volume pedal...

[epic!]

Did a quick search but couldnt find anything...

Im thinking about getting one...unfortunately I have little knowledge on the subject. Is there a particular brand or model that works better for bass? Ill need something durable and that doesnt take up a ton of room on a pedal board. Any recommendations?

 

[ItsMichaelYeah]

all volume pedals do the same thing.

but There are Volume pedals for Passive Basses ans Pedals for Active basses

I used an ErnieBall one for a long time and it worked well.

 

[tekhedd]

You actually might want to search on guitar forums over this one.

I have a Ball VPJR that I got used (already had velcro attached, win!) that has worked adequately. It's a little sensitive, but it's compact and hasn't given me problems. I hear there are better pedals out there...

 

[wshines1892]

Ernie Ball all the way. basically it takes up as much room as your foot. No super wide housing or anything that makes it overly bulky, it does exactly what it's supposed to. Seems about as durable as it gets too, just an aluminum block around a volume pot.

 

[jamzcl]

but There are Volume pedals for Passive Basses ans Pedals for Active basses

I've been thinking of getting a volume pedal myself - what's good if you have both an active & passive?

 

[Footbutt]

...and will an "active" VP work on a non-active Bass?

 

[Eric!]

...and will an "active" VP work on a non-active Bass?

That's typically how they work, get an active VP for a passive bass, and a passive VP for an active bass.

Should also point out that a volume pedal is nothing more than a resistor or two on a treadle (I don't know the circuit layout), it will never "boost" your volume, just cut it. The max position on the pedal is unity. Maybe you'll adjust according by having a higher unity, but I'm just saying.

 

[Deepak]

I've been thinking of getting a volume pedal myself - what's good if you have both an active & passive?

Put a buffered pedal in front of a low impedance volume pedal and you should be good to go with anything you throw at it.

I'm a fan of the boss FV-500L - bombproof enclosure, stereo, and expression output.

 

[Jon Moody]

I just grabbed a Visual Sound Visual Volume pedal. The downside is that the thing is wide; about 6" across. Plus side is that it can be buffered, or it can stay passive. The LEDs on the side (if you power them) are a huge plus for me, for working in theatre pits where I need to adjust my volume on the fly to accommodate different passages.

 

[christoph h.]

i use a boss FV-500H with both active and passive basses and with and without buffered pedals in front of it. works great, never a problem.

i think the whole active/passive thing is NOT as important as some people say, especially not in a live context.

 

[Deepak]

i use a boss FV-500H with both active and passive basses and with and without buffered pedals in front of it. works great, never a problem.

i think the whole active/passive thing is NOT as important as some people say, especially not in a live context.

An active bass should work with either VP. Problems come up when a passive bass is fed into a low impedance VP without buffering the signal.

 

[jamzcl]

Anyone have any experience with the Alesis F2 expression/volume pedal? I saw some good reviews out there for it.

 

[christoph h.]

An active bass should work with either VP. Problems come up when a passive bass is fed into a low impedance VP without buffering the signal.

yes, i know, but i think you missed that i what wrote in my post:

i use a boss FV-500H with both active and passive basses and with and without buffered pedals in front of it. works great, never a problem.

one of the basses is a passive jazz bass, plugged directly into the volume pedal. if there is a tonal difference it's really not big enough to cause any problems, especially not in a live band mix.

so that's why i wrote:

i think the whole active/passive thing is NOT as important as some people say, especially not in a live context.

 

[Deepak]

yes, i know, but i think you missed that i what wrote in my post:



one of the basses is a passive jazz bass, plugged directly into the volume pedal. if there is a tonal difference it's really not big enough to cause any problems, especially not in a live band mix.

so that's why i wrote:

You're using a high impedance pedal, which is why your passive bass doesn't have any trouble (active bass isn't an issue with either type). If you took your passive bass and plugged it into a low impedance pedal without buffering your signal you'd see what I'm talking about.

 

[christoph h.]

You're using a high impedance pedal, which is why your passive bass doesn't have any trouble (active bass isn't an issue with either type). If you took your passive bass and plugged it into a low impedance pedal without buffering your signal you'd see what I'm talking about.

Yes, you are right and I see that I didn't make my point as clear as I wanted to.

My actual point was to recommend just getting the "passive" high impendance version of a volume pedal. As you explain, they will work with both (or "all") sources.

There are a lot of threads on this subjects and people always begin a big discussion about "active" and "passive" versions of volume pedals, especially when the Ernie Ball pedals get recommended. When I researched this stuff it wasn't very easy to get a "clear and simple" answer, only lots of technical info about which input/output has how much impendance, etc.
You would always be told that active basses also need a "special" volume pedal - which in my opinion just isn't the case.

I did mention my passive jazz and the volume pedal because I just mixed the whole active/passive DI box thing into this as well. That's why I gave the wrong example.

In the end, just getting a pedal like the FV-500H was the solution - it works in every setup I came across: active and passive basses, effects or no effects, recording, live... etc.