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Topic: Sho Bud Volume Pedal |
Colin Mclean
From:
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
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Posted 29 Apr 2009 5:02 pm |
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I have a quick question about these, sorry if it's been addressed here before.
I have the unit shown below and am hoping someone here can tell me if this is aluminum. If so I'm going to wet-sand then polish it:
Also, I understand a common mod for pot-based volume pedals is a treble bleed cap with an adjust pot. Can anyone tell me the values that seem to work the best for this trick? I'm assuming .001uf cap with a 150k pot would work but want to be sure.
Thanks! |
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James Morehead
From:
Prague, Oklahoma, USA - R.I.P.
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Posted 29 Apr 2009 5:26 pm
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I believe the shobud pedals are cast aluminum.
Your second question kinda baffles me, why you'd want to go there. Then maybe I'll learn here, too. If you have a good 500K pot, you should not need to bleed off treble? Then again what guitar and pickups(wound to what ohmage) are you using? |
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Colin Mclean
From:
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
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Posted 29 Apr 2009 5:41 pm
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James,
I don't know what the impedence of the pickup is, I'd have to check. The guitar is a Carter Starter with stock electronics.
The cap is actually to bleed IN treble. When I plug into the pedal one way, I get a wah effect along with the volume, as the tone rolls off with the volume. Not the sound I'm after.
If I plug the pedal in the opposite way, the inverse occurs: as volume is attenuated, the bass and midrange frequencies are the first to go. This doesn't work with my rig, because the treble frequencies are too sharp sounding.
The way I have attacked this on my regular 6-string guitars is to install a treble bleed cap. Then when plugging in the first way, I can dial in some treble bleed thus getting rid of the wah effect and keeping the tone even throughout the sweep. I've seen pedals same model as mine with an extra pot installed, I assumed this is what it was for.
Perhaps at some point in its life the pot in my pedal was replaced with the incorrect value. It should be a 500k you say? |
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James Morehead
From:
Prague, Oklahoma, USA - R.I.P.
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Posted 29 Apr 2009 5:53 pm
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yes Colin, 500K. Sounds like you need to look at what your pot is and how it's wired. You definately should not be getting anything but good clean tone--not wah sounds.
Here's what it should look like with a 500K pot in it.
Here's a good way to restring it if you need to. Here's a better picture.
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James Morehead
From:
Prague, Oklahoma, USA - R.I.P.
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Posted 29 Apr 2009 6:09 pm
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| Wanted to add that the Carter Starter works just fine with the shobud pedal and a 500K pot. That's the very setup one of my students had for 1 1/2 years until he stepped up to a Shobud Pro II. He is still using the shobud pedal, and loves it. I own two that I love, too. That's all I use, a shobud guitar and a fender tube amp. |
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Colin Mclean
From:
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
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Posted 29 Apr 2009 6:24 pm
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Huh. Mine is wired just like that with the exception of the ground, it only goes to one pot. Doubt that's an issue though, as the case is ground. I'll have to check the actual value of the pot, if it's off that's a more likely culprit.
I use a Fender tube amp as well, sounds like you know this setup pretty well. If I use it the way that gives me more treble as I attenuate it's not really bad but I can hear it and would like to fix it somehow. Thanks for the input & pics James. |
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James Morehead
From:
Prague, Oklahoma, USA - R.I.P.
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Posted 29 Apr 2009 6:30 pm
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Another thought from a different angle, most of the pots will open up more treble as you increase the volume. As you go quiet again the highs seem to be cut back a little. I know that's the case with the old Allen Bradley pots, Claristats, and Ohmites. I've not tried the new ones.
I just changed out an old Ohmite pot, because it would not let any treble through. It wanted to deliver muddy bass. Swapped out pots and now it sounds perfect. |
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Colin Mclean
From:
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
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Posted 30 Apr 2009 10:39 am
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You know, that's a good point. I suppose at some point in it's life the resistive track inside the pot may attenuate the higher frequencies, resulting in the wah effect. I'll take a look at the pot and maybe try replacing it first before doing the trebel bleed. Thanks for your help,
Colin |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 1 May 2009 12:16 pm
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| Quote: |
| Also, I understand a common mod for pot-based volume pedals is a treble bleed cap with an adjust pot. |
It's definitely not a common mod anymore, and if you're using the right pot, it's rather unnecessary.  |
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