Volume Pedals General

[Will C]

Malc, there's only one problem with using the Peterson "straight through" and that is you get high-frequency "hash" bleeding into the signal if you are using the Peterson power supply. It's because the PSU is a switcher, not a linear power supply. There is no problem if you use batteries instead.

Will

[Malcolm]

Will, I don't use power supply ,use batteries(last about 6-9 months), tried it in and out of circuit and could find absolutely no difference to tone.Also have one of the new Peterson tuners as well as Stroboflip, have not tried comparison with it yet but as it is supposed to be complete bypass, I think it should be ok.

[Jif]

As a relative novice on the pedal steel and with other financial commitments, I found the price of these pedals hard to justify for my purposes. Initially I used the volume pedal on my Boss GT3 effects box but this was far from satisfactory.

I eventually bought a Dunlop DVP-1 and I really like it.

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/jim-dunlop-dvp-1-volume-pedal/43016?gclid=CN6y1fCJjrkCFVMPtAodT1EASw



It uses a 250k pot but a 500k hot potz can be fitted if you are so inclined, personnally I haven't bothered to do this yet but may at some point in the future, probably when the pot needs replaced.

It works using a steel belt drive which can be tensioned to your taste by use of a tension screw. It has a very long smooth throw and a nice rate of volume change. It also has a tuner out jack which is really handy. They are big and heavy, so stay in place. The top of the pedal has a knobby nonslip tread, which looks like the treads of an off-road tyre, very solid and reliable.

Some steel players might not like the fact that the jacks are on the end and not the side but I don't find this a problem, the jacks fit nicely underneath my pedal bar so the end of the pedal is flush with the pedal bar.

I would suggest that they are a good alternative for newbies like myself or for those a bit short of cash.

[Malcolm]

Geoff, if your happy with it fine, but it comes down to the old adage "you only get what you pay for" , and as far as I can see you could probably pick up a second hand Goodrich for just a bit more than the price of EB, the 250pot will definitely affect the tone, and to replace it with a 500 will cost you about £25, so add this to original price of EB and your not too far away from a Goodrich.The other minus point ( or could be a plus point depending on players height ) is that it is a tall pedal and when I tried one my leg was pushing the bottom of the guitar up , and made using right knee levers difficult.The other point about inputs, I found I had to move the pedal back to stop jacks fouling pedal bar, this also did not help with using knee levers.I fully appreciate cash can be a problem, been there.The reason pro and semi pro players use these pedals is that 1 - you want the best tone possible 2 - you do not want pedal to pack in during a paid gig, hence with unreliable pots these days, a lot of us are going for potless ones, incidentally the pot in my first pedal an old ZB , lasted 9 years, on the last two years of using my Goodrich it went through five pots despite actually playing less.If you change the pot go for a Dunlop one , they do get a better name than the Allen Bradly/ PEC/ Claristat ones.Hope you are enjoying playing steel and welcome to the forum.

[Jif]

Hi Malcolm, thanks for the welcome

I understand your point re quality completely and generally apply the same principles when I'm buying instruments or accessories where possible.

My point is that initially getting into playing pedal steel is not a cheap option. I've played guitar for a lot of years and always had a hankering to play PS, what put me off for years was the outlay to do this. You don't know if you are going to crack it and it's a lot of cash to outlay to find out.

In my case I bought a 2nd hand PS, GFI Student, which was still a considerable outlay within my instrument budget, on top of that you need a decent steel, picks & a decent volume pedal. Buying a professional PS volume pedal new is approaching the outlay for a 2nd hand PS guitar, so for me the DV1 was something affordable that I could get a decent result from and allowed me to get a foot in the door, (or a foot on the floor).

Let's face it when you start out, you're not exactly setting the heather on fire for quite a long time, so the marginal tone difference is far down on the importance list, probably works it's way up as you advance, get a better quality PS etc but to begin with you just want to sound in tune

It is a high pedal and this could be problem, fortunately I have wee short legs

I wasn't suggesting that professional players should compromise but I have found that for someone like me who wants to give PS a try and is working to a tight budget, it's a viable option

PS And yes I'm now completely hooked on it and really enjoying playing

[Malcolm]

Geoff, you have a good little guitar in GFI, normally spend a lot of time in the GFI room at Dallas show watching Mike Sigler demonstrate them, excellent player.As I said welcome to the madhouse, if I can be of any help to you don't hesitate to ask.Regards Malcolm

[Jif]

Thanks Malcolm, appreciate it

Yeah, you've gotta be mad to want to play one of these contraptions, so my wife keeps telling me anyhow

[Malcolm]

Geoff where are u situated?, do you know about the Scottish Steelies night held once a month up in Gartosh?

[Jif]

Hi Malcolm,

I am aware of it, I've watched some of the videos Bob has posted on Youtube. You all sound fairly accomplished to me and I am pretty novice TBH, however it would be interesting to come sometime, even just to get a look at some pro steels.

I live in Fife, so it would be a bit of a trek for me but I would like to attend at some point when I could fit it in.

I met Bob once, I was needing some nylon tuning nuts, I didn't know where to get them and emailed Bob at his own site. He had some business over in Fife, so he kindly made a pile up for me and we met up in Dalgety Bay.

I play a bit of bass / upright electric bass and guitar of course, so maybe I could join in that way and of course pick up some tips from you guys.

I'm not familiar with a lot of the music you play, I come from more of a rock / blues background but I'm sure I could jam along somehow.

I'll check out the postings for dates etc and see if I could manage to come along for one of them, probably later in the year.

Thanks Geoff

[Malcolm]

Geoff, there are a few complete newbies go, there is a vast range of abilities , there is also an instruction period , where there is a one on one with a newbie and an experienced player, so don't feel you can't bring guitar with you.Speak to Bob Adams he lives over in Fife , maybe you can tie up to come through.