Morley JD-10

Too easy. It's almost plug and play. I owned a couple of these units for several months before I ever saw a manual. I didn't find the manual particularly useful. I wouldn't take any stock in it's suggested settings. Find your own settings.

This is yet another raving review from me - 5 years after my first purchase of the JD10 unit.

I'm from the old school of plugging straight into a Fender amp, and cranking - no effects. It's not always possible to crank an amp on 10 everywhere you play. That's where the JD10 comes in handy. Just set your amp clean and let the JD10 provide the drive. If you're using guitar speakers, leave the speaker simulation off.

There's also been more than a few times in the last 5 years that an amp has died on a gig, and I had to use the JD10 straight into the PA (I usually combined it with a Dan-Echo set for a very slight slapback). From the FOH mix, it sounds exactly like a miked up amp. This is where the speaker simulation comes into play, and it really does a great job. Much better than the various POD's, V-Amp's, etc. etc... There were indeed occasions where I actually preferred the sound of the JD10 through the PA over the sound of the amp that I had been using before it died.

Well... the pots seem cheap, and collect dirt quite fast. They get scratchy, and occasionally seem to be failing completely. A quick blast of the tuning gear cleaner into the pots openings, and it's as good as new. I was experiencing many of the problems that others have noted below, and cleaning the pots was the cure-all. I really wish that they would make a more rugged version, but then the price would go up dramatically.

I now own 3 of them, so I have plenty of backup. I did have 4 of them, but I gave one away.

Don't expect anything from Morley. Award still makes these in the U.K. and, judging from some of the comments made by designer Stewart Ward, I would assume that he and his company would stand behind their product. He really seems to believe in what he's doing. Since I've never tried to get service from them, I can't comment.

For regular MOR rock, blues, country - anything except death metal, it's unbeatable. I've used them in every conceivable circumstance - into the PA, into a keyboard amp, into a bass amp, not to mention a guitar amp, and the only time it ever sounds bad is if the amp that it's going into is distorted itself. It needs a clean amp tone, and let the JD10 provided all of the crunch.

I just recently met Jerry Donhue. He's now using a Peavey Delta Blues amp with 1-15" speaker. I asked him if he uses any amp distortion, or if he sets his amp clean and gets all of his crunch from the JD10. His answer was the latter. He also uses a Nobel OD-1 in front of the JD10 as an overdrive/boost. I use a very old Rat pedal from the 80's in front of mine if I need more gain. It seems to respond to overdrive pedals just like an amplifier. Reverbs and delay pedals work best AFTER the JD10, and BEFORE going into the amp/PA.

I have a nice amp collection - old Fenders, a Sovtek Mig 50, a Lab Series L11, a wonderful B1uesboy 5F1 combo. The JD10 is the ONLY device that I would consider using in place of an amp. I've tried all of the POD's, SansAmps, and the like and hated all of them. NOTHING comes close to the JD10.

I'm subtracting one point for the reliability issues.

Considering the capabilities of this box , it has a very simple design. The layout is similar to a single channel master-volume amp ( Drive, Treble, Middle, Bass, and Output Level).Two red push-buttons are nestled between the drive and treble knobs. One of these buttons activate the speaker simulator while the other button chooses between Classic or Rock drive settings. Anyone who has had a guitar in their hands for more than a day can figure this thing out. However, the easy to understand manual helps you dial in your favorite tones without the experimental knob tweedling.
Morley was the distributer of this pedal in the US. The JD10, however, was made by a UK company called Award-Session. Morley discontinued the pedal several years ago but recently Award-Session has revised the pedal and released it under their own name. Many think that Jerry Donahue invented this pedal but it existed as the MB10 Matchbox before Donahue struck a deal with the folks at Award-Session. In fact, I just got my hands on one of the original MB10's (comes with XLR connections). I cant wait to compare the two. Look for an upcoming review.

I use this pedal primarily for recording. After becoming dissilusioned ( and ultimately unsatisfied)with the digital modeling game, I began searching for an alternative. I read several articles in which this pedal was mentioned as an extremely affective recording tool; checked out HC and the reviewers raved. I headed for ebay on a clear a mission. After searching for about a month, I located a NOS JD10 and purchased it from some outfit out of Maryland. The thing arrived in plastic, warranty card and manual included. The first thing I did was to plug it straight into my trusty Fostex X-55. I started off with the manual setting for Twin. I was knocked out; I really believed I was hearing a miked amp. As I tweedled through the suggested settings-- making small eq and drive adjustments along the way-- my impression of this little magic box swelled. The Stack settings (think Marshall Plexi)are unreal-- the pedal excells at medium gain. It is extremelly tactile so be aware of your picking attack. I can play Zep's Heartbreaker and it gives me chills. The AC setting is also dead on. However, I prefer it with the drive around 9'oclock for the vox stuff. My only complaint with the pedal is that all of the settings seem muffled in the slightest way; not like the blanket over the amp sound that most digital modelers offer, but just a little muddled. I rectified this problem by digging out my old Boss Driver DB-5 (circa late 60's). This dinosaur has got a wonderfully shelved five band eq with a massive amount of db boost. I hooked this between the JD10 and my recorder and my fidelity problems are solved. I mainly use the Classic setting on the pedal, but I don't agree with some reviewers who say the Rock setting is unusable. We should remember that the JD10 was introduced at the height of the grunge era-- and let's face it, you gotta appeal to the kids. Selecting the Rock setting with the drive at about 3'oclock you start to feel the sweat dripping down the collar of your favorite flannel.
The JD10 loves to be driven by other pedals, too. With a nice selection of quality distortion, fuzz,and boost pedals, I can't think of a tone that this pedal cannot obtain.

