Morley

Morley

Morley Pedals is the name of a guitar effects pedal company, famous for manufacturing wah-wah pedals and other treadle type effects for guitar. Morley pedals use electro-optical circuitry rather than a potentiometer to control the effect. The foot treadle controls a shutter inside the pedal that in turn controls the amount of light reaching a Light Dependent Resistor (LDR). The advantage to this system is that there are no potentiometers in the signal path to wear out or become "scratchy sounding" over time. Electro-optical circuitry is used throughout the classic Morley pedal line, which includes or has included volume pedals, delay pedals, chorus and phaser pedals, and many others.
The modern Morley company has continued to release new models to this day. Many modern artists endorse and use their pedals. Artists known to use them include Steve Vai, who has three signature models: the Bad Horsie and Bad Horsie 2, and the Little Alligator volume pedal. Adam Darski (Nergal) from Behemoth and Mark Tremonti are also notable Morley artists; the latter has a signature wah-wah pedal. In addition, Metallica's early bass player, Cliff Burton, used an original Tel-Rey 'chrome' Morley Wah Boost along with a Big Muff distortion unit. It was similar to the company's current Morley Power Wah model.