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Topic: Volume pedal impedence, how low can I go? |
Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 19 Jul 2015 1:57 pm |
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If need be, will a cheap temporary unit with a 100K pot get me by until I learn how to use a pedal? Only temporarily.
Haven't sat at a steel in seven years. 
Some pedals are voltage controlled, requiring a power supply, I'd think. Are they satisfactory for steel application? |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 19 Jul 2015 3:04 pm
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Without a buffer-amp a 100Kohm VP is a bit on the low side for a PSG with regular PU. It will work, but the tone may be slightly darker than you like because of the higher load on the PU.
With a buffer-amp you can go quite low, as low as the buffer will drive. A 10Kohm VP will work just fine following most buffers.
I use buffers followed by 50Kohm VP for my PSGs, and that's definitely not a temporary solution. |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 19 Jul 2015 4:13 pm
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I get you. Not looking for dark, will check into a buffer.
Thanks, Georg.
_________________
Those that say don't know; those that know don't say.--Buddy Emmons |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 19 Jul 2015 4:24 pm
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Just curious. Why do you think you need to change the pot and/or use a buffer?
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 55 years and still counting. |
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Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 21 Jul 2015 7:03 am
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One thing is that the really, really great pots for pedal steel volume pedals haven't been made in years. The old Clarostat RV4 or Allen Bradley RV4, long-life types with audio taper were THE SMOOTHEST tapered pots I've ever met. Smooth all the way up, no kink, no jump in loudness, last for years. But these pots in the 500k value are very scarce and hard to find. So if we can open up the possible options to 10k, 25k, 50k, 100k, 250k, etc. then suddenly our options for these wonderful pots become a lot more wide open. The only trick is that below 250k, you do probably want to buffer so the tone doesn't suffer and become too dark from the pot loading down the pickup.
So if you use a buffer right after the guitar and before a pot pedal, there are all kinds of options when it comes to pot value. The real trick is the pot quality. Good old USA made RV4 (military spec) pots from the '70s and maybe the '80s are just excellent. If they say "Made in Mexico", it's gonna be hit and miss. But if they say USA on them, they're likely gonna be great. Even used RV4 pots are likely in great shape unless they were used by a steel guitarist. We destroy pots with our constant right foot. But most other uses don't move the pots much, so there could be a million cycles or more left for many years of some good pedal steel guitarist abuse.
Brad |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 22 Jul 2015 9:58 am
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| don't suffer, use a buffer! |
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