Morley Little Alligator Volume Pedal

I use this pedal as volume control for a keyboard emulating a hammond. A smooth sweep of graduating volume is paramount. It was easy to set up,and is wide enough to find in the shadowed darkness under your keyboards while playing.

I use this pedal with a Roland VR-760 and a KC-550 amp. at first all was fine. It lasted about 8 months. The smooth volume inclination and decrease soon disappeared and the pedal developed spikes in volume.I understand this pedal works on a light sensor not a volume pot. I could not find anyone to repair it anywhere locally or on-line.

NO It has created more problems than it has solved.

I cant seem to find anyone to help me with this product. I would send it off to get repaired. At least try it once more.....I would not buy another one. NOTE: this was used in live performance 2-3 times a week.

I play in a cover/original rock band that well known in South Florida. I have been playing keys for 30+ years.{I use to drag around a real B-3}. If stolen I would laugh and claim it on insurance.HA HA I compare this product with the Ernie Ball volume.Excellent at first,but volume spikes and uneveness had me repair/change pot twice.Still doesnt work smooth! Keyboard players that need hammond sounds need a pedal that is smooth graduating volume with a long sweep[ thats so you can pump the volume]I use a Boss now that is consistant,cheap but noisy as hell.

Very easy, plug it in, set the Min. volume and play.

The taper might be a little bit wierd at first, but once you understand it, it's better than anything else out there.

Had it over a year, still works perfect.

Not sure.

I'd buy it again for sure.

simple

I use it after overdrives. My first one went down after a year and then bought another one at it was a fluke. from toe up to about half way down there was no sound. Emailed CHAD@ morley and explained the issue. he wouldn't email me a RA# the pedal goes in the trash and morley is now on my ****list

might last a year if you get one that works properly

see above

not as smooth as you'd might like but for cheap i didn't notice any tone suck. They don't last

I've never used a volume pedal so the reviews about the taper being strange don't apply. It is a bit quick but takes virtually no time to get used to - toe down, toe up - pretty easy

In front of an amp, it does suck the high's out if you use it on its own. If you buffer with, for example, a Bad Horsie, no problem. I bought this to put in the effects loop of my Hiwatt SER so in that capacity there is again no impact on the sound quality. I don't believe you should put a volume pedal infront anyway

Stein Shizenhause - a nuclear device would be required to damage this pedal

Never had to use them for any Morley pedal I own

I think this pedal is great, it works well, it's smooth, no noise, it's better than my mates Boss volume pedal for sure

Just plug it in, set the minimum volume on the knob for the toe up position (heel all the way down to the floor).

At first the taper may seem a little tricky / sortof all or nothing / v. quick and it may seem non-linear - jumping in the centre. However, this is not actually the case. One or two people have mentioned that this pedal goes past parrallel with the floor and actually goes more toe down, this is true however there is no volume increase during this period more toe down period, it is more of an off position / ensures fully on. It barely goes past the parallel but it is enough to be 100% confident the pedal is set to max, I really like this feature. It is also the reason for the apparent strangness in the taper, the taper runs linear from the toe up position to the parrallel position, then has no increase in that little bit past the parrallel

Therefore, it may be a little tricky at first but once you get used to the positions (takes no time at all) to swell on your foot, then it becomes very simple to use. A final reason why some say all or nothing is the taper is I think maybe a little shorter, so it is nice and sensitive, a good thing in my opinion. Again with a little practice I could get the accurate and sometimes fast little swells I was looking for.

The feel of the pedal is very smooth, so it is easy to control. There is no spring in it like the bad horsie, its a simple pedal, you rock it where it you want it and it stays.

I reccomend buying the morley power supply, if its anything like the bad horsie it will nibble through batteries quite quickly, unless you unplug the input jack (disconnects the battery when you do)

Using an all tube amp (cornford) with various electro harmonix effects and a morley bad horsie (wah-wah) using various guitars, a descent les paul gibson, american strat and a descent ibanez.

