THE MIGHTY MORLEY EVO- 1 BY BEN FULTON
Greetings again, stompbox fans and fanatics. I trust
the intervening months since
my debut column [“Ode to
Gear,” July 2011] have been
filled with music and delicious-smelling equipment. This
month, I’m going to tackle
a slightly (only slightly) less
esoteric subject. I want to
talk about a particular pedal
I acquired some years ago.
Actually, to be completely honest, I acquired two of them.
Wonderful, quirky devices are
these: Meet the Morley EVO- 1
Echo Volume.
What, a single pedal that
measures 18" x 7 1/2"? Well,
this is understandable when
you consider this ’70s device
features an AC motor, an oilcan drum, and a burly Morley
Expression pedal housing. And
this thing sounds fantastic!
Cantankerous and unreliable,
yes, but when the beast works,
oh how the heavens open
and glorious angelic pulses of
delayed sound drip from the
speakers of my tweed Twin. It
really is that special.
For the uninitiated, the
EVO- 1 was Morley’s contribution to guitar-pedal delay devices. A rather colossal addition, I
might add. The “oilcan delay”
was invented by a very clever
chap named Ray Lubow. Ray
and his brother had a company
called Tel-Ray, and they supplied
their oilcan delay module—
which was originally called the
“Adineko Memory System”—to
other companies, including
Fender and Gibson. Eventually
Ray and his brother started
producing their own standalone
units under the name Morley.
At the heart of the EVO- 1
lies the oilcan unit. This is a
drum containing a spinning,
anodized metallic disc with rubber “read” and “write” heads
pushed against its side. And
there’s a little magic oil in the
1
2
3
5
6
4
1. The Morley EVO- 1 Echo Volume pedal. 2. The unit includes an Echo Speed control and knobs labeled Multiple
Echo Limit and Echo Volume Limit. 3. The logo perfectly expresses ’70s rock culture. 4. A downward guts shot.
5. Inside the oilcan. 6. The “magic” oil is called UCON LB- 65, and Dow is still producing it.
bottom—just enough to coat
the metal disc and keep the
oxygen out. The oil and anodized disc work as a dielectric
(which means it can store a
charge or signal). So, as the
disc spins around past the write
head, a thin layer of oil coats
the disc and the signal is stored
electrostatically. When the disc
passes by the read head, the
slightly delayed signal is relayed
to the circuitry and sent to the
EVO- 1’s output.
The beauty of this oilcan
technology is actually a result of
its failure to work as a straight-
forward delay unit. Rather than
providing crisp, accurate repeats,
the oil can offers up watery,
warbly, vibrato sounds that are
unpredictable and oh-so gor-
geous. The fact that the medium
carrying the audio information
is constantly fighting gravity and
doing its very best to drip off
the metallic disc is only the start
of the hijinks. The AC mains-
powered motor is notoriously
inconsistent. This, coupled with
a rubber drive belt and pulley
arrangement, yields significant
wow-and-flutter. It’s a design
truly worthy of Heath Robinson.
I think as creators—whether
you’re making music, pedals, or
anything—it’s incredibly important to keep people like Ray
Lubow and his oilcan delay well
in mind. When everything feels
like it has been done and there’s
nothing new to add to the mix,
think of Ray and be inspired!
If you want to learn more
about the EVO- 1 and this
unique technology, get involved
with the small but passionate community of enthusiasts
posting information in various
forums online. As a first port of
call, I’d recommend checking
out Tel-Ray Oilcan Addicts at
telrayoilcanaddicts.yuku.com.
And to hear the fantastic-sounding Morley EVO- 1 in
action, watch the demo on my
You Tube channel, which is at
youtube.com/RedWitchPedals.
BEN FULTON designs
Red Witch analog ped-
als, which are heard in
arenas, studios, and
bedrooms around the
world. Andy Summers
and Reeves Gabrels are
pleased he ended up doing this instead
of going to prison. His mum is relieved
about this, too.
