volume pedal

Ed Altrichter · From: Schroeder, Minnesota, USA

Hi gang !
Someone suggested that I get a volume pedal for my SuperSlide, but they didn't go into any detail as to "why". The SS played through my Nashville 112 amp is plenty loud; but does a volume pedal do more than offer more decibels? If it does, what exactly DOES it do ? I'd just go and try some out, but I live in the sticks.
Thanks.
Ed

Richard Sevigny · From: Salmon Arm, BC, Canada

I've used a volume pedal to do "swells" or "fade-ins" (been doing that for regular guitar as well). You can fake vibrato if your foot is fast enough. (I'm not Jerry Byrd so I can't do the "pinkie on the volume knob fast enough)

You can also use it to set your volume for comping and then up the volume for solos.

Andy Volk · From: Boston, MA

Byrd didn't use his pinky. He used a volume pedal wired in reverse ... louder on the upstroke.

The basic use of the volume pedal is to keep your volume even as a noite or chord decays. Beyond that, it can add expression to the music in both subtle and exaggerated ways. Curly Chalker use it to create exciting volume swells that exploded out of the amp like a roaring big band. Byrd used it to color the music with everything from a subtle peak in volume to using it to mask all the attack on the notes for a violin-like sound. I've had both a Bigsby and a Fender pedal but finally came to the conclusion that a volume pedal just wasn't going to be part of my sound.

[This message was edited by Andy Volk on 20 January 2006 at 01:22 PM.]

Randy Reeves · From: LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA

I use my volume pedal to control my volume.
I back off abit when playing back up, but when I step out for a lead lick I simply step on the gas a bit.
it is easier than turning around to hit the volume knob on my amp.

why dont I control the volume with my instrument?
it is because I usually have it full on as I tend to run a high signal into my effects.

I place the volume pedal just before the delay and after my overdrive and wah.
in a simpler rig I like having foot control instead of pinky control on my volume swells.

I use a Ernie Ball volume pedal. very reliable, silent and transparent.

Steinar Gregertsen · From: Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.

It's my impression that many players use the volume pedal to add sustain, kinda like a manual compressor.
I recently bought an Ernie Ball to look into this technique, takes some time to learn how to control it properly..

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

Mitch Druckman · From: Arizona, USA

Is anybody using a Hilton volume pedal on non-pedal? According to Forum members, it seems to be the overall favorite with peddlers as far as tone and reliability.

Rick Alexander · From: Florida, USA, R.I.P.

I use a Hilton VP for console steel and a second one for lap steel.
They're the best - no signal degradation & no unwanted noise.
I've never heard anyone say they think another VP is better.

I use it for swells, extended sustain and dynamics.

John Bechtel · From: Nashville, Tennessee, R.I.P.

In his opening statement, Ed seemed to be under the impression that a volume~pedal added volume to the sound of the guitar itself. I suggest that it might be proper at this time to clarify the fact that the volume~pedal will not add any more volume than what is pre-set on the Amplifier! In fact, the maximum volume may be slightly decreased by the use of a volume~pedal!

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“Big John”
a.k.a. {Keoni Nui}
’05 D–10 Derby
’65 Re-Issue Fender Twin–Reverb Custom™ 15”
Current Equipment

Don Kona Woods · From: Hawaiian Kama'aina

Ed says,

Kevin Bullat · From: Huntington Beach, CA

(I wish, occasionally, that I had a volume pedal for my wife...)

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

My view on the volume pedal, FWIW:
For getting you out of a really bad NOISE or clunker........ (INSTANT OFF);
Otherwise, unless it's a specific Hawaiian melody enhancer; or, additional volume/sustain for a long-held note that's fading rapidly;

Otherwise........NO ONE should even be aware that you are using one. It's like a well kept family secret, it's there, but no one is the wiser. That's the skilled user technique. WHATEVER, DO NOT "pump it" like an olde organ or one of those things that you stomp on to inflate an air mattress.

Don Kona Woods · From: Hawaiian Kama'aina

Ray,

That is the best advice on foot pedal volume controls that I have EVER heard!!!

Maybe my distaste for them has come because of the misuse of them.

Aloha,
Don

Bill Creller · From: Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)

I still have an old DeArmond volume pedal that I used once on stage in these late years, and it would keep sliding away from my foot (slippery stage?). So I decided not to haul it around any more. I bought it new in 1950.
I have noticed that some guitar pick-ups sound better with the guitar volume all the way up, as opposed to controlling the max volume with it. I believe it depends on how the tone control is wired in, before or after the volume control. Anyone notice this??

Gerald Menke · From: Stormville NY, USA

I use a Hilton with my pushpull, but like the sound of no volume pedal at all for non-pedal steels.

Gene Jones · From: Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)

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