The Steel Guitar Forum

Jody Carver




From:
The Knight of Fender Tweed~Dodger Blue Forever~ . Posted 16 Jan 2008 5:01 pm Fender Tone and Volume Pedal 5 Stars Across the Board

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I have recieved a Fender Tone and Volume pedal from Fender they have asked me to post a review on this new addition to Fender's product line.

The pedal is excellent..sturdy and a great chrome finish...since I was supposed to go to the Namm but couldn't Fender sent it yesterday by UPS..The volume .There are three inputs on this pedal..one in and one out and the other for a tuner..I will keep checking on it and review it to the best of my abilty. It is manufactured in Korea and the Quality is great...The packaging is something to behold..the pedal comes with a soft black velvet type bag with a pull string to close the bag and the embroidery is raised in gold..this is a fine pedal the volume works smooth and as does the tone the action from bass to treble is quick and accurate no slack...Those of you who are interested I'm positive will love it...I will reveiw it further and then post again..This is something for Fender and those who purchase this pedal to be proud of.It's sturdy and has a positive feel..I have the original pedal and this by far is much more than I had expected...I myself think this is Giant step as Fender is trying hard to satisfy those who expressed
disappointment with their F52 Lap Steel....this is best I have seen as far as this type pedal goes..The action is great and the feel is extemly solid it weighs 7 pounds..It is real quality.
No loss of volume and stays put with the four rubber feet on the bottom plate..So far as comparing it to a Bigsby I don't feel it would be fair..I can only say this..the profile is comfortable with ease of paying where older T&V pedals had a high angle making it uncomfortable for me to use.
Thanx edited for spelling This was early on.I feel after using this new version, is not as the older one..I didn't mean to diminish this newer version and since I have the older which is fine, however using my tone control on my guitar gives me the wide sweep rather than this pedal with the so called doo wah sound....I used on all of my sessions and on gigs , My Rocco Tone Expressor which does the job for me. ................Today this Fender Tone and Volume Pedal lives with my friend Dave Van Allen..........My good friend. Its A FENDER Of COURSE Which was used on The Hot Club Of America...Your friend Jody

That sounds like a winner for anyone wanting a Vol / Tone pedal. It's passive, like the original.

The vintage one's are getting pricey, if you can find one.

Fender has posted a picture and description at
http://www.fender.com/products//search. ... 0234500002

I notice they are reissuing several other pedals that I remember from my mis-spent youth.

There's a Fuzz / Wah, a Phaser, and a plain Volume.

Jody - as someone who has an original Fender vol/tone pedal, I am interested in the pots that comes with the new styled one. Will Fender be making them available as replacements?

Hi Ken..I too have the original Tone & Volume pedal and I have emailed one of the R&D people this very same question. I'll hear from him(them) when the Namm
show is over and then let you know..I hope they are and if so they will be available..I'm sure they will.

Thanks, and my best to you. Ken I notice there are some
issues regarding the placement of the tuner and in and out jacks..this may be something for Fender to be aware of..As John Bechtel pointed out he can make the changes..at any rate I don't beleive that should be the case..Fender should be made aware of this and I will most certainly make them aware.. I have used this pedal for quite awhile. I don't feel it's as good as the original. however, I use a Rocco Tone Expressor which by far and large for the way I play is best for me......I didn't mean to jump to conclusions as I have............The Fender Company of today is fine, but not the original Fender company I remember when Mr. Fender and Mr. Randall were at the helm......I don't mean to diminish the Fender of today...but the Fender of Yesteryear was in my opinion the very Best!! When My Best Friend Donald Dean Randall was at the helm......... there will never be another like him, God Rest His Sweet Soul You will Always be in My Heart FOREVER!!!

Thank You Mr Randall for all You've done for myself and my family.

Your Buddy,

Jody-

Can this V/T pedal be easily modded to change the throw to a reverse/backwards mode, ala Jerry Byrd's style?

Looks good!

Doug - it looks great. But it would look an awful lot better if the jack sockets were all on the other side of the pedal.

