Morley Steve Vai signature wah

The Morley Steve Vai signature wah is a switchless wah pedal made by Morley to the specification of Steve Vai, the guitarist whose use of a Morley wah to "turn his guitar into a horse" is part of the effect's history¹. It carries a launch price of $145 as of October 2022².

What it does

As a switchless wah, the pedal steps in and out of effect by pedal movement rather than a footswitch, which MusicRadar's buying guide called "The best wah pedal if you want a switchless type," describing it as easy to use with less maintenance required². The guide also noted its "especially vocal sweep and plenty of midrange"².

The electro-optical design is the other headline feature: because the pedal reads pedal position optically rather than through a potentiometer, "there's no chance of you needing to replace the pot down the line," as MusicRadar put it². The trade-off is that the pedal is buffered rather than true bypass².

Controls

What reviewers said

MusicRadar's review of the related Custom Shop Mini Steve Vai Bad Horsie 2 Wah, reviewer Trevor Curwen, described "a wah experience that's been painstakingly perfected by Steve Vai, complemented by the flexibility of the Contour mode for a range of alternative wahs," and praised its rugged steel construction³.

For more on the effect type, see the site's guide to wah-wah pedals, and for the full-size version of Vai's pedal, see the Morley Bad Horsie 2.

Videos

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