volume pedal build, whatdaya think?

Lane Cunningham · Post by **Lane Cunningham** » 18 Apr 2015 10:56 pm

I am currently building a volume pedal and I'd like to get peoples input on things I should add or subtract etc.

This pedal is run on led's and light dependent resistors (ldr's) so that there is no tone loss when turning the vol. down.

The other main function of this pedal is a foot switch so that I can switch between lead (higher vol.) and rhythm (lower vol.) functions. The rhythm function has a pot that controls the brightness of the led so that you can set how loud or quite you want the rhythm to be.

The reason I am building this pedal is so that i can have a full vol. swell in the lead and rhythm functions. Rather than trying to get just the right foot position for the right volume you can just set your max vol. and swell right up to what you want with the full foot pedal.

What do you think? Is this a useful thing to have or is it just a waste of my time to build? Thanks everybody!

Scott Duckworth · Post by **Scott Duckworth** » 19 Apr 2015 3:17 am

Sounds like it would be worth trying anyway... of course I'm an amateur radio operator and love to experiment...

John Booth · Post by **John Booth** » 19 Apr 2015 4:32 am

I think it's about time someone brought the volume pedal into the 21st century. I'd love to see what you end up with.
JB

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 19 Apr 2015 4:52 am

I'd like to see reverb, delay and overdrive built into the volume pedal!

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 19 Apr 2015 5:40 am

The short lived Goodrich LDR, used a light dependent resistor. It couldn't compete with the Hilton, in sales, and was discontinued.

admin · Post by **b0b** » 19 Apr 2015 7:36 am

I like the idea of a lead-rhythm switch.

I'd really like to see a combination volume/wah pedal made for steel (jacks on the right, low profile, etc.).

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 19 Apr 2015 7:57 am

I'm all for new gear and experiments.
we have had onboard effects on steels like the MSA with distortion string efx, tone, volume, bypass switches, remote reverb, countless stomp boxes, multi efx systems.
There is a new style steel with multiple pickups, onboard controls for efx, which is giving creative players more options.

My 2Â¢â€¦is go for it.
As long as the learning curve doesn't take away from.actually playing the instrument

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 19 Apr 2015 10:19 am

b0b wrote:I like the idea of a lead-rhythm switch.

I'd really like to see a combination volume/wah pedal made for steel (jacks on the right, low profile, etc.).

Another vote here.

Lane Cunningham · Post by **Lane Cunningham** » 19 Apr 2015 11:05 am

I've thought about adding a tone function in the pedal with another foot switch but for now I'm going to nail down this lead/rhythm pedal. I haven't seen it but I'm sure you can use the LDR's for a tone control instead of your standard pot.

I have both jacks on the right and the rhythm vol. control pot on the left hand side. I am using an old morley case right now so it's pretty bulky. Once I get all the resistors and such just right I will probably make something smaller.

It seems like the morley lil alligator pedal is the same concept as this pedal I am making but from what I can tell it when you go into the lead function it is overdriven...anybody have any experience with these?

I will take some pictures soon and also of the schematic I came up with.

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 19 Apr 2015 12:17 pm

A simple boost pedal built in will cover a lead / rhythm issue

As far as a combination volume and wah I think that will be way more complicated .

Who.made the fuzzy covered pedals years ago...? I may still have a Fox fuzz wah

Lane Cunningham · Post by **Lane Cunningham** » 20 Apr 2015 12:51 am

If you take one lead of an LDR and hook it to your signal going to the output jack and put a cap on the other lead and connect that to ground that should mimic a pot tone control. In order to make this function work you'd have to have another switch that would disable the vol. control while you are in the tone function.
I want to mess with this once I get the vol. pedal just right.

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 20 Apr 2015 4:36 am

I had all but forgotten that i had an original Foxx Fuzz Wah in my old road case..
It looks like they have been re issued too..

here's a pic

I used it on 6 string never on steel..

DG Whitley · Post by **DG Whitley** » 20 Apr 2015 5:57 am

...now that's what I would call a loaded pedal...

admin · Post by **b0b** » 20 Apr 2015 7:15 am

Thanks for posting that Fuzz-Wah, Bo. It looks like in volume pedal mode, it turns into a passive 100k pot pedal. 100k doesn't work well with pedal steel pickups.

The innerds look like a mad scientist project!

James Hartman · Post by **James Hartman** » 20 Apr 2015 7:29 am

b0b wrote:I like the idea of a lead-rhythm switch.

I'd really like to see a combination volume/wah pedal made for steel (jacks on the right, low profile, etc.).