Sound quality depends on placement (especially with a tube amp), but it does sound excellent in the right place

Generally, I did not notice any noise whatsoever (I placed it in my fx loop and on minimum it was like my amp was not even switched on)

In front of the amp / before pre-amp: Heres the tricky thing, Before the pre-amp means it acts like the volume knob of a guitar. That is when you decrease the volume you drive the preamp section less, which equals less volume, but also means you will have a less / a drop in distrotion. The other bad thing is noise, if you amp produces a hiss (most do) then the loudness of the hiss stays at a constant level and the guitar goes quiet, meaning on slow gentle swells you will hear the hiss to being with before it is drowned out by the guitar. I feel I must write this in caps *THIS IS NOT THE PEDAL, IT IS THE PLACEMENT OF THE PEDAL* - which alters the input into the amp. I would not recomend this pedal in front of an amp, in fact I would not recomend any volume pedal in front of an amp. so...

FX loop: Once I positioned the pedal here it was absolutely excellent, I dont hear any colouration of my sound (refraing from using the word tone) if there actually is some, it is certainly not bad nor very noticible. Especially once you get used to the taper, i could produce the sounds I was looking for.

The only one negative thing I think there is a very small volume difference to the pedal on max compared to no pedal in the setup. That being the pedal on max is ever so slightly quiter that no pedal. In the FX this is not a problem what so ever, infront of the amp however you will notice an ever so slight loss in distortion (effects of quiting the input signal to the pre amp again), again a volume pedal shouldnt be typically put there (learn how to use your guitar volume knob)

Only thing left to say is the pedal is designed to be placed either before the amp or also in the FX loop. Some pedals are not designed to be placed in the FX loop, because this pedal has, it is just one more assurance that the pedal will be preforming as it should when you place it in the FX loop.

Optical circuitry whatsits works great, smooth and no added noise.

Have only had it a couple weeks so cant really comment, but it is very well built, quite heavy as well.

Like all morley pedals, it comes in that thick strong bendy plastic (like what you buy those small mp3 headphones in). I bought it on the internet and they shop did not package it in a box or foam etc, they just put it in a black bag. When I opened it, the top corner of the plastic was all cracked + streseed (obviously someone had dropped it or something) + its probably been bashed about in a delivery truck. Concerned, I opened the packaging, not 1 dent nor scratch on the pedal. Plugged it in, worked perfectly. Reliability? - thats good enough for me ;)

If it is like my Morley bad horsie (very similar construction)then the reliability will be excellent (I can vouch for that one). That electro optical whatsit circuitry (no pots) means no scratchness as the pedal ages, so thats bonus.

Never dealt with them

However, on their website they do have all the manuals etc avaliable online.

Very good product. I use it on clean, semi-distorted and fully distorted sounds, works a treat on all.

I really do like the way it goes just past parrallel to ensure and give me the confidence it is 100% on. Taper very smoothe, very accurate. Noisless. Put it in you fx loop. The minimum volume knob is real good as well, can get a nice rhythm to lead boost from it. Morley are really comming up with innovative pedal ideas. ((Their Bad Horsie wah is the best on those lines, no toe down switch it just comes on when you start to use it, excellent))

Plus it looks cool and has a fun name ;)

It's a friggin' volume pedal, man! What could be simpler? One word of caution however: If you're accustomed to the long, forgiving sweep of an Ernie Ball and you utilize a lot of volume swelling in your playing, this pedal will take a little getting used to. At first it will feel like an on-off switch but adjusting the minimum volume knob down will help give it a smoother sweep. Just don't expect it to behave like an Ernie Ball.

Also, keep in mind that the size of this pedal may be a concern to you if you have limited space on your pedal board. The Morley is a beast.

I've noticed in reading other reviews that opinions are widely varied on this pedal's sound quality. Some people love it, some people hate it. My own experience with it was that it sounded great out of the box but over a period of about 6 months the quality deteriorated to the point that it was completely sucking both tone and level out of my sound. This was particulary noticeable when I ran my Strat through it. I sent the pedal back to Bill Wenzloff at Morley and it was returned back to me in about 7 days. Bill told me that they replaced the optics in it and the difference in tone and level was obvious the minute I hit the first open E chord on my Strat. The pedal sounds absolutely transparent. I can detect no difference in tone or level whether I run it between my guitar and the front end of my Fender Twin or just plug the instrument straight into the Twin w/o the pedal.

I would strongly suggest to anyone who is having tone or level problems with this pedal to contact Morley and see about sending the pedal in to them for evaluation or repair. This pedal is a DEFINITE winner. If yours isn't, it may simply need some minor adjustment.

