Harley Benton Custom Line WP-60 Wah B-Stock

I spent a solid week with the Harley Benton Custom Line AW-5 Auto Wah running through practice amps, a small pedalboard and a few rehearsal sessions to see how it would sit in typical home and band contexts. I come at this as a player who likes organic, touch-sensitive envelope filters for funk and R&B parts - I wanted something that would react predictably to dynamics, offer some tonal shaping, and not break the bank.

First Impressions

The AW-5 arrives in a neat, boutique-style metal box that immediately feels more substantial than its price suggests - the heavy-duty housing gives confidence for gigging and repeated pedalboard life. My first run-through plugged into a clean amp showed the pedal’s strengths straight away: it tracked dynamics well, and the three-mode filter switch gave very different character options with minimal fiddling. I also noticed the top-mounted knobs are large and easy to read, though their proximity to the stomp switch made me wary of accidental tweaks when stomping hard.

Design & Features

The AW-5 is an analogue envelope filter - essentially an auto-wah - with three control elements: Drive, Q (resonance) and a Mode switch that selects Low Pass, Band Pass or High Pass responses. It uses true-bypass switching and can be powered by a 9 V battery or a standard 9 V DC adapter, and it has a front-mounted status LED. Dimensions and weight make it broad but compact enough for most pedalboards, and the visual finish lends it a boutique look rather than a bargain-bin feel.

Build Quality & Protection

The enclosure is heavy-gauge metal and the footswitch has a confident click that inspires trust for stage use; the jacks are solid and there were no loose parts or rattles in my sample. The downside is the layout - because the knobs are relatively large and sit near the switch, it's possible to nudge a knob while stomping if you use heavier boots or a compact board layout. Overall I’d call the hardware better than expected at this price point, but plan your pedal order to keep those knobs out of harm's way.

Playability & Usability

Using the AW-5 felt immediate - I could get subtle vowel-like movement on light single-note runs and very pronounced, funky quacks when digging in harder. The Drive control is essentially the sensitivity/attack control - crank it to get more pronounced filter motion, back it off for a more restrained effect - while the Q control moves the sound from a round, mellow sweep to a thinner, spiky wah. The three-mode switch is genuinely useful: low-pass gives a subby, smooth sweep; band-pass is the classic auto-wah quack; high-pass is brighter and great for leads or keyboards that need a sharper envelope effect.

Real-World Experience

I used the AW-5 in a variety of settings - bedroom practice, a small amp mic’d for a loop-back recording and a rehearsal with a trio - and the pedal behaved consistently. Through clean and slightly overdriven amp channels it tracked well, although with high-gain cranked it became harder to maintain the same envelope responsiveness - for heavier rock tones I preferred to place it before distortion or dial back Drive. For funk rhythm parts the pedal sits perfectly in the pocket and adds movement without sounding artificial or overly processed.

The Trade-Offs

There are compromises: the knob layout means accidental changes are a real possibility on crowded boards and heavy stomping, and the pedal’s envelope tracking is touch-sensitive - which is what you want for expressive playing but can be unforgiving if your picking dynamics vary wildly. Also, while the AW-5 sounds great for its category, players chasing pristine studio-grade envelope filters or very complex modulation options will find it limited by its simplicity. That said, for the majority of guitarists and keyboardists wanting classic 70s-style funk or an easy-to-use auto-wah, it’s an excellent pragmatic choice.

Final Verdict

The Harley Benton Custom Line AW-5 Auto Wah punches well above its price for players who want authentic envelope-filter tones without fuss - it’s musical, responsive and versatile thanks to the three filter modes and Q control. If you need a rugged, no-nonsense auto-wah for funk, R&B, or tasty lead embellishments and you’re on a budget, this pedal should be on your shortlist; if you require studio-grade features or a stomp-proof layout for aggressive gigging, be mindful of the knob placement or consider mounting options that protect the controls.

Technical Specifications (verified)

Boutique-style analogue envelope filter / Auto Wah - Controls: Drive, Q Control, Mode Switch (Low Pass - Band Pass - High Pass) - True bypass - On/Off switch with status LED - Input and output: 6.3 mm jack - Powered by 9 V battery or 9 V power supply (not included) - Dimensions (W x H x D): 120 x 56 x 95 mm - Weight: 0.380 kg.