Getting a Morley Power-Wah-Boost tone without the giant pedal...

sunbeast · #1 10-27-2009, 01:39 PM

I have a giant 70s Morley Power-Wah-Boost that I sometimes use for stationary filtering in the boost mode (ie- stationary partially cocked wah position). It gives me a really powerful growly tone that I've not been able to copy using EQ. If the pedal wasn't so big, unwieldy, and fairly noisy, I'd probably always have it on hand for this sound...
Basically, I'm looking for suggestions on how to get a similar powerful cocked wah sound without a wah pedal-

I'm assuming a filter pedal of some sort with a sensitivity control set to one of the extremes?

Another big part of the Morley's tone is that engaging the boost completely changes the character of the wah tone- it adds alot of extra harmonics and a grittiness that are what make the pedal so special. The Morley also has a very large amount of boost on tap, which can be very unwieldy depending on the situation- I just got a Boomerang III and want to use the Morley before it to make loops, but know that it will overdrive the input of the 'Rang as is...

Would a boost before a filter pedal normally have this sort of character shaping, or is it specific to the design of the Morley?

I'd love to hear suggestions for possible combos that could recreate this tone without the bulk, noise, and sensitivity that come with the vintage Morleys...A Groove Regulator and a boost maybe?

Thanks,
Karl

sunbeast · #2 10-27-2009, 11:07 PM

Maybe too unwieldy a question!?

niftydog · #3 10-28-2009, 05:51 PM

Well, it really just depends on how faithful you want to be to the Morley sound I guess.

A wah will boost specific frequencies, if you boost the overall signal then the frequency specific boost of the wah will also be affected. It may be that the extra 'overall' boost is causing the wah to overdrive in the frequency band of the filter. In other words, I'm leaning towards the "any boost will do the same thing" answer.

The Morley circuit itself is actually quite simple and small. Open up the chrome box and you'll find a whole bunch o' nothing. Maybe you could consider re-housing it, perhaps even on a custom, small PCB.

sunbeast · #4 10-28-2009, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niftydog

Well, it really just depends on how faithful you want to be to the Morley sound I guess.

A wah will boost specific frequencies, if you boost the overall signal then the frequency specific boost of the wah will also be affected. It may be that the extra 'overall' boost is causing the wah to overdrive in the frequency band of the filter. In other words, I'm leaning towards the "any boost will do the same thing" answer.

The Morley circuit itself is actually quite simple and small. Open up the chrome box and you'll find a whole bunch o' nothing. Maybe you could consider re-housing it, perhaps even on a custom, small PCB.

I have definitely considered that before- though I'd probably want to just build a clone of it, replacing the light sensor/wah pedal with a pot (maybe with an expression plug in case I wanted to actually do the wah sometimes). I just- 1. never learned how to read schematic drawings, and 2. am worried that part of the mojo/grittiness I like from the Morley is a result of aging components that might not be recreated if I rebuilt it!

It does appear to be a very simple circuit- and it would also be nice to replace the irritating hardwired power cord with a 9 volt input if possible...maybe I need to just buck up and learn schematics!

Thanks,
Karl

TheWoodShed · #5 10-28-2009, 08:37 PM

You can not change the size without altering the mechanical use of the pedal. I love the giant treadle movement.

Nothing can replace one in this manner, that is their charm

sunbeast · #6 10-28-2009, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheWoodShed

You can not change the size without altering the mechanical use of the pedal. I love the giant treadle movement.

Nothing can replace one in this manner, that is their charm

I also enjoy the wide filter sweep on this pedal- but I rarely use it as an actual "wah," so it isn't necessary for me. I generally set it in one position and use it for a nasty growly boost tone- since I don't actually move the rocker for this tone, I think it would be more space efficient to just replace the rocker with a pot that I could set on the right portion of the sweep. As Niftydog said, there really isn't a whole lot going on inside the pedal that requires such a massive container!

