Volume pedal design...why? why?

[Jay Coover]

Why do no major volume pedals have both the in on the right and the out on the left, as nearly every other effects pedal in the world does?

It would make life simpler IMO.

Everything is either all on the right side or at the far end of the pedal.

A travesty I say. Shakes head.

Offenders: Hilton, Goodrich, Ernie Ball, Lehle, Telonics, and many, many more

[Jon Light]

Goodrich Omni. Both sides.

[Jay Coover]

Goodrich Omni. Both sides.

I knew someone would prove me wrong

Any idea what the thinking or non-thinking behind these decisions might have been?

[Jack Hanson]

With a single neck guitar with only three floor pedals, having the output on the left side (like most stomp boxes) would not be an issue. One look at a doubleneck instrument with its pedalbar fully loaded with eight or more pedals will instantly demonstrate why most modern volume pedals feature both inputs and outputs on the right-hand side.

[Jay Coover]

I see your point. You could use an L-shaped end perhaps though.

[Erv Niehaus]

When you use a foot volume with a D-10 pedal steel if you had the input and output on opposite sides of the pedal, the one on the left would interfere with the C6th pedals.
Erv

[Jack Stoner]

Hilton makes a model for 6 string guitar players with in and out on different sides (and uses the conventional 9VDC power). The ones for Steel follow the convention of having the in and out on the right side.

The angle on the foot treadle is also different on the 6 string model as its made for a player that stands up. The angle on the steel pedals are made for those that sit down.

Specific models for specific uses.

If you want a "sit down" model with in and out on opposite sides, I'm sure Keith Hilton can accommodate you.

[Clark Doughty]

I have a new Goodrich Onmi I'll sell you for a good price.......clark

[Jerry Overstreet]

Guitar pickers like them on opposite sides to chain with other stomps. I'm pretty sure someone had the good sense to design VP's for pedal steel use with both connections on the outside for good reasons.

Besides eliminating interference with the rightmost C6 pedals and pedal bar, perhaps as important is getting all the cabling out from underfoot putting it on the outside of the guitar leg to eliminate tangling ones feet in it, tripping, falling and otherwise ripping cables out of the jacks.

To each his own, but this is the first time I've ever heard a complaint about not having both jacks on the outside if you mean for steel guitar use. It's usually complaints about the opposite.

If it would make things simpler in your world, good for you but certainly wouldn't be the case for me.

[Keith Hilton]

Jay, I manufacture 3 different pedals. My Hilton Standard pedal, and Low Profile pedals, have the inputs and outputs on the right side. My Hilton Pro Guitar pedal can have the inputs and outputs on either side. With my Pro Guitar pedal you can order where you want the input and outputs. Unless told otherwise, the Hilton Pro Guitar pedals go out with the input on the right,----- output, and tuner output on the left. Hope this information helps.
Many steel players select my Pro Guitar pedal because of the 9 volt operation, up and down stiffness adjustment, and easy access to the off point control on the side of the pedal. Hard to believe I have been building Hilton pedals for over 21 years.

[George Kimery]

My Lehle 90 has 3 outputs on the right side. Going left to right, is input, tuner out, then maybe a 3" space, and the output (near the front of the pedal) I like this arrangement, but don't ask me why.

[Jay Coover]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll sleep better tonight.

[Carl Mesrobian]

Both sides makes sense for reasons already mentioned, and also for the rare left hand players out there.

[Greg Lambert]

I have stuck with the old Ernie Ball , both jacks on the right. About once ever two years I have to change the string and the pot { the last pot has lasted almost 3 years and is still quiet.}

The VP is built like a tank and no wear on the mechanics at all.

[Dick Sexton]

Hard to beat a pedal that is almost indestructible, great in a bar fight and heavy enough to stay put. I installed a tuner out jack, foam on the bottom, now it is close to perfect. $45 most any day, probably cost more for that much scrap aluminum. Lol! Just my opinion though.

[Donny Hinson]

Why do no major volume pedals have both the in on the right and the out on the left, as nearly every other effects pedal in the world does? It would make life simpler IMO. Everything is either all on the right side or at the far end of the pedal.

A travesty I say. Shakes head.

Offenders: Hilton, Goodrich, Ernie Ball, Lehle, Telonics, and many, many more

Hopefully, the user will eventually (by some means) determine which is the in and which is the out, and remember it.

[Ron Simpson]

Fender makes or made an excellent volume/tone pedal. up/down for volume, side to side for tone adjustments and, the best part is it does not use batteries.

[Jim Palenscar]

In designing the OMNI we looked at what guitar players were using and found that the signal chain had a ton of variations and it wasn't difficult to design in jacks on both sides to allow the user to determine how they wanted the signal to flow- especially useful for pedal boards so we also designed pedal board hold-downs for the OMNI.

[Bobby Nelson]

all the jacks being on the right side makes perfect sense to me - keeps the floor where my feet do all their work free and clear of wires.