Boss announces Waza Craft BP-1W booster preamp pedal

October 26, 2023 · 4 sources

Boss announced the Waza Craft BP-1W Booster/Preamp on October 26, 2023, a compact preamp pedal that combines the preamp circuits of the CE-1 Chorus Ensemble and the Roland RE-201 Space Echo with a third, clean boost mode¹²³.

The BP-1W has three operation modes: CE, RE and NAT. The CE and RE modes reproduce the preamp sections of the two vintage units, while the third mode provides a clean boost that adds volume without coloration²³. The Gain knob offers saturation and drive tones that differ by mode, and the Level knob balances the effect and bypass sounds or pushes downstream pedals and amp inputs³⁴. A rear panel switch selects between two buffer types: a standard buffer or a vintage buffer with lower input impedance. Boss says the vintage type produces a warmer tone and a smooth dynamic response, with maximum benefit when a guitar with passive pickups is connected directly to the input. The standard buffer stays engaged for signal conditioning when the pedal is bypassed, regardless of the switch setting³⁴.

Boss says the CE-1 and RE-201 were discontinued over 30 years ago but remain widely used for their preamps as much as their effect sounds³⁴.

The BP-1W is made in Japan and will be available in November 2023 at authorized US Boss retailers for $169.99²³. MusicRadar reported it as available at Thomann, Sweetwater and Andertons¹.