Should I get a volume pedal?

Pwozzie · 10-26-2009, 08:43 AM

I don't gig much, but I'm trying to justify buying one... give me your reasons!

StrangerNY · 10-26-2009, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pwozzie

I don't gig much, but I'm trying to justify buying one... give me your reasons!

Another thing to trip over on stage!

I say borrow one from somebody and mess with it first. They ain't for everybody.

- D

Pwozzie · 10-26-2009, 09:31 AM

Hmmm.. good idea.

Btw, I'm one of those people rarely ever touches the guitar volume knob.. esp on the dirty channel.

darkr_reaver · 10-26-2009, 09:56 AM

Hmmm... I love to use the volume knob when I'm playing. I just love the sound I get when I'm running the Catalyst with the gain maxed out and turn down the bridge volume to 3.

JM Vasek · 10-26-2009, 10:00 AM

Makes volume swells a heck of a lot easier - may be cool since you said you don't use your volume knob much.

Nigel T. · 10-26-2009, 10:05 AM

It depends on what you want to do with it. I use a volume as the last pedal before it enters the power amp. That way I can influence the final power regardless of levels of distortion. I can also do nice volume swells that way as only the volume is affected, it being the last pedal.

Manipulating levels of overdrive I do with my hand on the volume knob of the guitar.

Personally I love a volume pedal, but it's not for everyone.

ozone · 10-26-2009, 11:32 AM

I borrowed one also from a friend, didn't really use it. It was easy to create violin type sounds but that alone didn't justify having one for me.
I just use the volume knob on the guitar.

opalburn · 10-26-2009, 11:40 AM

i love mine.. like they said, you can get some sweet volume swells out of it... you can throw on some delay and do all kinds of cool shit.... its a very easy way to silence your guitar on stage between songs to tune, not to mention mine has a tuner out jack, so my tuner is completely out of my signal path.. you can also clean up your sound a little bit then rock it forward to throw on the full gain.. but if you are unsure, its best to try one out a little bit before you buy...

Paragon · 10-26-2009, 11:52 AM

Good when switching guitars. No pops or buzzing.

diceman · 10-26-2009, 11:54 AM

They are only good for volume decrease - no boost, obviously. No different than the volume pot on your guitar (other than you can place it wherever you want in your effects chain).

diceman · 10-26-2009, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paragon

Good when switching guitars. No pops or buzzing.

Not as good as snap jacks! (to me, anyways)

(one of my videos - mostly unrelated, but the snap jack changes are silent)

YouTube - '67 Gibson ES335 v. '69 Guild Starfire IV

mizer357 · 10-26-2009, 12:51 PM

i agree a volume pedal is not a necessity. i will say that they can be invaluable for certain types of effects, such as swells. the 25k ernie ball vp jr can also double as an expression pedal, so i think it's useful to keep around.

snaredrum · 10-26-2009, 01:29 PM

do you use dealy or reverb or anything like that? if so, a volume pedal is ace

Big John · 10-26-2009, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mizer357

...the 25k ernie ball vp jr...

If your amp has a loop, this is the one to get.

Pwozzie · 10-26-2009, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snaredrum

do you use dealy or reverb or anything like that? if so, a volume pedal is ace

i use lots of modulation effects when messing around, but i heart delay!

lowe · 10-27-2009, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snaredrum

do you use dealy or reverb or anything like that? if so, a volume pedal is ace

why do you say that?

snaredrum · 10-27-2009, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowe

why do you say that?

because if you put the volume before the reverb or delay, you can do some AWESOME swell effects.

zeppelin101 · 10-27-2009, 08:51 PM

I think its a cool thing to have on the rare occasions you need it. but def. not a necessity I think that the volume knob totally works too

Goldtop75 · 10-27-2009, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pwozzie

Btw, I'm one of those people rarely ever touches the guitar volume knob.. esp on the dirty channel.

2 completely different things. Volume pedals come with different pot values, and where you place it in the chain matters as well.

