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Topic: Ernie Ball volume pedal mod |
Tab Tabscott
From:
Somewhere between Vashon Island and The mainland.
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Posted 27 Oct 2017 5:49 am |
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I've got a ton of volume pedals, most don't really work any more. I had one fail just before a show up north and went into a music store and all they had was an Ernie Ball Jr.
I didn't want to but I had to take it to get out of a jam. It played great but I really didn't like the fact that the jacks were mounted to the front of the pedal. Great for guitarists, lousy for pedal steel players. I worked around it with 90* cords.
Well here comes Gary Gray, forum member from Joplin Mo. He's a great steel player and machinist, and he moved the jacks on his Ernie Ball to the side, and did a nice job of it too...
So I sent him the pedal, and he expertly moved the jacks to the right side, and covered up the hole in the front with a matching piece of aluminum angle.
It works and looks great. You can't tell Ernie himself didn't make it that way. It was a modest charge, too.
The pedal is $79 on Amazon, so for about $140 bucks I got exactly what I wanted in a volume pedal. Clean sound, great functionality, and a fantastic long taper. Look him up here-he'll do you one. Can't say enough great things about his work. Tab
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Tab Tabscott
Play nice.
They is none else. |
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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 27 Oct 2017 6:43 pm
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| Tab, great info. Can you post a picture of the pedal with the mods? |
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Michael Maddex
From:
Northern New Mexico, USA
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Posted 27 Oct 2017 9:16 pm
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Good Story with Happy Ending...and another vote for a photo of the Final Project!
Thanks & have a Good One! 
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"For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert." -- Arthur C. Clarke |
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Tim Russell
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 28 Oct 2017 3:07 am
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Does he also change the pot to the 500K one, suitable for steel, since the EB pedal comes with a 250K...?
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Sierra Crown D-10 |
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Jimmy Gibson
From:
Cornwall, England
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Posted 30 Oct 2017 3:10 pm
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It’s very easy to do this mod,I did it to the two Ernie Ball pedals I use,I did one with two outputs the same as the Goodrich,also what I did was mill out the bottom plate to give better access to the pot and hook up .Made it a lot easier to replace new pots.
This is a great way to make it easier to change pots.
 These are the answer to front Jack in and jack out pedals.
Last edited by Jimmy Gibson on 7 Nov 2017 2:26 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Scott Duckworth
From:
Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
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Posted 31 Oct 2017 3:20 am
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I moved the jacks on mine, and covered the font plate with aluminum AC duct tape.
As for the pot, putting a 500K in it is hard to do. It uses smaller shaft pots, so total disassembly is needed, and some drilling to make a 500K pot work in it.
If anyone has found a better way, please post it! I haven't done mine, as I play lap steel now, and the 250K pot is fine.
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Amateur Radio Operator NA4IT (Extra)
http://www.qsl.net/na4it
I may, in fact, be nuts. However, I am screwed onto the right bolt... Jesus! |
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David Nugent
From:
Gum Spring, Va.
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Posted 1 Nov 2017 11:09 am
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| If you are able to locate one of the early model (made in U.S.A.) Ernie Ball pedals, they were manufactured with side mounted jacks and came equipped with a 500K pot. Picked mine up on Craigslist for $50.00. |
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John Russell
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 1 Nov 2017 8:09 pm
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| I use a Boss volume pedal (Model FV500H). I love the pedal so much I bought a second one. They also have the jacks on the front but due to the shape of the pedal, right-angle plugs don't work so well. I solved the problem by raising my pedal board up about 1/2" using hose gaskets. The gaskets are placed above the rubber stoppers on the front legs so the pedal board is 1/2" higher, enabling the straight plugs to fit under the pedal bar. The the cords come in from the front of the guitar. I don't know if the EB Jr. pedal works this way. I keep one in the car as a spare but the Boss pedals have been totally reliable so I've not needed to use the EB. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 2 Nov 2017 8:36 am
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Why don't you guys just buy a Goodrich and be done with it?  |
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John Russell
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 2 Nov 2017 9:44 am
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| I have two Ernie Ball pedals. I have the Tom Bradshaw pot that I haven't yet installed so it may make the older Ernie pedal a keeper. Changing pots in these pedals is a chore as you probably know. The Boss pedal so far is flawless--no string. It has a type of potentiometer with a different mechanism. Very reliable. I keep the smaller EB pedal in the car in case the Boss fails. It's fine and has the Tom Bradshaw pot. |
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Hal Braun
From:
Eustis, Florida, USA
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Posted 2 Nov 2017 4:36 pm
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| Erv Niehaus wrote: |
| Why don't you guys just buy a Goodrich and be done with it? |
2 reasons
Don’t need another power supply...
Don’t need to spend that much money,
My EB sounds great, and works fine with 90 degree plugs |
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Dan Robinson
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 2 Nov 2017 10:05 pm
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| John Russell wrote: |
| I keep the smaller EB pedal in the car. |
Right angle plugs are an easy work around. I aleady had the EB/JR for guitar. But after changing the string I swore I would never repeat that misadventure. So it stays in thee car as an emergency soare. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 2 Nov 2017 10:13 pm
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I had an Ernie Ball pedal, but the 250k pot really stole some of the high end of my tone. I stopped using it for that reason.
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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John Russell
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 3 Nov 2017 6:02 am
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| The Tom Bradshaw pot is 500K, made by Dunlop. I have one in my VP Jr. Ernie Ball pedal. Works fine. |
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Bill A. Moore
From:
Silver City, New Mexico, USA
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Posted 3 Nov 2017 6:55 am
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| I have an old EB pedal with jacks on the side, and open front. When the pot got too noisy, it was a simple matter to install a 470K pot, are the newer ones mounted differently? |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 3 Nov 2017 7:21 am
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Hal,
You don't need a power supply with a Goodrich pedal, where did you get that idea?
Erv |
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John Russell
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 3 Nov 2017 7:35 am
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| Correction: Bill Moore is right, the Bradshaw pot is 470K. |
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Hal Braun
From:
Eustis, Florida, USA
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Posted 5 Nov 2017 1:55 pm
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| Erv Niehaus wrote: |
Hal,
You don't need a power supply with a Goodrich pedal, where did you get that idea?
Erv |
Erv.. my bad, was thinking of the Hilton I had... still expensive though 😠|
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 6 Nov 2017 8:38 am
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Hal,
I have to amend this a bit, there is a Goodrich pedal that does require a wall wart, it was an optical pedal but I don't think they sold too many of them.  |
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Johnie Helms
From:
Oklahoma, USA
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Posted 20 Nov 2017 5:04 pm
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EB Makes a fine affordable passive vp, (built tuff) I always move the input panel jacks "back" to the side of the pedal ( like older models ) To bad it's not an option.. Anyway if the 250k don't work jus replace with a 470-500k. I personally like the full travel the design offers.. EB jr, My fav..
JH |
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David Cubbedge
From:
Toledo,Ohio, USA
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Posted 21 Nov 2017 9:34 am
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I had two of these EB pedals and one weekend in 2014 I had BOTH strings break on consecutive gigs!
I now own a Hilton. I've got two EB pedals for sale, replacement strings included.
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Red Emmons D10 fatback #2246D with sweet Hugh Briley split cases, Black Emmons S10 #1466S, '73 Fender "Snakeskin" Twin Reverb, Peavey Nashville 400, Line 6 Pod XT, Fender 400, Fender Stringmaster Double-8, too many guitars, one bass! |
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