Volume pedal suggestions?

John Groover McDuffie · Post by **John Groover McDuffie** » 5 Oct 2010 12:11 pm

I am looking for a volume pedal for my guitar pedal board that is smaller than a Goodrich but perhaps bigger and definitely more robust than a Boss FV50/FV 500.

Anyone have a good suggestion for me?

Mark Cohen · Post by **Mark Cohen** » 5 Oct 2010 12:36 pm

I sure do like the feel of my Ernie Ball. Lower and wider than Goodrich

Graeme Jaye · Post by **Graeme Jaye** » 6 Oct 2010 2:20 am

Morley make a small unit for use on a pedalboard. Check item #150501902498 on eBay.

David Nugent · Post by **David Nugent** » 6 Oct 2010 2:31 am

The Carter VP's that are supplied with the Carter Starter kit are compact and seem to be fairly well built.

Steve Ahola · Post by **Steve Ahola** » 6 Oct 2010 3:49 am

David Nugent wrote:The Carter VP's that are supplied with the Carter Starter kit are compact and seem to be fairly well built.

I found a volume pedal on their site which I think is the one that comes with the Carter Starter kit:

http://www.steelguitar.com/accessor/accedesc.htm#VolPed

I had passed on the Carter Starters because their non-adjustable legs are too short for me. I see that they are selling 1", 2" and 3" extension kits for $49 which screw onto the ends of the legs and pedal. And hard shell cases for $99.

Steve

Graeme Jaye · Post by **Graeme Jaye** » 6 Oct 2010 7:07 am

Steve Ahola wrote:I found a volume pedal on their site which I think is the one that comes with the Carter Starter kit

Yes it's the same one. I have one that came with my Carter. The information on their website is a little misleading. It does not have "Multiple inputs & outputs", there is a single input and a single output. If you want to use it with the left foot, then you have to physically re-locate the two jacks to the opposite side.

More importantly, reference the OP's requirements, the pedal is quite low profile, but is still a bit on the large side for a pedal-board.

John Groover McDuffie · Post by **John Groover McDuffie** » 6 Oct 2010 9:06 am

Wow, I had just assumed the Carter site would be down now. Thanks for the tips.

Steve Ahola · Post by **Steve Ahola** » 7 Oct 2010 1:58 am

Graeme Jaye wrote:I have one that came with my Carter. The information on their website is a little misleading. It does not have "Multiple inputs & outputs", there is a single input and a single output. If you want to use it with the left foot, then you have to physically re-locate the two jacks to the opposite side.

So does it already have holes on both sides or do you have to get your drill out?

BTW I have the Ernie Ball Volume Pedal Junior mounted to a pedalboard that I made out of thin hardwood plywood with indoor outdoor carpeting on the top and neoprene rubber on the bottom. I wanted it secure but also removable so I drill two small holes in the heel end of the pedal and ran round head screws through the bottom of the pedalboard.

I'll find a cool bag and then cut the wood to fit inside. One of them goes inside a leather IBM ThinkPad case I got for $3.50 at Goodwill. Another one goes inside a smaller laptop bag. And I have a 3rd one that goes in a briefcase. I don't use a lot of pedals so the smaller sizes are okay. Have pedal / Will travel.

Thanks!

Steve

P.S. The Carter site has a lot of content that I have found very helpful so I hope they stick around.

Graeme Jaye · Post by **Graeme Jaye** » 7 Oct 2010 2:16 am

Steve Ahola wrote:So does it already have holes on both sides or do you have to get your drill out?

No drill required - the holes are already there.

Bobby Bowman · Post by **Bobby Bowman** » 12 Oct 2010 1:29 pm

Check out the Telonics VP. It's the best!
BB

john widgren · Post by **john widgren** » 12 Oct 2010 1:38 pm

Telonics...hands down IMHO.

Tim Heidner · Post by **Tim Heidner** » 12 Oct 2010 6:08 pm

it better be good for $550!

John Groover McDuffie · Post by **John Groover McDuffie** » 12 Oct 2010 6:23 pm

The Telonics looks to be about the same size (physically) as a Goodrich, so it doesn't meet the requirements as stated in the original post.

Price wise it is out of the question for me.

