Morley Little Alligator Volume Pedal

Simple. No switches or pots to break. Use it, feel it out for ten or fifteen minutes, and you got it. One thing to note is that it's not a traditional ratio volume pedal. Between off and full on, it seems like most of the actual volume increase happens in the first half. For me it's great because I set the minimum volume at about 10 o'clock, and when I need to play louder I push it forward. If I ever need to cut my sound, I just use the volume on my guitar anyways, your noise suppressor should handle the rest. If you want a traditional volume pedal with an even volume gain, you may want to look elsewhere (but you'll be replacing pots and sch... I just don't think it's worth it)

If I'm playing jazz, or playing in church, and I really need to take it down, it's not that hard to get used to, and I use it in these setting as a traditonal volume as well. Morley expression pedals just have no equal in terms of reliability.

I haven't noticed any big changes. I do use 10 band EQ and an MXR super comp as well, so I can do whatever I want with my sound at this point.

No need for a backup cause there's nothing to break (unless you're a 400 pound heavy footed guitarist, in which case maybe you should just play the drums)

I'd say don't you worry one bit. this thing'll outlive you unless it gets struck by lightning or something.

Never had a reason to call 'em. I bet they're bored too, all these idiot proof foot pedals and such.

"You get any calls today Larry?"

"Yeah, but it was just some guy who wanted to buy another pedal and he had dialed the wrong number. I transferred him over and that was it... Maybe we could get a job at Snarling Dogs, their pedals always seem to break."

"Good idea... or maybe we should just prank call 'em again."

"You read my mind."

Kick ass pedal.

It's a volume pedal...it does have a volume knob for setting the volume when the pedal is in the "off" position. Supposedly it can then be used as a volume boost for solos although I've never used it for that. I keep the volume knob all the way to the left and use it as a traditional volume pedal.

It is first in my chain. I don't notice any noise or adverse affects on my tone. The taper took a bit of getting used to but I've got the hang of it now. It almost seems like it is nonlinear (most change in volume in the middle of the pedal, perhaps?) The little alligator has no pot to get scratchy as it uses an optical linkage. I love not having to replace pots!!

Built like a tank. I never worry about it failing. No pots to change (saves $$$).

Not needed.

Well built unit. Does what I need it to do.

how can it be simpler. The volume knob is just the volume of the pedal up. the pedal down is unaffected. I guess you need to unplug it to keep the battery from running down. no documentation to explain it though. Taper of pedal seems good.

It sucked the highs out of the guitar. I did an A/B test. Its for sure. Guys that say it doesnt must be going through cabinets or speaker sims that cut off the highs already and dont notice it. Im going DI and listening via studio monitors. No highs. totally unacceptable.

Looks beefy rugged. Should be a sturdy reliable unit.

Dont bother getting.....its sucks the highs out. No question about that.

Very easy to use.Can't get much more basic than a volume pedal.

It seems to be farily unaffecting in terms of tone.I have an older Ibanez volume pedal which uses conventional pot for it's operation,and the sound quality between the two does not seem to be all that different.One thing that is definitively different is the tamper(rate of volume increase).The volume swell is fast,better suited for single line,fast swells than the slower cords swells.If you are looking for the latter application,you probably will not like this pedal.

seems to be soild.I have not had it for too long,so no verdict on this yet.(that is if I keep it)

I called them once while ago,and they were very helpful.

This pedal seems to be little more of a specific volume pedal than your average volume pedal.I purchased this to take some load off my old Ibanez pedal but often,I end up using the Ibanez,and it all comes down to the taper.When I bought it I basically thought that volume pedal is a volume pedal but that turned out to be not the case.The best senario would be to have a volume pedal that has two taper modes thatcan be toggled. Bottom line: If you decide to buy it, make sure that you can return it for the full refund.

It's a volume pedal. It's about as difficult as a foot switch.

The jacks suck. Plugging in a cable is hard because the jacks are very stiff. It's a pain in the butt.

Using a guitar directly into this beast, it sucks tone because it loads the guitar. This is with a Les Paul, A Strat or a Tele. Putting it after an effect pedal helps remedy this. Amps are a pignose tube amp or a Fender M80 solid state. Even in the effects loop of said Fender, the pedal bleeds highs, unless it is depressed to maximum volume. This tells me that there is too much stray capacitance in the thing.

I opened it and found that the alignment of the optical components, the LED's and the LDR's, is critical to operation and tone. I used a digital multimeter and adjusted alignment of the components by slightly bending them. It helped tone and response.

I don't like the taper of the pedal. It's too linear and I wish I tried the other Morley volume pedal before getting this.

The big green Morely sticker is fallin off. This started the week after I got it. Other than that, no problems. The battery lasts a long time.

I play live for about 2,000 people at church. (Musician for 39 years.) I got it after my old Rolls volume pedal broke.