I have owned the JD10 for over two years and have had no problems out of it. Granted, I sit in my basement and play it while my wife and kids are asleep, so its not being schleeped across a beer soaked stage. But it looks fairly sturdy for road use ( I would probably rackmount it if I played out).I have never experienced any noisy pots like some other reviewers.

I have had no servicing issues.

I guess I'll just say I play guitar and all that that entails. I play through tube amplifiers and analog pedals. The JD10 is one of my favorite musical possessions. I would certainly hunt down another if anything happened to this one.

Very easy to use, although the tone controls interact with each other as it is a Fender type tone stack. In other words the EQ reacts like a vintage stack not the sort of tone stack you see in a modern solid state amp.

On my early production unit battery replacement is a pain in the backside. I recently got a later version with a separate battery compartment.

It's at its best in the clean, crossover to overdriven, or more mildly overdriven sounds. It can produce a lot of distortion but it begins to sound a little thinner up there and adding in bass to compensate makes it sound 'distant'. In the less overdriven regions, though, it sounds fantastic. I actually use it for bass (I bought it from the bassist of a world famous heavy metal band) and it can produce Jack Bruce tones admirably, or just fatten up basses without robbing any low frequencies. For higher gain sounds for bass or guitar I'd recommend pairing with a Marshall Guv'nor.

The volume knob on my first unit snapped. I managed to glue it back on, and I use it only in the studio and control the output from a mixer anyway, so it's not a problem, but for live use the pot spindles are not strong enough. So if you intend to use it live, buy a back up for when the pots break. The pots are pretty standard items from electronics suppliers, though, so it would be possible to get a tech to put a new one on.

My pot problem was fixed with superglue for the one I use in the studio. The second unit is undamaged, so I've not needed customer support.

I have played bass and some guitar in styles ranging from psychedelic rock to folk rock.

Almost impossible to get a bad sound out of this unit as long as its functiioning proporly... The manual has a nice collection of recomended settings for both direct and into an amp. If you can use an amp you can use this unit.

I usually use this pedal direct into a PA using a Ibanez AXS32 and a Kingston. The clean sounds are brilliant, the overdrive is beefy but the high gain sounds are a little thin. although with this unit is very quiet. although with humbuckers i can get a pretty good slash (guns n roses)tone.

I bought it off of ebay so im not sure how dependable it was when the previous owner bought it but i get horrible "clipping" as described in an earlier review and recently i have had a problem with the bypassed signal sounding through the processed. you can tell this by turning down the volume and drive. if you hear a signal you have the same problem.

This is a great pedal/preamp if you want a basic classic rock to hard rock tone.

i have a .pdf copy of the manual email me at clarke_dylan@hotmail.com if you would like a copy.

controls are like an amp with gain and master volume, treble, mid, bass. Speaker emulator on/off two modes classic and heavy. This review will refer to the classic mode only. I just pretend the other mode isn't there 'cause it sucks.

I've tried a lot of tube pedals and i've had a psa-1 and other sans amp stuff. This may not look cool or cost $300 but this is the best. The reason you can't get sweet tube distortion with one or two preamp tubes is 'cause power tube distortion is what you crave not thin buzzy preamp tube distortion.

The speaker simulation on this is also the best i've heard, and unlike sans amps products it can be turned off. The end result is your direct injected tracks sound like a real amp, and in front of your amp you've got a great overdrive pedal.

The sans amp stuff is crackly and fizzy. You can't get the fat warm clean tones or the in between crunch tones. Nothing i've tried that has an actual tube even comes close and those type of pedals seem to only sound good when your amp is already slightly crunching.

It's worth mentioning that this pedal has a strange effect on high frequencies. It helps retian the chord definition at higher gains which is good but i whish it's response was more flat.

easy to break the knobs because of how they are situated. cheap pots. otherwise would have been a tank.

I think award may be no more.

This is the best i've tried. if you want a sansamp try this first if you can find one it eats $500 psa-1 for a afternoon snack. award also makes a great accoustic guitar preamp that makes your crappy piezo sound like a martin recorded with two neuman's. I use them both together on a dobro with a p-90 and a piezo. Unreal! way to cheesey and easy to sound this good, but it does believe it.

Easy to use, limited to one sound at a time or bypassed.

Use with a Brian Moore MC/1 alongside my Roland V-Guitar system (VG-8). I wanted something to provide a tube amp boost sound to my magnetic pickups to use alongside the V-Guitar system, i.e. to mix in with it. Sound quality is very good and a number of good tube amp sounds can be dialed in. I created an MP3 of some of my test sounds, note there is reverb and echo added--

http://www.thinclient.net/sgg/JD10.mp3

I think the speaker simulator is very good for direct-in recording, especially with some tasty effects added

seems to be very reliable and, as many others have pointed out, it works with any power adapter

I emailed the original creator since they are no longer available and he indicated that the unit has been updated and is available in the US at Atomic Guitars. It has a couple of new features worth looking into such as a tuner out and a balanced XLR output

Overall, it has a very good sound and it quite a remarkable device considering it really is just a fairly simple solid state circuit inside. The speaker emulation is very good, the rock and classic modes are not well matched in volume and gain settings and therefore I think it is best to use in the studio, or, live for just one good sound.

