Morley Bad Horsie Wah

Yes, I like to subscribe 1 thing about these pedals. I went to a local guitarstore and like all others I wanted to buy a morley bad horsie wah. I knew the one a friend of mine has is a very good sounding wah! So I checked the B.H. 1 and 2 and there REALLY was a big difference between these 2. The B.H. 2 had a much wider sweep.
I was like: "How can that happen? There must be something wrong with the B.H. 1!"
So I talked to the personal and told about the B.H. 1 and i asked to switch it with another one. And surprisingly that other B.H. 1 sounded much BETTER!

Everybody says that this thing is built solid, well that is true.
But for the ones who don't get a good sound out of the wah, could have (how shall iI put it) a BAD badhorsie wah.

To everybody who wants to buy a morley wah check 2 of the same wahs in case there's a bad one. Today it seems morley is overproducing these wahs. it seems they can't keep up with the quality they are supposes to built!

I came out of the store without the bad horsie wah. instead I bought Planet Waves cables who has lifetime warranty.

VERY Simple to use. Step on to use step off to bypass.
NO buttons or switches just the wah rocker arm.

My Signal chain:
ESPLTD MH-301 into Morley Bad Horsie Wah into Whirlwind A/B Selector Box(amp Switcher) into HighGain input on 5150HS with a BOSS DD-3 Delay in the amp Effects Loop. Only noise with this rig is the amp hiss wich is normal for the 5150. THE MORLEY WAH IS DEAD SILENT!!!
I use the wah for recording too so this is very important, when your foot isnt on the wah and it bypasses itself it is dead silent. This Wah is F*cking Awsome for me! it has the greatest wah sound ive ever heard. nails modern type wah tone perfectly. I got the idea of getting this wah with the whirlwind selector from gurrg and I can get his tone easily. THANKS MUDVAYNE! I noticed other peoples reviews state the sweep range is not that wide and i somewhat agree with this but it works great in this configuration and if for some reason you need a wider sweep all you have to do is contact Morley and they will happily help you mod it!!! This wah sounds even better with a little delay from the boss petal i use and when they are both on i get crazy with my shit.

100% Reliable. Solid Metal! I feel no backup is necessary.

From what ive read Morley Company is top notch. A+
they even help you if youve purchased it 2nd hand!!!
which is what i did off ebay for only $59.

For Modern Music and Wah Tone this thing is your wah. For Silent Switching and Silent Bypass this is your wah. For super ease of use and reliability this is Definitly your wah. GET THIS WAH!
this thing is certainly a the real deal when it comes to wah tone shaping, It inspires and modivates me to create music!
i would buy it again if it were stolen!
Thanks Morley for this kik ass wah!!!

As I said before.... My drummer could figure this one out.

Have you ever stepped on a regular wah to break into a FABULOUS solo, only to realize you didn't STOMP hard enough and the wah didn't turn on? Well, those days are GONE! Just put your foot on this baby, and rock away. When you're done, just take your foot off and the pedal automatically switches off. The delay time for the OFF feature is easily adjustable.

My rig:
GUITARS: American Standard Strat, Mexican Strat, Les Paul Double Cut, Aria Cheep-o
EFFECTS: TS-9, Boss GT-6, DanElectro mistakes... i mean pedals. :)
AMPS: Fender HotRod DeVille 4x10, Vox Valvetronix 2x12

In my first review of this pedal (a little over 2 years ago), I had complained about the noticable increase in volume when I activated the pedal. Bill Wenzloff from Morley contacted me and offered to have the pedal fixed. I had intended to send it to Morley, but have grown used to the unique little quirk in my pedal.

Since my first review, I have owned (and sadly sold) another Bad Horsie wah, and that one DID NOT exhibit the volume increase that my original has.

*SORRY ABOUT NOT SENDING THE PEDAL IN BILL. I JUST CAN'T BE RID OF IT FOR MORE THAN A DAY OR SO!!!!* :)

The sound quality on this pedal is excellent. It has a nice full sweep and gets a GREAT rock wah sound. I've never really liked Cry Babies or the like because they always sound so thin, but the Bad Horsie sounds great. I've even used it extensively on funk tunes.

The other thing that I REALLY dig about this pedal is that it switches on in the BACK position. Normally on a wah pedal, you click it on by stepping FORWARD and then, all of a sudden, your highs are WAY over the top. With the Bad Horsie activating in the BACK position, it opens up some really neat opportunies for swells.

This is by far the coolest sounding Wah pedal out there.

Bill Wenzloff, if y'all need another endorser, you just give me a call, ok?

