| Do you use a Volume Pedal? |
| I use one |
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54% |
[ 25 ] |
| I don't use one |
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15% |
[ 7 ] |
| I sometimes use one |
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30% |
[ 14 ] |
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| Total Votes : 46 |
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| Author |
Topic: Volume Pedal Usage |
John D. Carter
From:
Canton, Ohio, USA
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Posted 11 Feb 2021 11:50 am |
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| I have never used one and I am wondering if I should. Maybe this poll can bring light to the subject. Thank you for participating. |
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David Matzenik
From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
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Posted 11 Feb 2021 12:15 pm
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I am new to the pedal, but I am starting to get it. The thing is, all the greats used the VP. You just cannot approach their styles without it. Not on all arrangements though.
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Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother. |
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Levi Gemmell
From:
New Zealand
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Posted 11 Feb 2021 1:45 pm
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Tough question for me - I have one, and I would love to use it properly, but I never use it at all. I find the rack on the DeArmond 610 to be too stiff to use for anything except swells, as opposed to the smooth control we associate with JB, Kayton, pedal steel players. Either mine needs tweaking, or I need a modern pedal like a Goodrich.
If you want to do it, go for it. However, most things you might want to do with a volume pedal can still be accomplished by the guitar's controls and good right hand technique. Watch Bobby Ingano or Jeff Au Hoy for variety in dynamics, or listen to George De Fretes to hear breathtaking "violin" passages...
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Commodore S-8
John Allison S-8
JB Frypan S-8
Sho~Bud LDG SD-10
1966 Fender Super Reverb |
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Jim Mckay
From:
New Zealand
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Posted 11 Feb 2021 3:56 pm
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Certainly not essential for most lap steel playing, but can be very useful.
Depending on style of music, I like to use a VP to smooth some picking (but don't over do it! ) and very useful for controlling volume when playing with singers and other lead instruments.
If you are going to purchase one, buy a good quality pedal, I use a Goodrich pedal purchased through Bill Ferguson here on the forum.
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Canopus d-8
Excel Jerry Byrd frypan
T-8 Stringmaster |
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David Knutson
From:
Cowichan Valley, Canada
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Posted 11 Feb 2021 5:36 pm
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I've been pretty much in the no VP camp. I play mostly swing/western swing in a 6th tuning, and I like a nice firm attack on notes/chords and don't really go for a lengthened sustain either. However, I've been slowly (far too slowly) working on rebuilding a double 8-stringer, and my second neck is going to have an E13 tuning that has lots in common with PSG E9, so I have a feeling that the old VP will be coming out of the closet in the near future.
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David K |
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Frank James Pracher
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 11 Feb 2021 7:32 pm
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If I play out I have one hooked up but I basically use it to mute my steel between songs. I almost never use it in the "traditional" manner as it's not really my thing.
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"Don't be mad honey, but I bought another one" |
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Gene Tani
From:
Pac NW
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Posted 12 Feb 2021 2:25 am
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Sort of use it at home, mostly I practice NOT moving my foot on it when playing lap or pedal steel. I have a nice portable rig, headless 10 string and Boss Katana mini, volume pedal would double the weight (or more).
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- keyless Sonny Jenkins laps stay in tune forever!; Carter PSG
- The secret sauce: polyester sweatpants to buff your picks, cheapo Presonus channel strip for preamp/EQ/compress/limiter, Diet Mountain Dew |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 12 Feb 2021 5:18 am
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| David Matzenik wrote: |
| The thing is, all the greats used the VP. You just cannot approach their styles without it. |
I guess it depends on style. For Hawaiian steel guitar, VP is the exception rather than the rule...Jerry Byrd being the main exception, and his was his own style to be sure. If you want a chuckle, see Billy Hew Len's comments playfully ragging on that sound...caused a fair stir on this forum decades ago, when brought up!
That isn't to say the Hawaiian players didn't use volume pot swells, they definitely did, but I think those are more common than foot pedal volume swells in general, for HSG.
Can't imagine trying to sound like JB without using one though...integral to his sound (at least on slower songs).
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Tony Oresteen
From:
Georgia, USA
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Posted 12 Feb 2021 9:05 am
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I use one with my lap steel & pedal steel.
Also with my regular guitar when playing in church praise band/services. Prevents accidents 
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Tony
Newnan, GA
Too many guitars, not enough time to play
'72 Sho-Bud 6139, '71 Marlen 210
'78 Fender Stringmaster Quad black
PedalMaster D8 |
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Dom Franco
From:
Beaverton, OR, 97007
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Posted 12 Feb 2021 9:21 am
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I always use one at a gig, because sometimes you need to punch it! during a solo and play softer during backing up vocals. (this used to drive some sound men crazy, because they didn't understand the dynamic aspects of steel guitar)
Then when I started to do a lot of studio session work, the producers and engineers would also have a problem with my volume (pedal) levels increasing and decreasing... they wanted a consistent signal level so they could do the mixing up and down. so I learned to play without a volume pedal whenever recording.
Lastly, I don't use one when at home just practicing, in fact many times I don't even use an amp, because the unplugged steel guitar is loud enough to hear when working out licks or a new solo.
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYG9cvwCPKuXpGofziPNieA/feed?activity_view=3 |
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David Matzenik
From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
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Posted 12 Feb 2021 5:49 pm
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The main reason I started using a VP was not so much for volume swells, but to mute the click of the picks at the start of a note.
BTW, here is a photo of David Keli'i using a pedal in 1967.
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Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother. |
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