Very easy to get great sounds!

I mostly use this box for direct recording or in the PA when I don't want to lug all my tube gear to a rehersal or small gig.The direct sound is incredibly convincing. I use a Tokai strat into a Ball volume then into a Boss noise supressor.The loop of the supressor has an Ibanez WH10 wha into a 74 Big muff.Then the output of the supressor goes to the JD 10.I set the classic mode rather clean & the tone I set according to room accoustics & engage the speaker sim.I then route that to an Alesis Nanoverb set for a little delay into an Art tube mic pre into the house PA. It's great to get a great direct signal to the board for a great mix & Ive tried other so called direct didgital boxes that don't sound near as good as the JD10

Have yet to have a problem with thi box.

hav'nt tried.

Its pretty easy to use. The G-12 button and the Rock/classic buttons are not accessible during playing, would be nice to have them mounted on top for leads, etc, but i knew that when i bought it. Not a complicated piece of equipment.

2 Strats. 1 with 50's/60's pups and 1 with texas specials.---> Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive ---> Boss SD1 ---> The JD10 ---> Boss GE7 Equalizer to a late 70's Fender twin reverb with 12" Mojotones (big bottom end on these) Both Gtrs. sound great, especially with the classic setting (using full gain, dial back the treble and dial up the mid) Incredible vintage sound. I was using a Vodoo labs Sparkle drive, but would rather use this because of its versatility. So, I use the sparkle drive to boost the sound for hotter leads. somtimes i'll use a boss SD1 in place of the sparkle drive...depending on how obnoxious i feel that given evening. Somtimes I'll use them all! Unit is not noisey. In fact, i use it as a direct box for PC recording and I get a surprisingly clean sound for the $60 i spent on the unit. That is what i originally bought it for, but was so impressed, it's become a staple part of my setup. The G-12 (greenback) setting does a few things...1)makes it sound like Hendrix, and depending on the way I have my controls set, i can make my strats sound as fat as a Les paul with classic 57's. really wild. the only think I don't like is the Rock button. The rock setting is way noisy and far too extreme. Too much distortion there, so i just stick with the classic setting. I get the hendrix sound and can get really close to the srv sound....VERY VERSATILE UNIT. controls are sensitive, offering a wide range of both original and unoriginal sounds...if you get my meaning. i mean that in a positive way. GET ONE OF THESE THINGS.

heavy duty. Solid metal housing. knowbs and buttons are protected yet accesible. footswitch is very sturdy. I use it WHENEVER I PLAY. Gigging, recording, practicing. I dream of it while i sleep.

never needed to use it, but i know that Morley has been around for years, and that wouldn't happen unless they were responive customer oriented people.

I play blues. Old blues, contemporary blues, etc. This thing does it all so it is a good match for this and many other styles of music.
Ive been playing for 17 years and have a good grasp of what effects do and how they work. If this thing were stolen or lost I would buy 2 more in case 1 got lost or stolen again. I love the sound of this thing and hate nothing about it, but I would like to see the g12 and rock/classic buttons on top...maybe i'll buy a backup and modify it to do that. Compared to other overdrive units it is, like i said more versatile.

very simple. two buttons and 5 knobs. three of the knobs control EQ (Low, Mid, High), one controls the input gain stage, and the final knob controls the output gain stage. The Buttons control Rock/Classic setting and the "cab simulator" respectively.

I play a fernandes telecaster through a vintage ampeg amp. This pedal helped me NAIL that classic telecaster country tone. If you listen to anything by Acetone, you'll know what I'm talking about. I usually keep it on very low input gain on the "ROCK" setting...this gives the perfect right-before-distortion tone that I'm looking for...as for distortion, this thing screams when cranked...excellent just as a distortion pedal alone. It even warmed up my great sounding tube-amp!

so far it's been great...i think my favorite part is that you can use virtually any AC adapter with this unit....it automatically senses it. how cool is that?

If you want a nice preamp to use for your guitar, get one of these..it's worth every penny. I wish the knobs were easier access, but with so many, i guess it's only practical for them to be mounted where they are...I've never tried it for direct recording, but everyone else seems to think it works great for that...

I just want to tell to all of you:

JD-20 is even MUCH better and is made just like JD-10
by Award Session in Britain - try them at radius International
or read british GUITARIST magazine and trace them there.

Wow

Very easy to get great sounds. I have no manual for either of mine.

Using this with various instruments (mostly Fenders and Reverends)into Rera nd Budda amps. A little noisy when pushing the high gain channel, but that's to be expected. Not interested in sounding like anyone else, but it can get a very raw distortion or drive my OD channels into endless sustain.

I don't really need this unit, but it makes a few things easier. I'd rely on it. I regularly gig with no backup for this.

No customer support. Can't find the manual anywhere (although you really don't need it...).

