Boss Waza Air question.

fretmeister

I'm thinking of getting one. I still think Boss are taking the piss by not putting all guitar and bass functions into 1 unit, but anyway.

I play mostly bass but I do write on guitar and I only want to buy 1 unit. It's also annoying that the guitar version doesn't have the drums / metronome that the bass one does.

For those with the guitar version - have you used it on bass? I know there is a flat setting for bass use, but how good is it? Or is one of the low gain guitar sounds better for bass use?

I don't need lots of different bass sounds, just something solid enough for sight reading / playalong practice.

ta

Fingers657

I’ve had the guitar version for a while and really love them  but don’t really use them as much as I should .I’ve never tried them with a bass just incase I damaged them.
Have you thought about getting the brilliant

BOSS KATANA 110B 1X10" 60W BASS AMP COMBO

It’s cheaper new and you can use it loud or low volume and use with headphones.
Lots of options.
It also works well with guitar.

RichAC

@fretmeister I've got a bass, and a pair of Waza Airs, and it shames me to say that I've never had thought to try one through the other until I saw this thread. 

I was just settling down to a guitar practice session, and thought I'd give it a go. It sounded terrible: wrong notes everywhere, sloppy fingering, unimaginative pentatonic runs. But enough about my bass playing! 

In all seriousness, I was impressed at how good it sounded. My bass is a Yamaha RBX something-or-other. I had it on the flat amp setting (which specifically says it can be used for bass). The best thing I can say about it is that I forgot I was playing through headphones and just enjoyed reconnecting with the bass after far too long with it sitting gathering dust, to the extent that my guitar practice hasn't got done, and I've flattened the battery on the Waza Airs (top excuse for not practicing there). 

Take anything I say with a pinch of salt, since I'm not a bassist and I've no real experience of playing through a proper bass amp - but it sounded good to my ears. Definitely worth trying, I'd say.

As to the metronome / drums thing, I use a drum machine app on my iPad bluetoothed to the Waza Airs, and it works well. 

fretmeister

Lovely! Just what I wanted to hear.

Thank you.

fretmeister

Fingers657 said:

I’ve had the guitar version for a while and really love them  but don’t really use them as much as I should .I’ve never tried them with a bass just incase I damaged them.
Have you thought about getting the brilliant

BOSS KATANA 110B 1X10" 60W BASS AMP COMBO

It’s cheaper new and you can use it loud or low volume and use with headphones.
Lots of options.
It also works well with guitar.

16.8kg for a 60W combo

Boss should be embarrassed by that. 

The excellent EBS Session 30 sounds superb and is only 7.3kg.

My 1000W giggable rig weighs under 20kg. That's 2 Barefaced cabs and a Mark Bass head.
No wonder the Katana bass stuff is not selling as well as they hoped. Bassists have fully embraced lightweight gear now that it is being made properly.

Darkglass had the same problem when they launched their original bass cabs - they were more than twice as heavy as Barefaced and Mark Bass, and had lower power handling. I think they lasted less than a year before they were discontinued and completely redesigned.

Ampeg have just launched amazingly light cabs at last, and GR Bass have their carbon range which are the lightest in the world. Their 8x10 is a 1 person easy lift!

Boss should have gone lightweight with the Katana bass range or just stuck with the Roland Cube stuff.

Fingers657

fretmeister said:

Fingers657 said:

I’ve had the guitar version for a while and really love them  but don’t really use them as much as I should .I’ve never tried them with a bass just incase I damaged them.
Have you thought about getting the brilliant

BOSS KATANA 110B 1X10" 60W BASS AMP COMBO

It’s cheaper new and you can use it loud or low volume and use with headphones.
Lots of options.
It also works well with guitar.

16.8kg for a 60W combo

Boss should be embarrassed by that. 

The excellent EBS Session 30 sounds superb and is only 7.3kg.

My 1000W giggable rig weighs under 20kg. That's 2 Barefaced cabs and a Mark Bass head.
No wonder the Katana bass stuff is not selling as well as they hoped. Bassists have fully embraced lightweight gear now that it is being made properly.

Darkglass had the same problem when they launched their original bass cabs - they were more than twice as heavy as Barefaced and Mark Bass, and had lower power handling. I think they lasted less than a year before they were discontinued and completely redesigned.

Ampeg have just launched amazingly light cabs at last, and GR Bass have their carbon range which are the lightest in the world. Their 8x10 is a 1 person easy lift!

Boss should have gone lightweight with the Katana bass range or just stuck with the Roland Cube stuff.

If Boss could have built it lighter and got the same great performance from it ? I’m sure they would have.
Mine sits on a trolley dolly so easy to move around the place without lifting.
You should go and try one before dismissing it.

fretmeister

I am unconvinced that any practice amp should ever need a trolley.

It's clear that it could have been built at half the weight without sacrificing performance because other companies have already done it. Boss, as Roland, already did it in their previous products.

Anyway, thank you for the idea but I have plenty of amps and I'm looking for a headphone system that doesn't need cables or be tethered to mains power while in use.

Lewy

Don't know about any of the bass stuff, but have been loving Waza Airs for the last few months. They're expensive but I'd say they've easily increased my usable practice/home playing time by 25% and that's worth a lot more.

fretmeister

Agreed. That's my aim really - hassle free practice in any room that is convenient at the time. Sheets on my iPad with a BT footswitch page turner. Perfect little practice rig I reckon.

We have a new bandleader and because we clearly haven't got enough difficult stuff to play, he's going heavy on Count Basie tunes as additions to the repertoire.

I can't wing that and I certainly can't sight read it at full speed!

Fingers657

I use a Boss FS-1-WL wireless foot switch.
It comes in very handy with my iPad.

fretmeister

I bought a Donner one about 3 years ago. It was about £35 then, now up to £60, alas.

Donner Bluetooth Page Turner Pedal, Wireless Page Turner Pedal Rechargeable Sheet Music Reading Controller for Tablets, Silver : Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments & DJ

I use Forscore on my ipad. It's very good, and it knows the difference between the layout of sheets. Either swapping to a new page, or just moving down a larger page with a push of the footswitch. Very useful when I've forgotten my glasses!  

Lewy

Another great Waza Air usage that just occurred to me the other day and which I'll definitely do is trying out guitars in shops. No more having to struggle with whatever crap they plug you into, have whatever fx you want and no self-consciousness about people listing in to what you're playing.

TeleMaster

Lewy said:

Another great Waza Air usage that just occurred to me the other day and which I'll definitely do is trying out guitars in shops. No more having to struggle with whatever crap they plug you into, have whatever fx you want and no self-consciousness about people listing in to what you're playing.

Oh we'll be listening, and judging too. You're never safe. 

munckee

I bought miss munckee a pair from here for her to take to halls at uni for her electric and her bass. It was quite tough to let her take them out of the house in the end I liked them so much.  Sounded fine with bass on the flat setting to me. She loves them.