Ken

Ken..I will ask if that is possible..I do beleive R&D will make any changes to satisfy those who buy this.

So far as availabilty? I would guess as soon as orders are received they will ship as for a reverse of the pedal as Jerry Byrd had his..that I don't really know..I have mine and I think it's fine. but then again. I'm certain Fender is open for suggestions especially at this time where changes can be made. Doug It looks GREAT and to Ron Whitfield I have no clue regarding your question can this be reversed as Jerry Byrd's his working..nothing is impossible...btw the carrying bag is a beauty looks like what Chivas Regal has to carry the Scotch

Hope this helps. Son of a gun I had to edit again

Looks beautiful.

I'm with Ken Byng on the placement of the jacks on the left side; better all on the right imo.

A little surprised at the weight, 7 lbs.

Still looks pretty tempting.

Thanks for the photo Doug.

Bob... 7 Lbs is shipping weight with the packing etc..I would guess it's about 5 lbs or a bit more.

When my friend Mike Black edits this topic it's beacuse he knows this is not the pedal it's supposed to be.....

Maybe that's the lefty version...

Jody, thanks for all the info, and for being the middle man for us. That's really helpful.

I think that re-issuing this pedal is one of the most positive things that Fender have done in years.

I'm sold on it. If Jody Carver says it's good...it's GOOD!!!

Casey

xzxzx

delete

Jody Carver wrote: ..There are three inputs on this pedal..one in and one out and the other for a tuner..

The photo only shows two input/outputs. Where's the third one located and what do the ones showing do?
And why would they put them on the left side of the pedal

Gary...deletes as my post was counter Productive

Thanx

Does anybody know what it will cost? I can't find it on the price lists on Fender's website...

Steinar

Steinar, I don't know if this info is accurate ($119 retail), check it out: http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=124454

Hey gang, I just ordered the Fender V/T reissue for $85 on ebay. Looking forward to using it with my non-pedal D8 Stringmaster.

Here is a demo showing the critter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShZit3mjdJ4

Blaine

How does this new pedal compare to the Goodrich L120 or Dekley Lo-Boy in the height and pedal angle?

Profile pics (from the side) showing the full up and full down position would be very helpful.


Thanx,
Jim

It seems Fender has no interest in the needs of a Pedal steel Player. The specs on the Pot is 250 ohms when the most wanted ohms is 500 as you all know and the Jacks of course are on the wrong side of Pedal and not on the right side. Hopefully we can correct the Jacks with little trouble???? But if we have to change Pots it will be much more expensive and trouble.

One of the issues with many "non pedal steel guitar" Volume pedals is that the angle is designed for someone standing up. Or if you stand up with a non-pedal steel guitar it would be good. But, if you are sitting down the angle and travel range can be something other than "optimum".

However, as I am a Hilton Volume Pedal "convert" I wouldn't go back to a "pot" pedal and have no need for a combo volume tone.

Fender has just put out an entire line of pedals for electric guitarist and most guitar players use a pedalboard so for this reason the inputs and outputs are on different sides of the pedals. The input is on the RIGHT side of the pedal. There are two outputs and both are on the LEFT side of the pedal. One is a regular output and the second is a "tuner" out.

I have been using the volume/tone pedal with my pedal steel and it's not an issue at all for me to run the output cable underneath the pedal and out the other (right) side. The pedal sits on small rubber feet and there is enough clearance for my George L's cable. It would be quite easy to move the output jack (or jacks) to the right side if one so desired with a little modification.

As for the pots, these new volume pedals are just like the original pedals which were intended for use with single coil pickups. The very earliest Fender guitars shipped with 1Meg pots (Broadcasters and very early Telecasters) but were changed to 250K in the early 50s. 250K pots are preferable for single coil pickups as used on most Fender guitars (as well as original Emmons and Sho Bud guitars). 500K pots are preferable for humbucking pickups (Gibson).

If "Fender has no interest in the needs of a Pedal steel Player", why would Fender currently make both a tube and a solid state amp specifically aimed at steel players?



JP