Ernie Ball JR volume pedal sucking huge tone

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Audioholic

Audioholic

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hello

I was always afraid of how much tone suck was happening, but I just did a test with this volume pedal and man, I am losing lots of tone, take it out and wham, it sounds tons better. Is this because its the wrong impedance rating? I think the non jr has a higher or lower impedance which works better for some situations. any advice?
 
Audioholic":2du29gzq said:
hello

I was always afraid of how much tone suck was happening, but I just did a test with this volume pedal and man, I am losing lots of tone, take it out and wham, it sounds tons better. Is this because its the wrong impedance rating? I think the non jr has a higher or lower impedance which works better for some situations. any advice?
Click to expand...

Ive never found a volume pedal that didnt suck a huge amount of tone :doh:
 
Dang, that is not what I wanted to hear. I use them all the time, and I just tested in a clear environment how much it was effecting the sound, and it was significant.. :cry:
 
What is your pedal chain?

Some a pedal with a buffer before or after the volume pedal in the chain can sometimes help.

You can also try some active volume pedals like the visual sound volume pedal, I have the new 10th anni addition and I don't notice any tone suck. I am not using it currently, but I find it really handy in 2 guitar bands when trying to balance with the other player on the fly....
 
I've had good luck with an active little aligator volume pedal.
 
blackba":30e12tuv said:
What is your pedal chain?

Some a pedal with a buffer before or after the volume pedal in the chain can sometimes help.

You can also try some active volume pedals like the visual sound volume pedal, I have the new 10th anni addition and I don't notice any tone suck. I am not using it currently, but I find it really handy in 2 guitar bands when trying to balance with the other player on the fly....
Click to expand...


I typically go guitar - volume pedal - wha - amp. I have heard mixed reviews of the visual sound pedal, but perhaps i will try
 
Is the pot rolling all the way to the open position? Sometimes, they become a little slack and not reach full open or close. I think the JR though has a 25K pot. They make one with a 500K pot for active pick ups. Not sure what you are using.

Steve
 
+1 regarding the pot choice Steve.

I have both and it DOES make a difference which one you use. I was using one for volume and one as an expression pedal for a while. When I went to just the volume again, I had to try both to see which one had the better range and the smoother tracking.

Good Luck!
 
I have the hi Z and low Z VP jr's.

REMEMBER, the Hi Z is just a 250k pot, like the volume pot in a strat.. This has the same effect as a 250k vs 500k in your guitar. By nature, it's going to tame your tone and sound darker.


solution, use the Low Z 25k model after your buffer. problem solved. HUGE difference in tone.
 
Any other good active volume pedal recommendations?.,,....
 
I am using passive pickups. Not sure what the rating is, can't seem to find it labeled anywhere, and can't see inside. Thanks for all the info, seems a little complicated just to use a volume pedal eh. I may just try some others out, I like the smooth action of the Ernie ball's however.
 
Audioholic":m0864fzw said:
blackba":m0864fzw said:
What is your pedal chain?

Some a pedal with a buffer before or after the volume pedal in the chain can sometimes help.

You can also try some active volume pedals like the visual sound volume pedal, I have the new 10th anni addition and I don't notice any tone suck. I am not using it currently, but I find it really handy in 2 guitar bands when trying to balance with the other player on the fly....
Click to expand...


I typically go guitar - volume pedal - wha - amp. I have heard mixed reviews of the visual sound pedal, but perhaps i will try
Click to expand...

With that setup you have no buffered pedal in your chain (assuming the Wah is true bypass, which is a great thing for a Wah). You might want to consider adding a Korg DT-10 tuner to your chain, it has a pretty nice buffer.

Only bad thing I have heard about the VS volume is quality issues on the 1st run of them, other than that, I don't seem them discussed on the message boards....
 
I've never had luck with passive volume pedals like EB. I've good results with the Morely Little Alligator and the Visual volume because they are active. The EB stuff just never lasts--pots fail and strings break on top of he tone suckage. Seems like your just paying for the aluminum they make em out of.
Someone really needs to come out with a buffered volume pedal. It would fill a huge need for a lot of guys.
 
guitarslinger":d9qrsnmb said:
I have the hi Z and low Z VP jr's.

REMEMBER, the Hi Z is just a 250k pot, like the volume pot in a strat.. This has the same effect as a 250k vs 500k in your guitar. By nature, it's going to tame your tone and sound darker.


solution, use the Low Z 25k model after your buffer. problem solved. HUGE difference in tone.
Click to expand...

What he said!

:thumbsup:
 
I don't know how you've got your pedals set up because I have little or no tone loss at all with my Ernie Ball volume pedal. check your setup.
 
guitarslinger":2x117eed said:
I have the hi Z and low Z VP jr's.

REMEMBER, the Hi Z is just a 250k pot, like the volume pot in a strat.. This has the same effect as a 250k vs 500k in your guitar. By nature, it's going to tame your tone and sound darker.


solution, use the Low Z 25k model after your buffer. problem solved. HUGE difference in tone.
Click to expand...

Gene's got it right.
 
Ha, I started this thread like 3 years ago. but thanks again everyone! :-)
 
Whats the easiest way to find which model you have, I bought a used one and it has velcro across the bottom of it so not able to look there.. Any other ways?
 
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