30 Pedals in 30 Days: Morley Mini Volume and Maverick Mini Switchless Wah

 

 

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Don’t forget to check out the video at the bottom of the page.

Morley is known for their Wah pedals. Which tells you a lot. There aren’t many companies that can make such a huge mark that they’re instantly associated with making quality and road-worthy Wah pedals. And, they’re not done making their mark. With the Mini Volume and the Maverick Mini Switchless Wah, Morley is looking to give players something that they’ve been wanting for decades: More room on their pedalboards. For 30 Pedals in 30 Days, TheToneKing.com had a chance to check these two pedals out and see if that signature Morley sound can fit inside of these small boxes.

First: A history lesson.

Scene: 1960’s L.A.

Characters: Raymond Lubow and Marvin Lubow

And…Action!

Two brothers got an itch to create an echo unit that didn’t use cumbersome echo chambers or tape that liked to get twisted, caught, and unraveled at the most inconvenient of times. The result was a rotating disc inside of a small metal drum filled with electrostatic fluid. After this badass invention, Raymond and Marvin went on to start the company Tel-Ray Electronics. Another badass invention that these two brothers created was a Leslie simulator that prompted the pun Morley (More-Lee as opposed to Less-Lee) Not long after, Tel-Ray started making pedals under the Morley name.

The Morley Wah had its advent during the ‘70s. After many incarnations, the Morley Wah that we all recognize was solidified during the mid ‘80s. Black casing, electro-optical circuitry instead of a potentiometer, and big red letters that spell out the name Morley. Since the beginning, Morley has been 100% USA made pedals for less cost than many of their competitors.

Jump to Present Day:

It’s 2013. We still don’t have teleportation devices or hover skateboards, but that hasn’t stopped Morley from making a couple of innovations of their own. It’s somewhat ironic that the company that used to be known for having some of the biggest damn pedals out there – Those old Tel-Rays were monsters – would be the same company to lead the way in giving players a little more elbow room on their pedalboards.

The Mini Volume (MMV) is 6.75” L x 4.5” W x 2.75” H. If there’s a smaller volume pedal out there, I’ve never seen it. The MMV also has a studio quiet audio taper due to Morley’s continued use of elecro-optical circuitry.

The Maverick Mini Switchless Wah (MSW) has the same dimensions as the MMV. Which, I’m pretty sure is the smallest Wah I’ve ever seen, too. Switchless on/off makes it easy to engage without having to slam your foot forward and hope that you did it hard enough to hit the toggle. Still using Elecro-Optical control. No surprise there. “True-Tone” Bypass buffer circuit helps keep your signal going even through long runs of cable. If you’ve played a Morley Wah, then you’ll be familiar with the Maverick. Although, the tone of the Maverick has a little less high end on the sweep than a classic Morley.

No surprise that Morley would be at the forefront of building a better Wah and Volume pedal. They’ve been doing it for years. They’ve had plenty of practice staying ahead of things and giving players what they want. If it’s good enough for Steve Freaking Vai, it’s good enough for us here at TheToneKing.com. Now that we’ve added Morley’s Mini Volume and Maverick Mini Switchless Wah to our pedalboards, we still have plenty of room to play with.

 

For prices on the Mini Volume, Maverick Mini Switchless Wah or any Morley gear, check out: Sweetwater.com

Click here to enter into TheToneKing.com’s 30 Pedals in 30 Days Randall Give-Away! 

Official RD1C Give-Away Page: https://thetoneking.com/gear-give-away/2013-2/randall-rd1c-give-away/

Randall Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/randallamplifiers

Product Page: http://www.morleypedals.com/index.html

MORLEY MINI VOLUME: http://www.morleypedals.com/dmmv.html

MORLEY MAVERICK MINI WAH: http://www.morleypedals.com/dmsw.html

Unboxing Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVt0j5jJepQ

Official Full-On Demo & Reviewhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK8Wym_Y7H4

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK8Wym_Y7H4′]

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Filed Under: FeaturedPedals3P3D-2013

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About the Author: Marc published his first novel Becoming in 2010. It’s a kick-ass book with monsters and dreams and stuff, and you should buy it. Since then, he’s written thousands of articles for TheToneKing.com, many of which have been picked up for circulation by manufacturers and other news outlets. His next book, Drugs and Pancakes, should be available early 2014 if his alcoholic editor can find time to work on it in-between destroying his liver and screaming about punctuation. He graduated from Roosevelt University with honors, which means that he’s not as dumb as he looks. He’s been playing guitar for over 25 years, which is almost twice as long as most of his students have been alive.

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