Jury's still out on this one. The only reason I'm scoring this one a little low is because it had to go back for repair after it was only about 6 months out of the box. On a positive note, Morley was great about handling the repair. It was turned around quickly, it sounded great when it came back and I only had to pay for the outgoing shipping. Morley did the repair for nothing and paid to have the pedal shipped back to me. Bill at Morley tells me that the optics should last for about 10 years. We'll see how it does over time.

Again, support was top-notch. There was no voice mail maze at Morley's office to try and navigate through. I called the tech support number shown on their website and got right through to Bill

I play mostly rock. I play a variety of guitars including a custom shop Strat, a 1957 reissue Les Paul Custom, a gutted and re-pickuped Parker P38, and a 1979 Fender Lead II (it's the first guitar I ever owned and I just can't part with it). I am currently running through a 1995 Fender Twin Amp (the 100 watt version) and I run a myriad of both analog and digital pedals through the front end of the amp. I've been playing for over 20 years and have been playing semi-pro for about the last 8 years.

The Morley is a great fit for what I do considering the number of pedals I'm running in front of it. It's really important to me to be able to identify a problem in my sound quickly. Nothing is worse than fighting your gear during a sound check when your about to go on in 5 minutes. The fact that the Little Alligator is an optical pedal just means that I shouldn't have to worry about a potentiometer going out or getting scratchy in the middle of a gig. Not to mention, the optical aspects of the pedal provide a consistent amount of gain in your tone throughout the entire pedal sweep. I'm giving it a 10 even though I had to send it back for repair so soon. Morley's response to the initial problem was great and so is the result of the repair.

Very easy - a no brainer!

Any potential customer needs to understand that when using this pedal in front of a amp it needs a buffer circuit in front of it, otherwise it'll load your signal and you'll loose highs as you decrease volume. I don't have an FX loop so I can't comment on that. When using it in front of an amp, just use a buffered pedal before it and it sounds perfect - 100% transparent through the volume range of the pedal. Plus no pot replacements to deal with over time.

Built like a tank. It'll last years.

N/A for me. But I hear good things about Morley customer support.

This is a great value and a wonderful volume pedal. Smooth linear sweep. Just remember the buffer circuit before it and you'll get no coloration. The L'il Alligator really makes it hard to justify 5x increase in price for boutique pedals that will be no more transparent or reliable.

Easy. One input, one output, one knob (minimum volume), no pot switch. Power supply or batteries. Personally, I never use batteries for powering my effects so I don't know heavily this unit drains them, but I gather it's quite thirsty. Go for the power supply - you don't have to use the Morley one. I use my Boss p/s. I only lose the unit 1 point on ease of use because it's so wide (like a lot of Morley units). On stage, along side my pedalboard and wah it takes up a lot of room, and some venues have tiny stages. When you've also got a jack sticking out either side, it can be a pain. Still, we're all grown ups and you just deal with it somehow!

I run a hot rodded strat through a pedalboard into the front of a JCM900 50w head and 2x2 cab. Hard rock type sound, occasional clean channel use. I put the Little Alligator in the FX loop (remembe to turn your loop level up to max). It is the only Morley volume pedal designed to go in the FX loop as well as into the front end. I bought it to do rhythm/lead volume boost and the minimum volume knob makes it very quick and easy. Using it as a conventional volume pedal for volume swells etc. also works perfectly. I don't know why people are saying it cuts into their tone. In my FX loop, it took no distortion or tone away from my sound. When you back the pedal off, the sound stays EXACTLY the same. Only the volume changes. The taper is a bit swift, but it suits me down to the ground. Great piece of kit - real pro gear.....and no noise!

Built like a brick sh*thouse. You'd need a sledgehammer just to put a dent in it. Nice solid reliable feel on the 'grippy' foot surface.

No idea.

Does exactly what the advertising says and is a quality piece of equipment. Very much the answer to the 'how to get a volume boost for solos' problem, with the added versatility to do anything you could want from a volume pedal. Most importantly, used in your FX loop it WILL NOT COMPROMISE YOUR SOUND. If I lost it somehow, I would replace it immediately. I am a pro player, and this will never leave my setup.

