Morley Wah Pedals...like or dislike?

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Re: Morley Wah Pedals...like or dislike?

I used a Power Wah for a few years. I got it in the deal I made when I bought my TSL. I liked the idea of the optical circuitry that wouldn't wear out!!

I'd never really spent much time testing wahs, but when I got my Dunlop JH-1, the difference was night and day. I find the Dunlop to be so much more open and vocal, and the fact that I would have to switch on the Morley with a separate switch before stepping on the rocker became annoying. The Morley did sound better with a bit of dirt, than clean, but my JH-1 just does it all better.
 
Re: Morley Wah Pedals...like or dislike?

Mostly dislike...

They ar ebig and heavy and as a general rule I don't care for the sweep or tone but past that the sdwitchless thing drives me nuts...I like to park a wah in one spot from time to time and use it as a filer...can't do that with a switchless wah...
 
Re: Morley Wah Pedals...like or dislike?

I never really liked the tone of any Morley Wah I have played. They take up too much room on a board also. Vox, Dunlop, or Teese, Fulltone. thats the way to go!
 
Re: Morley Wah Pedals...like or dislike?

and why. Discuss.

I was using a Tremonti power wah for a while and it really cut nice on overdriven leads but it was very overbearing on clean tones... I also had an original bad horsie which was the opposite of the tremonti. What I did like is the optical pot and auto on/off.... I sold both and use a BBE Wah these days.
 
Re: Morley Wah Pedals...like or dislike?

I've been playing one for over 10 years and it sucks! :) I really need to get something better. I just dont use it much, but thats probably because it blows.
 
Re: Morley Wah Pedals...like or dislike?

I like them, I have had a Bad Horsie 2 for a while now. I am not a big wah user, nor am I a very finicky about wah tone. It goes "wah-wah" and sounds like it should. It has been rock solid, the buffer sounds fine to me, and I really like the optical switch operation.

I had a Dunlop way back when, and I just never liked the traditional toe switch, and the it was a tone suck until it got a true bypass.
 
Re: Morley Wah Pedals...like or dislike?

I've been playing one for over 10 years and it sucks! :) I really need to get something better. I just dont use it much, but thats probably because it blows.


Vox Clyde McCoy is a great Wah out of the box and reasonable. The best Wahs IMHO are the Tesse Real McCoy(RMC). Pricey, but very very good!

http://www.realmccoycustom.com/index.htm

That said I have 3 wahs setup on 3 boards that I use with different amps. One is a vintage Crybaby that has been modded, the other is a Vox 847 that has been modded and the third is a stock Vox Clyde McCoy. My old Crybaby is my favorite. I also like the 847, but the Clyde is also very nice sounding. you jst have to play with them and find the one that works for you!
 
Re: Morley Wah Pedals...like or dislike?

Vox Clyde McCoy is a great Wah out of the box and reasonable. The best Wahs IMHO are the Tesse Real McCoy(RMC). Pricey, but very very good!

http://www.realmccoycustom.com/index.htm

That said I have 3 wahs setup on 3 boards that I use with different amps. One is a vintage Crybaby that has been modded, the other is a Vox 847 that has been modded and the third is a stock Vox Clyde McCoy. My old Crybaby is my favorite. I also like the 847, but the Clyde is also very nice sounding. you jst have to play with them and find the one that works for you!

Thanks for the info. I think I'm going to keep my eyes open and check some out.
 
Re: Morley Wah Pedals...like or dislike?

I like my Bad Horsie for clean textures. One of my favorite things about that pedal is the "feel" of it. I love the spring resistance and the way the pedal pushes back against your foot. I'm probably most comfortable with that resistance because that was my first wah I learned with.

My least favorite thing about the Bad Horsie is the hum it can cause if it is closer than about 18 inches to any power source on your board. I guess those pedals are poorly shielded or something and are prone to hum when used with distortion, which is why I tend to use more for clean stuff. Also, some points of the sweep may sound harsh or grainy if you linger on certain frequencies.

Morley makes some wah pedals now that have a notch button with a dial to get any "half-cocked" wah tone you might want. The one that comes to mind is the Morley George Lynch Dragon Wah.

