Did Buddy orJohn ever go to an active pedal?

George Kimery · From: Limestone, TN, USA

I know Buddy and John were constantly experimenting. Does anybody know if either of them ever became a convert and went to an active pedal?

dlayne · From: OH

Iâ€™m not sure if Buddy ever did but John used Hilton pedals
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Dan Layne

George Kimery · From: Limestone, TN, USA

How about Lloyd? I talked to Paul and he still prefers his pot pedal. I have tried all the active pedals and the Omni hybrid and currently have a Lehlie. With my current rig I am preferring the sound of my pot pedal.Not sure if the sound just fits the classic country stuff I play better or if my ears just hear different that most other steel players. I will default to the golden rule, use what works best for you.

Greg Cutshaw · From: Corry, PA, USA

I was at a steel concert in NYS where Buddy Emmons used a pair of Ll'l Izzys. I didn't care for the tone but of course he also had a rack full of effects and a lot of chorus and phaser effects at the same time. They sold a TON of Li'l Izzy's at that show just because Emmons used them that day!

George Kimery · From: Limestone, TN, USA

Craig suggested using a 2nd one on your volume pedal making it an active pedal.This was a poor man's
way of getting an active pedal. This is the same concept as the Omni pedal with an internal buffer built in.

I was at the St. Louis show the first year that Craig Baker had a display of his Lil Izzy's. Herby Wallace did a demo of it in a conference room. He had a guitar cord that must have been 50 ft.long. He demonstrated first with a 10 ft. cord then the 50 ft. cord, showing how you loose the highs with a long cord. He then used the Lil Izzy on the 50 ft.cord to show no loss of the highs.
He was endorsing it because you don't loose the highs. Craig had the regular Izzy and the Izzy Plus. The Plus had an internal pot with a screw you could turn to give it an addition output boost up to 4db. Craig thought this would be beneficial if you were using effects pedals. I didn't know which one to buy, so I bought them both. The regular one was $35.00 and the Plus was $40.00.I used them on and off for several years with mixed results. I finally got away from them and eventually sold them. I think my hearing changed.

Greg Lambert · From: Illinois, USA

Mine started distorting with a new battery. the older battery with 8 volts still left worked fine. Cant figure that one out.

George Kimery · From: Limestone, TN, USA

Greg, it might have been a slight difference in the sizes of the battery terminals, especially if you switched brands batteries. You might not have been getting a good tight connection. You didn't go from regular to alkaline or vise versa did you? Did you try a different brand new battery?

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

Can anyone actually hear a difference? Okay, that sounds like a baited question, but let me qualify it first. What I mean is - when we hear a recording, can anyone actually tell which kind of pedal was used? Could Paul, Tommy, or Lloyd listen to a record and tell me, unequivocally, and without a doubt, "That player's using a pot pedal"?

I know I couldn't! Embarassed

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Donny's right - there are far too many variables.

Either you enjoy the playing or you don't, and if you don't it's not the pedal Smile

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Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs

Steve Spitz · From: New Orleans, LA, USA

Lloyd was using a pot pedal in Dallas a few weeks ago.

Donny is right , as usual, about not being able to tell from a recording what kind of pedal was used.

But...I remember chasing the sound of a certain era, I had a ShoBud Pro ll with original single coil pickups into a fender twin. That was the magic formula, yes ?

I used my fancy active pedal. Sounded cool, but not quite there. Swapped out the active pedal for a passive pot pedal, and BAM !! There was the sound. The pot pedal made a huge difference.

Iâ€™m guessing the active pedal had a buffering effect that knocked a bit of the sparkle off the tone.

I still use an active pedal, and modern pickups and gear, and like the sound Iâ€™m getting, but I am curious about scoring another pot pedal to use with my twin to experiment with. Couldnâ€™t hurt to have one as a spare on a gig as well. Whatâ€™s old is new again !

My longwinded way of saying I couldnâ€™t hear the difference on a recording, but could hear it at home when isolated. if you start inserting other gizmos into the chain, it clouds the issue. But when the chain is only steel, pedal, amp, I could tell a difference.

Doubtful anyone at the gig would know or care.

Greg Lambert · From: Illinois, USA

George Kimery · From: Limestone, TN, USA

At home where I can go back and forth and do an A vs. B comparison, anybody should be able to hear the difference. On a record or in a live concert there is no A vs. B comparison. I would not be able to tell what type of pedal is being used. I would have nothing to compare. There is nothing wrong with using what you like best. The fact that Lloyd was using a pot pedal 2 weeks ago doesn't mean you should rush out and get one so you can sound like Lloyd. Most of the players and songs that we love and try to emulate were all done on pot pedals. Electronic pedals didn't exist. There are just too many variables to say which pedal you should be using. Experiment with an open mind and go with the one you like best.

Wayne Franco · From: silverdale, WA. USA

I recently bought a 74 Emmons pp and it came with the origional pedal. the difference between my newer omni pedal and the old Emmons pedal is quite a bit. There is definitely
more sparkle with the old pedal. I better practice with the new pedal and use the old one for special occasions so I don't wear it out since they have long stopped making them.

George Kimery · From: Limestone, TN, USA

Wayne,the pot is what makes the sound. The rest of the pedal is just hardware. It is possible, but highly unlikely that it has the original pot. During that era, and for several years afterwards, most pedals used an Allen Bradley 500k pot, made in the USA, until they went out of business. Some were made later in Mexico. I'm not saying that is what is in yours, but if you like the sound of it, open up the pedal and see what it is. Then start searching for a backup or two. I found a new AB 500k long shaft USA made on eBay a year or so ago. They can be rebuilt and you can find those if you just keep searching. Like you, I had an Omni pedal. It was a good pedal but not the same as my 120 with the AB 500k in it. As you aptly described it,the sparkle just wasn't there.

Quentin Hickey · From: Nova Scotia, Canada

Buddy used the Goodrich buffer quite a bit with his pot pedal did he not?

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

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