I hate it. I would not buy it again. It's too heavy and with all the other stuff in my gig bag, it would make a nice boat anchor.

it was simple in on the input and out on the output. pretty basic like any other pedal. it didnt need a manual since its pure common knowledge. when i plugged it in, it was amazing to me. i turned around and bought it withing 15 seconds of using it. one fact for people who try it out. if you plug it in from guitar to alligator to amp, you can lose tone and sustain on your sound because in that chain it'll run like the volumoe knob on your guitar. if you plug it in the fx loop in your amp, the sound will remain crisp and fine tuned because in this point you are running it like the volume knob in your amp.

no matter the guitar, the sound doesnt come out colored. i ran it through my custom esp f-200 with emg 81 and emg 85, and i also ran it through my schect v-7 7 string with dimarzio air norton 7 and dimarzio evolution 7. the sound was not hissy or humming. i recommend it mainly for tube amp users and amps with fx loops because your tone will remain perfect. i figured since its good enough for steve vai, its good enough for me. heheheheh

i adore this thing. if someone tried to steal it, id hunt them down and beat them with it since its built like a tank. i sure hope i dont assault charges because it is so strong you can consider it a deadly weapon. im considering getting a second one for my own custom drive setting...hhhmmmmmm

didnt need any support. perfect everytime. i know a guy who has had it for like 10 years and still hasnt had to repair it or refurbish it.

i play progressive metal and im lead guitars so i need the best tone i can get. this is the most essential volume pedal around. it has the minimum volume option. you can set up the minimum a little lower than the full volume amp(toe up) and you can leave the max (toe down) to the volume of your amp. basically you can be rhythm and blend nicely with the band and then you can turn lead without losing pace because of manual switching and accidentally killing your volume. perfect everytime.

i wish it was cheaper so i could have bought 2 of them. the price is worth it but one can be greedy :)~

i think better options for it would be dual inputs,dual outputs and an LED screen. the inputs with a footswitch. one input would be for the fx loop and the second one for the guitar. one tap would be for volume of amp, second tap would be guitar pickups volume which means you can change the drive. of course itll have a bypass when switching effects. if the guys from Morley read this and would like to speak to me feel free to contact me at cambastudios@hotmail.com . im open for ideas and stuff. in fact, i got some plans i would love to see take effect.

i highly recommend this pedal. its perfect and prestine.

Very easy. For rhythm & lead settings:

1) Whether you're using it the effects loop or into the input, you start by pushing it toe-down all the way, and getting your lead setting (or your loudest setting).

2) Then you adjust the Minimum Volume control to your rhythm settings.

That's it.

Works the nuts on my Marshall DSL401 combo. I was having a hard time getting anything to give me a boost for solos due to the parallel FX loop, or at least anything that sounded right. If you use this in the effects loop of an amp like a DSL401 which has an "Effect Mix" control, remember to turn that all the way up or you may lose some of your volume boosting potential.

The pedal doesn't color my tone regardless of how it's hooked up, and I performed extensive A/B-ing the pedal, the guitar's volume control, and the guitar's volume control w/o the pedal plugged in. If it affects the tone, I certainly can't hear it. The Minimum Volume control is very reactive and smooth. The pedal travel itself is very smooth and has a nice even taper to it.

It's too new for me to say, but I've had the new Mark Tremonti wah for several months now and it's been flawless. My only concern with the Little Alligator is with the green LED; it's always on, and when running on batteries it seems that would contribute to battery depletion. It really serves no purpose exfept to let you know that you've got power, so I feel it's unnecessary.

I play all styles and have been playing for many years. I like Morley pedals, and if it weren't for their switchless-designed wah's, I'd never use a wah. I have the Bad Horsie wah, the Mark Tremonti wah, and now this Little Alligator volume pedal. These pedals perform well and are quite reliable.

As a volume pedal IT is simple to use...but getting your balances correct for your entire gear can be a tiny bit more daunting. The pedal only has a minimum volume knob to mess with.

Sounds clear and neutral. Anyone who says that it is changing or ruining it's their tone has it connected incorrectly. You can, however, use it in conjuntion with post amp compression (if you have a multi efx...amp emulator) to change tone by using it to unload the preamp (clean tone) with toe up and then as more volume hits the preamp (push toe down) it gets dirtier. The other Morley volume pedal, the PVA, may be better for that though.

Generally though, it is better off to put this pedal in the efx loop between the preamp and power amp.

I've owned Morley products before and they are totally reliable.

n/a

It's just a volume pedal. Not much you can do wrong with it other than hook it up wrong. I bought it so I can set the minimum volume to my normal loudness and if I start getting buried in the mix or need a loud lead, I can crank it up.

Since it is so simple however (even with Morley's excellent optical system) I give it 9, because it costs as much as more tonal appliances like Wahs and distortions. I think it would be better if it had two rows of LEDs for volume level, volume level out and a knob for sensitivity for the display. That would help in setting up for a gig.

I would, however, replace it in a heartbeat.

Typical volume pedal. Instrument in, instrument out. This volume pedal while passive needs a power supply (battery or otherwise) in order to operate.

Doesn't seem to color my tone at all. I use it in the effects loop of my amp before any of my other effects. I previously had a Boss FV-100 which was everybit of 12 years old. Other than a slightly different feel - I'm not complaining.

Check back with me in 12 years. 8^D

I noticed what turned out to be a typo on their online owners manual. I received a speedy reply to my question.

I'll give it a 10. Not the most expensive but not the cheapest either. In response to a previous poster's comment about the difference between this pedal and the PVO. The PLA has a linear taper while the PVO has an audio taper. Other than that - they're basically the same.

it's easy, you plug it in and rock the thing back and forth.

it has entertainment value. trust me.

um i have to say it does add a definate midrange increase somewhere along the lines and it does seem to talk some balls off of my distortions/overdrives that i place after it, and since my amp has no effects loop it can be a problem but since it's always on i tried dialing out some mids on my amp but it doesn't fix it completely, but it's something i can live with. it's not like anyone cares about my tone when playing live and that's about the only time i really use this, rarely when in studio work do i use my entire pedalboard which has too many effects for it's own good.

but overall not bad for cheap

it seems pretty reliable. the morely wah i have is still good, this should be the same

it's pretty good for the price since everything else was more expensive and i didn't have the money. but i just wish it didn't cut into my sound like it does