I've never tried Dunlop's swichless 95Q Wah for a comparison, but I've often wondered which is better between that one and the Morley Bad Horsie.

I also like this wah called the Wowee Wah by a company called G Lab. Their wah give you the option of switchless wah or having to press down to turn the wah effect on. You can change how the wah turns on by flipping a tiny mode selector switch on the side of the pedal.

G Lab also makes a wah stand that you can set your favorite wah pedal on top of and plug into for a sort of switchless wah alternative. It works kind of like a weighted scale under your wah. It turns the effect on and off by the weight of your foot.

.
 
Re: Morley Wah Pedals...like or dislike?

I used to play in a band with a guy who abused one of these every chance he got. I hated his tone from the first moment he turned that pedal on. I can't even describe why, really...it was just really harsh and very unorganic sounding to my ears. Obviously tastes vary but that guy put me off wah pedals in general for years. It's only recently that I've started warming up to them again. I very much doubt I'll ever own a Morley, though.
 
Re: Morley Wah Pedals...like or dislike?

The only Morely wah pedal I've tried is Power Wah Volume Pedal - wah & volume control in 1 pedal. At the time I tried this I also purchased a Dunlop Mr. Crybaby Super - also a vol & wah pedal in one for an A/B comparison.

IMO, the Morely lost points for its bigger and bulkier size. It lost major points for the external button to switch between wah & volume. The Dunlop was much easier to use and the tone was better than the Morely's IMO. I do like the sweep of Morely's pedal and the slightly larger footprint size of the rocker.

But the most important thing is tone and Dunlop has a much more natural and vintage sound to their wah. Morely's sounded more piercing, "modern" if you will...
 
Re: Morley Wah Pedals...like or dislike?

i have owned a bunch of wahs over the years from vintage voxes, to old fuzz wahs, cryababy and two morleys...one mains powered silver one and a new type pro series.
Yes they are good. No they do not sound like a crybaby. Are crybabys good....well yes if they have a few tweaks. Do they satisfy the tone geeks? no. Why? Because they are tone geeks.
Heres whats good about morley...(pro series)
1. Good bypass sound (very good in fact)
2. Low noise\
3. Reliable.
4. Led so you know if its on before you start playing
5. No pots (yesss!)
6. Wide Sweep
7. Great eq if you are playing with a lot of gain (especially good with marshalls)
8. The boost control means no level drop out.
9. separate on/off switch
they are a great working mans wah. Sure jimi Hendrix did not use one, but so what? Jimi Hendrix did not often use Les Pauls either - but they are a good sound nonetheless.
One night i had a very experienced sound engineer (works with Lulo Reinhardt - so he knows guitars right?) piss his pants at the sounds i was getting - and all it was was a nice axe thru the morley into a bog stock fender HRD.
They do not sound like vox/crybaby/boutique clone wahs prolly due to the fact that they use opamps instead of an inductor. They are more "transparent" and do not have that thick throaty sound of traditional wahs, they are more like a q spike sweep on a preamp sound - but it does go WAH and it does work well. The best thing about it is using it as a wide sweeping variable tone control for adding expression to your leads.
Is it expensive? no. Is it the same as an RMC? no. Is it a good pedal? yes.
 
Re: Morley Wah Pedals...like or dislike?

Cam, I think you just reminded me why I still play mine after all these years :) It does work and works well with a band which is the only place I use it.
 
Re: Morley Wah Pedals...like or dislike?

Never been a fan, I must say.

I've always seen Morleys to be the spotty, red haired step-son of the wah world. Those who have them have to love them, but possibly wish they didn't.

There's something deeply funky about a well played Crybaby or Vox styled wah. I don't hear that in a Morley. It's more like a nice, polite, sterile funk. Funkee, as opposed to Funky. Kinda like the Brand New Heavies, compared to Parliament.

No Morley for me.



Cheers........................................ wahwah
 
Re: Morley Wah Pedals...like or dislike?

Interesting.

Does anyone know if the intro song to the old TV show Three's Company - (Suzanne Somers) is being played with a Morley? It sounds like one to me.

 
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