Morley Mark Tremonti Wah

The Morley Mark Tremonti Wah is a signature wah pedal built by Morley to guitarist Mark Tremonti's specifications. It is a switchless wah: you step on the treadle to engage the effect and step off to bypass it, with no footswitch to find mid-phrase. Per Mark's specifications it is equipped with an aggressive 20dB boost that activates with the switchless wah, and Morley says the wah sweep is carefully tweaked to Mark's preferred settings¹.

The pedal uses Morley's electro-optical design, meaning the sweep is controlled by light rather than a mechanical potentiometer, so there are, in Morley's words, "No pots to wear out!" It also carries a premium Morley buffer circuit, which the maker says protects your tone from any mischief in your signal chain¹.

An optical wah with a switchless boost

Two things set this pedal apart from a conventional wah. The first is the switchless, electro-optical operation. On the related Power Wah, MusicRadar's review team explained how it works in practice: "As the Power Wah features an Electro-Optical switchless design, the filter is not engaged until you rock the pedal forward"². That means the wah only speaks when you lean into it, and it drops out the moment you step off, which suits players who use the effect in short bursts rather than leaving it on.

The second is the built-in boost. The Wah Boost control gives up to 20 decibels of boost, and it activates with the wah rather than running independently¹. Pedal of the Day's reviewer described it in use: "This adds a bit of punch to your signal once the wah is engaged, up to +20dB"³. For a lead player, that pairs the frequency peak of the wah with extra level in one motion, which is how Tremonti himself often uses it; guitar.com's review notes that "Tremonti often uses his wah for solos"⁴.

The buffer is worth noting too. Morley positions its buffered bypass as a tone protector on long signal chains, and the maker's own buying guide points to Tremonti's rig as the example: his rig can run upwards of 180 ft of cable, and by having two to three of his signature Morley wahs in the chain, the buffers help keep the signal healthy. The same guide notes he does not use wireless systems⁵.

The controls: treadle and Wah Boost

The control surface is minimal. There is one knob, Wah Boost, and the treadle³¹⁶.

On the mini version of the pedal, guitar.com's reviewer noted the boost control potentiometer is mounted on the bottom-left of the chassis and dials in clean boost to the effected sound⁴. On the Power Wah, MusicRadar found the rotary Wah Boost control "can be manipulated on the fly with a foot," so you can ride the boost level without bending down².

History: Mark Tremonti's signature wah and its reissue

Mark Tremonti is a guitarist well known for his work with '90s band Creed, especially his use of the wah, and later as a member of Alter Bridge³². Getting together with Morley allowed him to design a wah built to his specifics³. The original model was reviewed as the Mark Tremonti Wah, Model Mark 1³, and Morley describes the signature wah as Tremonti's "right-hand companion on stage for over two decades"¹.

Morley later issued a limited reissue of the pedal, announced on its product page dated October 5, 2022, carrying the same core feature set: the switchless operation, the Wah Boost control of up to 20 decibels, and a wah sweep tweaked to Mark's preferred settings⁶. GuitarPlayer's history of Morley notes the signature unit is now made by the Morley Product Group⁷.

A mini version also exists, the Morley Mini Tremonti, reviewed by guitar.com in 2019 alongside wahs for Michael Amott and DJ Ashba. It packs the same ideas into a smaller chassis: 20dB of clean boost, electro-optical potless wah operation, switchless, mono in and out, a PSU input, and an "A Dying Machine" livery, with power from either a battery or an optional nine-volt supply⁴.

What reviewers said

Published reviews of the Tremonti wahs have been positive, with a consistent thread: this is a wah voiced for heavy playing⁴²³.

• MusicRadar, on the Power Wah: at zero boost the basic tonality has a distinctly modern voicing, and "The sweep is narrower than a vintage-style wah, eliminating the scratchiest part of the high end." The boost "brings in a raucous 20dB extra gain, more than enough to get you noticed in a dense mix." The review's verdict: "for players looking to push their tone through heavy guitars, the Tremonti Power Wah is brutally efficient"².
• Pedal of the Day, on the Mark 1: "It is quite useful in most applications, and works great for harder, more metal-sounding riffs"³.
• guitar.com, on the mini: "With its practical boost function, this is a darkly alluring wah, albeit at a price"⁴.

Who uses it

The player most associated with the pedal is its designer. Mark Tremonti has used his signature Morley wah on stage for over two decades¹, keeps two to three of them in a rig that can run upwards of 180 ft of cable⁵, and often uses his wah for solos⁴.

Tremonti Wah and Tremonti Power Wah compared

The two signature pedals share the switchless, electro-optical design and the 20dB boost concept, but they are distinct products²⁴¹:

Videos

Click to load

Click to load

Click to load

Questions