

With my setup I went with a MXR CAE MC404. Basically two tweakable wahs in one, and a clean boost included.

 

[zizyphus]

It's a fantastic Wah, and I love it, but whether it's "worth the price" is another story

I don't mind that I paid what I did for it, but I don't think I've gotten every penny's worth, because I've used a "set and forget" approach. I found a Wah tone I love in it, and I don't fiddle with it anymore

Now, I also subsequently bought the Dunlop Mini Hendrix Wah for my 3-pedal, "grab-and-go" board, and it actually nails the same tone that I love out of the Xotic. Considering that, you could say that the extra $$$ went to waste. Then again, there is NO tweaking on the Hendrix Mini, and the Xotic is micro-adjustable to get EXACTLY the tone you like. In that sense, you could say that its MY fault that I haven't gotten my money's worth – if I was looking for a one-trick pony, why did I buy an expensive swiss army knife?

Bottom line is that its an outstanding wah that would be worth the price if you like to tweak, but if not, you might be able to find something that works a bit better for you for a small fraction of the cost if you spend enough time trying different pedals out.
__PRESENT

 

[Snake Aces]

It's a fantastic Wah, and I love it, but whether it's "worth the price" is another story

I don't mind that I paid what I did for it, but I don't think I've gotten every penny's worth, because I've used a "set and forget" approach. I found a Wah tone I love in it, and I don't fiddle with it anymore

Now, I also subsequently bought the Dunlop Mini Hendrix Wah for my 3-pedal, "grab-and-go" board, and it actually nails the same tone that I love out of the Xotic. Considering that, you could say that the extra $$$ went to waste. Then again, there is NO tweaking on the Hendrix Mini, and the Xotic is micro-adjustable to get EXACTLY the tone you like. In that sense, you could say that its MY fault that I haven't gotten my money's worth – if I was looking for a one-trick pony, why did I buy an expensive swiss army knife?

Bottom line is that its an outstanding wah that would be worth the price if you like to tweak, but if not, you might be able to find something that works a bit better for you for a small fraction of the cost if you spend enough time trying different pedals out.
__PRESENT

Thank you very much! This is very, very helpful!