Sometimes it’s nice to come across a simple product that does exactly what it was meant to do. When I began my search for a volume pedal I was pretty convinced that finding one would be an easy task. It wasn’t… the myriad of pedals on the market all seemed to have various shortcomings, from bad reputations for breaking and sucking tone to no minimum volume control, and so on. I ultimately purchased the Morley Volume Plus pedal, which was a great decision, overall.

The Volume Plus is big, heavy, and if not being used as volume pedal it could easily second as a weapon or a boat anchor, so if you are looking for a space-efficient pedal this isn’t it. However, if space isn’t an issue there is little not to like about the Volume Plus. It’s built well, can handle loud signals, and has a minimum volume setting for rhythm/lead settings. One especially cool feature is the bypass switch which lets you override the minimum volume setting, allowing for easy switching between full and partial swells.

So, how does it sound?, I found the pedal to have no adverse affect on the tone of my guitar (a Schecter Damian FR and an Eastwood Delta 6 through a Peavey Studio Chorus 210) and the pedal introduced no unwanted hum or line noise. The only really problem I have with the pedal is that the volume comes in pretty hot, pretty quickly, so for a gradual swell effect you really need to have good foot control. This is not an issue after a little practice, but it would have been nice if the Volume Plus had an adjustable taper setting.

Speaking of characteristics, there are a couple items of note that may or may not affect your purchase: the throw of the pedal is relatively short and when fully engaged (volume completely open) the pedal tilts forward slightly just past the point of being parallel with the ground. This could be an issue depending on your preferences and pedal board. I play with a flat board and the forward leaning didn’t bother me but this issue was raised by a couple of friends who tried the pedal out so I felt it worth mentioning.

Ultimately, the pedal is built well, it sounds good, and I expect it to last a long time in my set up. The Morley Volume Plus pedal is well worth the purchase price (usually $99.99), and is a good bet if you need a good clean, flexible volume control.