this is a very objective way to go about explaining it. the video focused on giving options not criticizing the other ways. I wish all guitar aspects are presented this way. Thanks brother!
Currently using mine in the effects loop. All allows me to knock the volume back a little without reducing gain. And then I have it going into my reverb and delay, so I can do swells. Most useful placement for the current band I am playing with.
This was awesome! I had my volume at the end of my chain of new Boss pedals. It sounded horrible. I watched this video and went with your suggestion. It now sounds amazing! Thanks! 😃👍
Thank you, Ryan. I've just learnt more in this 15 minute video on how to use a volume pedal than I have in the past 5 years. Excellent video with a very clear explanation. I was using the pedal in the first position and wondering why all my gain was dropping. Now I know why and I've switched to position two after the dirt but before the modulation.
Hi! I’m glad you liked the video :) For the video I used a Kemper profiler with a Mission expression pedal but on my other boards I tend to use the Ernie Ball VP JNR, passive, 250k. Each Volume pedal has its pros and cons. I love the taper and the feel of the Ernie balls but when the string breaks it’s a nightmare to repair(unless you pay someone to do it) and they do suck tone. My advice, if you are looking for one, would be to go to your local Music Store and try a few out :)
Putting a volume pedal before a germanium drive pedal can be a really cool effect. When you play it quietly and sweep up, the tone colors really nicely. This is similar to using the volume knob on your guitar a la Hendrix.
This was great! Been solidly in #2 camp for a long time. That realtime level control is so flexible, especially if your dirt is coming from pedals. Whenever I try to explain the difference to people I just get blank stares. Now I can just play them this video!
Thanks, I'm glad the video was useful! I'm in camp 2 as well as I prefer the flexibility I get for dynamics with pedals. It's great to have options though :)
The RU-vid algorithm served this video up and got it right for once. A truly great video with nice clear examples. I have a Matamp R28 with a master volume, but is monumentally loud with the master volume above 2, especially if the gain is up. It sounds glorious but would be nice to have a bit more fine control with the volume. A volume pedal sounds like a great idea and is way cheaper than an attenuator. Would there be any issue with using option 2, except place the volume pedal in the effects loop before the modulation type pedals? I’m guessing this would leave the preamp gain staging unaffected but allow the other benefits of option 2 intact? Thanks again 😀
Hi, I’m glad that you liked the video. That is a great question! To be honest have not tried a volume pedal in an effects loop of an amp apart from when I run a big rack set up years ago. I did a tour where I had a massive rig and tried this option out. It wasn’t as successful as I’d hoped but it could have been the way I had rigged it all. I have always used an attenuator to get the ‘cranked’ sound out of my amps. However, everything is worth a try as you just never know. Also, different amps and volume pedals react differently so you may get exactly what you are looking for out of this options. Deffo worth a go :)
@@FretlixGuitar thanks for the reply. I love the idea of an attenuator, but my bank manger is less keen 😉. I think I’ll give the volume pedal a try and see what happens 🤞
@@FretlixGuitar I’m also considering a Boss LS-2 in the effects loop. It has 2 loops and a bypass, with both loops having a volume control, so I could have it set up with 2 levels of attenuation plus full bore on the bypass. Need to do some research to make sure they play nicely in the effects loop 🤷♂️. Decisions, decisions 🤔😀
In OPTION 2 I would put the Noise Gate after your distortion pedals before the volume pedal. As a rule of thumb with noise gates, put them directly after the noisy pedals but before any time effects, delays and reverbs. If you put the Noise Gate after the volume pedal and you have the settings high you'll cut the signal as soon as you decrease volume. Give it a go though as it's always worth experimenting and finding out what you like best! Hope that helps :)
Hi, great question! Yes, I would assume high impedance for this set up. The video is aimed at usual suspects of volume pedal brands Ernie Ball, Dunlop, Boss etc with their more flagship models most of which (I think??) are high impedance. I haven’t actually tried this with a low impedance volume pedal. If you have one try it out and let me know what happens and how it all sounds as I’d be interested to hear the results :)
@@FretlixGuitar I have a passive Daphon Volume Pedal (Lo-Z-in Model) that I place after a Holy Grail pedal (High Z-in, low Z-out). The volume pedal then feeds my guitar amp (Hi Z-in). This works fine in this configuration. It is not recommended, however, for direct connection from a guitar (lo Z-out) with passive pickups. That would drop the audio signal level "at birth"! Make sense? NOTE: There is a high Z-in model of the Daphon volume pedal. It would work in the situations that you described in the video. To our viewers - Beware of the spec of the volume pedal that purchase (Hi-Z-in seems more versatile).
Hi, I’m not familiar with the Daphon gear but I’m gonna check it out. Yeah, that makes sense. Have you tried a pedal in the chain with a buffer? Or a dedicated buffer pedal? It may help, or not. Often with signal chains in my experience there are ‘correct’ or ‘preferred’ ways of doing things but nothing beats a bit of trial an error :) It’s ia very good point you make to the viewers if the video. If you are looking to buy a volume pedal then Hi-Z in certainly seem to be more versatile. I’ll also add that in experience of using different volume pedals no two brands sound the same or react the same. Volume pedals are notorious for sucking tone and the ‘sweep’ or ‘swell’ varies from brand to brand. If you are total tone purist but you want to add a Volume pedal to your rig I recommend using some sort of switching system such as the gigrig or similar and sticking it in one of the loops - that’s what I do for gigs. Or you can experiment with buffered pedals :) We’ve opened a can of worms :) Thanks for the great and interesting comment!
@@FretlixGuitar Who would have thought that adding a simple pedal-driven potentiometer would cause so much discussion and potential sound complications! It might be time for a new generation of volume pedals with buffers and signal processing "smarts" ! You have the electronic skills to do it! A Fretflix Volume Pedal is born...Thank you.