I've never had an issue with this pedal, and it's had the snot beat out of it. It's been to Russia with me 3 times and has even survived the creeps at Delta airlines (though they DID manage to destroy some of my other pedals including my TS-9).

I've only ever had to deal with Morley the one time (when I complained about my pedal on this very board) and Bill was very accommodating and helpful. Offered to adjust my pedal for free and ship it back. So, thumbs up guys.

Overall, I have been extremely pleased with this pedal. I have owned other pedals and was just frustrated with their sounds. But this one is great. The only thing I struggle with is whether I want to run it before my effects, or after. It sounds really good both ways -- which, if you've read my entire review, is why I had bought another one.... They just wouldn't BOTH fit in my pedal case. :(

I play rock / funk music. Think James Brown meets the Beatles and SRV, and you'll be close and I've been playing for almost 20 years.

I would be at Guitar Center the very same day buying a new one of these (or maybe the BH2) if it got stolen. Let's face it, there aren't many pedals out there that could even get CLOSE to how cool this pedal is, ESPECIALLY since it goes for $100 bucks!!!

God Bless Everyone!
JEY
www.TheSeakers.com

I give it a 10, but to actually get it to sound good you have to do some internal manipulation. Buyer beware, it won't sound like a traditional wah unless you open it up.

This has gone through both of my rigs. The first one being a Fender strat with a Jb Junior at the bridge, the Bad Horsie, and then a Boss Sd-1 into a Flextone III XL. The other rig is a Bad Horise followed by a sansamp Tri-a.c. into a Vox Pathfinder practice amp or Roland K-60 keyboard amp. I bought it used and the original owner had used white lithium grease to prevent the string from rusting or squeaking, unfortunately in his application he applied far to much and it got onto the shudder. I used some kleenex and wiped it off though, took about 5 minutes. after I did that the pedal had a huge high end sweep. Unfortunately I was after more of a Vox/Crybaby wah tone, this thing seemed like it started it's sweep were the Vox would be at about half way. I could see how this modern type of sweep could be useable in some music, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

I got in touch with Morley and they sent me a little document in .pdf format that told me basically how to mod the thing to get it to do what I want. It took me like 2 or 3 minutes to accomplish and I didn't have to buy any different parts, all you need is a screwdriver and a small wrench.

Now it sounds like a good Crybaby or Vox wah, with none of the hastle of replacement parts.

The Pedal seems to have very little noise. Well worth the 42 dollars I paid.

I'll give it a ten because I'm pretty confident that you can get the sound you want with this thing.

I'd gig without a backup, the thing is built very well. I do depend on it for a couple of gigs a week right now, and it hasn't failed me. I play alot with this wah, almost 40% of the sets we play involve this pedal.

I imagine that there are some design issues, when I opened mine if found that the shudder was not a high quality material, it could easily bend after awhile but for the most part it's pretty well built.

Morley is a great company. They will tell you how to make the gear you have from them sound great if you simply ask. For those of you below who have belittled the sound quality drop them a line.

Morley even offered to send me a return authorization on a used pedal so that they could fix the tone if I wanted them too.

Even when I had my chinsey Morley Classic wah they told me how to mod it. I ditched that thing along ago because it was to noisy, but the Vai Bad Horsie is not noisy at all.

I play a little bit of everything with this pedal. I found that after I fixed it the pedal accels at fusion, modern and vintage rock tones, and even clean stuff. I've been playing professionally for 2 years now and own a whole heap of vintage wahs to compliment this.

I've found myself embracing the Digital revolution in recent years. Granted my flextone doesn't have the exact feel of a tube amp, but I have to say, alot of players use that as a crutch.

My only gripe with this pedal is that the off-delay is really tricky to set. It's a minor concern if you take the time to set it right and don't tinker with it any longer. This wah pedal will not work as a filter either, so for that i would suggest picking up that crybaby wah stompbox or having a second wah pedal on stage. I guess it would be nice to have true bypass.

I use 2 wah's now, one on the left side of the stage and one on the right. I'm using a Bad Horsie, and the Flextone Shortboard[vox sound] wah. I'd have to say that the Bad Horsie replaced my old Crybaby wah that was modded for me.

If you see one of these for as cheap as what I paid, pick it up, it's worth it. I got really lucky with the used one I found at my local sam ash store.

very easy to use it only has one switch and no nther Q-controls or any thing.

used with a line 6 spider 2 amp with the noise gate on it gets fairly good tone but it has a limited range. with a distortion pedal in front of it the notes are supressed quite a bit but with a distortion after it it's pretty good.

