Ernie Ball Jr. volume pedal, suck tone?

[joemail75]

Anyone else notice these things sucking tone? I thought they were supposed to be true bypass? I've recently noticed it muddying up my tone? Anyone agree? Or am I crazy...thanks

 

[theelectic]

You're not crazy. The regular EB volume pedal isn't true bypass, it's just a big pot mounted on a pedal. Think of it as your guitar's volume pot, only in a pedal.

 

[themusicboxstudios]

deff. sucks tone. quite a bit actually.

 

[Bluewail]

Definitely a tone sucker. Love using it for volume swells but had to pull it off my board. I tried it at the front of the chain, back of the chain, with & without buffering and whenever I took it out of the signal path, the differerence in clarity was substantial. Guess I'll have to learn to use my pinky of the guitar's vol knob.

 

[GAT]

Same here, can't use them, all the highs are gone, even with a buffer.

 

[StompBoxBlues]

What exactly would BE "true-bypass" in a volume pedal?

The only thing I could think of is if at fully engaged it was bypassed, but that could introduce weird artifacts.

It is a potentiometer in line...I haven't noticed it sucking tone at all, but will check again more carefully. I have been using mine so much, I may have forgotten what it sound like without.

That said, I'm sure one could do the same mods as are done on a guitar's electronics, bypass cap and all....

 

[kevin hart]

any high impedence volume pedal is going to do this since it will drive the impedence up the lower you set the volume. if you place the volume pedal last in your effects chain & then use a buffer you'll be all set. axess electronics makes a buffer that a lot of guys like.
it's called the bs2. www.axess-electronics.com

 

[ryanspeer]

Well first off the term "true-bypass" insinuates that you're switching it on and off. A volume pedal doesn't turn on and off. It's always on - just at different levels. Perhaps upgrading the volume pot might make some sort of change? Might be worth a try.

 

[StompBoxBlues]

Originally posted by kevin hart
any high impedence volume pedal is going to do this since it will drive the impedence up the lower you set the volume. if you place the volume pedal last in your effects chain & then use a buffer you'll be all set. axess electronics makes a buffer that a lot of guys like.
it's called the bs2. www.axess-electronics.com

That is how I use mine, at the end of the chain just before the amp. It tickles me how many folk review a volume pedal and through ignorance mention "how hard can it be? It's a freakin volume pedal" without realizing the implications of using one.

Use it direct from guitar to vol pedal, and it is an extension of the guitar volume pot...which means you have variables as to where the guitars own vol is set (that will be the MOST signal you will get) and all that implies. Also if it is then going into a fuzz or OD, you can set the amp up so it is fuzzed and maxed, but if you back off the vol pedal you lose some distortion but not much on volume...It can give you LOTS of options.

Use it AFTER (like I do) and it is more of a "master volume" for the effects chain. This can really help tame you sound, give you control. Now you can set the guitar vol to get just the right amount of OD, but control the output going into the amp.

Again, I haven't noticed any tone sucking from the volume pedal.
But it is always last in the input chain.

Also, as I pointed out earlier, there is no such thing as "true bypass" with a vol pedal...it is not possible.

 

[jdps150]

there is no such thing as "true bypass" with a vol pedal...it is not possible.

Sure it is.

I have the big EB vol. After several mods (treble bypass cap, 1M pot, et al) I couldn't take the tone loss. So I made it true bypass.
Drilled a hole in the side, stuck a DPDT switch in & now I can kick it off when I don't need it.

 

[Mondoslug]

If you have an FX loop, stick it in there. Way less offensive.

 

[danut]

EB VPJR are made in two versions, 250 KOhm (passive) and 25 Kohm (active). The latter is supposed to be used last in chain, or in the FX loop and will not suck any tone.

 

[Scumback Speakers]

Unless you do the true bypass mod, it's going to suck tone. I tried the EB Jr. first. It has the 250k pot and sucks way too much tone. Took it back. Then I got the larger EB model with the 500k pot. Alot less tone suckage but it still takes a tiny bit.

If you play with alot of clean tones you won't notice it as much as with higher gain tones. The only workaround I've found in that regard is to turn up your gain a bit more.

 

[StompBoxBlues]

Originally posted by jdps150
Sure it is.

I have the big EB vol. After several mods (treble bypass cap, 1M pot, et al) I couldn't take the tone loss. So I made it true bypass.
Drilled a hole in the side, stuck a DPDT switch in & now I can kick it off when I don't need it.

Okay, good point. But I think most guitarists use a volume pedal (as well as for violining effect) to set their volume during playing. Unless you only use it for effect, I can't see the point of turning it off.

 

[hipfan]

Originally posted by danut
EB VPJR are made in two versions, 250 KOhm (passive) and 25 Kohm (active). The latter is supposed to be used last in chain, or in the FX loop and will not suck any tone.

Exactly. If you're using a volume pedal (a) after a buffered effect in front of the amp, or (b) in a post-preamp, buffered effects loop, then get the 25K version, not the 250K. The lowered impedance should mean that it won't suck your tone.

I have one of the 25K EB Jr.'s, and it works fine this way; no tone suck. My only real complaint is that the taper could be a tad more gradual and controllable I suppose.

 

[danut]

My only real complaint is that the taper could be a tad more gradual and controllable I suppose.

Do you mean it happens too much in the last third of the pedal's travel? I have the same feeling with mine, but I think this is related to the way the human ear perceives volume increase (in terms of dbs), rather than the actual, physical, volume increase, if you get my point.

 

[threm]

There`s one VERY EASY fix to any possible, true or imagined, tone suckage

Put the pedal in a looper !




www.loooper.com

 

[Improviser]

Originally posted by danut
Do you mean it happens too much in the last third of the pedal's travel? I have the same feeling with mine, but I think this is related to the way the human ear perceives volume increase (in terms of dbs), rather than the actual, physical, volume increase, if you get my point.

Mine has a mini-switch inside which gives you the option of two different tapers. Changing the setting might make a difference for you.

Geoff

 

[danut]

Mine has a mini-switch inside which gives you the option of two different tapers. Changing the setting might make a difference for you.

AFAIK, the mini-switch inside is only featured on the large EB volume pedals, not on the Juniors. I have the VPJR 6181 model, 25 kohm. Do you have the same?

 

[StompBoxBlues]

Originally posted by danut
AFAIK, the mini-switch inside is only featured on the large EB volume pedals, not on the Juniors. I have the VPJR 6181 model, 25 kohm. Do you have the same?

No, that isn't the case. I have a junior, and it has the taper switch, and it truly does make a difference.

If you set the pedal in the heel position, look into it then from behind, looking towards the inside of the front of the pedal, you can easily see the switch.

I couldn't tell you which I set mine for but I tried both settings and kept the one that felt/sounded most natural for me.
I think I ended up with most change happening right away on the pedal with a little more volume boost as you continue up.

The other setting would be, slow change til more than half-way, then quicker volume increase at the end-of-pedal-travel.