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Topic: Tommy’s Volume & Tone Control alternative |
tom anderson
From:
leawood, ks., usa
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Posted 8 Feb 2019 4:00 pm |
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This is a volume tone control that clips on the leg of your guitar to replace using a volume pedal. I make two-one with a 250K pot for single coil pickups and one with a 500K pot for dual coil pickups. Ive added a Golden Age Treble bleed circuit ceramic capacitor to prevent treble drop off at higher volumes and a paper-in-oil tone capacitor for a vintage feel.
I got the idea for this after getting a Fender pedal steel with the volume/tone controls on the neck. All of a sudden I didn’t miss my foot volume pedal, and I was able to play with two feet. There are a lot of bad habits or impediments to one’s playing that the foot volume pedal can add. I didn’t want to drill holes in the body of my guitar so I came up with this:
It comes with a clip to mount on the leg of your guitar (I need the diameter of your guitar’s leg) or a Velcro strip to mount it on the end plate or deck.
Satisfaction is guaranteed with a 7 day return policy (just pay shipping and I refund the cost of the pedal) and a 1 year guarantee on wiring and parts. $100.00 plus $7.00 shipping. PayPal is OK.
I don’t have any of these made up so there will be a small delay while I get the parts. Steel players are so wedded to their volume pedals that I don’t know how much interest there is. I also may change the body color to a pearlized white for better visibility. |
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Billy Murdoch
From:
Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.
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Posted 9 Feb 2019 1:54 am
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I cannot imagine a steel player discarding His volume pedal at all.A volume pedal is used continually when playing and can take many years to become expert at controlling the pedal properly.
There may be some interest in this device if used with a volume pedal as a way of remotely setting Your amp volume and tone.
Best regards
Billy |
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Jim Cooley
From:
The 'Ville, Texas, USA
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Posted 9 Feb 2019 7:38 am
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I wonder if it could be useful for those who are learning to use a volume pedal without constantly pumping it. It's a common problem. I used to punish mine sometimes.
Does the tone control have a "neutral" position where it has no effect on the tone? Is it true bypass? |
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tom anderson
From:
leawood, ks., usa
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Posted 9 Feb 2019 11:11 am
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| Over pumping your volume pedal is one of the problems. Also picking the string and then swelling the volume. Also coming off on the volume pedal to hide your mistakes. The tone control isn’t a true bypass, but turned all the way down it seems to be off. I could just make a volume only pedal. $90.00 |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 9 Feb 2019 12:05 pm
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Great idea! Pedal steel guitarists lost the volume and tone controls decades ago. I never quite understood that. Emmons and Sho~Bud had them. All lap and console steels still have them.
This is not a substitute for a volume pedal. I can see using it in addition to a VP to dial back the overall volume in certain situations. Perhaps that's a good discussion for the Electronics section of the forum (not here).
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Peter Freiberger
From:
California, USA
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Posted 9 Feb 2019 6:22 pm
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| What is the difference or advantage of this over a Matchbox? |
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Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 13 Feb 2019 9:08 am
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| Matchbox is a DI. I think the same company makes preamps too. Do they make a straight volume/tone control box? I have seen attenuators for twice the price as well as less than half. |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 2 Mar 2019 2:32 pm
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I like this. If I didn't already have both tone and volume controls I would consider this. I have a Goodrich Match-Bro that has a tone control in the effect off position. I also use a POD X3 for effects only. The POD X3 has a level control and I can set max level there.
BTW, Tom, its been several years since we were both at a KC steel jam. |
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tom anderson
From:
leawood, ks., usa
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Posted 2 Mar 2019 5:09 pm
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Hi Jack! It’s nice to hear from you. Let’s get together next time you are in town.
Another member texted me a link for a John Pearce volume control that is less than I can buy parts for. If I would have seen this I probably would have tried it. I don’t know what the volume pot is rated at but if price is an issue I would look at it. It is volume only.
https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=239761&highlight=
All of my guitars but one are single coil but I have recently been playing the 500K with those guitars. The sound is very in your face but the volume control has slightly less travel or taper in increasing volume. I do like the tone.