I play anything from country to progressive rock. I've been playing since the early '70s and have used a LOT of stuff. Wanted a device to give me intermediate distortion between the channels of my Budda Super Drive 30, but was suprised to hear how well it worked with the high gain channel engaged. Gives an added level of sustain without turning the tone into flutey, compressed mush like every other box I've tried. Also fattens up single coils and gives a great crunch when you really dig into your strings. Gives any Tele that great steely Donahue meets Don Rich tone. I bought a second one, and now put one in the back of my SD30 and one in the back of my Jake. I AB'd this and a Fulldrive II and sent the FDII back to my chum with the advice that he should find a JD10. Better yet, sell the Fulltone and buy three of these. The cool thing is that if you fry your amp at a gig, you pop this into your PA, push the right button into "Rock" and the other button into the cab simulation mode, and you have a passable rock tone that will get you through. Reason enough to have a couple of these handy!

Like an amp. it can use almost any AC adaptor.

You can get any sound you like, from classic blues to death metal

I had two problems with it:

1. After playing a while it turned it self of. I opened the box, and it loked like one of the condensators (if thats what you call it) was broken. I replaced this my self, with a 100v instead of a 63v and now it worked great.

2. I got both the distortion and clean chanel while it was active. Once again i opened the box, and after some serching, i found it to be the switch. I opened the switch, and cleaned it properly inside.

I havent had any problems after these two operations.

Don`t know. I live in Norway and bought it used and out of order.

I love this pedal. I use it for recording direct to my PC. It can be used for any type of music.

Extremely easy to use. Maunual gives some good starting points.

This thing really is amazing. I once owned the infamous Pod 2 and quickly became bored with knob twiddling. This gets right to the tone. I also own a SansAmp GT2. It's a close match but the nod goes to the JD-10 for the most authentic tone. Why this was discontinued is beyond me.

I can depend on it. I have my GT2 and a couple of amps anyway.

Are you kidding? I bought it used and they don't make them anymore.

I play classic rock and blues, a little metal and whatever suits my fancy. I can cover the bases with my rig. If it were lost, I would seek out another--somewhere. If you find one of these on the used market--get it!

Like using a guitar amp.

I use mine in a home studio, going direct to a small PA (there's not enough room for a guitar amp at one gig I do), and I use it to bypass the preamp in my Peavey Bandit because it sounds better and is less noisy. Works great every time.

Mine has the same noisy pots.

N/A

Why did they discontinue it? I understand there's a JD 20, but where?

Knobs and buttons, what could be easier?

I use it with amps and direct. The most versitile overdrive/preamp I've used. Every setting sounds good, and there is a wide range of tonal variations of settings. Very good at emulating Fender, Marshall and Vox sounds as well as getting most common heard guitar tones.
I dare anyone to get a bad tone from this pedal!

Sturdy and dependable. The only complaint is the pots aren't sealed and pick up dirt rather fast. Regular cleaning is a must, but after some time, the pots wear. I thought about replacing them with sealed ones, but that will cost me as much as I paid for it used ($50)

It's discontinued, I would buy another used one if it wasn't a simple repair.

This is a good pedal for someone who needs a wide range of tones and doesn't want a bunch of one trick pony pedals. To sum up, its going to give you amp tones, not pedal tones that can't be produced by just a guitar and amp.

I've also only played single coil pickups through it, so there will be differences with humbuckers.

This box has to be the best-kept secret in the stompbox world. Not a distortion pedal, but a preamp/line driver/speaker emulator. This box can make just about ANY decent clean-sounding solid-state amp sound exactly like a tube amp. DI'd through a PA sounds like you'd miked up. The EQ uses the standard tweed calibration, and combined with the drive control and the classic/rock and Celestion speaker emulator it can nail just about anything you'd want. To get you started the manual (really a pamphlet with some tips) shows 10 settings for studio (DI) use, and 10 using an amp. If you got it w/o the manual it'll take you a few minutes to dial in what you like, but it's really not difficult. 9v battery lasts for at least 8 hours, or use just about any wall wart.

I'm running the JD-10 into a 80's-vintage Randall RG80-112SC. This particular amp has a wonderful clean channel and an awful distortion channel, but that's fine for this box as you want to run it into as clean a setup as possible (it sounds fantastic through a decent home stereo with good speakers, for example). An Alesis Nanoverb is between the JD-10 and the amp and works great with it. Fav guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Studio Lite with the now-discontinued M3 electronics, which enables any pickup selection of either the LP or Stratocaster. The output potentiometer got a little noisy after a few months, but a little spray of tuner cleaner inside fixed that. Very easy to get a good classic metal or hard rock sound on the "rock" setting. The "classic" setting is very good for the blues - touch sensitive, lots of dynamics and responds to your technique. Really just about any style, with proper adjustments.

Never failed me yet, except a teeny bit of noise in the pot as mentioned above, easily fixed. Built like a brick, very heavy steel case, and the knobs are protected by the steel case. I believe in two of everything at any gig so I have a spare JD-10, but wouldn't worry much if I had but the one.

Morley was very helpful and friendly when I called while looking for my second unit, but they had stopped importing it by mid-2000. They offered to put me in touch with Sessions in the UK who actually manufactured the unit if I couldn't find one. Turns out they show up used quite a bit, so I had no trouble getting one. If it needed repair I don't think Morley could help, although Sesions might be able to - I never did contact them, though.

I play mostly classic and hard rock, classic metal and the blues - this box fills the bill wonderfully. I don't need to haul a tube amp around to gigs, with all the worry that entails, and I still get great tone, which of course makes anyone play better! On bigger gigs I can just DI it into the PA along with the Nanoverb and don't bother with an amp at all. I'd buy it again if it were lost or stolen. The sound is much better than any other similar product I've heard.

