Volume Pedals — Opinions and Experience

[benny_profane]

This isn’t a super flashy or exciting pedal, but an essential element to a signal chain nonetheless.

Let’s hear thoughts/opinions/experiences with different units. Even with trying them out, the real test comes with time.

 

[Nostradoomus]

Never used one ?‍

 

[Barry]

Me either, I did fix a couple years ago

 

[mywmyw]

i've got a dunlop high gain volume, and for a time I swapped with a buddy who used an Ernie ball. I use mine either as a remote gain controller for my Bogner LaGrange, or as a straight up vol pedal for my fx loop. The dunlop works just fine generally but is prone to losing its ability to stay in a cocked position - the fix for this requires taking the unit apart and retensioning the flat spring that keeps friction on the fulcrum in order to stabilize it. This is a tedious process. The dunlop can work for you and is far cheaper, but it doesn't have the same luxurious feel as the EB. Aside from the string system occasionally fucking up on the EB, it seemed to me more robust and easier to use. YMMV. There is an optical vol pedal from AMT I believe, but I have no firsthand experience with it.

 

[benny_profane]

I'm looking for a passive volume pedal so I can run it in front of my fuzz stage. It seems that there are tradeoffs with every volume pedal, though. The Lehle seems to be the top-of-the-line pick, but that's rather expensive and a bit much for my needs. The Ernie Ball VP's string can be troublesome and require a bit of invasive repair work (also not keen on having a pedal that can fail catastrophically like that). The Boss pedals have reports of a less-than-great sweep. I don't know much about the Dunlop VPs.

Thanks for your input, @mywmyw; I appreciate it. Any others with thoughts?

 

[twebb6778]

I can highly recommend the Dunlop VP. I had the same issue as you, looking for a solid volume pedal that could do the job without any hassle, and the Dunlop delivers. No string, adjustable resistance so you can have the mechanism as loose or tight as you like, has a tuner out, can be used as an expression pedal, and available in full size or mini.

I really love mine.

 

[benny_profane]

I can highly recommend the Dunlop VP. I had the same issue as you, looking for a solid volume pedal that could do the job without any hassle, and the Dunlop delivers. No string, adjustable resistance so you can have the mechanism as loose or tight as you like, has a tuner out, can be used as an expression pedal, and available in full size or mini.

I really love mine.

Thanks! I'll certainly add that to my list to try out. I think I'm looking at dunlop, ernie ball, and boss. A few of the other smaller companies seem to have hit-or-miss reviews and reports, so I'm not sure about them.

 

[chongmagic]

I have the Dunlop as well and it can be used as a volume or expression pedal. Built like a tank too.

 

[benny_profane]

Good deal. 250k volume / 10k exp. Seem like a versatile setup. My local shop is out of stock at the moment, but I’ll definitely give it a try.

Anyone have experience with Boss or Ernie Ball? Or a smaller mfg?