Karl

kugelspot · #7 10-28-2009, 10:08 PM

I would really love it if someone made a clone of the PWB. I have the same problem as sunbeast. I love my PWB, but it's really a pain in the ass. It also seems to me that even though it looks like a tank, it doesn't exactly feel like it's built like one. That, along with the aging components, makes me nervous about how much longer mine will survive (I'd be more worried though if the pedal weren't such a pain in the ass to lug around, because then I'd actually take it places). So if any of you pedal builders on here want to do the bass community (and the guitar community as well I guess) a big favor (that will probably make you good money), make a PWB clone. Especially one with a pot instead of a LDR, true bypass (or at least a much more transparent buffered bypass), and a low end boosting switch thing.

Seriously, there would be a high demand for something like that.

niftydog · #8 10-29-2009, 05:17 PM

An exactly clone is unlikely as the transistors used are long discontinued and hard to come by. Furthermore, me and a fellow electronics tech mate have come to the conclusion that the difference between a good Tel-Ray and a fantastic Tel-Ray is the LDR - some of them have a greater resistance range resulting in a bigger frequency sweep.

Replacing the LDR with a pot should work ok, though adding expression pedal control is non-trvial. A clone that used a pot instead of the optical mechanism would be vastly inferior IMO - there's a good reason why these pedals are still kicking nearly 30 years after they were designed!

Replacing the mains power with a 9V battery is completely out of the question. The circuits are designed to run on relatively high voltages like 25V and 55V and this is a large part of the reason for their unique sound.

In short, it could be done, but a lot of the features people would want would actually force a compromise on the sound. Take a look at the current Morley's for instance...

sunbeast · #9 10-29-2009, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niftydog

An exactly clone is unlikely as the transistors used are long discontinued and hard to come by. Furthermore, me and a fellow electronics tech mate have come to the conclusion that the difference between a good Tel-Ray and a fantastic Tel-Ray is the LDR - some of them have a greater resistance range resulting in a bigger frequency sweep.

Replacing the LDR with a pot should work ok, though adding expression pedal control is non-trvial. A clone that used a pot instead of the optical mechanism would be vastly inferior IMO - there's a good reason why these pedals are still kicking nearly 30 years after they were designed!

Replacing the mains power with a 9V battery is completely out of the question. The circuits are designed to run on relatively high voltages like 25V and 55V and this is a large part of the reason for their unique sound.

In short, it could be done, but a lot of the features people would want would actually force a compromise on the sound. Take a look at the current Morley's for instance...

I'll take your word for it! I just want to clarify also- for my needs, I would want to replace the whole pedal-rocker with just a simple hand-turning pot vs. a pot-based rocker. I wouldn't need a huge portion of the sweep- I've found a pretty small "sweet-spot" for the tone I reall love from the pedal, and because of the sensitivity of the light mechanism, I always have to search for the sweet spot any time I use the pedal in a room with different lighting, etc... Basically I'm looking into just turning it into a boost/filter instead of a wah...it seems like there could be a little confusion with that aspect of my question!
I understand the power needs too- I've never had another pedal, boost, drive, or fuzz with the gain on tap that the boost on the PowerWahBoost has. I've also never needed anywhere close to that much gain, but I can see how the headroom would change the tone quite a bit!

Thanks,
Karl

niftydog · #10 11-01-2009, 05:14 PM

Yes you can do that, no confusion about what you want to do. The question is more how you want to do it.

Rehousing the existing circuit board is possible, and it will save a bit of space but it's still not going to be exactly compact due to the circuit board itself being kinda large. It also would involve mains wiring which is important to get right as it is a major safety concern.

Making a copy is also possible, but the exact parts won't be available. How much of an impact on the sound this will have really depends on your perspective.

Incidentally, improvements can be made on the light sensitivity issue by blocking up the gaps in the housing with gaffa tape or some other means. You can even line the internals with something reflective to increase the amount of light reaching the LDR - I used aluminium foil and spray adhesive. Also, by gussying up the cowling around the LDR(s) themselves you can achieve complete darkness which improves the low end of the sweep dramatically.