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Post by j4gitr (John) on Sept 16, 2019 6:31:37 GMT -7
Looking at Sweetwater there are many options and the price can vary from about $100 - $300. The reviews vary greatly as well. So I thought I'd seek some advise here on volume pedals first. What do you like? What would you avoid?
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Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on Sept 16, 2019 7:03:21 GMT -7
I'm convinced that the absolute best is the Thru-Tone PM-1. I do not own one, but I've had my eye in this direction for a short while, and it seems to have none of the typical drawbacks that most volume pedals eventually present.
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Post by Paul (TRANE) on Sept 16, 2019 7:34:09 GMT -7
Had 2 of them. Never bonded with them. Sold them.
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Post by Rockerfeller on Sept 16, 2019 7:47:05 GMT -7
Looking at Sweetwater there are many options and the price can vary from about $100 - $300. The reviews vary greatly as well. So I thought I'd seek some advise here on volume pedals first. What do you like? What would you avoid? I've used different ones over the years. But I love the Visual Sound Visual Volume pedal. They are out of production but you can find a mint one on Ebay or Reverb often for $100 or less.
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Post by Stephen on Sept 16, 2019 8:48:04 GMT -7
I have the Visual Volume pedal and the Ernie Ball 6180 Volume pedal. I’m not good with either.
The Ernie Ball doesn’t need current, and it gets used more often. But the lights on the Visual Volume are a very nice feature.
Maybe I’ll use one more now that I am playing country music.
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Post by redzsrock on Sept 16, 2019 11:51:54 GMT -7
I've had generally good results with the Ernie Ball VP Jr. I eventually tried a VP Jr with the JHS Mod. MUCH improved!!!
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Post by goodez on Sept 16, 2019 15:58:50 GMT -7
I use the Ernie Ball MVP. I wouldn’t mind trying the Lehle to see what all the fuss is about though.
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Post by Rhino on Sept 16, 2019 19:43:07 GMT -7
I've been an on-again / off-again volume pedal guy for years..Ernie Ball and Dunlop primarily. They go on the board and off usually a gig or two later. I reason that I can do the same thing with my guitar volume control. That all ended when I got the Lehle Mono. Lighter than the Dunlop and no strings to break. Get it now...and thank me later.
Dave
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Post by DeanG on Sept 17, 2019 2:10:33 GMT -7
Had the : Ernie Ball Jr. good, but string can break. Boss FV-500H. good, but heavy. LEHLE VOLUME Pedal, 3 models. with buffer built in, requires 9vdc. pricey. Great sweep, smooth volume control. A Keeper. 20% off from Prymaxe, but back ordered. Purchased from Musician Friends 15% off. The Lehle Mono Volume is a volume pedal equipped with a precise magnetic sensor enabling it to operate almost wear-free. This sensor uses the Hall effect, named after Edwin Hall, to measure the strength of magnetic fields lehle.com/EN/productsCurrent placement on PT Novo 24 (size & scale shown) pedalboard between Dirt and FX pedals. To obtain consistent overdrive tone from the gain pedals during swells and allow FX trails to decay.
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Post by Rhythmark on Sept 17, 2019 5:39:14 GMT -7
I use a fractal volume pedal. I also have an ernie ball that was fine but I don’t use.
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Post by goodez on Sept 17, 2019 5:39:42 GMT -7
See what I mean? ☝️ Hahaha
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Sept 17, 2019 8:18:59 GMT -7
I've got a couple of Ernie Ball MVP and use them at the output of my pedalboard, for a Master Volume. I use my guitar volumes to control drive and the MVP for volume (into a pretty clean/almost breaking up amp volume). So far I haven't had any trouble with them, going on 4 years or so.
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Post by j4gitr (John) on Sept 17, 2019 8:29:19 GMT -7
Thanks for the replies and opinions. This started because I asked my guitar tech, who is back in Chicago, if he would be interested in changing out the volume pots on my Heritage 535. I want a smoother sweep. He suggested the volume pedal, saying its a lot of trouble digging in the semi-hollow body. I got the impression he didn't want the work, but maybe he's saving me from disappointment. In any event this is what prompted my investigation. Maybe it's an option. Maybe I'm better off just replacing the pots. Anyway this is the motivation behind my query.
