Ernie Ball MVP Most Valuable Pedal

Product Information

The BOSS FV-500H Mono Volume Pedal is one of the biggest pedals from this list of recommendations, so you might not want to consider it if you’re looking for something small. However, feels pretty sturdy and it comes with useful features such as a tuner out, expression pedal function, and a knob that allows you to control the pedal’s minimum volume, in case you don’t want your heel-down position to completely kill your sound. When paired with reverbs and delays, volume pedals prove their worth. Both of these effects cause there to be decay, or tail, to the original sound. Depending on the settings of the reverb and delay pedal, the amount of time that the decay lasts varies. Using a volume pedal to control the dynamics of these effects allows you to create fade-ins and fade-outs, which are great for ambient, textural styles of playing. A low-impedance pedal, the FV-50L is highly compatible with stereo effects units and keyboards. It includes singular minimum volume control, which can be used to set the baseline dynamic level to ensure that no sudden spikes occur. The consumption may vary due to use, but the MVP uses less than 3mA, which equates to between 200-300 hours of use with a standard 9v battery. As a lover of vintage-style technology, one thing that I was particularly excited about was the fact that this pedal is completely analog and doubles up as a Wah pedal. I enjoyed the lightweight of the housing and found it to be also robust. Right off the bat, I could tell that the useful active volume control minimizes the risk of impedance issues caused by dynamic inconsistencies.

There are several qualities that set the MVP apart from other volume pedals. Firstly, it generously allows the audio signal to be increased up to +20 decibels, which affords exceptional freedom and control over the dynamics. Also, I’d go as far as to say this pedal is basically indestructible thanks to its robust build quality. Personally, I prefer using the first one, as I feel that it is easier for me to make precise adjustments to my volume regardless of the circumstances. Reduced Size Obviously, they can control your overall volume, but many of them can be used as expression pedals, and their placement on the signal chain will also affect how the pedal will interact with the rest of your rig. Guitar volume pedals have always been a bit of an outlier in the effects world. They’re not fancy or flashy.Some are high impedance, some low. High impedance is best for passive electronics, and low impedance for active electronics. Precision and Accuracy:The Ernie Ball VP Jr provides a smooth volume curve that you will adjust yourself to in a matter of minutes. Controlling your volume is easy and seamless, whether you are just making slight adjustments, or doing ambient swells. Inside the pedal, you’ll also find a taper switch that changes the volume reduction rate. Experiment with both modes to see which one adapts better to your playing style. In this guide we’re going to primarily cover volume pedals for guitar and bass, both electric and acoustic. You can of course use a volume pedal for any electronic instrument, like a keyboard or synthesizer. Once you’ve used your volume pedal to record through an amplifier, there’s no way to “clean up” the signal. You are forced to work with whatever sound the amplifier produces, or re-record the take using an interface or mixer. For home-studio setups where it is perhaps not viable to use an amplifier due to space restrictions or limits on the noise you can make, interfaces provide the perfect solution. The fact is that lots of guitarists never realize how essential a volume pedal is to their setup until they try it (it can be a guitar rig game changer, much like a compressor pedal can be).

They can, very much. This is why it’s important to match the impedance of the pedal with the rest of your signal chain. When making the selections for this list, a few things were considered. Not just any boring old volume pedal will do. The Dunlop DVP4 is hands-down one of my favorite volume pedals currently available on the market. It manages to gather a lot of appealing features without being sold for an excessively high price. Its chassis is made of aluminum, keeping the overall weight low.My Review: I’ve long been an admirer of how Sonicake’s range of affordable effects pedals has earned them the trust of guitarists, bassists, and keyboardists across all genres and styles. My findings showed me that the VolWah is an exceptional volume pedal, and I was particularly impressed by its compactly-sized and ability to withstand the rigors of being a touring musician.

One of the main things to be aware of when looking for a volume pedal is that there are two distinctive types: passive and active. These categories refer to the electronic circuitry of the volume pedal, which subsequently has a significant impact on their performance and whether they are suitable for your requirements.Bottom Line: As we mentioned, “cheap but good” is a very apt way to describe the Signstek. This user review sums it up nicely: Having a pair of outputs creates the possibility of using two amplifiers. But why exactly would that be beneficial? Well, for starters, having two amplifiers allows you to separate your dry signal from your effects chain. This means that you can take one output from a volume pedal, or any other pedal with dual outputs for that matter, and send it into a “clean” amplifier. The other output is then sent into another amplifier which is dedicated to only playing your effects pedals. Although all volume pedals intend to perform the same basic function, there’s plenty of variation from model to model. High-end volume pedals are likely to offer various controls that will provide you with more freedom, while more primitive versions simply control the dynamics without any additional options included. We factored in build quality, additional features and connectivity options to ensure the list caters to all types of guitarists.

On one side of the switch, you get a more linear, gradual fade-in of your sound as you go from the heel-down position to the toe-down position. On the other one, the overall sound stays quieter for a longer range of the pedal, and it gets more intense in the last part of the sweep. The extensive connectivity options of the SPL-1-L6 make it worthy of consideration. Although it’s predominantly for use with the Helix amp, it has many different uses that make it suitable for a range of dynamic-based applications. My Review: Moog is a legendary manufacturer of synthesizers and electronic music devices, so it was no surprise for me to discover that they also produce a unique, innovative volume pedal. One of the things that instantly sold me on the EP-3 is its durability – it’s built like a tank and afforded me with the option of either controlling my whole dynamic output or dedicating the pedal to a specific parameter on another effect. If I was to identify the main quality which makes this volume pedal stand out amongst the crowd, it would have to be its impeccable non-slip action. The last thing a musician needs is for their foot to slip off the volume pedal at the pivotal moment, so the design of the EXP-001 was music to my ears! On the front of the unit you have one input, and three outputs for Expression, Tuner, and regular Audio Output. The Dunlop DVP3 is both a volume and expression pedal. The audio output is a 250k ohm audio taper (this is also known as logarithmic, which just means the volume increases more slowly at the beginning of the rotation and more steeply at the end), while the expression output is a 10k linear taper. It’s a passive volume pedal, meaning no power is required.

What To Look For In A Volume Pedal

The reason why I don’t use this is that I can already achieve this effect by using the volume knobs on my guitars, so I would rather use the pedal for something I otherwise could not do. Again, it is perfectly possible that there are cases in which this technique could be useful, and it is always good to know it is there if you eventually need it. Playing Volume Swells Thankfully, using a pedal with dual outputs provides the perfect solution. When the bassist turns on their effects, it plays through a second amplifier while their original, clean low-end still drives their overall tone, and there is no loss of power caused by the process. Passive vs. Active Volume Pedals Other interesting features include a gain knob that allows you to get up to 10dB of boost that can help you push a tube amplifier into breakup.