Please share your opinions about volume pedals

Michael Lester · From: Illinois, USA

I've been away from pedal steel for many years playing non-pedal standup. Because my D8 Fender Stringmaster has a volume knob, I chose not to use a volume pedal. Sold all pedal steel gear years ago - including a Goodrich pedal.

Thanks to Johny King, I've acquired a pedal steel again and started to try and recapture some old chops.

Started looking at volume pedals.

I see Goodrich remains the volume pedal of choice? What characteristics of the Goodrich pedal makes them superior to the dozens of volume pedals offered on say, REVERB.com?

Is it tradition? Accuracy? Range of control? Physical size?

I'm confused about the differences of modern pedal steel volume pedals vs modern volume pedals? One obvious difference is that they cost twice as much.

Could use some fresh guidance - thanks!

Paul Sutherland · From: Placerville, California

Volume pedals for pedal steel guitar have the input and output jacks all on the right side. That is the most logical layout for use with a PSG. Volume pedals for everyone else typically have the input on the right side and the output on the left side. Sometime the input and output are on the top end of the pedal. Either of those combinations causes physical conflicts between the ends of cables and the 8th (or 9th) floor pedal of a D10 or the pedal board of any PSG.

Goodrich makes excellent products and I would look at them seriously if I was in the market. But I've been using a Hilton pedal for about 5 years and I see no reason to spend more money on volume pedals.
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Colin Swinney · From: Wisconsin, USA

This is an interesting video about the differences between some volume pedals, it might answer a few questions for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vSgfx-kSgg

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

The passive pot type presents a variable impedance to the pickup, which some players like to exploit.
The active type are more scientific but sterile.
Me, I like sterile.
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Kevin Fix · From: Michigan, USA

I have a Hilton and a Goodrich H10K Pedal. Like them both.

Daniel Morris · From: Westlake, Ohio, USA

I have a Goodrich OMNI, which allows you to use passive or active.
I also have a Telonics, which is stellar.
One aspect of the 'classic' passive/pot volume pedal that I don't like is the way the highs get shaved off as you back off the pedal.

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=332257

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=352219

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=350286

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=349554

If you search further back, you'll find lots and lots and lots of discussions about volume pedals. Personally, I like my old Sho Bud volume pedals, which still have their old Allen-Bradley 500K pots in good working order. Goodrich, Franklin (if you can find one), and others are good choices. My core is that I have to have at least a 500K potentiometer to be happy. And I do find the active pedals a bit sterile.

If I really want to avoid loading down my volume pedal, I use a Sarno Freeloader, built by our own Brad Sarno's company. This is a buffer with a variable input impedance control that can go from pretty low values (I'm guessing around 100K Ohms or so) up to 1 MegOhm, and clamps to the leg of the steel. It is incredibly low-drain, I change the battery once a year whether it needs it or not, I've never had it go dead on me in something like 10 years. I highly recommend that instead of messing with a volume pedal that requires a power supply cord down by my feet. To me, this gives me the best of both worlds - if I want the buffer, I use it. But more often than not, I don't even need it.

There are disadvantages to pot pedals - mainly the loading effect from the 500K pot, and breakage of the string or other mechanism that connects the treadle to the potentiometer.

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

I tried many others, but always went back to the Fender. There are several reasons I prefer it. First, it stays in place The pivot is in the middle, and that means no spring or friction device is needed to keep it in place. Second, it is one of the best shielded pedals out there, neither the pot or wiring is exposed. Third, it has a very low profile, and it isn't overly heavy or bulky. Fourth, it's dirt-simple to work on. (I sometimes wonder what you're supposed to do when the guy or company who made your powered pedal is no longer in business.) Lastly, the string action is tensioned and buffered with a long string and a spring to keep it taut.

With a good pot, it's the most reliable pedal out there (no shaft or pins to wear out). I've never carried a spare pedal, and there's really no reason to. (The string can be replaced in just a few minutes...with no tools if you leave the screws out of the bottom plate - it's a pretty snug fit.) I've only replaced the string in mine 3 times, and the pot 4 times...in over 50 years of use. Probably close to 10,000 gigs.

I do have a Hilton pedal, an Emmons pedal, and one other home-made pedal; they're all gathering dust in the basement.

Jeremy Threlfall · From: now in Western Australia

I prefer the EB pedals, even though they are high-profile and have a pivot further back - originally suited to stand-up guitar players. I always pack a spare but the string in my main pedal has never broken in the 12+ years Iâ€™ve been using it, so I donâ€™t listen to complaints about them breaking (I rub a bit of surfboard wax on my string every couple of years). Itâ€™s what Iâ€™m used to, itâ€™s never let me down, and Iâ€™m sticking with it.
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Asa Brosius · Posted 4 Jan 2020 9:51 pm

For me, the most important element in a VP is how comfortable it is to physically use, and I'd urge you to try as many as you can- people like what works for them, end of story. The basic perceptible powered vs passive difference is that powered maintains a consistent tone through the entire throw, and passive generally starts darker and ends brighter. Google the different specs- Hilton Goodrich and especially Telonics (vp's marketed to steel players) have all the info you could possibly want on-line. As mentioned, think about where you want the inputs to be oriented, if you want a tuner out jack, (I do) a second output jack-(I use a second output for a direct dry signal when recording along with the amp'd wet signal)- maybe look into the units your favorite players use, and research reliability and customer service- you'll be stepping on that pedal much more than a six string player.

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Georg Sørtun · From: Mandal, Agder, Norway

After having tested most volume pedals on the market and not found any that beats what's already collecting dust at my places, my preference now is a simple BOSS FV-50L…
https://www.boss.info/us/products/fv-50h_50l/
… for its simplicity and low impedance.
Always an active unit first after the PU in my setups anyway (otherwise I would have chosen the FV-50H), so active VPs add nothing useful to the mix.
The adjustable lowest-level on the BOSS is a welcome feature the way I play, and the day I find angled jacks cumbersome I'll just move the connectors to the side.

Roger Rettig · From: Naples, FL

Last year I went to the Omni pedal after countless years of using standard Goodrich products.

I like the Omni so much (I always use the 'active' option) that I've got rid of the three or four old pedals that were lying around here. I have just one spare currently - Doug Ernest's lightweight v/p but I expect I'll buy a second Omni before too long.
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D Schubert · From: Columbia, MO, USA

I use a volume pedal with old Sho-Bud S-10 guitar and Fender Stringmaster D-8. I am satisfied with the old Sho-Bud pedal and a new Moyo mini volume pedal. To qualify that answer, I'm a fan of the vintage 60's sound - quirks and all.

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