Last week I played a gig with the volume/tone control and did not use a volume pedal. The only song that I missed the volume pedal on was Sleepwalk and seriously-how many gigs are you asked to play Sleepwalk? I had to talk the band into it as a set-ender. The other instrumental we did was Buckaroo. No need or time for a volume pedal there. My point is try playing uptempo stuff without a volume pedal at home. Give it a week or two and see how much you miss it.
Finally, some have suggested that this be used with a volume pedal as a quick boost or damping of overall volume. I did wish I’d had both on Sleepwalk and I intend to experiment using both. With the treble bleed cap I don’t detect a loss in presence. Try going straight from your pedal to the amp and then switch to going from the guitar direct to the amp. When I do this I have to dial the volume WAY down. I like being able to control that at the guitar. I also notice a change in the shape of the sound from my standard floor volume pedal. Just some thoughts.
Last edited by tom anderson on 3 Mar 2019 7:40 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 2 Mar 2019 6:16 pm
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Great idea and great looking product Tom. Unlike the Pearse unit, which is just volume, you are offering a steel player friendly volume and tone unit with both 250K and 500K ohm values that clips to the steel leg...and built by a forum brother.
Besides steel, I can see several uses for this device. F.I. with a reso or acoustic guitar or other instrument that just has a condenser or piezo without any controls. Can use the clip to attach to a mic stand etc.
As one who builds a few devices myself, I can attest to the investment in quality enclosures, jacks and controls. Good materials are costly. Price is very fair considering the cost of other similar devices.
I wish you good luck and success with these. |
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tom anderson
From:
leawood, ks., usa
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Posted 7 May 2019 3:50 pm
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| Since this is in a new index site please move it to the top. |
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tom anderson
From:
leawood, ks., usa
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Posted 16 May 2019 4:17 pm
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TTT
I noticed all of my parts prices went up by 10% on the pedals I made this week. I’m holding the price now but if tariffs become a factor I’ll probably have to increase the price. |
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Will Brown
From:
Oklahoma, USA
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Posted 18 May 2019 9:29 am volume&tone
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| Hello I just received one of these volume & tone boxes from Tom today. It is a great little box made really good and works perfect and sounds great. So if you need a volume & tone box at a great price don't hesitate to buy this they are great Thanks Tom for a great product |
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Will Brown
From:
Oklahoma, USA
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Posted 19 May 2019 11:45 am volume & tone
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| TO THE TOP for a great product this is made great works fantastic and a really reasonable price if you need a volume & tone for your guitar you cant go wrong with this I have one and they are a great unit |
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Tommy Auldridge
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 20 May 2019 5:19 am Single coil/ dual coil ?
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| Tom: I think I might want one of these. How can I tell the difference between single coil and dual coil? Thanks, Tommy..... |
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Tom Mortensen
From:
Nashville TN
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Posted 27 May 2019 7:25 am
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I built a similar accessory a few years ago.
The purpose was to be able to add a switchable volume knob to any pedal steel so that I could could control the input level to overdrive/distortion stomp boxes that I wanted to place before volume pedal.
This box has a 250k pot and an in/out switch.
Clips on the leg.
I'm not building or selling these, just wanted to say that there is value to having a volume knob on a steel.
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Ron Pruter
From:
Arizona, USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2019 6:49 pm
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I'm missing something here. T A.Is this just a passive Vol./Tone or active? RP
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Emmons SKH Le Grande, '73 Fender P/J bass, Tick tack bass, Regal high strung, USA Nashville 112. |
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tom anderson
From:
leawood, ks., usa
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Posted 18 Nov 2019 10:09 am Volume/tone control
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| It is a passive control. |
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Thomas Sabatini
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 20 Nov 2019 9:47 am
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| I made one of these (250K) for my rig. It's great before a dirt pedal followed by a traditional volume pedal. It's super useful if you're looking to cover lots of timbres and styles. |
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