Morley 20/20 Steve Vai Mini Bad Horsie 2 Wah
Morley has always been a forward thinking company. From their beginnings, they have innovated in the Wah Pedal world with their optical wah design. That unique approach has continued over the years and their innovation has continued. One of their news examples of such forward thinking is the 20/20 Steve Vai Bad Horsie II Contour Wah. Morley has kept up with the continuing trend of shrinking pedals to save pedal board real estate and produced a line of mini pedals, including the 20/20 Bad Horsie Wah. Its small size pairs with its excellent versatility, switchless operation, and unique artwork to create a pedal that is one of the best suited for horn player use.
External Control: None
Cost: $$
HornFX Review
Interface: 4.5/5
As with all of Morley’s mini wah pedals, the 20/20 Bad Horsie is switchless. This means that unlike most wah pedals, you do not have to turn it on or off. Rather, it is spring loaded, leaving it at rest and bypassed in the heel-down position. To engage the effect, simply rock your foot forward to start the Wah-ing goodness. This allows you to Wah in comfort knowing you will never accidentally leave it on. Also, the spring loaded pedal provides some resistance which many have said make it easier and more pleasant to use. This pedal has two modes which are easily switched between with its single switch. In its contour mode you can change the frequency and level of the effect with a knob for each parameter. The knobs affect the sound clearly and are intuitive to dial in. This is a beautifully designed pedal.
Versatility: 3.5/5
Wah pedals are some of the least versatile pedals overall. However, some give many options to the user, and this is one good example. Not only does it have two modes, but its Contour mode allows you do change the frequency of the wah’s sweep giving you a huge range of sonic options. Its versatility is not only sonic, but practical, in that the ability to contour the frequency can help you avoid feedback. This Wah Pedal gets much more out of two knobs and one switch than most pedals.
Clarity of effect: 5/5
Like other Morley pedals, the 20/20 Bad Horsie II Contour Wah seems to be perfectly suited for horns. Its sound is rich and saturated, providing warm and pleasing tones and gorgeous vocal expressivity.
Complexity: Simple
Live application: 5/5
It does not get much better than the 20/20 Bad Horsie II for use on stage. The pedal is small, has switchless operation and sounds great. It is simple yet versatile. But most importantly, it allows you to tackle the feedback issue. Wah pedals manipulatie your sound’s frequency, and the farther down you press your toe, the more likely you are to feed back .The contouring ability of this pedal is perfectly designed to tackle that issue. While utilizing the contour knob does change the sound of the pedal, it will allow you to find a different sweet spot from gig to gig in order to avoid the varying feedback realities on different stages. This is our favorite wah pedal, and it is one that you MUST try.
| Interface | Versatility | Clarity of Effect | Live Application | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 18/20 |
Audio
The first two clips illustrate the sound of the Bad Horsie 2 without triggering the Contour knob at all. You can hear that the frequency sweep is quite vast, and there may be some audio problems at the very top of the sweep. This is common with most wahs, which is why having a knob to adjust this setting is so useful. Listen to the clips below to hear how helpful this knob can be.
You can hear in the third clip that with the Contour Knob all the way up, you get a decent amount of clipping and distortion in your sound. This may inevitably lead to some feedback issues.
To us, setting this Contour knob much lower sounds much warmer and cleaner. You don’t hear the same distorted issues you hear in the previous clip. Now let’s try turning the Contour knob a little higher and seeing how that will affect the output…
Both of these clips offer a slightly larger frequency sweep since we turned the Contour knob up in each case. It is clear that this sounds much better than having it all the way up, and each of these three settings could be quite useful in the right context.
Product Information
It must be noted that Morley released an extremely attractive special edition of this pedal a few months before the 20/20 series came out that is pictured to the right. Get your hands on that one if you can!
The Guitar God’s legendary, signature Wah now available in a convenient size. Decorated with Vai’s original artwork this beauty not only saves valuable space on your board, but also brightens it up. This eye candy wonder Wah is limited to 700 pieces worldwide.
MAIN FEATURES & SPECS
Limited to 700 pieces worldwide with Steve’s stunning original artwork.
Engineered to save space on your board; 6.85″ x 4.5″ x 2.5″ (L x W x H)
Switchless operation; Simply step on the treadle to engage the Wah and step off to bypass.
Our world famous Electro-Optical design. No pots to wear out!
Two modes; Bad Horsie Wah and Contour Wah.
1st Bad Horsie Wah mode is set to Steve’s preferred tone and sweep.
2nd Contour Wah mode allows you to alter the frequency and output of the Wah. Simply press the switch to active the Contour mode and use the CONTOUR knob to adjust the frequency and use the LEVEL knob to control the output.
True Tone Bypass buffer circuit ensures pure guitar tone and output.
Glow-in-the-dark treadle rubber and Morley logo.
Powered by one 9-volt battery or optional Morley 9V adapter. Compatible with most 9V adapters.
Rugged cold-rolled steel housing, LED indication, quick clip battery door and one-year warranty.
Works with Guitar, Bass or Keys!
Product info taken from the Morley website.