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Topic: Anyone NOT Using A Volume Pedal? |
Rick Abbott
From:
Indiana, USA
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Posted 9 May 2016 12:58 pm |
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I searched and couldn't find a discussion about this subject. I remember seeing one a few years ago, though.
I have not been using my VP for a few weeks and I think I prefer playing without it. My guitar has plenty of sustain and gentle bar vibrato sustains it further. I block with my picks, palm, bar-hand thumb and occasional bar lift. Is there any reason to go back to using one? I plugged it in today and it just felt like it was in the way.
What's your experience?
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer 1963 Gibson Falcon |
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Henry Matthews
From:
Texarkana, Ark USA
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Posted 9 May 2016 1:24 pm
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I don't think you can get feeling, swells, sustain, emotion and just about anything else without a volume pedal. I guess a lot would depend on style being played and such, but, the volume pedal and the technique using it is a big part of the pedal steel guitar sound.
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Henry Matthews
D-10 Magnum, 8 &5, dark rose color
D-10 1974 Emmons cut tail, fat back,rosewood, 8&5
Nashville 112 amp, Fishman Loudbox Performer amp, Hilton pedal, Goodrich pedal,BJS bar, Kyser picks, Live steel Strings. No effects, doodads or stomp boxes. |
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Rick Abbott
From:
Indiana, USA
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Posted 9 May 2016 2:25 pm
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I've used one since 1999 and have good technique (I think)including all the stuff you mentioned. Just wondering if there are folks going without them.
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer 1963 Gibson Falcon |
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Stephen Williams
From:
from Wales now in Berkeley,Ca, USA
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Posted 9 May 2016 6:28 pm
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I don't use one. It frees up my feet to play pedals with both feet. A guitar doesn't need a volume pedal so why should a steel?
I always thought it was to get the swell or crying sound which isn't for me. But I have been corrected as to it's purpose for sustain. Again I would use a compressor.
I see pros move their feet a very small distance yet I hear very little going on so either there is nothing going on or it doesn't come across very well. I have seen no videos on vol pedal but I have an open mind. |
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John Booth
From:
Columbus Ohio, USA
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Posted 9 May 2016 6:41 pm
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The VP. Don't leave home without it.
Oh wait, that's the American Express card.
Nevermind
JB
_________________
Jb in Ohio
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GFI S10 Ultra, Telecaster, a Hound Dog, and an Annoyed Wife
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Henry Matthews
From:
Texarkana, Ark USA
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Posted 9 May 2016 8:27 pm
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Well, 100% of the players I know use a volume pedal and they all use picks, but that's another story.
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Henry Matthews
D-10 Magnum, 8 &5, dark rose color
D-10 1974 Emmons cut tail, fat back,rosewood, 8&5
Nashville 112 amp, Fishman Loudbox Performer amp, Hilton pedal, Goodrich pedal,BJS bar, Kyser picks, Live steel Strings. No effects, doodads or stomp boxes. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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John Goux
From:
California, USA
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Posted 10 May 2016 12:32 am
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| Daniel Lanois. Also no picks. AC-30 and a Memory Man Delay. Sounds amazing. J |
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Jeff Mead
From:
London, England
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Posted 10 May 2016 3:15 am
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| John Goux wrote: |
| Daniel Lanois. Also no picks. AC-30 and a Memory Man Delay. Sounds amazing. J |
He definitely uses one sometimes. I saw a video of him playing live where the crackling sound from his faulty volume pedal was very distracting. |
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steve takacs
From:
beijing, china via pittsburgh (deceased)
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Posted 10 May 2016 3:48 am
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I've not used a volume pedal since January 2014 due to damage in the right leg because of several operations.
Has made it difficult to use the the VP so I do my best without using it. I play softer or harder and closer or farther away from the pickup. Maybe I will go back to a VP if the leg recovers. Until then, I must do the best I can. steve t |
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Rick Abbott
From:
Indiana, USA
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Posted 10 May 2016 12:59 pm
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Steve, keep on keepin' on!
I've been using the same strategy as you. One thing I really like about the tone is having having the pedal out of the signal chain. I use a Matchbox 7A to recover from the loss of the VP usually, so having the 7A an no pedal is really sweet. I noticed that when I play really softly it almost sounds like chimes, very harmonically sweet and bell-like.
Maybe I need a different pedal? The Goodrich L120 seems to take the raw edge off my tone. I'd not noticed that before I stopped using it for a while.
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer 1963 Gibson Falcon |
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Brett Day
From:
Pickens, SC
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Posted 10 May 2016 4:25 pm
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| When I started playing steel in 1999, I didn't use a volume pedal, so playing songs felt a little strange because the only way I could adjust volume was with the knobs on the amplifier, but in December of 2000, I got a Goodrich volume pedal and it's one I've used since then and I still use it now. |
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Pat Chong
From:
New Mexico, USA
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Posted 10 May 2016 5:01 pm
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It has taken a while to get the VP I wanted, but (meanwhile) got used to not using one. I figured not using one was related to "beginner", but others also not using one............... Anyway, I do plan on incorporating it eventually.....