I'm sure it's no one's idea of a perfect, modern "lossless" vol pedal, but I still like my old Fender vol/tone pedal. You can easily compensate for any perceived loss of highs with a simple twist of your foot - something I do pretty much unconsciously at this point.

Gary Jones · Post by **Gary Jones** » 20 Apr 2015 10:46 am

Not to get too far off-topic, but the foxx tone machine was my favorite fuzz tone from that era. It had an octave switch that allowed a high overtone that was pretty cool, rather like an Octavia pedal.
The Emmons guitar company sold this unit, with their name on it, as competition with the Boss Tone sold by Sho-Bud. Also,the Emmons String machine had 3 of these units in it.I also seem to remember that Emmons sold that exact volume/fuzz pedal

Lane Cunningham · Post by **Lane Cunningham** » 20 Apr 2015 9:19 pm

the fender vol/tone pedal seems really cool but expensive and maybe hard to master...?

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 21 Apr 2015 3:09 am

This sounds like a very worthy project. Many "boosts" applied to a single circuit are pretty narrow and spiky; there have been a number of happy accidents: the Tube Screamer that Took Over the World, and all those earlier British guys with a "treble booster" in between a Les Paul and a Marshall or HiWatt (no more treble can get past goosed-to-deathwish Celestion 30's but it changes the gain structure through the amp). But there had to be a lot of unhappy accidents to get there, because the overall effect depends heavily on the exact amp and speakers too. It seems like a more dependably-great sounding, versatile rig would basically have two separate preamp tonal chains, one more boosty than the other. So MANY rock guitarists are still using an essentially-clean boost early in the chain, just to get enough meat into it for the controls to chew on.... Not-Safe-For-Vegetarians imagery, sorry. (Round these parts, the Sarno BB & Li'l Izzy users abound, somewhat the same function).

Every review of pedals with hidden knobs ALWAYS says they wish the knobs were on top, so they can crawl around on the floor in their magazine office, I guess? For a pedal designed to be used blind under a steel, I'd prefer most of the controls either on the bottom under a panel or, if on the sides, with completely-overhanging balcony or guard. If you're just about to lay into your ~Giant, Emoto, Nookie-Magnet Solo~ and you begin by kicking all the knobs around trying to find the damn thing....

I've piled up layers of cork or rubber under a knob just to make it harder to turn.

admin · Post by **b0b** » 21 Apr 2015 8:28 am

Steel guitars don't need a boost - they have a pretty hot output - but a volume cut that leaves the full taper of the pedal intact is a useful idea in my opinion.

I don't know why they took the volume and tone knobs off of our guitars. Who ever made that stupid decision?

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 21 Apr 2015 10:26 am

My first MSA had tone & volume and a bypass which allowed me to do that cut with the toggle

Gordon Hartin · Post by **Gordon Hartin** » 21 Apr 2015 11:19 am

Hmm...at the same time, could adding a volume know to your steel accomplish the same concept?

Have you seen rush pahl's setup https://nashvilleprosteel.com/category.cfm/cid/6

gordon

Lane Cunningham · Post by **Lane Cunningham** » 22 Apr 2015 1:01 am

I have a volume and tone knob on my steel but i like the feel of using my foot and having both hands free. I guess I should mention that all of my favorite steel is pre elvis pretty much, so not really many effects going on.

Gordon Hartin · Post by **Gordon Hartin** » 22 Apr 2015 7:42 am

If you are going to have the Volume change via a foot switch on the pedal, I would do it opposite of a wah-wah pedal and have the click activated when at 0 volume, you don't want to switch the setting from 1/2 to full volume with the volume fully engaged.

Gordon

Chris Walke · Post by **Chris Walke** » 22 Apr 2015 8:01 am

Gordon Hartin wrote:If you are going to have the Volume change via a foot switch on the pedal, I would do it opposite of a wah-wah pedal and have the click activated when at 0 volume, you don't want to switch the setting from 1/2 to full volume with the volume fully engaged.

Gordon

YES!! And easier to engage at the heel than the toe when seated.

Dustin Rigsby · Post by **Dustin Rigsby** » 23 Apr 2015 4:10 am

b0b wrote:Steel guitars don't need a boost - they have a pretty hot output - but a volume cut that leaves the full taper of the pedal intact is a useful idea in my opinion.

I don't know why they took the volume and tone knobs off of our guitars. Who ever made that stupid decision?

I remember a post a few years ago when a sacred steeler asked a similar question b0b....seems like someone told him that's what volume pedals were for. Maybe it's time to revisit the volume and tone pots on pedal steel guitar. Seems to me that would be a less cost prohibitive solution rather than a new "super volume pedal" that everyone will disagree on. Just Sayin' (thank you Herb)