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Post by scottc on Sept 18, 2019 6:37:46 GMT -7
Thanks for the replies and opinions. This started because I asked my guitar tech, who is back in Chicago, if he would be interested in changing out the volume pots on my Heritage 535. I want a smoother sweep. He suggested the volume pedal, saying its a lot of trouble digging in the semi-hollow body. I got the impression he didn't want the work, but maybe he's saving me from disappointment. In any event this is what prompted my investigation. Maybe it's an option. Maybe I'm better off just replacing the pots. Anyway this is the motivation behind my query. It is a pain to work on semi-hollow bodies, but I am a BIG proponent of volume pot upgrades. I have three ES-335's and have upgraded all guitars with Bourns pots. It makes a very real difference for my style of playing, where I use the volume control constantly across the entire range to control everything from clean to lead into a MAZ18 reverb mkII. While the volume pedal might be a solution in your case, I think that having quality pots in an instrument is the first place to start. And, it is always with you - meaning, I have had pedalboard issues a couple of times at gigs causing me to have to plug straight in to MAZ. With a good guitar with quality pots, running straight in to a great amp, you are covered. If the pedalboard was down and you were relying on a volume pedal that was down with it, you'd have some trouble!
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2019 8:13:49 GMT -7
I'm always sad when I see a band with a great guitar player (not steel player) performing on stage, stuck standing on his volume pedal for the whole evening. Unless you are sitting down there's always a better way.
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Post by j4gitr (John) on Sept 18, 2019 20:40:35 GMT -7
Thanks for the replies and opinions. This started because I asked my guitar tech, who is back in Chicago, if he would be interested in changing out the volume pots on my Heritage 535. I want a smoother sweep. He suggested the volume pedal, saying its a lot of trouble digging in the semi-hollow body. I got the impression he didn't want the work, but maybe he's saving me from disappointment. In any event this is what prompted my investigation. Maybe it's an option. Maybe I'm better off just replacing the pots. Anyway this is the motivation behind my query. It is a pain to work on semi-hollow bodies, but I am a BIG proponent of volume pot upgrades. I have three ES-335's and have upgraded all guitars with Bourns pots. It makes a very real difference for my style of playing, where I use the volume control constantly across the entire range to control everything from clean to lead into a MAZ18 reverb mkII. While the volume pedal might be a solution in your case, I think that having quality pots in an instrument is the first place to start. And, it is always with you - meaning, I have had pedalboard issues a couple of times at gigs causing me to have to plug straight in to MAZ. With a good guitar with quality pots, running straight in to a great amp, you are covered. If the pedalboard was down and you were relying on a volume pedal that was down with it, you'd have some trouble! While the spirit of the saying "less is more" may not always apply to guitar, I think I'm leaning to better quality Pots. Hadn't heard of Bourns, but I saw some Emerson through Lollar that piqued my interest. I'll have to look into the Bourns product. Maybe I should stick with my initial plan, upgrade the pots.
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Post by mcook217 on Oct 5, 2019 6:53:16 GMT -7
I had an EB jr and heard such horror stories of the cord breaking all the time for years. Thing lasted 10+ years before the thing broke. replaced the cord thing (with much struggle) and a year later it broke again. So I replaced it with a Dunlop mini. I'm happy with it. Doubles as an expression pedal with no mods if you want. The only thing I don't like is the ugly tread look. I'll change that out eventually though. I like that it can easily be adjusted for how stiff and lose you want it to feel. plus they are like $80.
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Post by dcarver on Oct 5, 2019 12:26:49 GMT -7
Xotic has 2 new volume pedals out. One with 250K impedance for instruments with passive electronics, and one with 25K for instruments with active electronics. Here's a link: xotic.us/effects/xvp
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Post by ineedtherapy (Stuart) on Oct 7, 2019 16:46:13 GMT -7
I really like the Ernie Ball VP Jr., but as others have mentioned, the string will break. Supposedly it’s an easy fix. I tried it once and just bought a new pedal. Since then, I’ve had a Mission Engineering VM Pro and it was great, but large. I now have a Tapestry Audio Bloomery I got in trade. It’s smaller, but it’s heavy. I do like it a lot though.
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