school me on volume pedals

[Ascension]

Have never used one, but doing the modern worship stuff, I am thinking of adding one. Have always used touch and the guitar volume to clean up and open up tone wise. Will use the volume pedal to do swells and as a master volume in the loop. Will run it before my time based effects after any compression and crunch from the front end and my amp pre amp. Will be running a real tube amp.
Do I need a high impedance 250 Ohm or low impedance 25 K volume pedal using it like this? I would think the low impedance and something like this https://reverb.com/item/55902786-new-xotic-xvp-25k-low-impedance-25k-volume-guitar-effects-pedal. Am I on the right track here?

 

[jeremy]

i only have one volume pedal, its an ernie ball 250k. it does what its supposed to, but i only use it out front, not in the loop. i think the 25k models are for active pups and keys, but that might be what you want in the loop too.

 

[Securb]

Ernie Ball seems to be the go to brand but I have been very happy with a variety of Morley volume pedals including the mini.

 

[Mincer]

250k should work in the loop. Thing is, volume pedals also differ wildly in feel. I love the Ernie Ball ones and the Dunlop Volume X ones (although I don't use them for volume, but as expression pedals).

 

[Ascension]

250k should work in the loop. Thing is, volume pedals also differ wildly in feel. I love the Ernie Ball ones and the Dunlop Volume X ones (although I don't use them for volume, but as expression pedals).

Well aware of the feel issue. I'm looking for a smooth, even taper and also looking hard at build quality. As of now this one is really on my radar but which one, low impedance or high?

 

[Ascension]

Ernie Ball seems to be the go to brand but I have been very happy with a variety of Morley volume pedals including the mini.

The optical Morley is appealing, but I don't know about the sweep. Optical is dead reliable I own 2 old George Dennis Optical Wahs, and they have never failed over 30 or so years of hard use. They also are rather large even the mini.

 

[beaubrummels]

EB 250k are tone suck. I replaced the pot with either a 500k or 1000k, which helped it. But after a while I got an AMT optical volume that does the same job, no tone suck, and has adjustable level range.

 

[Chistopher]

The EB is just an outboard 250k volume pot, so "tone suck" would make sense.

 

[Mincer]

The EB is just an outboard 250k volume pot, so "tone suck" would make sense.

But I say, the feel is the best of any expression/volume I've ever used. There are some companies that mod EB volume pedals to minimize any sucking.

 

[Ascension]

But I say, the feel is the best of any expression/volume I've ever used. There are some companies that mod EB volume pedals to minimize any sucking.

The Ball feels great but uses a cable system that wears out over time and is a pain in the posterior to repair. Others like the Optical Morley and the Xotic don't. Also, I will NOT be running a volume in front of the amp I will be running it in the loop and after any Over Drive or Compressors so need a 25 K low impedance pedal. I want full crunch and or sustain on a swell with what I'm doing, not a gain change, and also will use touch or the guitar volume to open up and clean up the tone. I don't think the EB comes in a 25 K low impedance version.

 

[jeremy]

it does, but seems like this is the one you want, so get it! im sure itll work fine

 

[marcello252]

if you have a friend with soldering iron skill, buy a cheap one and use the pot to control an active circuit...

 

[Jacew]

But I say, the feel is the best of any expression/volume I've ever used. There are some companies that mod EB volume pedals to minimize any sucking.

EB has great feel to it. But it's really miserable experience trying to fix the cable if it doesn't work. Mine snapped and since I never got it to move fully open position. Ended up selling it broken.

Now use Boss FV-500. It sounds much better (thanks to 500k pot), but has tricky and kind of "angular" feel to it. I don't like it much either. Looks solid, but has small "Alpha" type pot inside that wears out scratchy really easily and is unique to that pedal, so only available from Roland directly and costs +50 euro.

 

[Mincer]

There are also a few companies that sell special cable kits with tools that make it fairly easy to change the cable.

 

[Artie]

I love my Boss FV-500H. It's built like a tank, and will accommodate any boot size. I believe the "H" version is 500k input Z. But even that, will add additional "load" to your guitar. I always use mine with my SFX-01 in front. In an effects loop, this may not matter, since the signal chain will already be buffered.

P.S. You can set a low-level limit, to rock between two volume levels.

 

[Ascension]

EB has great feel to it. But it's really miserable experience trying to fix the cable if it doesn't work. Mine snapped and since I never got it to move fully open position. Ended up selling it broken.

Now use Boss FV-500. It sounds much better (thanks to 500k pot), but has tricky and kind of "angular" feel to it. I don't like it much either. Looks solid, but has small "Alpha" type pot inside that wears out scratchy really easily and is unique to that pedal, so only available from Roland directly and costs +50 euro.

This is why I rejected the EB because it uses the cable system. Don't know what I will go to yet, wish I could use a few to see what the sweep feels like. Right now it's between the Xotic or a morely mini but I'm still open. I know the Xotic build quality will be very high and many talk about the sweep in reviews being smooth and even. I really love optical for the reliability though, as have a pair of old George Dennis Wahs that I have gigged for almost 30 years without an issue. I just don't know how the feel is for the Morley mini.
Am sidelined with my hand issue right now, so it's not a priority. Hope i don't have to have a second hand surgery because of the trigger finger. It's super frustrating!!

 

[Mincer]

The cable system makes the EB the best feeling volume pedal I've ever used, though.

 

[donaldr]

Don't know much about volume pedals but I'm reading on it recently.

Those "tone suck" volume pedals are because they are passive. So sticking a 250k pot after your guitar will load your pickups and make them sound dark, 500k will help. Probably placing it after a none true-bypass tuner (so with buffer) will work better. But this is when placing in front of your amp and I'm not answering your question.

Optical volume pedals all have an active circuit, so a buffer, and it's the reason why they don't "tone suck". Active volume pedals are not limited to optical.

My understanding is that if you want to have a volume pedal in your effects loop, then go for an active one. Probably a passive one for keyboard will work but you will have to test on your specific rig and decide.