..........................Pat |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 10 May 2016 5:35 pm
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| John Goux wrote: |
| Daniel Lanois. Also no picks. AC-30 and a Memory Man Delay. Sounds amazing. J |
one person's 'amazing; is another person's
'well, that's different'.
i wouldn't play without one unless i had to.
and by the way, having one plugged in doesn't mean you have to use it. especially if you don't understand what it's for. |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 11 May 2016 1:08 am
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| chris ivey wrote: |
| having one plugged in doesn't mean you have to use it |
When I played the D10 I found that I couldn't make those idiomatic country sounds on the E9 without it, but on the C6 it was more or less redundant - a good job when you need both feet on the pedals. Now that I play a uni with P6 and the best bit of P8 on levers I hardly ever need both feet, but the difference in style remains.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Rick Abbott
From:
Indiana, USA
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Posted 11 May 2016 7:10 am
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| Rick Abbott wrote: |
| I've used one since 1999 and have good technique (I think) including all the stuff you mentioned. Just wondering if there are folks going without them. |
I'm sure I'll go back to using a pedal because there are good reasons to use one. I've been using one, the same one, for 17 years. Are there pedals that are completely transparent, that is, they do not affect the tone of the signal from the guitar? I like the sound of this guitar so much, and the pot-pedal takes away the edge that it has, even when I use the 7A.
Some great discussion, thanks fellas.
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer 1963 Gibson Falcon |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 11 May 2016 8:02 am
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All VPs, passive or active, will make your instrument sound different to you compared to not having it there. That is so even if you find a VP that "technically" speaking doesn't change anything but volume in your set-up, simply because our ears perceive "tone" (frequencies) different depending on volume.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-loudness_contour
The only way you can (in a sense) compensate for this, is to adjust your tone to your liking with the VP in place and at the volume you normally use - but it will start to sound different when you start changing audible volume up or down from that well-adjusted "normal". |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 11 May 2016 12:32 pm
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| Rick Abbott wrote: |
| Rick Abbott wrote: |
| I've used one since 1999 and have good technique (I think) including all the stuff you mentioned. Just wondering if there are folks going without them. |
I'm sure I'll go back to using a pedal because there are good reasons to use one. I've been using one, the same one, for 17 years. Are there pedals that are completely transparent, that is, they do not affect the tone of the signal from the guitar? I like the sound of this guitar so much, and the pot-pedal takes away the edge that it has, even when I use the 7A.
Some great discussion, thanks fellas. |
No. Because even a buffered pedal will change the interaction with the cables. All cables are capacitors.
I've found, if you like the "edge" on your tone, try the Lil Izzy. Or put a Holy Grail just after your volume pedal.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Johan Forsman
From:
Sweden
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Posted 11 May 2016 12:54 pm
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| Lane Gray wrote: |
No. Because even a buffered pedal will change the interaction with the cables. All cables are capacitors.
I've found, if you like the "edge" on your tone, try the Lil Izzy. Or put a Holy Grail just after your volume pedal. |
Is there anything with the Holy Grail that makes it do this compared to other FX pedals? |
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Ben Elder
From:
La Crescenta, California, USA
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Posted 11 May 2016 1:29 pm
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| Quote: |
| Anyone NOT Using A Volume Pedal? |
Me, lately.
_________________
"Gopher, Everett?" |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 11 May 2016 2:03 pm
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| Johan Forsman wrote: |
| Lane Gray wrote: |
No. Because even a buffered pedal will change the interaction with the cables. All cables are capacitors.
I've found, if you like the "edge" on your tone, try the Lil Izzy. Or put a Holy Grail just after your volume pedal. |
Is there anything with the Holy Grail that makes it do this compared to other FX pedals? |
Every buffer is NOT "transparent."
QUIT TRYING FOR TRANSPARENT.
Choose that which sounds good.
Buffers will color the tone. They just will.
In my personal experience, the three best sounding buffers have been, in my opinion:
1) Lil Izzy
2) the one in the Holy Grail
3) Sarno Black Box.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 11 May 2016 2:12 pm
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| Lane Gray wrote: |
QUIT TRYING FOR TRANSPARENT.
Choose that which sounds good.
Buffers will color the tone. They just will. |
Yes!!!
...but we get to choose which color...  |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 11 May 2016 2:14 pm
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Absolutely. Choose the one that sounds good, whether or not it makes a change.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Rich Upright
From:
Florida, USA
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Posted 11 May 2016 2:58 pm
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C'mon people; this is pedal steel we're talking about, NOT guitar! You ain't gonna get that "sound" no matter what unless you use the VP.
Plug in that volume pedal & USE IT!
_________________
A couple D-10s,some vintage guitars & amps, & lotsa junk in the gig bag. |
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Rick Abbott
From:
Indiana, USA
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Posted 11 May 2016 3:29 pm
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Is "that sound" what is found on classic country from the 1960's through the 1980's?
Not all of us play country. I do to a small extent, but play a lot of other stuff too.
Seems like there's a right way and a wrong way around here to approach tone. At least if you play PSG. There are established rules, apparently, that must be followed to a T.
I'm mostly being a wise-a$$, but even chris ivey comes down in the Establishment camp on this one. 
Good info Georg and Lane...very good indeed.
Still, I am interested in folks who don't use a VP. Thanks for a hearty discussion!
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer 1963 Gibson Falcon |
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