No Manual, sort of catalogue. Easy to set up..plug and play and mess about with the vol min/max setting

OK; reading the reviews, its a split between ok and not ok. I have to say that in the fx loop it cuts down the other pedals ie takes the highs and distortion out. I play a USA Srat into a Marshall AVT50 with a Boss Blues Driver and Boss Chorus. If it goes in the fx loop on its own and put the pedals into the amp then ok - but I did want to lose some cables off the stage! If you put it in front of the amp in a chain, the OD channel has a huge volume difference with the clean channel ie not balanced, so its not practical. In terms of working as a volume pedal, its fine. Its getting it to work without the effects being affected and without cables everywhere.

I have gigged with the Morley PVO and its solid and I do jump on them a bit. I reckon my kids will inherit them both!!

I contacted Morley re the above issues on my PVO, which is why I got the steve vai (designed for FX loops) They were very responsive, but buying a steve vai model didnt solve the problem of the PVO which were the same as mentioned earlier. Having said that top marks for support.

I play in a band doing classic rock 60's, 70's ans Oasis etc. We're about as old as that as well. I have to cover a lot of sounds rhythm/lead hence I wanted a volume pedal to punch thru some solos across the clean/od/blues/chorus settings (I'm not accurate enough with the Vol knob). The pvo and steve vai got good reviews in the Mags and here which is why I bought one and then the other one. I reckon I'll keep experimenting and if I crack it I'll post again. But as some reviewers have said I think alot depends on amp/guitar/effects set up as to how its going to work for you. If anyone has an idea...

Very easy to use in as far as understanding how it functions. Not very fond of the taper though. As volume pedals go, I find the sweep to not be gradual enough so most players will have difficulty in using the pedal for gradual "country-esque" volume swells. Very easy if using as a volume switch for "rhythm" vs. "solo" volume levels. A great idea. So I compromise at 5.

I have to give it a 5 because it most definitely alters the signal of the guitar. That's with two different amp/guitar setups and another set of ears besides my own. With a Strat, it sucks the jangle and cluck right out of the guitar. I had my doubts because some reviews seem to be given out of malice. I'm telling you, truthfully, that I wish this pedal would work for me because the minimum volume knob is a brilliant feature that I would like to have made use of, however, the pedal has another side-effect that some may like, but I do not, in which it gives my Strat a more Gibson-like sound by noticeably cutting the highs.

I have no opinion. I will have owned the pedal for a week prior to returning it. It doesn't seem to be a cheap pedal. I think it would stand-up to road use.

No occasion

I think this pedal would be more appropriate for use in hard/heavy rock where there is no chance that you might ever be playing clean due to the amount of attenuation of the high end of the guitar. It's a brilliant concept for any guitarist that has had the problem of being able to switch between rhythm levels and solo levels with the greatest of ease. Anyone looking to get "pedal steel" swell effects will not enjoy this 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

Pretty simple really. Plug into the fx loop of your amp and you can kick your levels up for solos. I strongly believe volume pedals are a necessity to non pro musicians as we don't always have a sound guy to ajust volumes .

well. sounds very transparent to me. There seems to be a few morons who talk about it talkin balls off your tone. If you strictly want a volume increase but the sound to stay the same then place it in the effects loop otherwise its just like having a guitar volume pot at your feet.

nothins gone wrong yet.

haven't dealt with them yet.

A perfect volume pedal with a smooth taper. Although I haven't tried an ernie Ball yet . I hear they are the dogs testiculars. But I don't see what can be improved.

Hey all! Bill Wenzloff of Morley here. Thank you for the reviews of our products. We appreciate all the comments (good and bad). Just a tip I thought I'd pass along:

When using a volume pedal (any volume) in front of the amp, you will tend to lose drive and sustain as you lower the volume on the pedal (much the same as using the volume knob on your guitar). This is because you are lowering an already weak, passive pickup signal to the front of the amp. When you use the volume pedal in the effects loops of the amp (send and return) you can lower the volume but keep your drive and sustain. If I can ever be of assistance to anyone who readds this note, feel free to call me at 800-284-5172 ext 12.

This pedal is pretty easy to use. Just set the minimum volume knob to your preference and use your foot to control the output volume. I use this pedal for a wide variety of applications. I use this pedal to completely mute my signal so no noise can be heard when I'm not playing. I also set the minimum volume knob so that I can go from rythm to lead. I also use it to control the amount of signal feeding into my distortion box so that I can accomplish smooth overdrive tones or heavy distortion at the press of my foot.