Setup is exactly like setting up an amp. Very easy to get great tones out of it. I bought it primarily as a cheap alternative to a POD for direct recording, and feel that it delivers tones superior to both the POD and SansAmp devices for this purpose. The manual is pretty basic and really is not needed.

Using various Teles, Strats, and an occasional 335, it sounds fantastic on all my recordings. I've even used it straight into a PA for some small gigs with great results. Seems that I really have to crank the output though to get the volume up to the desired level. I usually stay on the clean channel and crank the drive, but I just recently turned the drive way down and hit the distortion button and was amazed at how smooth sounding it is. Still, I get the best tone on the clean side with the drive up, and maybe use a stompbox compressor in front of it. With just a touch of compression, it makes it feel even more tube-like.

I liked it so much that I bought another one, since they're longer being made. One of them was knocked off of a table to the floor, and still works fine. The treble control is a little scratchy on that one.

No experience with this

I'm playing mostly rootsy rock and blues stuff. This device excells at getting that hard to nail low gain tube sound. Far more realistic than the SansAmp products that I've tried. It also sounds great through a guitar amp, or bass amp, where the SansAmp and POD fails here. I can't help but wonder why Morley discontinued this product. It's simply the most versatile, best sounding guitar based device that I've ever come across.

No manual. Pretty self explanatory. Requires minimal tweaking. Much easier than any other emulator devices that I've tried.

This is an update of my review below. I've picked up a used Peavey Bandit 65 for $10 (!), and have been running this unit into the Bandits clean channel with excellent results. The Bandit has an excellent reverb allowing me to retire my external devices. The clean channel of the JD-10 is perfect with the gain control set near maximum, and using the guitars volume pot to control the amount of distortion, although it doesn't seem to clean up quite as well as a real tube amp. Nonetheless, it works great, and I've been using this setup for fill in gigs with other bands playing classic rock, oldies, and country, where I don't really want to burn up my tubes. I'll use the tube amps for the blues gigs, and anything important. For just regular bar gigs, I'll use this setup. I haven't noticed any extra noise. I tried it with a compressor pedal in front, with some good results, but with some extra noise. I like it better straight through. It reacted fine with my Alesis Nanoverb after the JD-10, and before the Bandit, but I prefer the onboard reverb of the Bandit. I like this setup so much that I've bought a second Bandit 65 for $125 - much cleaner condition than the $10 Bandit. So, now I can run both simultaneously, if I need more volume, although one Bandit has been plenty loud for the bar gigs that I've played. My original idea, as stated below, was to buy two of the Tech 21 Power Engine 60 powered speaker cabinets to use with the JD-10, but decided to use the two Bandits instead (lots cheaper, and onboard reverb). It's very easy to forget that there's no tubes in your rig while playing this setup. It's the closest that I've heard in solid state gear to mimicking a tube amp sound. I'll be looking for another JD-10 as a backup for this unit if anything were to go wrong on a gig. My current backup would be a SansAmp GT2, which doesn't even come close to sounding good, much less sounding like any kind of tube amp.

So far so good, but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed on this one because of the experiences of others below.

I emailed them for a manual, info, etc. and never heard nothing back. Until I hear otherwise, I'll give them the lowest rating.

An excellent backup system for your main amp, or as a main amp for low budget bar gigs. I haven't tried it for recording yet, but will soon. After recording with the SansAmp GT2, I can't see how this would be any be any worse - it should be LOADS better. I'm sure it'll be fine. Feel free to email me for any questions, or if you have and ideas, suggestions, etc.

This is EXTREMELY easy to use, and dial in good tones instantly, as opposed to the SansAmp GT2 that I also own. The difference between those two pedals regarding ease of use, and tones is like night and day.

I've only just bought it, and have only tried it out in the store thus far, although I'll be using it on the bandstand tonight. I tried it out first through the clean channel of the newfangled Fender "Twin" amps - not the "Twin Reverb". With the JD-10 on its clean channel and its drive maxed, it sounds amazingly like a good tube amp just barely breaking up. That's a tone that's almost impossible to dial in on the SansAmp GT2. The high gain mode sounded great as well, but I doubt that I will use it. The clean side with the drive maxed is enough for me. I also tried it into some transistor combos set clean with the same results. It's the best sounding amp emulation device that I've ever tried - better than the POD IMO, but with no effects, or special features other than a Celestion speaker simulation switch. There's TONS of bottom end here, and not flabby either. Very tight sounding. Through a guitar amp, I found myself turning the bass control down substantially. My ultimate goal with this device is to mate it with a couple of Tech 21 Power Engine 60 powered cabinets for stage use. I don't think anyone will notice that I'm not using tubes. As a matter of ethics, I probably shouldn't give this product a 10, but here goes anyway

Can't say

I just emailed them for an owners manual, so we'll see.

I'm playing in a couple of blues bands, and I'll occasionally take side jobs with country, oldies, or classic rock bands. I don't see any reason why I couldn't use this for all of those applications. Other reviewers have mention some reliability problems. I hope such is not the case with me. I'll give 'er a spin on the bandstand and report back. If it holds up, I'd definately buy another if lost or stolen. It's the most tube-like sound in a small box that I've ever heard.

