Mondo Morley Medicale: PWO Power Wah

Doktor Ross Sewage6 Comments
What is it about these big, chrome, noise-making monstrosities of ’70s tech that I find so appealing? The answer is in the question, really. Just before Christmas, I couldn’t resist just getting the damn thing for myself: a Morley PWO Power Wah. eBay, you are a wicked temptress. 
Morley Power Wah Fuzz, but it was necessary to apply some salve. 
The first problem was the actual effect. It was doing something, but it was all wrong. The wah effected half way, then went silent, then effected opposite as the foot treadle was moved on its axis. I suspected immediately that it was the curtain that rolled over the light dependent resistor inside the pedal. These things were taped in place originally… thirty years ago. When I opened it up, it sure as shit was flapping about. I removed the flap.

You can see it’s just masking tape that’s supposed to be holding it all together. I marked where it was and simply taped the curtain back in place. Easy, peasy, nice and squeezy.
If you have everything in place, the foot pedal will roll the curtain over the LDR and block the light from the power indicator as it’s pressed towards the heel. You can adjust the LDR slightly to allow more light on it, carefully so as to not break the leads. The curtain can also be adjusted with the nut attaching it to the foot pedal. 

The wah was working well now. In fact, really well. I like the PWO wah sound a lot more than the already incredible wah sweep on the Power Wah Fuzz. It has a richer body to it, allowing a more full range of frequency to come through. I also like the fact that this is one of the rarer Morley pedals that doesn’t double as a volume pedal, like the Wah-Volume WVO. On the PWO, the treadle can be left at any angle and engaged into wah mode. On the WVO, you’re subject to where the treadle is set for volume when you want to engage the wah.

Next up, I tackled the aesthetics. Hey, if you’re gonna have a huge, chrome box taking up stage real estate, it better look sharp. This guy had a lot of dimpling in the chrome finish that led to big rust spots. The spots look worse than they are as oxidization spreads. The best thing to do is get rid of as much as you can with a fine 000 grade steel wool pad rub down.

Pretty soon, I had polish you could see your reflection in. If it ain’t chrome, it ain’t got the tone. The dimpling in the chrome is still there and will cause problems with rust in the future. Polishing is no longer for vanity, it’s to keep this thing from rotting. 

The bottom of the pedal was pretty fucked. The rubber feet were gone and it had velcro from being on someone’s pedal board. Nasty masking tape was also on there. It all had to go. This is where A.D.D. is a blessing and curse… does the bottom of the pedal really matter?

I had to get a little more aggressive on this part. The bottom is made of sheet metal and not chrome plated. It requires sandpaper to polish. I started with a 320 grit and moved up to 600 and ended with 1200 for as fine a polish as I could get. I replaced the feet with some generic sticky-backed rubber feet available at Radio Shack. They are really close to the originals.

For once, the 387 power indicator bulb was actually in-tact and working. This is usually blown and folks think their pedal is dead. As a matter of course, I like to tape in a spare bulb for future generations. I believe the children are our future. Hey, that’s got a nice ring to it. I should write that down, or something.

Something about these old guys made in the ’70s… sure they take a little more massaging, but they are able to keep on ticking and kickin’ ass. Oh, and the pedals from that era keep working, too.

Doktor Wahss Sewage
www.doktorsewage.com

Gross Anatomy: Impaled poster

Doktor Ross Sewage3 Comments

What kismet… As Sean and I display our art all month at Eli’s Mile High Club, we were booked to play a show with Impaled at the same venue. Well, if I’m displaying a mess of gig posters I’ve printed, I’d be quite the fool to not make one for this show.

Like a letter from Iwo Jima… well, a really crass letter. I’ve been thinking about hacking away at the iconic photo of the flag raising at Iwo Jima for some time. This seemed a good opportunity to do it. I’m not 100% happy with this poster, because, as usual, I was rushed. Still, I think I managed to use a few interesting techniques during the process of drawing and printing it that it’s worth sharing.