Jeshua Lehman · Post by **Jeshua Lehman** » 13 Oct 2010 7:35 am

Just like to point out that my carter starter petal has had a slight hum since it was new, and it also is very rough operating. This last week I bought a Hilton and I wouldn't ever have believed the different it is so much smoother operating and clean sounding. Just recognize the carter pedal is a starter pedal and it will be obvious that it is in operation. Nevertheless I have never had any problems with it doing its job; it is a simple design and will work every time you plug it in.
Lehman

Duane Reese · Post by **Duane Reese** » 22 Oct 2010 8:14 pm

The best passive pedal I've ever used, believe it or not, is a Boss FV-300L. It uses a fader instead of a rotary pot and seems to last forever without getting scratchy, and is easily cleanable if it does. It also has two paths, a tuner out and a minimum volume control. It's one heck of a volume pedal.

Graeme Jaye · Post by **Graeme Jaye** » 23 Oct 2010 12:59 am

Duane Reese wrote:It's one heck of a volume pedal.

It's also a low impedance device. Unless you are using some sort of FX device before the volume controller, I wouldn't have thought it would work too well with psg's (it certainly doesn't with guitars).

Duane Reese · Post by **Duane Reese** » 23 Oct 2010 7:41 am

Graeme Jaye wrote:
Duane Reese wrote:It's one heck of a volume pedal.
It's also a low impedance device. Unless you are using some sort of FX device before the volume controller, I wouldn't have thought it would work too well with psg's (it certainly doesn't with guitars).

Even if you hook a steel guitar directly into a high-impedance instrument pedal, your tone will sound anemic. You always have to put the volume pedal into the effects loop or a special pedal loop on the steel amp, or put a box between them. That's why I've had so much success with it.

I missed what the original poster wrote about wanting it for a guitar rig, and now that I think about it, it's not smaller than the Goodrich anyhow (and probably less robust than he wants too). So no, he won't want it.

All I can say is that I've used "high end" rotary pot pedals, and I'll never go back. They get really scratchy short order, and most of them have a string that could break on you at a gig.

John, you might try seeing if you can find a Scholz Rockman optical pedal. I had one and it was pretty good, and not too big, and robust. I don't think they make them anymore but you might try eBay.

Mickey Lawson · Post by **Mickey Lawson** » 2 Nov 2010 4:03 am

Ernie Ball volume pedal sits flat on the floor....replace the volume pot with Tom Bradshaw's 470K Dunlop pot for steel.

Benjamin Jayne · Post by **Benjamin Jayne** » 14 Nov 2010 5:44 pm

So besides Goodrich 120's and Hiltons, what PSG volume pedal won't suck out the tone of the guitar? What about those Fender classics series or Morley little alligators?

Dana Blodgett · Post by **Dana Blodgett** » 15 Nov 2010 1:13 am

I recently bought a Boss FV500H (high impedance) at Musiciansfriend, no tax, no shipping charges. It has an input, output,expression pedal/fx out, tuner out, min/max volume pot no strings or chords, aluminum body/light weight rather large in size similar to an older Ernie ball pedal,very smooth action which is adjustable(light/heavy or stiff)for only $99.00! I have tried the Telonics and I agree with BB that it's the "Bomb" or best, but I couldn't justify the $500.00 as I am not in a band currently. I do not notice any tone loss at all and is a vast improvement over my old DeArmond 602 that I purchased in '74. Most of the inputs or outputs are at the front end of the unit and do not cause a problem contacting the pedalbar on my Sho-Bud. I have been plugging directly into the amps normal input(Fender Super)I haven't tried the effects loop yet! So far I'm happy with it! I've only had it since last Thursday/it did take five days for delivery since I ordered it online.This seems like a very solid unit plus it fits in the guitar case perfectly too.

Willis Vanderberg · Post by **Willis Vanderberg** » 15 Nov 2010 8:01 am

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Jim Pitman · Post by **Jim Pitman** » 15 Nov 2010 11:59 am

I love the old Sho-Bud type - cast and heavey.
A feature I like to see on a convential potentiometer pedal is the pot is supported within bearing blocks on both ends of its' shaft with the pulley wheel in the middle.
My original Sho-bud didn't have that and I used to have to change the pot every year. I added a bearing support on the far end of the shaft using aluminum angle with a brass insert - haven't changed a pot now in 10 years.

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