9/10/07

Let's talk about Volume Pedals Man!

I am in the market for a Volume Pedal - mainly for slide / bend fills - and... well.. the ability to control volume with my foot.

The following VPs make up my short list of acceptable units, under $100...


Ernie Ball VP Jr. Passive Volume Pedal
This is the VP of choice of all the country dudes out there. Sexy design with a nice wide foot pedal. The Ernie Ball also has a nice tuner out feature, (Ernie Ball came up with the idea - other VPs are following). The tuner out allows the player to turn the volume all the way down (using the pedal) and the tuner still gets a signal...
This pedal reminds me of a skate board with all the grip tape on the surface. Remember those old Banzai skateboards???




Boss FV-500H Mono Volume Pedal - This does everything the EB VP JR. does for about $15 cheaper. The dimensions are slightly smaller, still the expression pedal itself is nice and large.



Jum Dunlop GCB-80 High Gain Volume Pedal. Can't go wrong with a Dunlop - built to last like all other JD pedals, and this one goes for around $60. Plus no power needed for this model.



Morley Little Alligator Volume Pedal - Great for the price (around $50) but seems a little flimsy. Being a big fat guy I worry I would break this thing.


There you have it, I am leaning toward the BOSS - I have had great luck with all my BOSS pedals over the years.

I think this will make a great addition to my gear. I have been working on my slide playing and use my volume pot (to sneak up on a note) - the pedal will make that a lot easier. It will also add to my control when I switch guitars - My SG is much louder than my LP.

If anyone out there who has experience with any of the above VPs let me know - I'm mainly going by pedals I have actually tried.

2 comments:

Tony Alva said...

It's all Jackson on this one. Have rarely played electric guitar live in fornt of anybody.

Jackson said...

Ernie Ball dude. All the way. We have one, use it all the time, not for swells, though I'm sure it would do the trick, we use it for the tuner line out as well as a great way to hush the signal between takes without touching anything else that might change the tone, we use it when we re-amp bass, rhodes, organ, anything that we recorded direct and need to put through an amp after, it alows us to adjust the gain going to the amp so as not to damage the amp with too hot a signal.

Do not buy a Dunlop, the Wah's are a classic, and necessary, but they CONSTANTLY break....okay, you can but Dunlop picks too, but I'd stay away from the volume pedal.

I have not used any of the others, and maybe the Boss is fine, I too trust the brand, so, hey if fifteen bucks is the kicker, do your thing....