If you want the "gain control" sort of swell, then sticking with your volume knob would be fine. What some people do is put a 250k or 500k volume pedal infront of their chain to get the same effect, except that you use it mroe with your foot, and concentrate on your picking.

The other use is a 25M Ohm pedal in the middle of your pedal chain (usually after the gain stages, before the modulation stages.

This gives you the violin effect and is much more linear. It's also used for controlling your current volume level, without losing gain saturation. It also acts as a buffer, which might be a good thing if everything you're using is true bypass.

So, it really depends on what you want the volume pedal to do. you have to decide for yourself. Don't just try any old pedal and put it anywhere and think that you've got a conclusion. Multiple values and placement matters.

st.bede · 10-28-2009, 12:09 PM

if you listen a lot of jazz sax and you want to be able to get that type of dynamics a volume pedal will do it for you (IMHO, it takes a lot of pratice to get really good at that and not really worth it from my experince....)...also, I do find it a lot easier then grabing the vol knob for roy buccanna type swells...but basically I only use mine when I am playing my taylor T5 because the vol knob placement and size completley flares my carpel tunnel up bad...and I do use my guitars volume to control gain for rythm vrs solo work.....

10-26-2009, 08:43 AM	#1 (permalink)
Pwozzie Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: NJ Posts: 6,492 Thanks: 158 Thanked 68 Times in 35 Posts	Should I get a volume pedal? I don't gig much, but I'm trying to justify buying one... give me your reasons! __________________

10-26-2009, 09:31 AM	#3 (permalink)
Pwozzie Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: NJ Posts: 6,492 Thanks: 158 Thanked 68 Times in 35 Posts	Re: Should I get a volume pedal? Hmmm.. good idea. Btw, I'm one of those people rarely ever touches the guitar volume knob.. esp on the dirty channel. __________________

10-26-2009, 09:56 AM	#4 (permalink)
darkr_reaver Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Arizona Posts: 548 Thanks: 20 Thanked 11 Times in 7 Posts	Re: Should I get a volume pedal? Hmmm... I love to use the volume knob when I'm playing. I just love the sound I get when I'm running the Catalyst with the gain maxed out and turn down the bridge volume to 3. __________________ Guitars: -Epiphone Les Paul Studio Amps: -Fender Hot Rod Deluxe -Fender Frontman 15G Pedals: -Boss DD-3 -Boss TU-2 -Fulltone O.C.D. -Fulltone Catalyst -Devi Ever Disaster Fuzz (En route) -ZVex Fuzz Factory (WANTED!) -Devi Ever Hyperion (WANTED!) -Empress Para EQ (WANTED!)

10-26-2009, 10:00 AM	#5 (permalink)
JM Vasek "Mr. Salesman" Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 3,993 Thanks: 55 Thanked 13 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Should I get a volume pedal? Makes volume swells a heck of a lot easier - may be cool since you said you don't use your volume knob much. __________________ -JM http://www.formspring.me/JMVasek Ask away.

10-26-2009, 10:05 AM	#6 (permalink)
Nigel T. Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 380 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Should I get a volume pedal? It depends on what you want to do with it. I use a volume as the last pedal before it enters the power amp. That way I can influence the final power regardless of levels of distortion. I can also do nice volume swells that way as only the volume is affected, it being the last pedal. Manipulating levels of overdrive I do with my hand on the volume knob of the guitar. Personally I love a volume pedal, but it's not for everyone. __________________ 1977 Gibson Les Paul deLuxe 1999 Gibson Explorer 1978 Fender Stratocaster 2009 Fern's Custom made Strat Takamine CP-132-C Ovation DCS 247 S Line6 Pod 2.0 Randall RM-4 (DLX, Top Boost, Plexi, 1086) Ceriatone Overtone HRM by Vernet Amps Area51 Wah, Digitech Whammy, Keeley modded Ibanez TS-808, George Dennis Volume, TC Electronic Nova System, Dunlop Heil Talkbox