This pedal is not noisy at all. The taper is pretty smooth. It gets along with my other effects pretty well. I don't notice any difference in tone when this pedal is in the circuit. I use this pedal mainly to mute my signal so that no noise comes through when I'm not playing. I also use it to control the signal level feeding into my Tech21 Sansamp GT-2. This combination works very nice.

No pots to wear out, but for the Minumum Volume knob. But, this knob should last a long time since you pretty much just set it and forget it. Optical operation is smooth and quiet. Sturdy metal unit. Battery lasts a very long time. I always play this live without a backup. I just bring a spare battery. I have two other pedals from Morley and have no problems. They seem to build quality products.

I E-mailed them a question and they got back to me right away. The person's answer helped me out a lot. They also have schematic diagrams for their products on their web site.

I have other effects from Morley and have enjoyed using them for years. The Little Alligator pedal seems to be one of the better volume pedals out there. No pots to wear out. No tone-sucking. Minimum volume knob for a wide variety of applications. Long battery life. Smooth taper. Durable construction. What more could you ask for?

Plug and Jam!

I play a Jackson Soloist and Jackson Randy Rhoads Pro through a Peavey VTM60 head into a Peavey 4X12 cab, with a BBE 462 and Digitech RP5 run through the effects loop. The BBE gives a ton of balls to my sound and really helps cut through the mix....but...as soon as I added the volume pedal, I lost all the balls in the tone! I noticed that someone else here played a VTM120 and the pedal didn't work well with it either, maybe this pedal and amp series are just a bad match.
It had to be full volume otherwise it radically changed my sound, which is just not acceptable. I played with it for a few weeks, trying to get it to work for me, but it has since been sent to my milk crate of unused pedals!

I didn't play it long enough to rate this fairly, but it certainly seems ready to take some abuse, and never had any problems with it while I did play it.

I play in two different bands: one all cover band that does mostly radio friendly rock, and one mostly covers classic metal stuff ( Maiden, Priest, pre-Bob Rock Metallica ). I've been playing for 22 years and this is my first experiment with a volume pedal. I think it is my fault for not liking this product, and not a flaw with the product itself...it just didn't do what I THOUGHT it was supposed to do, which was boost the volume for leads and so on, without changing the tone structure. I guess I should have known better. Anyone looking to boost volume for leads should look elsewhere!

Very easy to use. Not much to read about it-it's simple to use. Nine volt battery last forever, very low drain. The green light is nice to let you know you are powered up. Mine a 2001.

I use mine in conjunction with a Digitech RP-100 unit to control both volume and effects such as whammy and it works perfect! Very smooth operation. I use it with a Peavey Delta Blues and Fender Champ amps. Work great with any amp.

Mine has been trouble-free and I've used it every day almost for at almost a year. I wouldn't worry about a backup. I honestly don't see what could break. The thing is rock solid and has a good feel to boot.

Never had to deal with the company.

I play a little of everything. Been playing 25 years. I love the whammy effects I get with this smooth pedal with the Digitech RP 100. If it broke or was stolen I would buy it again. I can't see how anything could be better and considering the price, this thing is tops. I like to try a Morley Wah-Wah. It is a mainstay in my set up. For a volume and expression pedal it makes the Digitech RP-100 come alive! Check it out for yourself.

I've had a chance to use the new Little Alligator at a couple of gigs. Heavy-duty, flawess workmanship, great little volume pedal. Not quite as much throw as the old chrome Morley volume pedal which I've used for 25 years, but I adapted immediately to its feel.

In my original band, I mainly use a Gibson DC Standard and a Gibson SG Supreme strung with 8 to 38 mil strings. In my cover band, I mainly use a solid mahogany Carvin DC 127, an early Carvin TL60 and a brand new American Standard Strat. For effects, my basic setup is now a 1977 ADA Flanger, a Boss RV-2 reverb pedal, my choice of 3 Octavia pedals (Fulltone, Roger Mayer and Voodoo Lab), a Morley Bad Horsie II wah, and now the Morley Little Alligator volume pedal. I power all of these units with a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power unit. My amplification consists of a 1991 Mesa Boogie Mark IV combo with an EVM-12L, a Carvin Vai Legacy 4x12 cabinet, and a Mesa 4x10 cabinet. Using the Little Alligator at the end of my effects string controls my playing level. I run all of this right into the input on the amp and bypass the amp's effects loop. I find that this works best for me. I don't need distortion pedals due to the Mark IV's great wealth of switchable tone settings.

