Musician Gear & Tech Discussion

I've been working through my E. Ball Volume pedal as Palopete suggested and seems to be coming along ok. I would like some input as to the best type of pedal and how do you set it up. I currently have my amp set up going through the PA to moniter and mains. Should I set my pedal to the highest volume setting before setting the gain / volume on the PA or at about 3/4. ? so many variables amp volume per channel, pedal volume, PA volume and gain. Darn confusing.

sm folks I trust to make my pot (no my potentiometers)
ernie ball

It was a freebe, Thats why I.m askin opinons on quality equipment. Rather not buy 10 different V pedals to find a good one. Done been down that road with the boss distortion pedals I no longer use. When reserching on line its hard to diff sales pitch from facts.

Sanshouheil I have just recently bought a Zoom G2. http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/g2/index.php

It has a decent list of amp emulation and you can customize the effects as well. I use a keyboard sustain pedal to turn it on and off which works just fine and it has a built in tuner and drum machine. It was $100.00. I realize it’s not the most prestigious brand, but I went with the Zoom because I have a Zoom recorder which has operated flawlessly for a couple of years and they seem to have a lot of features for the money.

The biggest down side is it has two foot switches that have to be hit at the same time for bypass mode, a little awkward but the sustain pedal works perfectly with a very light touch. Any normally closed momentary switch type pedal will work. I just started playing guitar, normally I wouldn’t pipe in here due to lack of experience, but I have been real happy with it so far and there were no responses.

My current one is a Schaller Fusschweller. I've had it since...ummm...well a long time...20 years at least. The first one I tried belonged to a friend, made by Dunlop I think, very good but sensitive. The first one I owned was a chrome Morley power Wah that was volume pedal, wah and overdrive in one box, all operated by light bulb and photocell, not a pot. I loved it but it finally died, I'd have to completely rebuilt a board for it since some of the copper traces were shot.

As far as settings, it's your volume control, just like the volume control on the guitar, but your foot operates it, leaving your hands free to play. Set your overall amp volume (as loud as you'll ever get) with it on the floor, wide open. Same as you would without a pedal at all, guitar volume dimed also. From that point, all the way up should be off, down should be full volume, anything else you need should be in between.

Usually I run full tilt for most leads, around 3/4 or so for rhythm, it depends on the song. Quieter spots I might have to pull it back a lot more, if I need a distortion pedal for a rhythm part I sometimes have to use both pedal and guitar knob, but usually the pedal will do it. I keep the guitar knobs all the way up so I'm basically running as if they weren't there, (the pots only cut the pickup signal, not add to it) and when I drop the volume for rhythm parts or quieter leads I don't lose the treble that's long gone soon as you touch the volume knob on the guitar. That's how I usually know I've hit the volume knob playing and have to turn it back up, it loses highs and starts sounding wimpy. Happens a lot with strats, the volume knob is too close to the picking area. Other guitars it's rare.

I'm not sure what brands are decent these days, if I could find an older Dunlop or another Schaller like mine I'd jump on it with both feet, or another Morley light based pedal. I haven't tried any new ones in a long time though, so I have no idea what's out there right now. My Schaller is at least 25 years old and all it needs is a squirt of contact cleaner every few years...The Morley gave me trouble, but only because someone else had already tinkered around inside it before it fell into my hands.

One of the best things is fading a note in when you want it. Ever try that with a Les Paul? Work with the volume pedal a bit and you can fade or swell a note in any time with no trouble at all.

Thank you for your input gents. I workd with the EB in practice last night but I just dont have the feel or control I need yet. The combat boots I was wearing did not help either. I did have my amp pretty much at max with the cab speaker unpugged and voiced out to the PA. I am going to increase the channel gain thru the PA next time to give me a greater range in comparison to the rest of the band. My poor little 200w 12" Yamaha speakers I am using for monitors are takin a beating for sure especially with all the bass we throw at em.
I have a zoom recorder as well and though dont quite have the recording quality I want out of it yet I,m quite sure its due to my set up as it has gotten better each practice / tweek.

I use that same pedal Sans.. Works fine for me.

Shredd I,ve noticed it has a switch inside that changes it to an incramental control. Does yours have that? Do you use it that way? Just wondering out loud.

