Does the volume pedal affect tone?

Adrienne Clasky · From: Florida, USA

I've searched this topic but cannot find any answers written in English. Most discussions of volume pedal and tone include a combination of letters and numbers (ex., ohm42) that I do not speak.

Here are my questions:

Does volume pedal affect tone?

Do different volume pedals affect tone differently?

Which affects tone more, the volume pedal or the pick-up?

Anyone who uses numbers or the word "pot" in his response, will have his wife informed of his secret pedal purchases. (I'm desperate. I'll do it! LOL.)

Or, maybe some of the women players could translate for me.

Thanks!!!!!

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

Everything can affect the tone, the guitar, the strings,pickups, the type of picks you use, where you pick at on the neck, the guitar cords, the volume pedal, effects that you use, and finally the amp and how you have it set.

But, passive type volume pedals, the ones that use a "pot" will affect the tone to some degree. The electronic volume pedals such as the Hilton Volume Pedal do not affect the tone.

Adrienne Clasky · From: Florida, USA

Thanks, Jack!

Is there a volume pedal that makes the thin strings "fatter" sounding?

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

Not that I know of. Have you tried adjusting the amp to get a "fatter" sound?

David Doggett · Posted 15 Feb 2006 11:19 am

To expand on Jack's answer a little, the passive pedals (pedals with a pot or potentiometer that don't have to be plugged in for their own power) have a little different tone when they are backed off than when they are full on. The active pedals (pedals that have internal electric eyes, and that have to be plugged in for their own power) are designed so they have the same tone over the whole range of the pedal.

In addition, some pedals, such as the Hilton (an active pedal), have their own tone control. It is a little screw on the bottom. This is a cut only tone control (as opposed to a cut and boost tone control); therefore, the recommendation from Hilton is to first try the pedal with the tone control all the way on (full clockwise in the treble direction), and cut it back a little only if needed.

However, I have found a different way to use this control that works better for me. I set all my amp tone controls at their midpoint. Then, without changing the amp controls, I set the pedal tone control at the point that sounds best to me. For me this is closer to the midpoint of the pedal tone control than to full clockwise. Once I have determined that point, I don't change the pedal control again, but in the future make all tone changes with the amp tone controls. This gives me the full range of the amp tone controls to work with. In this case my pedal is definitely affecting tone, and might sound different from the pedal of someone who follows the Hilton recommendations. To me this Hilton pedal tone control gives the pedal the flexibility to get the optimum tone out of almost any amp.

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Student of the Steel: Zum uni, Fender tube amps, squareneck and roundneck resos, tenor sax, keyboards

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

I suppose some would say that a pot pedal makes the small strings sound "fatter"! (After all, the general commentary is that pot pedals rob highs (

), and that's exactly what "fatter" denotes.) However, this is only apparent when used with high-impedance pickups and improper or excessively long cables, or "cheap" cables that have a lot of capacitance.

More to the point, fattening up the highs is best done with the amp and playing technique. The amp (a good amp, that is), has tone control circuits to modify the EQ to the player's liking. I'm of the opinion that you can get more "tone change" with the way the amp is set than you can any other method. "Thin" sounds are caused by too much highs and mids. This can usually be remedied by picking farther from the bridge, and by reducing the highs and the mids on the amp. As the tone controls in most amps are limited, I find that the fattest sound can be attained by dropping the mids very low, and cranking up the bass a little. The treble can then be set to get a pleasing sound. So, in general, it's the high mid settings that cause a guitar to sound thin and nasel-sounding. If you have a "shift" control, dial that down a little, as well. If you really want to control the sound of the guitar, though, nothing beats a graphic equalizer! Too bad most amps don't have one.

It's been my experience that pickup changes offer more subtle changes in the EQ, so don't expect major changes in tone by swapping pickups. A one-number change in the mid control will do far more to change your tone than any pickup will, and whenever I demonstrate this, people are generally quite surprised.

Robert Porri · From: Windsor, Connecticut, USA

You might want to take a chance on checking out the Hilton Volume Pedal's information here...
http://www.hiltonelectronics.net/hilton2.html

Also, if you have questions, Keith Hilton is a great guy to deal with and I'm sure he would be pleased to help you out if you emailed him.

His volume pedal is worth every penny!

Bob P.

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

The Hilton is the best volume pedal I NEVER HEARD.
(and that's exactly what I want a volume pedal to do to my tone -- NOTHING)

If you want to fatten up your sound, use the EQ on your amp. That's what that LOW knob is for.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S/D-12 6x6, 1984 Sho-Bud S/D-12 7x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

Webb Kline · From: Orangeville, PA

I suppose the potless pedals are the way to go, but I can tell you that my Goodrich 120 pedal with the newest pots is one fine sounding pedal. There is definitely a difference between pedals and I don't even know if it is all in the pot. My Goodrich sounds so much better than my Ernie Ball that there is no comparison, really. My Old Fender pedal sounds real nice, but not as good as the Goodrich.

Pickups may be a factor, however. My 6 stringers don't seem to be affected by the volume pedal nearly as much as my steel does. The Goodrich is smoother on the 6 string guitars, but I can't discern a tonal difference. But on the steel, there is no question about it.

Tim Harr · From: Dunlap, Illinois

Not as much as your hands and individual touch...

Jeff Lampert · From: queens, new york city

Adrienne Clasky · From: Florida, USA

Thank you for the incredibly helpful replies!

I'm thinking of getting a Hilton pedal, but wasn't sure if it was worth the money. This morning, I plugged right into my amp and was shocked by how different my steel sounded--not necessarily better, but the thin strings sounded thicker. From your answers, I'm thinking now that the Hilton would give me that sound all the time.

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

And you will find that you get that same sound using the Hilton pedal. It's designed that way. It neither adds nor takes anything away.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S/D-12 6x6, 1984 Sho-Bud S/D-12 7x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

And as Keith recommends, even tho there is a "tone" control and volume control, don't mess with them - leave them as they come from the factory. Any tone adjustment can be done with the EQ on the amp.

I've been using a Hilton pedal for two years.

I don't know where you are in Florida, but if you can get to our Florida Steel Guitar Club meetings/jams, in Lake Panasoffkee, there are several of us that have Hilton volume pedals and we would be glad to let you try one.

[This message was edited by Jack Stoner on 15 February 2006 at 02:52 PM.]

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