Its a pretty rugged pedal. and withstands my foot consistantly beating on it pretty darn good.

It's pretty good, but it really has a low range. For someone that has trouble with other pedals with more than one switch id say its pretty good. For me, I am looking for somthing a little more versitile.

The pedal is very easy to use, as many have stated. Switchless operation, tread on to activate, step off to bypass. Time delay for bypass is set inside, so opening the casing is needed.

******* Please note ***********
There is one major issue with the pedal, and that is the voltage supply. I acquired numerous 9v 300mA, regulated adapters, but all but one didnt work. I use a multy adapter to use it. So if you get an 'earthing type' hum, change the power supply.

I play a USA Customshop Player Strat and a modified Mexican 50s Strat, with Texas Specials. This runs into a POD 2, or Marshall AVT50H and 1922 (2x12 G12T75), through a marshall jackhammer, and bluesbreaker 2.
In operation the pedal makes a ever so slight hiss, but its inaudible when actaully playing, or even talking. The active/bypass has a little 'hopping' sound, but then if your playing you wont hear it.
The sound of this pedal is pretty good for distorted work, it is bright and has a slight gain boost, which helps with soloing, and tapping. On clean the pedal finds itself slightly short on sweep range, and the gain doesnt help too much if your looking for ultra clean. It is not a typical wah tone, but it is a wah.
It meets the Vai style straight away, if you want to hear the pedal, just listen to anything by Steve Vai, its his damn pedal!
The pedal does a good job for playing 'your own version' of many songs...Voodoo Chile anyone?

I have had the pedal for wuite a while, it has never been giged, but i would take it out without a backup. It is constructed of quite strong steel, and the brakets that pivot the pedal are solid, as is the pedal. There is a deep cut grip on the surface of the pedal, so you wont slip off of it. The spring seems sturdy enough, and the internals are fairly well housed, if not a little cramped in a few places. On the whole the pedal seems well built, and will last a long time.

Whoever this Bill Wenzlof is, i have no idea, but i have tried to contact him, about the power supply issue, by E-mail, and i have recieved no reply. Thats not a good representative for the company.

In fairness though, on Morely's website, they do have the schematics for the pedal, so it makes life easier if you need to servise it, or have it serviced.
Scematics dont help me when i need human help, so this is why this section gets a poor rating

I play many differnt styles, and he pedal seems to cope for a lot of them, but then if you are looking for classic Trower/Hendrix/Santana etc, then you should buy the wah they use.
It is a good sounding pedal, and it does the job i need it too.

An exterior 'trim pot' would be slightly easier, but then how often do ya need to change it?
Also, having an option to turn down the gain would be better for cleaner stuff, but then maybe another wah would be better.

Step on to wah and rock your foot back to off.
Simple and doesn't suck the life out of your tone!!!!
I switched from the classic dunlop wah, I will never go back.
Bought it off ebay, no manual, don't need one ?

Marshall DSL1000 Head - 4/12 cabinet. This wah is the first in my effect pedal chain. I'm giving it a 9 because it does make a slight noise when engauged but it's never heard at gig volume.
I used it last night and nailed the Summer song (Joe Satriani)

Looks like it is built very well
I would gig with out a backup but if it breaks I will drive like a maniac or dilengently search ebay for another.

Never dealt with them ?
I have read postings on here of their offered support for anyone having problems. How many Manufacturers do that ?
My hats off to them.

Classic rock, Blues.
I have been playin for 27 years and been through some equipment.
This piece will stay in the line up. Where this thing shines in my opinion is its auto switching. When playing at a loud stage volume you don't have to guess if you stomped on your pedal hard enough to turn it on or off. Also my tone is not sucked out by this wah.

Very easy to use and edit your sound from one wah to another. It came with a manual, but anyone that has any brains and has played could use this wah with ease. So much better than your average wah: your average wah you either have to step on the switch on the side of the unit to turn it on/off, or step all the way down to turn the wah on.
This wah you just step on it and it's on, step off and it springs back to the heel down position and it's off. That easy.

The normal wah settings or sound is close to one of the other morley wahs i've owned before. When the wah is on, there is a tiny bit of sound that comes from it, but that's at a high volume level. I'm using Carvin and Marshall half-stacks. I have noticed a slight difference in the tone change from the heel down to mid-range and from the mid-range to toe down. It seems you have to watch a little when passing the midrange area of the wah going higher on the tone because it scoops quickly. It is actually one of the best wahs I've ever had the chance to use. The extra gain and scoop you get when you switch it on the "contour wah" mode is badass.