Read my review of the Morley Bad Horsie II for the scoop on reliabitity. In a nutshell, I've used a chrome Morley Vol-Wah pedal since the mid '70's, and have NEVER had a problem with it. It's seen over 25 years of continual service and is still chugging along. I've retired the old stuff and opted for Morley's two new Vai pedals, mainly just for fun. I would never consider having to bring a backup for any Morley equipment after the proven track record I've had with their equipment. The new pedals seem to be even better built than the old ones.

Again, see my Morley Bad Horsie II review. Morley support is some of the best in the business.

I'm mainly a rock guitarist and have been playing guitar since 1963. I've learned over the years to always have the volume pedal active when playing. I contour my sound with it. The Little Alligator is very smooth and quiet. I really like the opto circuitry design instead of a mechanical potentiometer. And these new pedals seem to be more rugged than the originals. If this unit was stolen, I'd buy another one (and use the old chrome pedal until I received the new one). I just love these Morley pedals. The company has taken the original design ideas and brought them to the next level.

Ok, i posted a review here about a month or so ago.
A Mr. Bill Wenzloff from Morely actually took the time to read my review, and mail me back, twice even, answering a few questions i had and leaving a number i could call if i ever needed anything from their product support. To me, that is amazing. Anyone reading this and considering buying a morely product should know; If the sound pleases you, then buy it. Because they're really kind and helpful people. Thanks Bill, and um, sorry the Bad Horsie & i didn't get along. It just hated the rest of my equipment for some reason.

It's a volume pedal...
How hard could it be?

Once again, it's a volume pedal.
My only complaint is the fact that it doesn't have a completely smooth audio taper. I got used to using a volume pedal made for keyboards. Which had a perfectly smooth transaction. With this pedal, if you have your amp overdriven, you have the pedal tilted all the way back, and the minimum control all the way down, it goes; Almost clean, almost clean, a little overdriven, a little overdriven, little more gain, little more gain, full throttle. I'm used to a few more stages between "a little gain" and "full throttle". Other than this, it's a satisfactory volume pedal.

The pot will never wear out considering it's fiber optic. Which means there is no pot. And like all morley's, it's built like a tank.

No idea.

Ok.
If i'm wrong, correct me.
But isn't the Morley PVO Volume pedal the exact same damned thing? Without Via's signature and the green paint & LED of course? Is there any difference at all? Same minimum switch. Same everything. This is a mono volume pedal, but i'm not sure if the PVO is a stereo or not. If there's no dofference, i'm sure the PVO is cheaper, considering Via didn't endorse it. So anyway...
It's a good pedal. Does the job anyway. Considering how much Tool i play, i needed a volume pedal. No way i have enough coordination to make my pinky do that much stuff with the volume knob while i play. Other than that aodio taper i mentioned, i have no problems with it. And that's a simple matter of getting used to.

About as simple a pedal you will find, it has a minimun volume control
and the foot pedal for raising or lowering your volume.

This pedal doesn't really change the sound tone wise, but does what a volume pedal is supposed to do, change the volume. When the switch is in the back position, you can get a clean sound and boost it for more distortion, or if you want to play rythm and you need a boost for playing lead just set the volum control.

No problems yet, very tough pedal.

Haven't had to deal with them yet.

A great pedal for doing just what it needs to.

Very Simple. Run your guitar through it and you can control the volume. Minimum Volume nob lets you set, oddly enough, the minimum volume.

Sounds very transparent and has a good linear taper.

Haven't had it too long, but it is well built. Ive had my Bad Horsie for quite some time and it is working great. I do not expect any problems.

I wrote a quick email to them regarding product specifications and they responded quickly and gave me a very thorough response.

I've been playing for 10 years and have used a lot of equipment. I play everything from classical guitar to shred rock to jazz and fusion. I'm using this with a Mesa Boogie DC-5, Fulltone Fulldrive, and some other pedals n' such. I've used it with my 335 as well as my Ibanez USRG and Strat.

I tried using the ernie ball pedal because it was so ballsy looking, but the PLA is far better and you'll never get scratchiness from a dirty potentiometer(its cheaper too!).

This pedal is great for controlling the dirtiness of your distortion and rules for volume swells etc. I recommend this pedal over any other volume I'm used.

