Morley

From the Lubow brothers to 50 years in pedals

Ray Lubow chose the name as a none-too-subtle jab at their competitor Leslie: "Why settle for less with a Leslie when you can get more with Morley?"¹. The brothers built the business through the 1970s, when advertisements carried the motto "We build them failsafe because your career depends on it and so does ours!"². Many notable musicians of the time had used a Morley at one point or another, including David Gilmore, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Jerry Garcia and Lee Ritenour².

The company celebrated its 50th anniversary in the Musical Instrument industry in 2019⁴, having marked 50 years in the effects pedal business beginning in late 2018⁵. That anniversary coincided with a wave of new product lines, including the 20/20 series and the Gold Series switchers.

Electro-optical wahs, volume pedals and oil can delays

Two ideas run through most of what Morley is known for.

Electro-Optical circuitry. Morley introduced Electro-Optical circuitry in place of the potentiometer that conventional wah and volume pedals use to track the treadle⁴. The company's pitch is durability: on the Mini Classic Switchless Wah, "It is Electro-Optical so there is no potentiometer to wear out and get scratchy"⁶, and on the AFX-1 Analog Multi FX, the optical design "won't wear down or break like a traditional potentiometer based Wah pedal"⁷. The same optical approach underpins the switchless wahs, which engage when you step on the treadle.

Oil can delays. Before the pedal era, Morley manufactured oil can delays up until 1989¹. These electrostatic delays, which used a rotating oil-coated disc instead of tape or bucket-brigade circuits, remain the company's historical claim to fame, and the design has been echoed elsewhere: Source Audio's Collider delay includes an Oil Can mode described as "a dark, jangly, warbling and distorted delay inspired by old oil can designs"⁸.

Morley's modern wah range spans several families:

The 20/20 line debuted in August 2019 with the Bad Horsie Wah, Power Wah and Power Wah Volume pedals¹⁰, followed in November 2019 by the Wah Boost, Wah Lock, Lead Wah and Volume Plus, bringing the line to 10 pedals in total¹¹. All 20/20 pedals include Silent Switching to prevent pops and bleed¹⁰, and the patented Pedal Glow feature, glow-in-the-dark markings so you know where the pedal is on any stage¹⁷. The Lead Wah is a switchless wah with a wider frequency sweep and a low-end boost¹¹.

The Rex Brown Old Blue Wah, the first release of the new Classic Series, revives the character of Morley's original 1970s wahs. Morley says a key feature of the old school design "prevents any frequencies from being shaved off, which gives it an intense, monstrous sweep" like the originals⁹.

Switchers and signal solutions: the Gold Series

Alongside wahs, Morley describes itself as a maker of "pedals, switches and audio solutions"¹⁷. Its Gold Series covers signal routing:

• Gold Series ABY: a utility pedal switcher Morley calls "one of the most popular utility pedals of all time"¹⁸
• Gold Series ABY MIX: essentially a 2-channel mixer in a robust pedal enclosure¹⁹
• Gold Series ABC: adds an extra channel to the ABY pedal²⁰

The ABY Pro and ABC Pro versions use higher enclosures for easier access on crowded pedal boards²¹. Morley also makes multi-effects pedals: the AFX-1 Analog Multi FX combines a Switchless Wah, distortion with a Hi Gain switch, an FX loop and stereo chorus and echo in one optical pedal⁷.

The people behind Morley

• Marv and Ray Lubow: the founders, two brothers who launched the brand in the late 1960s¹⁴
• Scott Fietsam: owner and President of Morley, who announced the 20/20 line and the ESP distribution deal³¹¹
• Bill Wenzloff: a Morley spokesperson behind many of the company's press announcements, including the 50th anniversary and the ABY Pro and ABC Pro⁵²¹
• Scott Flesher: pedal designer of the Classic Series²²
• Pete Fenech: Morley's PR contact¹⁷

Artists who have used Morley

Morley's history page names David Gilmore, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Jerry Garcia and Lee Ritenour as notable musicians who used a Morley in the 1970s². The signature models tell the rest of the story: Steve Vai's Bad Horsie, George Lynch's Dragon wahs, Mark Tremonti's Power Wah, Michael Amott's signature mini wah, Rex Brown's Old Blue Wah, and the Cliff Burton Tribute Power Wah Fuzz, which Morley reissued and modernized "as a tribute to the one and only Cliff Burton"²³. The Lerxst wahs grew out of Alex Lifeson's own use of the pedal, inspired by what Morley calls "Lifeson's singular use of wah and his never ending tone journey for new and innovative sounds"¹⁵.

Morley Security and support

Morley backs its pedals with a return policy it calls Morley Security: "You'll sound better and feel better plugged into your new Morley or bring it back for a full refund"¹⁰. In July 2025 the company announced ESP Guitars as its new distribution partner for Latin America, covering all of Mexico, Central America and South America³.

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