EBVPJr Sucking more tone on some pedals than others...why?

[AYo]

Hello friends,
I have my EB Volume Pedal after my dirt BEFORE my modulation/delays (My entire rig runs through a True-Bypass strip). When I am running my RockBox Boiling Poing overdrive channel & toggle my EBVPJr channel ON it doesn't 'suck tone' at all. HOWEVER, when I run my JHS Morning Glory overdrive (a much more discrete overdrive) & toggle my EBVPJr channel ON the 'tone suckage is IMMENSE! So much so that I can't use the EBVPJr when I'm running the Morning Glory because there is such a tremendous drop in tone, volume & dynamics.

Why does the Ernie Ball Volume Pedal Jr effect some pedals WAY more than others?

[jazzfromhell]

Im guessing it has something to do with impedance mismatch. Chervokas posted about this a few days ago. Let me see if I can find the thread....

[jb4674]

It's based on the model you have. I'm not fond of those volume pedals because a lot of people always seem to have the same problem over and over again. I'd say ditch it and get the Visual Sound Volume Pedal.

[chops612]

meh, the EB is fine! The fact is it has a passive wired 250K pot in it and the MG does not have an output buffer. So the 250K pot in parallel with the MG output pot loads down and hampers your sound. Without advertising... just letting you know. We do mods that solve both issues. One is for the EB, which in a nutshell makes it active, and the other is an output mod that we do to OCD's and Eternity's (MG is same circuit type), which adds a specific buffer that allows the OD to be decoupled from the rest of the chain, but without the negative tonal effects that come with running the traditional buffer or buffered pedal after it. If you buffered just the EB then with the MG on and the EB engaged, instead of tone loss you would get a heaping amount of high-end spike, which would ruin the characteristics of your MG..... and having an output mod on the MG would solve the tonal issue entirely, though the impedance mismatch between your buffered signal and EB could lead to a less favorable sweep on your VP.

There is a lot more detailed info at my site about these situations that you can read up on.

[jb4674]

Originally Posted by chops612

meh, the EB is fine! The fact is it has a passive wired 250K pot in it and the MG does not have an output buffer. So the 250K pot in parallel with the MG output pot loads down and hampers your sound. Without advertising... just letting you know. We do mods that solve both issues. One is for the EB, which in a nutshell makes it active, and the other is an output mod that we do to OCD's and Eternity's (MG is same circuit type), which adds a specific buffer that allows the OD to be decoupled from the rest of the chain, but without the negative tonal effects that come with running the traditional buffer or buffered pedal after it. If you buffered just the EB then with the MG on and the EB engaged, instead of tone loss you would get a heaping amount of high-end spike, which would ruin the characteristics of your MG..... and having an output mod on the MG would solve the tonal issue entirely, though the impedance mismatch between your buffered signal and EB could lead to a less favorable sweep on your VP.

There is a lot more detailed info at my site about these situations that you can read up on.

No offense but, I think for the cost of what it would take to "fix" the problem with the EB volume pedal, the OP could get himself a new and better volume pedal.

[chops612]

Well there is that, I personally don't think there is a better volume pedal. There's TGP hype, but when it comes to function and feel for guitarists there's a reason EB has remained on top. And on the other note any VP for that matter isn't going to solve the lack of output buffer on the OD. That will create tonal problems with any pedal after it!

[cyrja]

Originally Posted by jb4674

No offense but, I think for the cost of what it would take to "fix" the problem with the EB volume pedal, the OP could get himself a new and better volume pedal.

You know, I disagree.

The vp jr takes up less real estate on a board that just about any volume pedal, especially the visual volume. When a lot of folks are spending $$$ on cabling, true bypass pedals, and power supplies to get the most out of their rig, I don't think Thru-tone is out of line at all.

The pots Thru-Tone uses that go into the mod are rated at 2 million sweeps vs the EB 5,000 - 7,000, and it's fully enclosed. Over time, it would pay for itself.

There is a pretty dramatic difference in my Fuchs when the vp jr in in my chain, even with excellent cables. Considering my lack of pedalboard real estate (and who wants to use up a lot of space for a volume pedal) and desire to get every last ounce of tone, I will def consider getting the thru-tone mod.

[Once Far Off]

The VPJR is a great volume pedal. I would definitely NOT recommend the Visual Volume if you want to do swells.

[chops612]

^^^ agreed.