Volume pedal Pros and Cons; Is it really a neccessity on my board?

Gainzilla

Well-known member
Ive been battling with this and Im curious what you guys think. I can see being useful mainly for being easier to roll my guitars volume on and off but what are the other benefits?

Kage
 
If you run it in the front of your amp it's pretty much like having your guitar volume on the floor.

If you run it in the loop you can use it as a secondary master (I think) haven't tried it yet though.

I'll have to dig out my Morley volume pedal and try it :)
 
They're very nice in the loop, but whether or not you need a volume pedal is totally up to you. ;) Do you see yourself using a volume pedal a lot, or no? That should answer your question. However, I really like mine when playing at whisper quiet volumes around 3 in the morning.
 
Kage, thats funny you started this thread. I recently got Steve Morse's instructional DVDs (such a versatile player), and he goes over his pedal board. He has a couple of volume pedals for his dry/wet rig, and makes great use of them....so much that I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on 1.


Side note for Gainfreak, I picked up that Digitech CF7 pedal based on your recommendation....what a killer pedal! Much thanks man!
 
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Ultron":44120 said:
Kage, thats funny you started this thread. I recently got Steve Morse's instructional DVDs (such a versatile player), and he goes over his pedal board. He has a couple of volume pedals for his dry/wet rig, and makes great use of them....so much that I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on 1.


Side note for Gainfreak, I picked up that Digitech CF7 pedal based on your recommendation....what a killer pedal! Much thanks man!


Would be cool for a wet/dry rig a la Morse, but personally Ive always preferred using the guitar volume if its just for slight adjustments...
 
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Ultron":85372 said:
Kage, thats funny you started this thread. I recently got Steve Morse's instructional DVDs (such a versatile player), and he goes over his pedal board. He has a couple of volume pedals for his dry/wet rig, and makes great use of them....so much that I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on 1.


Side note for Gainfreak, I picked up that Digitech CF7 pedal based on your recommendation....what a killer pedal! Much thanks man!

Keep in mind, most of his are for blending effects rather than being used as an actual volume pedal, though.
 
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Code001":7a3c3 said:
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Keep in mind, most of his are for blending effects rather than being used as an actual volume pedal, though.


That's what I meant....Kage was looking for alternative uses for the volume pedal, and Morse exploits them with FX.
 
Dude, they're great for swells, bows, and gain adjustments when you want to keep playing a riff. For adjusting gain, I'll use the guitar volume and the volume pedal sometimes... Volume pedal for when I don't want a repeatable level so much, but I want to be able to crunch things up as a build into the next song part.

With a buffer like an Axess BS2, you're also not gonna have some of the loading issues that'll dull the tone out... Although, I even like that sometimes. I'm too much of an options-whore. :)

On the whole, I'd just say really analyze what you'll be playing and see if it's worth it. You don't have to power it and all, so that's a benefit, but if board real estate is an issue, then it might have to be mulled over.

Good luck either way brosef, peace out.
 
Brother Kage! Do you still have that Digitech Expression Factory? It doubles as a decent volume pedal as well...
 
I use a volume pedal for dealy stuff like VH Cathederal. I never could get the hang of doing that with the volume knob so i use my foot.
 
I got a Visual sounds volume pedal, 10th anniversary edition about a year ago. Its been a great addition to my live rig. I used it in the active mode, 1st in the chain. It has LEDs so you can get an idea of the level. Works great for fade in and fade outs. Solo boosts too.

The biggest reason I got it was due to the volume pots on my fender guitars being substandard, ie they sucked tone if not all the way up. As many of you know in a 2 guitarist band volume is always an issue between the 2 guitarists, this helped me adjust without ruining my tone when I used my guitar's volume knob.
 
I use an Ernie Ball passive volume pedal after all my pedals going to the front end of the amp on my board. It has a tuner out so I don't have to include it in the signal chain (works the tuner when pedal is backed to no volume). It makes changing guitars fast and easy by simply backing it up and changing guitars without putting amp on stand by. If something goes wrong like a bad cable or pedal goes on the fritz I can instantly silent the noise through the amp and fix the problem without buzzing and noise going to amp etc...
 
If you use it in the fx loop like a master volume just turn down rythms (or better yet, turn up solos), I'd say go for it. If your gonna use it in front of the amp, I say be a man and use the volume on your guitar!
 
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dstroud":8c6d1 said:
If you use it in the fx loop like a master volume just turn down rythms (or better yet, turn up solos), I'd say go for it. If your gonna use it in front of the amp, I say be a man and use the volume on your guitar!
Im a Spaz Darren!!!! I cant play and do that at the same time!!!
 
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