George, I think I understand that you unplugged the speaker on your amp. You need a load on most tube amps or you can damage the transformer. Ive got an old power soak that I use sometimes, just be careful or maybe call Carvin and ask if thats ok.

Aw crap! Thats just what I need to do F up my transformer. I just ASSuMEd that the voice out to the PA was enough. I ve got to call em bout that damn rattle anyway but I've been having so much fun playing it I procrastinated. Sounds pretty good when I plug in the two Yamaha BR 12's. My amp has a built in power soak on the high gain channel, and I keep er cranked so I get lots of crunch and sustain.
Again thanks for the heads up John.

George,
I aways thought that volume pedals were primarily for us keyboard players! In truth, I've had the good fortune to have played with many excellent guitar players in my time, and I gotta tell ya, most of them seldom , if ever used them. Ya gotta learn how to play dynamically and how to use your guitar volume knob , as well as the pickup selection switch. Bear in mind that I'm not much of a guitarist myself, but I fear you may be on the verge of "junkin' up your set up". I would like to hear what some of the guitar players on the forum think of this opinion. (I wouldn't want to steer ya wrong)

Howlin' Johnny

You may well be right Howlin, I have had that very thought in consideration. With my roll in my current band project being quite varied. From doing rhythm accents to the chorus. Lead in and out of the dominant rhythm to carrying the entire guitar roll. Have some difficulty manipulating the guitar controls. I,m pretty good with my feet having had to stand on one foot for 30 minutes at a time. (Sifu is Chinese for sadist I think.) I also use the tone and 5 way P/U selector. I am going to gaurd against junking up my set up as you said. Ive been that way already and the tone suffered.
The new amp is making quite a difference in the dynamic response of my guitar as well. I intend to make the most of it with practice and as I improve I will be less dependant on gadgets.

Shredd I,ve noticed it has a switch inside that changes it to an incramental control. Does yours have that? Do you use it that way? Just wondering out loud.

No, it doesn't. Just a pot and a string.

I really don't ever use it. I used to use it for a volume swell in one particular song with a delay behind it. That was it. It worked fine, but later I just learned to use my guitar volume knob.

JW is right. You should call Carvin and tell them about your amp problem.

George,
I aways thought that volume pedals were primarily for us keyboard players! In truth, I've had the good fortune to have played with many excellent guitar players in my time, and I gotta tell ya, most of them seldom , if ever used them. Ya gotta learn how to play dynamically and how to use your guitar volume knob , as well as the pickup selection switch. Bear in mind that I'm not much of a guitarist myself, but I fear you may be on the verge of "junkin' up your set up". I would like to hear what some of the guitar players on the forum think of this opinion. (I wouldn't want to steer ya wrong)

Howlin' Johnny

You know.. I have a lot of pedals, but over the course of so many years of playing, I still use the basic ones the most. Reverb (cause my amp doesn't have it), and an EQ, in the clean channel, and a Noise Gate overall.

I use an Envelope Filter in one spot on one song, a Flanger in intermittent parts, a Chorus in intermittent parts (clean channel only) , a Tremolo in 2 parts of one song, a Delay for 2 parts of one song, and a Phaser for one part of one song.

If you are well aware of where to use this amount of effect pedals, I wouldn't consider it junking it up. But generally novice guitar players tend to rely on them a little too much with the thinking that they will make them sound better, or play better, and will over use them.. Although it may seem like I use a lot of effects, in the grand scheme of things, they get used sparsely in small spots just to create moods where I feel it's needed. You just have to pick your spots wisely.

I,ve got no delusions of gadgets making me a better player. Thats why I practice one to two hours daily Monday thru Friday. I am still in the experamental mode trying to determine what each effect does and why or where to use them. Ya'll have been my best resourses.
I called Carvin yesterday and just missed the two techs I was told were the experts. Going to call back this morning and have made a whole list of dumbassed questions for them. The young man I spoke with yesterday said he felt the rattle was the reverb unit. He was smart enough to tell me to call back and talk with the experts. Cranked the tube amp up yesterday through two Yamaha BR12 speakers. Shook the whole freakin building.