I need a volume pedal

[HolyDirt]

Re: I need a volume pedal

One more theing that no one talks about, say your guitar has a 500k volume pot, you you run thru a volume pedal that has a 500k volume pot (for example) ... you just hooked two 500k pots in parallel ... that's a 250k load.
If you just wanted to regulated you *guitar's volume* with a volume pedal, the smart thing would be to use a sizeable gauge of wire, and bypass the guitar's volume control via a switching jack.
Putting a volume pedal thru the amp's loop, the pedal should be a lower impedance than what you would normally use for straight into the guitar.
The BOSS FV-50L works well, and the 300 series is supposed to be *sworn by* as to not interfere at all with your tone in the slightest. See if you can find a schematic of the FV-300L.

Another note also, most volume pedals because of the way they are wired can be used as passive expression pedals, on any two wire circuit. Simply connect the expression pedal line to the *output jack*, althouh the value of the pot may be different than the one that the circuit wants to see, so it's most often will still work, even though you might sacrifice a bit of range though.

ah i see, that explains the boost of warmth and darkness in my tone after i began using it (i changed from using in the loop, to using it before a distortion pedal but before the amp, btw), but i'm leaving it, it sounds really full! But i still dont get why the 2 500k pots together are parallel... i would think it would be series... well.. anyway.. thanks kent!

[some_dude]

Re: I need a volume pedal

But i still dont get why the 2 500k pots together are parallel... i would think it would be series...

I was wondering that myself.....

[Kent S.]

Re: I need a volume pedal

ah i see, that explains the boost of warmth and darkness in my tone after i began using it (i changed from using in the loop, to using it before a distortion pedal but before the amp, btw), but i'm leaving it, it sounds really full! But i still dont get why the 2 500k pots together are parallel... i would think it would be series... well.. anyway.. thanks kent!

You're kinda confusing me here, if you put it after the distorion pedal, then you may want to go with a lower impedance volume pedal (you really just have to try to different types to see what works best here though in regard to before the amp but after a distortion pedal ... especially if still going into other pedals ...Dist.>Volume>other pedals>amp.
The volume pedal shares a common ground with the guitar, the two are in parallel, running after a pedal with it's lower output Z buffers this somewhat, and make the effect less noitceable. Draw out on paper the schematic of the volume pedal and the guitar and you'll see that the 500k pot (for example) of the guitar is in parallel with the 500k pot (for example) of the volume pedal.
500k to ground in parallel with 500k to ground is 250k.

[HolyDirt]

Re: I need a volume pedal

You're kinda confusing me here, if you put it after the distorion pedal, then you may want to go with a lower impedance volume pedal (you really just have to try to different types to see what works best here though in regard to before the amp but after a distortion pedal ... especially if still going into other pedals ...Dist.>Volume>other pedals>amp.
The volume pedal shares a common ground with the guitar, the two are in parallel, running after a pedal with it's lower output Z buffers this somewhat, and make the effect less noitceable. Draw out on paper the schematic of the volume pedal and the guitar and you'll see that the 500k pot (for example) of the guitar is in parallel with the 500k pot (for example) of the volume pedal.
500k to ground in parallel with 500k to ground is 250k.

oh! i get it! you know your stuff man!

[some_dude]

Re: I need a volume pedal

I have a question.

I've ordered a 25k volume pedal for use on my board (EMG pickups on a LP, so the volume knobs are a ***** to ride while playing.....),

so, if I read this right, the volume pedal will actually be working as a 12.5k volume pot?

What are the implications of this?

And possible solutions? (I have no intention of bypassing the volume pots on my guitar as I use them to blend in the middle position and ballance the pickups for clean neck/overdriven bridge switching and what-not.)

[HolyDirt]

Re: I need a volume pedal

I have a question.

I've ordered a 25k volume pedal for use on my board (EMG pickups on a LP, so the volume knobs are a ***** to ride while playing.....),

so, if I read this right, the volume pedal will actually be working as a 12.5k volume pot?

What are the implications of this?

And possible solutions? (I have no intention of bypassing the volume pots on my guitar as I use them to blend in the middle position and ballance the pickups for clean neck/overdriven bridge switching and what-not.)

well, what value of pots do you have in the lp?

[some_dude]

Re: I need a volume pedal

25kohm.

[HolyDirt]

Re: I need a volume pedal

25kohm.

yup 12.5k ohms

[Kent S.]

Re: I need a volume pedal

I have a question.

I've ordered a 25k volume pedal for use on my board (EMG pickups on a LP, so the volume knobs are a ***** to ride while playing.....),

so, if I read this right, the volume pedal will actually be working as a 12.5k volume pot?

Yes, and no ... If you run it after a pedal, the pedal buffers it so it doesn't load it in the same way (I shoulda made this clearer earlier), EMG's have a MUCH lower output impedance that a passive pup does; therefore the value of the volume pot need not be as high (the reason EMGs' have those low valued pots), they also have a tendency to load less ... truth is if you run the guitar straight into the pedal, yes it will load it, BUT if you're used to running a volume predal than that's what you've been listening to all this time.
The effect is nothing to panic over, it will be like a 500k player changing to a 250k pot, turn the treble up another notch on the amp , and you'll probably never notice it.
Solution, run after a pedal that has some type of active buffering, but remember those EMGs' are buffered anyway, so they are effected much less by the nastiness of signal loss.

What are the implications of this?

Nothing to panic over ... see above...

And possible solutions? (I have no intention of bypassing the volume pots on my guitar as I use them to blend in the middle position and ballance the pickups for clean neck/overdriven bridge switching and what-not.)

Again, see above (I jumped the over the unquote tag), it's just something to keep in mind, if you have a guitar that you don't want to lose any of the upper hi end, then don't run a volume pedal directly after it ... BTW, the BOSS Pedals, compensate but putting a very small capacitor across the lugs of the volume pot, at least they do in the FV-50H and L ... Nodoby complains about the 50H and that's only a 250k pot ... The L is even lower.
Just something to think about, which is why I brought it up.

[some_dude]

Re: I need a volume pedal

Snip

Nothing to panic over ... see above...

Snip

Thanks for the info.

It's an EB volume, if that makes a difference.


If I run into problems I'll PM you, but I expect things'll work out just fine. I have a "good enough" policy when it comes to tone, so I don't sweat the details....

[Kent S.]

Re: I need a volume pedal

Thanks for the info.

It's an EB volume, if that makes a difference.

Ernie Ball volume pedals are another one of those that look like a piece of junk, but they are popular ... somels thrown into the mix is that the BOSS FV series have minimum volume controls which incorporate a second pot as well of a higher impedance. I've never bothered to figure out the implications of that at various settings, but anything over the mute level would raise the impedance back up a bit. The EV-5 Expresion pedal is just a hardwired mono version of the FV's with even lower Z'd pots, that to can be bastardized as a shunt type volume control.

If I run into problems I'll PM you, but I expect things'll work out just fine. I have a "good enough" policy when it comes to tone, so I don't sweat the details....

Cool.