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10-26-2009, 11:32 AM	#7 (permalink)
ozone Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Baldwin Park, Ca Posts: 933 Thanks: 1 Thanked 12 Times in 9 Posts	Re: Should I get a volume pedal? I borrowed one also from a friend, didn't really use it. It was easy to create violin type sounds but that alone didn't justify having one for me. I just use the volume knob on the guitar. __________________ 1990 Les Paul Standard 1980 Fender Strat Hard-Tail reissue 2008 Blueridge BR160 1983 Fender Concert II

10-26-2009, 11:40 AM	#8 (permalink)
opalburn Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bowling Green, KY Posts: 276 Thanks: 4 Thanked 7 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Should I get a volume pedal? i love mine.. like they said, you can get some sweet volume swells out of it... you can throw on some delay and do all kinds of cool shit.... its a very easy way to silence your guitar on stage between songs to tune, not to mention mine has a tuner out jack, so my tuner is completely out of my signal path.. you can also clean up your sound a little bit then rock it forward to throw on the full gain.. but if you are unsure, its best to try one out a little bit before you buy... __________________ '07 Gibson LPVM(RS Modern electronics kit) '03 Epiphone LP Standard Plus(HCSB) Vintage '65 Gibson ES 330TD(Red) (permanent loan from Father in Law) Peavey 5150 Head(block letter) Peavey 412MS Cab(Sheffield 1290's) And a few pedals --------------------------------------------------- http://www.myspace.com/chestrockwell

10-26-2009, 11:52 AM	#9 (permalink)
Paragon Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: SE Michigan Posts: 959 Thanks: 3 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Should I get a volume pedal? Good when switching guitars. No pops or buzzing. __________________ Memphis "The Paul" • Mightymites Partscaster • Lace Sensor Gold Vox AD60VTX • VC12 Vox VT30 • Crybaby Classic Danelectro Nifty Fifty 4Sale

10-26-2009, 11:54 AM	#10 (permalink)
diceman V.I.P. Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 19,241 Thanks: 485 Thanked 134 Times in 42 Posts	Re: Should I get a volume pedal? They are only good for volume decrease - no boost, obviously. No different than the volume pot on your guitar (other than you can place it wherever you want in your effects chain). __________________ MLP member Travis "The Epiphone King" Boleskinehouse proudly endorses Epiphone musical instruments. "All good things come from China - including my guitars." -The Boles

10-26-2009, 12:51 PM	#12 (permalink)
mizer357 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: NYC Posts: 183 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Should I get a volume pedal? i agree a volume pedal is not a necessity. i will say that they can be invaluable for certain types of effects, such as swells. the 25k ernie ball vp jr can also double as an expression pedal, so i think it's useful to keep around. __________________ - miz -

10-26-2009, 01:29 PM	#13 (permalink)
snaredrum Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Nottingham, England Posts: 3,902 Thanks: 39 Thanked 14 Times in 7 Posts	Re: Should I get a volume pedal? do you use dealy or reverb or anything like that? if so, a volume pedal is ace __________________ "There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a vacuum." - Arthur C. Clarke

10-28-2009, 12:09 PM	#20 (permalink)
st.bede V.I.P. Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Fresno Ca Posts: 4,157 Thanks: 117 Thanked 68 Times in 35 Posts	Re: Should I get a volume pedal? if you listen a lot of jazz sax and you want to be able to get that type of dynamics a volume pedal will do it for you (IMHO, it takes a lot of pratice to get really good at that and not really worth it from my experince....)...also, I do find it a lot easier then grabing the vol knob for roy buccanna type swells...but basically I only use mine when I am playing my taylor T5 because the vol knob placement and size completley flares my carpel tunnel up bad...and I do use my guitars volume to control gain for rythm vrs solo work..... __________________ ultimately, what I want, is to hear the choices in my minds eye. "to criticize without vision is to be complicitious with dominance" Carolyn Casey "Go easy and, if you can't go easy, go as easy as you can" Jennifer Stone.... (from KPFA Cover to Cover) the wings of inspiration come to each according to their own song-des

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