As seen in Guitar Girl Magazine, Issue 8
Authored by Platinum Viking
When I saw the two names attached to this little gem, I was super excited to try it out. George Lynch is a guitar legend, known for his unique playing style and signature sound with Dokken and Lynch Mob, so I was curious to see how he would work with well-known guitar wah effects company Morley to offer a different option. The limited Mini Dragon 2 features the well-received George Lynch Dragon 2 signature pedal but with a cool, new smaller footprint and artist-created custom graphics on board. So, when it was time to rock ‘n’ roll, here’s what I found…
First look at this pedal is that this is a pretty rad looking, take-notice kind of pedal (I’m a sucker for hot neon zebra stripes anyway) that offers a lot in a small package. And sure enough, this compact pedal gives all the Wahs and WOWS of the full-sized version but in mini—easy to pack away and a better fit onto your board.
“…gives a tone that cuts right through across
the board and no loss of volume.”
This wah features three versatile modes: Wah, WOW, and Wah Lock. The 1st Wah mode is preset to George’s classic tone and sweep, but the 2nd WOW mode was easily my favorite! This mode gives you a higher gain Wah tone that works well for soloing but still delivers a deep, crowd-commanding effect without sacrificing any volume or tone due to its buffer circuit design. All too often I find some wah pedals will muddy my bass tone, especially in the lower end, but the Dragon 2 still gives a tone that cuts right through across the board and no loss of volume. And finally, the 3rd Wah Lock mode allows you to park the wah in position for your desired levels with a simple adjustment of the NOTCH nob. The notch filter allows for the wah to become a static filter for even more tone options; in a recent practice, I pulled this little baby out and was excited when I engaged the notch filter with the WOW mode and got a sweet little heavy bass distortion boost that helped cut through the fuzz of two guitars and keys.
I’m also a big fan of the switchless activation design (instead of the classic footswitch wah requiring a hard toe press to activate it), after recently investing in another wah pedal for a Black Sabbath tribute project, and love that the Dragon 2 also has this immediately engageable feature while being just as innately natural and easy to use right away. The LED light conveniently shows you when it’s on or off, which is great for when you’re playing on stage, and you can adjust how many seconds it takes for it to turn off, which is a nice little feature.
“It’s a lot of attitude packed into a small package…”
It’s also specifically voiced to blend in your dry signal when in the heel-down bypass position but quick to resound when you push the pedal forward, which I’ve found invaluable with bass to further preserve original tone and retain a clean sound option. One downside to this pedal is that it does not include a 9V adapter with a new purchase, and according to the specs, only the use of a Morley brand 9VDC 300mA regulated adapter is recommended (or a 9V battery).
I’ve had a few wahs on my board, and this is by far a fun, easy addition to any pedal board or modern effects toolbox. It’s a lot of attitude packed into a small package—and with all the essential bells and whistles you could want at a reasonable price!
Price: $249.00
MorleyPedals.com