It was quite easy to get a good half distortion/half volume sound out of it. I just twisted the knob to around 4 o clock position. There is a manual that tells you how to use the min volume knob (the only knob), and it's pretty detailed.

Sadly, I'm merely using a fender mex made fat strat w/my bridge position factory humbucker. I am also using a cheapass marshall 50 watt solid state combo amp. This pedal is not noisy at all, as far as i can tell. I can definitely get that half-distortion/half-volume sound like the beginning of "Hit or Miss" by New found glory, and the similar sound in "Today" by smashing pumpkins during the verse without adjusting the distortion level. I use this before going into my amp, cause it sux if u put it in the FX loop (i tried), and it's not too useful for clean drive, except the volume swelling in "Pardon Me" sounds not too horrible. Problem is, either I'm not too good w/the min volume knob or something, but it doesn't swell as smoothly as me twisting the volume knob on my guitar, but that's not too much of a problem for me.

Well, one of the reasons i bought it is because it looked big and sturdy (better than that vox or dunlop crap) and i think i woudl not only depend on it, but use it in any gig.

No probs, so no need.

I play any punk, a lot of alternative, and some metal. It works really well for those as far as i know.
I have been playing for around 10 months now, but I'm a fast learner, and I know quite a bit about music (I'm not a dumass, so take my advice on this pedal). If this pedal were stolen, I woudl hunt down and kick whosever's ass who stole my precious alligator. I am starting to set up my rig now for my band (132, please download our songs off Napster), and everything I buy, i buy for keeps, not for temporary use. The only thing that annoys me is the volume swells aren't too perfect, but like I said, it's probably the way i have it configured (min volume knob). I love how it's easy to transition between half and full volume (try it in your music you write, it's a great musical tool). Compared with the Ernie Ball, it is cheaper, has that nifty min volume knob, but I bet it doesn't transition as smoothly as the Ernie ball between 0 volume and full. Oh well. I chose this one because it was a good price, and because Morley's higher priced pedals (such as this one), meaning Steve Vai pedals, are generally good, like the Bad Horsie, which i'm also planning to get. I would definitely go w/this one as opposed to the other volume one w/min volume, cause I tried that one, and it SUCKED ASS. It helps me make music by not limiting me to having to be at full volume, or actually stop playing to twist that damn volume knob! Once again visit http://www.the132band.com/ once it's up in a month or 2, and download 132's songs off Napster. Have fun.....

The whole concept of a volume pedal is pretty easy, so that sums it up. Just set the minimum volume to the desired level and plug n play. I only had trouble with it because I'm not used to pedals at all.

I bought this pedal to use to switch from rythm (dirty) to lead (crunch) on on my Peavey VTM 120 because this is a one channel amp. Even when the pedal was set on full volume, it really seemed to cut into my tone. The sound lost its edge. I returned it for this reason. Otherwise, it was pretty quiet.

It seemed dependable, for the short time I had it. The electro-optical thing is supposed to be good. I would use it on a gig without backup. I would just use the volume control on my guitar as backup.

N/A

I play mostly classic rock, punk, and metal. I've been playing about ten years. I play a Gibson straight into a Peavey VTM 120 with a Boss GE-7 Equalizer running all the time through the effects loop. I liked how quiet it was, but when it took away from my tone, it had to go. I'm used to playing straight into the amp you know. I also didn't like that it required a 9V battery. Most other volumes don't. I compared this to the Boss and the Ernie Ball. I didn't like the Boss because it was plasticky (a disappointment for a Boss product). I didn't like the Ernie Ball because it doesn't have a minimum volume knob. I picked the Morley because it was the least expensive.

No switches... just a minimum volume knob to help with your personal settings.

Very quiet which is most important to me.
The audio tapper is a little tricky at first.
The Alligator is not as smooth at an Ernie Ball.

Pretty reliable, very well made. All steel construction. You may lose the volume knob... it comes off easy. It has only been out for a month so long term I don't know...

Great... very helpful, great bunch of people. Called them once about a Bad Horsie Wah.

I play funk/blues in one band, rock in another. I some one stole it, I would rap their mom and pour sugar in their gas tank. I like it cuz it is differnet and green. Everyone and their dog has an Ernie Ball, this is the only good alternative. I wish it worked a little smoother. Great little toy, don't buy it cuz Vai uses it, buy it cuz it is cheaper than otheres and Morley is a darn good company to work with.