It seems pretty sturdy and would not get any equipment as far as guitar equip. goes, that I could not use gigging. I have faith in it to work without a backup wah.

I play a metal/nu-metal/alternative style, and this wah is perfect. This item I'd highly recommend to other guitarists of the same genre.
As far as I can tell, the one thing that I think would make these pedals much more conveinient would be to put the input/output on the back of the pedals instead of the sides.

It doesn't come with a detailed manual, as a result I think a lot of people are disappointed with the lack of range of the wah and the high treble.

This is not a traditional Wah Pedal, there is a definite art to it. Basically for fast runs of 16th notes you can make a wah on every note, try this on any other type of manual wah pedal and you'll probably end up doing yourself an injury. Think the wah in the intro to the last solo of Sweet Child of Mine..

What you do is depress and raise the pedal for one beat, there are two windows inside the pedal that mask the optical sensor in quick succession giving 2 wahs on the way down and 2 on the way up. 4 wahs per beat: tap your foot to the music and wah on each 16th note.

What did you expect of Mr Vai? You give him a thing to play with and he comes up with the a device that utelises the optical technology to the full. You could buy a touch wah, but if you work at it the Bad Horsie is far more dynamic.

The thing I love most is that it turns off automatically when the foot is removed from the pedal... and stomp back on it and it's back.

I generally use an 84 strat or Ibanez RG470 with Seymour Duncans through a Bad Horsie and JSH Wah and a Guyatone Compressor into POD v2.0 into Morley Volume Pedal into a Simms Watt 100 head into a cab with an 18" emminence speaker in it.

I record stuff into a 512mkII from the POD and using the pedals and it sounds really clear, I generally play either lead or funk rhythm, the bad horsie totally rocks for choppy funk/skank stuff, especially with muted notes.

Never a murmer of trouble from it. I'd gig without a backup.

It has a solid metal casing, no potentiometer to get scratchy and the batery compartment is attached with nylon chord and is cushioned, the cover has a sliding catch, so no screw to lose. Inside the LED was a tad loose which might affect the tone a little, but doesn't appear to.

Only gripe I have with the design is that the two halves of the pedal are attached by horizontal screws, which might take some of the stress of a person pressing on the pedal.. closer inspection shows the two halves fit exactly and there is no movement, that could strain the screws.

I've emailed the company several times with queries and requests and they've always got back inside the same day. They've been polite and helpful.

They are honestly concerned about the customer, better aftersales service than you get on most cars.

I bought it expecting a wah pedal like the Vox or Gem's I'd played. At first I was greatly annoyed.. it serves me right for not thinking and buying it based on the brand and endorsee.

I was tempted to resell it and get a Gem instead I stuck at it and it fills a niche, I have another wah pedal which I use for longer sweeps..

Had I known what it did I might have bought a touch wah instead but it'd be broke by now as I wouldn't be able to play wah on alternate beats in a measure without stomping the on/off switch as many times as I'd sweep the bad horsie. I probably wouldn't even have the concept in my playing vocabulary.

I've owned one of these for about three years now, and there is just no way around it - I'm dissapointed. It's fairly impossible to get a good sound out of this pedal. However, it is VERY easy to use - plug 'n' play as it were. The switchless operation may take some getting used to for people used to "traditional" wahs, but that will only take a few minutes of fooling around to master.

This is just not a good sounding wah on anything other than a clean amp channel. If you run a guitar through it (and I've tried MANY) to a distorted channel, you hardly get any wah unless a) you're on the bridge pickup and b) you're in some nebulous zone between the fifth and twelfth frets.

Below the fifth fret this pedal simply does not cut through the mix and has virtually no bass sweep, so it has little effect down low. On the other hand, if you play a high G on the 15th fret and rock the Bad Horsie likc crazy, it barely barely makes a difference. The range of its sweep is very very much in the mid-range of the guitar, and thus limits it when highs and lows are distorted. I'm not sure how Vai is running this to get the sound HE gets, but this pedal doesn't sound anywhere close to the huge sweeping filter he brings out. He gets a big fat wah from open frets to his highest notes... and you won't get that at all with this pedal. Very limited.

It is ULTRA reliable. Never fails... I was worried about that switchless operation breaking down somehow, but it's been fine. You can kick it, drop it, set it on fire... it will keep on working. Morley makes a durable unit.

I like a wah which can really break through a distorted/overdriven tone and "take over" as it were. This is a weak pedal, second only to the horrible Vox I played through in the extreme narrow frequencies it actually "wahs."