Volume Pedal -- What's the best for a Les Paul?

Triburst · Dec 22, 2013

I've basically just been a "volume knob fiddler" when playing using my analog pedals, but I've always enjoyed the volume pedal on my PodXT Live whenever I've used the digital setup. I'm thinking of adding one to my pedalboard.

If you're using one, what's your favorite, and are you using a buffer?

Thanks!

Heavyelement · Dec 23, 2013

Triburst said:
I've basically just been a "volume knob fiddler" when playing using my analog pedals, but I've always enjoyed the volume pedal on my PodXT Live whenever I've used the digital setup. I'm thinking of adding one to my pedalboard.

If you're using one, what's your favorite, and are you using a buffer?

Thanks!

I have been using the Morley little alligator for over 10 years now works great.

sonar · Dec 23, 2013

Good question.

I've always found passive pedals to degrade the signal and I don't really want to add a separate buffer in the chain. I used a Zvex Tremolo Probe for an old project that was ok, but I would have preferred a real rocker pedal for easier control.

I prefer using the guitar's volume controls, but I would like to incorporate swells into a current project and the LP (or Gretsch) are not really the right guitars for the job. The Tele is decent, But I'd like to use my LP or Gretsch.

J T · Dec 23, 2013

Ernie Ball Pedal works great. It is dead quiet, and has a jack for a tuner.

mingus · Dec 23, 2013

J T said:
Ernie Ball Pedal works great. It is dead quiet, and has a jack for a tuner.

+1. I have one on each of my pedal boards. They're sturdy, don't seem to negatively affect the sound and operate smoothly.

TM1 · Dec 24, 2013

I like the old Maestro "Boomerang" pedal. Has a nice 1/2 volt boost on the volume side and the Wah sounds as good as an original Vox/Clyde. The volume adds a nice little top end sizzle w/o being icepicky..

Triburst · Dec 24, 2013

Mingus, which model Ernie Ball are you using, and are you using a buffer? Looking at reviews, people either seem to love or hate these.

Don - It's tough to find those Maestro Boomerangs -- especially "all original" ones that have correct pots. I did see some "drop in" kits for Crybaby housings, but they're kind of unclear about the functionality.

The Electro-optical component on the Morley Alligator sounds interesting, too.

reswot · Dec 24, 2013

I use the Ernie Ball stereo/pan pedal, but run it mono. It's just the one that I have, although it is kind of fun to bounce back and forth between amps, sometimes!

I really don't find that it degrades the tone anymore than anything else does. Since I suck as a player, the volume pedal helps me "emote." It's the ultimate expression pedal, I think.

Banker · Dec 24, 2013

Ernie Ball pedals rely on a piece of string to connect the moving pedal to the pot…..and I've had three string sbreak on me.

I wouldn't buy another.

dc007 · Dec 27, 2013

Me too

J T said:
Ernie Ball Pedal works great. It is dead quiet, and has a jack for a tuner.

TM1 · Dec 27, 2013

I've got a couple of those EB Vol. pedals. They seem to roll off some high end. String issue.. yikes, can't tell you how many I've had to reset the string. If they used a 1 meg pot instead of the 250K, you wouldn't loose top end. There's gotta be a better thing to use inplace of the string too..

mingus · Dec 28, 2013

Triburst said:
Mingus, which model Ernie Ball are you using, and are you using a buffer? Looking at reviews, people either seem to love or hate these.

I have one on each pedal board I use. One is the Jr., the other is the regular one; both are for passive electronics and have the 250K pot. I've had the larger one for 5-6 years (400-500 gigs) and had to realign the string once in that time period. Not a big deal. I thought it was good enough that I just bought another one (the Jr. version) for a new pedal board I just built. With both boards, I use a Line 6 G50 wireless system. I assume it's buffered, but i don't know for sure. All I know is that these volume pedals sound great in my amp/pedal board rigs with my guitars.

kitban12 · Dec 23, 2018

Hi, it's good that you are trying to improve the sound of your music. I used to use the old Volume Pedal, which was presented to me by a friend. He used it for a long time, but he bought a new Volume Pedal, and he gave me one. I wondered why my sound was so terrible, because I played normally at that time. It was a poor-quality Volume Pedal. I do not remember which sites I visited to learn more about the best Volume Pedal, but now I came across the good article on Volume Pedal https://bestazy.com/best-volume-pedal/ and you know what I found there? The same Volume Pedal, which I bought then https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DZW1CDO?tag. I like to play with Ernie Ball MVP

G Jarvis · Dec 24, 2018

Really like the Lehle a lot. Favorite taper of any I’ve owned.

guitplayer · Dec 24, 2018

I used to use an old morely vol. pedal.
Floored and shoved underneath my 412 cab. It had a hush filter on it
when it was all the way down.

Volume Pedal -- What's the best for a Les Paul?

Triburst

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Heavyelement

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sonar

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J T

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mingus

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TM1

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Triburst

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reswot

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Banker

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dc007

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TM1

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mingus

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kitban12

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G Jarvis

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guitplayer

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