The Morley JD-10 is made by Award in England. The company is dedicated to making good sounding solid state equipment. They make the Sessions amps. My criteria was simple when I was looking of an overdrive unit; it had to sound, as much as possible, like a tube amp turned up loud. Not many pedals do that. This one does. The pedal does a lot of things. It's a preamp with speaker simulation for recording direct to the mixing board. It has three band eq (that is tailored for guitar). It has lo Z output (to minimize the bad effects of complicated signal chains and long cable runs). One of the attractive features of this unit for me is that in case of an amp failure, I can run it directly into the PA. It's not going to sound just like your favorite blackface Deluxe, but it will get you through the gig. The manual helps you to get started. It has suggestions for direct-to-the-board and for use with an amp. They are pretty good starting points. Some of the sounds aren't usable for me - but I just want it for overdrive and not for chaotic, buzzsaw distortion.

I have this right after the tuner in my pedalboard. It's followed by a PRO Co Rat, a Cry Baby Wah, a volume pedal, a Danelectro Chorus and a Boss digital delay. It's a really quiet pedal, as long as you stay away from the extreme settings. I don't mess with it much on stage. I find that 'amp on seven' setting and pretty much leave it. It cleans up well when you roll your guitar volume back. It seems to be designed more for single coil than humbuckers - all of the manuals settings are clearly for Strats. It really does fatten up single coils. A lot of the guitarists I like are amp purists - Keith Richards, Waddy Wachtel, David Hidalgo, Jay Farrar of Son Volt - and this pedal can get you close to that ideal. David Hidalgo used one to record the basic guitar tracks for the Latin Playboys CD.

I've had one failure with the pedal. The switch died and I sent it back to Morley for repair. When it was being shipped back, the box got crushed and killed the new switch. Luckily, they sent three additional switches when they returned the unit. It was easy to do the repair myself - and I'm not very handy. Otherwise, it's been reliable - better than a Tubescreamer, not as good as a Boss.

Morley was very good to deal with - supportive, casual, knowledgeable.

I bought the JD-10 from JK Lutherie in Harrison, OH. He let me live with it for a week to see if would work for me. I looked at a lot of overdrive pedals before I settled on this one. Of all of them, I thought this was the smoothest, most natural sounding. If I needed to replace it I would shop for something else (just to know for sure) but wouldn't be at all dissapointed to end up with the JD-10.

Very responsive tone controls that actually *help* my Twin's tone pots. The manual gives a number of suggested settings which are very helpful. The "Dirty (AC) Thirty" is worth the price of admission on its own. I would like to see a more detailed setting guide made available, though.

Sound is very compressed through my 73 Twin Reverb...it adds a lot of softened punch to my amp's attack. I'm using a Yamaha SSC500 guitar for day to day work and also pull the Byrdland and Les Paul from their cases from time to time. I love the crunch I get from the Byrdland, and the high, singing feedback imparted by the treble boost. Its a little noisy when you use the "rock" push button, but the "classic" setting gives you great tone with little noise.

I have found this category to be wanting. I have a problem with the output gain pot causing the unit to frap out on me. On settings between 9 oclock and 1 oclock, it actually hinders the total sound and causes the singing sustain to sound like a popcorn fart. Turn it to 2 oclock and the unit takes off into space. It worked fine when I first got it, but degraded. I thought it was the battery, but even a power source didnt help. I can't count on it working every time. Very disappointing. I wish I knew why this only occurred intermittently, otherwise its a great pedal with great construction.

The Morley Online Anser man is not supported on the internet. I can't get through. I just found this web site with a real phone number. Im going to call that when they open this morning...I'll let you know. Low score cuz the internet link didnt work.

I play a variety of styles including modern country and loud screaming rocknroll. This unit fits both very nicely. Clean, bright tones for country twang....nasty distorted overtones for that Nugent harmonic feedback thing, a Vox AC30 brown tone that Jackson Browne/David Lindley fans would like. I've been playing for 30 years and this pedal is the first distortion unit I even considered buying. Very versatile, very easy to use. I do wish it had a second foot switch to change the "classic/rock" setting. Other than that....Its a winner in the sound category but needs some work on the reliability front. How many Big Muff's did Jimi have anyway?

Very easy to setup. Plug in ANY and I mean any adaptor between 9 and 30 volts DC. It auto senses. Very cool! The unit is very easy to use. Treble, Middle, Bass, Drive Depth, Classic/Rock, G12T Speaker Emulation, Output Level and Bypass make up the controls. This is basically a preamp/distortion pedal with speaker simulation.

The sound is very good. The one thing I noticed is that this thing puts out TONS of bass. Almost too much. I cut the bass way down on my unit and it sounds fine now. The distortion is a little "tight". When played next to a real tube amp, the tightness is apparent. The distortion is very good and the speaker simulation is great. I have noticed that the unit sounds a lot better through speakers as opposed to listening with headphones through the mixer. It still has a little too much buzz (i.e. highs) when listening through headphones with ROCK setting enabled. I think that the Classic setting is incredibly good. Nice crunch for chords. All in all, you cannot go wrong with this unit. It is great.

It seems tough as nails. I don't know how dependable it is however.

Never talked to Morley or Award.

I love this unit. If it broke or was stolen, I would buy it again.

Operation of this unit is very straightforward. It is a preamp/amp/speaker emulator which can also function as a DI. It has bass, mid and treble controls, along with drive and volume knobs, and switches for speaker emulation and classic or high gain mode. It has a stompable on/off switch, but the line driver is always on. The manual has some recommended settings and does a good job of explaining what the controls do. It took me a bit of fiddling to dial in the sound I wanted, which was emulation of an almost clean tube guitar combo amp. I would prefer if the unit had markings for the knobs, so that settings could be more easily reproduced.

