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What volume pedal?
Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:07 pm
by zRobertez
The Ernie Ball Volume pedal just seems like the go to volume for most people but I've also heard it can mess with your tone pretty noticeably. I'm in the market for a volume pedal since I'm getting into ambient-ish stuff and my volume knob on my stratocaster doesn't have a very even roll off. I'm not looking for anything special like stereo pan or tuner out or anything like that, just straight through volume. Any input, anybody? Also, no more than $100, if that. It's hard to justify spending much on something already built into my guitar.
Re: What volume pedal?
Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:11 pm
by madmax1012
Re: What volume pedal?
Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:23 pm
by zRobertez
Is it much larger than the EB? I forgot to mention as small a footprint as possible. Volumes seem so huge. Especially in that picture. But no "tone suck" with that one?
Re: What volume pedal?
Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:37 pm
by madmax1012
if you're looking for small, this isn't it. it's built like a tank. i don;t personally use one because i have much more pedal needs, and my strats volume is close, but i've heard it's a good volume pedal. if you're looking for small, there's the DOD Fx17. it's a pretty small volume/wah, but i'm not sure about any sort of tone suck.
Re: What volume pedal?
Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:38 pm
by zRobertez
I'll check that out. Thanks for the help!
Re: What volume pedal?
Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:47 pm
by madmax1012
if worse comes to worse, you can always get a EB vpjr and have someone mod it for true bypass. still probably in your price range
Re: What volume pedal?
Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 10:14 pm
by GardenoftheDead
The Dunlop Is pretty big, but it's not really that much larger than the Ernie Ball and I don't notice any tone difference.
(I also run 8 pedals in a chain, half of them not true bypass and I don't really buy into the whole 'tone killing pedals' thing, so don't go by me).
Re: What volume pedal?
Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 10:17 pm
by yallerhon
I've been using the Thru-Tone modded Ernie Ball Jr, but it's quite a lot more than your $100 limit. :\
I didn't like what the Boss, Dunlop or Morley did to my sound, just kind of.. deadened it. However others might be perfectly happy with theirs, I guess it depends on your setup and needs. At least several of these brands should be in stock at your local music store, maybe do an A/B with them and see how they sound to you. Don't forget that many people consider the "sweep" or taper of the pedal to be quite important, and each pedal can have some noticeable differences to how it feels underfoot, as well as how quickly and smoothly the volume tapers up.

Perhaps save up for a few more weeks for something you'd love rather than something you'd tolerate?
Re: What volume pedal?
Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 10:30 pm
by zRobertez
I'm also thinking getting the roll off on my volume knob smoothed out might be a better choice. I don't really know how any of that works or if it's possible or cheap. Oh well. It seems normal going from 10-7 but around 7-5, there's a huge drop and then after that, it's just smooth again. And money is an issue since I'm only 18 and have other things I should probably be worrying more about.
Re: What volume pedal?
Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 5:04 am
by goroth
zRobertez wrote:I'm also thinking getting the roll off on my volume knob smoothed out might be a better choice. I don't really know how any of that works or if it's possible or cheap. Oh well. It seems normal going from 10-7 but around 7-5, there's a huge drop and then after that, it's just smooth again. And money is an issue since I'm only 18 and have other things I should probably be worrying more about.
If you know someone who can solder, or want to try yourself, buy a logarithmic pot for your volume on your guit - that should fix the sweep on it. CTS makes really good solid pots, and you can get em from guitar shops, or you could probably find them way cheaper at electronics depos.
I'm kind of convincing myself I need a volume pedal last in my chain, hanging out for a Mission Engineering VM-2. I need a buffer at the end of my chain anyway, so this looks sweet. But there is so much cool stuff to get, and volume pedals aren't as exciting as, well, most everything else...
Re: What volume pedal?
Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 11:11 am
by huggernaut
If you're not using the tuner out on the EBVPjr the tone suck really isn't a problem.
I haven't had any issues with mine.
Re: What volume pedal?
Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 1:18 pm
by dubkitty
one thing i like about the EB volume pedal is the hidden switch that allows you to change the taper. i really appreciate this because i use the same pedal for guitar and pedal steel and prefer different tapers for each. it doesn't seem to suck tone; i never use the tuner output.
Re: What volume pedal?
Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 2:06 pm
by nightendday
I say save up some beer fund and spend on a goodrich, It's well worth the asking price.
Re: What volume pedal?
Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 2:28 pm
by colin
huggernaut wrote:If you're not using the tuner out on the EBVPjr the tone suck really isn't a problem.
I haven't had any issues with mine.
I've never noticed any issues with it either, but I don't use the tuner out.
Re: What volume pedal?
Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 4:56 pm
by madmax1012
nightendday wrote:I say save up some beer fund and spend on a goodrich, It's well worth the asking price.
or you can not spend $170 on a pedal that changes the volume and buy yourself beer and an EBVP