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Booking the Dead 2: I’ve Been Framed

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To get ready for the group art show we’re having all February at Eli’s Mile High Club, I had to frame a grip of posters I’d done. There’s three ways to do this:
1. Take it into a place and have them framed by a wage slave. That has the benefit of making one feel like part of the elite that drives around in a Prius.
2. Look around salvage stores and just throw that shit into any frame that it kind of fits into. Now one is sticking it to those fucking elitists who drive around in a Prius.
3. Do it yourself.

inquisition poster framed

I like art under glass. I like it with a nice, cut mat. I like it uniform. I like to have my cake and eat it as cheaply as fucking possible… aka a doughnut. Look how nice that poster looks framed properly. It doesn’t look anything like the poster that didn’t sell at all at the show, or that I was told I should be killed for having designed. Now, it’s not a mockery, it’s corpse-fucking ART. And it ain’t that hard to do it yourself.

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Booking the Dead art show: Hang ’em high

Doktor Ross Sewage2 Comments

Chris Oxford, an old friend and guitarist for Depressor, contacted me and Sean McGrath about doing an art show at a local bar. I’d wanted to do an art show with Sean for some time. What gallery would have our gorenography? Chris got the date together for a February art show at Eli’s Mile High Club and that was the kick in the pants we needed.

elis mile high club

Eli’s Mile High Club has become a beacon for crusties, punks, and metal heads looking to get their drink on in North Oakland. They have a show space and a wall for displaying art. Last night we took all our framed pieces (and some unframed) to Eli’s. Amidst the din of barking dogs on ropes and metal from the DJ booth, we got to work.

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Operating Theater: DOD DFX94 Digital Delay / Sampler

Doktor Ross Sewage11 Comments

This was another non-functioning pedal handed to me by my friend Mauz, the DOD DFX94 Digital Delay / Sampler. I’d gotten pretty cocky after I’d fixed his DOD FX9, so I took this one on with confidence.

DOD FX94

When working, the DFX94 was purported to have a spacious maximum of 4 seconds delay along with an “infinite repeat” and a sample function. I had no idea how to get any of these special functions to work as finding a DOD manual online is kind of like trying to find a funny Owen Wilson movie. What I did know was that the normal delay functions wouldn’t power up.

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Class or ass: DOD FX-17 Volume / Wah

Doktor Ross Sewage3 Comments

One guitarist I played with was adamant that mute switches and volume pedals were for the unskilled. He insisted every guitar player should learn how to use their volume knob on the guitar or they shouldn’t be playing. A bold statement from a big dick. For the rest of us pussies, there’s devices like the DOD FX-17 Volume / Wah pedal, manufactured from 1987-2000.

DOD FX17

Since the first wah, people have been trying to find new ways to do the same thing. First it was the Crybaby style pinion gear to turn the pot and then a pulley system to get more sweep, but that could always lead to scratchy pots. Morley invented the LDR light-based system with a movable curtain to avoid scratchy pots, but the curtain system took up some room.

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Occupy 924 Gilman: Ghoul show report

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Last week I finished up a poster for the Ghoul show on January 8th (on sale now in my webstore). That was the easy part. As it turned out the show itself was the real ordeal.

15ghoulposter_gp

924 Gilman is a historic punk club situated in an industrial neighborhood of Berkeley. It’s helped give rise to (for better or for worse) bands such as Green Day, Primus, Mr. Bungle, Rancid, No Doubt, and the Offspring. Tankcrimes Records decided to put on a label showcase there featuring Ghoul, A.N.S., Kicker, and Fucktard.

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Gross Anatomy: Ghoul Poster

Doktor Ross Sewage4 Comments

I’d been planning to do a gig poster for the upcoming Ghoul show / Tankcrimes showcase at world famous punk club 924 Gilman. I was beginning to think it wouldn’t happen what with too much work, the holidays, etc. Well, work slowed down. Instead of sitting around playing with my new Christmas socket wrench set, angle grinder, or digital soldering station, I got to work. I’ve had enough time dicking around with pedals. It was time for some more art!

Strictly speaking, me being able to screen print my own 18×24″ poster is hardly DIY. It’s been my occupation to print posters since my utter failure to make it in the design industry. Nice work if you can get it and my boss is a peach (he hates when I call him boss). It’s still a fair amount of work to carry the project forth from beginning to finish.

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