I am using the JD-10 with the following signal chain: Kramer Pacer Deluxe->EH Deluxe Big Muff->ProCo RAT->Yamaha REX50->Digitech Time Machine 7.6->Peavey Valverb->Morley JD-10->PA system. I play ambient space music in a group with two synthesists, and wanted to eliminate the onstage guitar amp to get a better mix. So far, the JD-10 has allowed me to do that. The sound is a little tighter than a tube guitar amp, but that subtlety is lost in the mix. The guitar sounds just a bit more electronic, but for this group that's not a bad thing. I was pleasantly surprised at how controllable the feedback is and how good it sounds. Of course the distortion is coming from the other devices, but playing direct throught the PA with the JD-10 did not require any signifcant alteration in my technique.

It appears to be well made and has a solid feel.

Never dealt with them.

Overall I am pleased with the unit. I feel that it does what I got it for very well. It is less expensive than the SansAmp products. My H&K Cream Machine, by comparison, would not allow me to dial in the specific sound I was after. For my purpose of playing live space music along with synthesizers it is a useful tool. I'm not about to give up my tube amplifiers (or my 2-15" speaker cab) for performing or recording rock music, though.

Simplicity is beauty. OK, you get no 250 presets loaded w/digital effects but hey, spend your time listening to music instead of figuring out how to program some cheesy multi-fx! Features: EFFICIENT 3-band eq, drive and output knobs - and drive-selection (low/high gain) PLUS "Celestion" style cabinet simulator push-buttons. `Nuff is enuff. The manual gives suggestions for different "amp-style" settings and this is the point: use it for home recording, in no-time you'll get GREAT "miked-amp" tone to tape! You'll have to use an adapter (no battery compartment) but not to worry, the JD-10 will accept just about ANY adapter you have lying around the house.

I'm using it both for home recording and live; w/ SSH Squier Strat/Blues Junior and sometimes Marshalls. Tends to be a bit boomy inta an amp (so turn the bass down) but that's because it's a cab simulator...nice country spank tho (e. g. into a Marshall - instant "Fenshall"!). Here's another one: engage the Celestion G12T button - make your SC Strat cut through a 10 piece-band! Now, the real stuff is using it for recording. Believe me, I've recorded cranked Marshalls and VOX AC30's and this little pedal sounds just as good (albeit not the SAME, but who cares anyway). Miked amps to tape never sound like the real deal either (the SM57 will colour the tone!). I record both my strat and a cheesy (soon to be world-famous ) Falcon bass into a Fostex XR-5 4-track and both sound good. Punchy is the key-word! Both clean/overdrive/distortion are good, the first maybe a tad less convincing than my Blues Junior run clean (but that amp is a studio MONSTER!).

Die-cast steel chassis, knobs recessed, stomp-worthy. The power input jack is a bit flimsy but otherwise surely OK. Bring an adapter, batteries are useless (see above).

I chose the JD-10 for it's apparent (real!) simplicity and it was slightly cheaper than the SansAmp. Also, I wanted to be able to use it live. I play original rock/pop (of the infamous 5 Naked Guys, Kalmar, Sweden!) and for demo recordings/arranging it's a must. Just plug in and play. It lets me concentrate on finding the right NOTES instead of the right fancy effects-overladen preset which will drown in the mix and not contribute to the harmonic/melodic content of the song. I experiment in weird bass-lines (great hobby for the non-singing guitarist) and that really helps my arranging skills! And hey, a tip for bass players, listen to J. S. Bach, bass lines don't get any better. Yngwie Malmsteeeeen was on the right track there (but the wrong instrument IMHO because there's even more interesting stuff to steal!). Bottom line, you get great recordings EASILY!

The manual does an excellent job of describing settings to emulate specific tones, from "Hey Joe" Hendrix to "I Can See for Miles" Townsend. There are "four and a half" controls that vary your sound - bass, middle, and treble are three of course. The drive control is a two stage overdrive control, the stages being "classic" and "rock" - use the switch to go from the cleaner "classic" to the heavier "rock", and vary the amount of drive within stages by a drive control. There is also a switch to turn on/off the Celestion 12" speaker simulation -- I leave it on all the time, because that is the real beauty of this unit.

Because of the JD-10, I have switched my gigging amp to a solid-state Bass amp, and with the JD-10 I can cover every spectrum from Wes Montgomery clean to Ritchie Blackmore grind, and can get this sound at any volume level.
The JD-10 does not claim to be "tube emulation", but it does display the key properties of tubes - it is touch sensitive to distortion, and has singing harmonics, perhaps less "glassy" and mid-rangey than tubes.

A problem has ocurred where the unit occasionally starts to "clip" (for lack of a better term). When this happens, the tone becomes somewhat shrill and gated. This is a definite problem with the unit, and I have developed a test for it. Normally, as I turn up the drive control (say, from 1 to 10) you hear get a drive increase as well as a slight volume change when the unit is "clipping", the drive starts out OK at 1, the unit goes dead from 2 to 4, then comes back to drive and volume (but still clipping) after 5. I have two JD-10's, and both have "clipped" -- one unit it happens very infrequently, and fixes itself after a few clicks of the bypass switch. My backup unit "clipped" more frequently, and since it was recently repaired (stupid drummers have no respect for floor pedals!), I leave it in a set position -- it's when I start adjusting controls that it begins this clip.

I purchased both units used, so I haven't dealt with Morley. However, I submitted an e-mail to the Morley web-site regarding the clipping effect months ago...no response. So, based on that one experience, I rate it a ....

I've tried the JD-10 in front of traditional guitar amps, but it does not seem to react to tubes very well -- even with clean Music Man amps I find it to be distortion on top of distortion. But in front of a bass or keyboard amp set as clean as possible, that's where the JD-10 shines. This reflects a paradigm shift, because what guitarist would go to a music store, plug straight into a guitar amp, then a bass amp, and choose the bass amp? I love tube amps, and have a Pro Junior for home use -- still I am thrilled with what I can get from the JD-10 and a moderately priced Bass amp.
True confession time: I met Tele-master Jerry Donahue (as in "JD"-10) at a Fender clinic in Rochester, NY -- he was running the JD-10 into a Fender BXR amp, which is where my setup came from!! Check out his work with the Hellecasters, and if you like that steely type of Tele sound, (and don't have the clipping problems), I'd rate this unit as a great buy!

Doesn't have nearly the variety of sounds that the manual purports, I agree

Whit a good amp (MusicMan)it is useless. Not at all noisy not bad, but not creating the sound I like. But for home playing and recording its an ace! The speaker simulator button makes wonders. It makes home stereo sounds like 60`Marshall! Heh,heh...As a headphoneamp it is useless.
Very good 8 for the purpose!

For unlimeted adapter use ...10

Who cares? It works when I use it. 10

Rock metal blues, 5 years then 10 years not playing then a year again. It is a very good home recording and playing device.

The box is more of a preamp than just a pedal. It does take a little bit of futzing around with to get use to the way the drive and output level knob work together, but once you do it is pretty simple to get some nice tones.

Not comparing it with high end preamps, this unit gets a positive ten. The heavy is HEAVY, and the clean is pristine. If they where going for a "this-can-be anything- you-want" I think they came really damn close. The speaker emulation nails the thud of a 12" flawlesly. The EQ is incredibly useful, and tailored really well to what guitars need. The box itself is very quiet and discrete... something you can easily use ( if using through an amp ) with out yelling "Hey! I just plugged in a pedal..." Hell, the box will even help an amp out if it's not active ( inactive, it acts as a line driver ). If you are happy with your amp tone, and need just a DI box, this might be a bit much; but if you have an amp that needs a little life, a little help, or a little soul, this box is way better than just about any other pedal. In the "classic" gain mode, the box is pretty touch sensative, and in "rock" mode the box gets a good raunch to heavy. Anyway, the I think I've raved enough, the box sounds really good, and can get a butltload of tones; not just a lot of tones, but alot of GOOD tones...

The JD-10 looks pretty tough, but I really can't say... I haven't had it for a really long time. The only thing that looks like it might be a problem is the battery door ( it is just a plastic creased hinge, the kind that always seems to get sick of bending, turns white and then gives...)

Sorry, again, I can't put much input here. Haven't had to deal with them yet...

If the oppertunity would arise to purchase it again. I would definitely. I can't think of anything major off the top of my head that I would change about the JD 10.

The Morley JD-10 is a perfect emulator of my Acoustic tube guitar amp. It is actually manufactured by Award in England and endorsed by Jerry Donahue (of Hellecasters fame), an absolutely phenomenal guitarist. The controls are simple, drive, gain, and 3 tone controls. A couple of switches for lead/rythm and speaker emulator on/off. One of the real neat things is it has a balanced TRS output jack so you can run VERY quietly to a board.

The point of this pedal is to replace a miked amp. It can be used all alone or put at the end of an effects chain (right where the amp would normally go). The unit is very quiet. If you're looking for crunchy to all out metal tones, this is absolutely the pedal. To get the tube amp compressed clean sound, you do need to put a compressor ahead of it. All controls provide a very wide range of effects and I have always managed to get the sound I want. To give an idea of the flexibility of this unit, I run it through a keyboard amp (so I don't need to lug more than one amp to the gig) and it sounds identical to my combo amp.

Award has been building tube amp simulator circuits for over ten years now and their pedals are known for their reliability. The DC input jack will accept just about any adapter on earth, just give it something between 9 and 22 volts, positive and negative doesn't matter. More voltage equals more gain! I use it all the time on gigs without a backup.

The company is in England (Award, not Morley), but I can;t imagine every having to deal with them.

I can;t imagine not having this pedal. In the studio, I run direct to the board. Playing out, I run my guitar rig through my keyboard amp. It doesn't have presets, but after using it for a while you just turn around and tweak the settings for the next song (I keep it on top of the amp, NOT on the floor).

Doesn't have nearly the variety of sounds that the manual purports, but the stock sound is quite tasty.

It has a selector switch for "Classic" and "Rock". The rock sound is basically distortion controlled by the depth knob. The real stand-out feature is the speaker simulator. This little circuit has done wonders for my home recordings.

I am very pleased with the JD-10. The "JD" stands for Jerry Donohue, their endorser. Whoever he is, he sure knows how to pick 'em! I was disappointed that it didn't work too well as a headphone amp, but that is minor. I only use it for home recording and, for this application, it has been a delight.