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I've gone through other similar threads on this forum but am mostly left with more questions. Hope some of you can help w/some answers and suggestions.
For the last few years, I've basically just plugged straight into whatever amp is available... no pedals. At home, I typically play clean into my Polytone MiniBrute. But at practice sessions and lately live, I'm stuck playing into whatever (normally acoustic) amp is available and I may have little to no control over the settings other than volume. Most of the time, it sounds fine.
Lately, I find the guys I'm practicing with are calling for more fusion/acid-jazz tunes. My intention is to play with some pedals for a subtle effect. I've already added a Boss DD-3 delay and can give it a nice fuller tone w/out any over-the-top effect. I may try some chorus. I don't know yet.
My main question though has to do with jacking up the volume on solos. I've noticed numerous times now in practice and live settings that upon going into a solo, I'm not loud enough. Occasionally, I have some volume knob to spare on the guitar. But I hate having to stop playing upon realizing this to adjust the volume.
I thought perhaps adding a volume pedal before the delay or other effects (if any are being used) would act like a volume knob. Increase it for solos and then get out of it afterwards.
But I've also been reading about clean boosts and can't tell if that's a better way to go about it.
Others have also suggested EQ pedals. I like the idea of that but I imagine between the eq on my one guitar (godin multiac nylon sa), and the setting on the amp, I'm not sure if I'd have to readjust the settings on the pedal everytime I hooked up to a new amp or not. Sometimes, I simply don't have time to fiddle.
I really don't have enough experience to know what's what.
I also own a Tech 21 Sansamp GT2 pedal. Someone gave this to me a while back and I imagine it could sort of act like a boost or eq (sort of) but I'm not entirely sure if this is the way to go or where it'd even go in the chain if I did try it out.
Anyway, happy to answer any follow up questions. I'd also love input on specific models/brands if we make it that far...
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07-01-2013 09:08 AM
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A volume pedal is the simplest solution. With an acoustic amp I would go with an eq / booster though... you can warm it / eq it / and have a solo boost. The Empress Para-EQ is the only I can think of that has a separate booster... Do you have any access to someone who makes pedals? Something custom could be the cheapest way to go.
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Can't say I know anyone who makes pedals and though I love to experiment, 95% of the time I play fairly clean. I just want to juice it up a bit, so to speak, without going over the top.
While I am usually playing through an acoustic amp, that may not always be the case.
I should probably play with the GT2 pedal I have as that could probably achieve the effect of shaping the sound regardless of the amp (or at least, experiment w/it before buying a new boost or eq pedal). But I guess you are also saying a volume pedal at the front of the chain would do what I need it to do... which is to get in and out of solos w/out fumbling around on the guitar knob.
I can see myself eventually experimenting w/volume swells and such but in time......
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I bet there is a cheap eq with an independent booster but I am not remembering any right now... another option is avoiding the need for eq when not soloing. In that case any cheap eq will do it, turn it on for solos, off for non solos. I had a Monte Allums GE-7 for 60€ that worked really well for that.
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A booster is probably better because if you're running a passive volume, not all the way up most of the time, you can kill your highs. It's literally putting another volume pot between your guitar and amp. There are companies that mod existing pedals to be active but if you only need to be louder 3% of the time, it seems like a booster may be better. I have an Ernie Ball volume pedal if you want to experiment.
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Not sure I fully understand. By passive are you talking about the difference between say passive vs active signals (in that I see those pedals come in both flavors.)
If I used a volume pedal before any other pedals, w/most guitars I assume you want the passive signal pedal. My godin multiac nylon has an internal battery and onboard eq so I don't know if that makes a difference or not.
I also play an El Rey 1 which I'm sure would be passive.
So on one hand you are saying 'boost' but then saying you have a volume pedal. Are you selling that?
Ok...so if my volume is set fairly high on the guitar but I'm using a volume pedal set back a bit during comping, I'm cutting something out of the mix? I figured the pedal in that situation would be no different than the volume knob on the guitar.
As I mentioned above, I might be able to get the same kind of boost and eq effect out of the GT2 pedal I already own but I will need to experiment to figure it out. I'll try that tonight or tomorrow.
Another thing... w/a boost pedal, I assume you could activate it only to find you are still not loud enough or perhaps too loud and then you are back to fiddling with knobs, no? Seems like a volume pedal would allow you to smooth out the volume on the fly a bit easier, unless I'm mistaken.
Update: Please correct me if I'm wrong... Did some more digging and I think that if I have a volume pedal (for passive signal) after my guitar but before say a delay and/or chorus, I might just be coloring those effects (on top of increasing the volume a bit). Is that right?
If I simply wanted to add clean volume, I'd put it after the pedals but in that case I'd likely need the volume pedal for active instruments, no? If this is the case, the problem then becomes that sometimes I'll have pedals and sometimes I won't use any. So I don't see a simple solution.
But... a clean boost.. say the MXR Micro Amp set after any pedals (or none at all) would give a simple volume lift.
Is that right?
The only thing to consider then is knowing how much gain to add in advance. Else, like I ask above, are you not then just back to fiddling with knobs on the fly?Last edited by stuttsdc; 07-01-2013 at 11:19 AM.
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re: passive
If the volume pedal is passive, it is often literally a potentiometer (pot) inside of a metal case. It's like adding another volume pot between your guitar and amp. It acts the same way as if you were to roll back the volume on your guitar: you lose some highs even fully open. (search "tone suck") Just think of it like having two volumes on your guitar. There is audio science involved that is beyond my brain—something to do with impedance matching / load. Maybe this will work for you, it's hard to say without trying it.
re: active
There are volume pedals that are powered (battery or wall wart) that avoid that rolloff by internally amplifying the signal / adding a buffer / matching impedance. I've never used one so i can't comment on how good/bad they are. Given your comment about the boost pedal not being the right volume you may want to search out an active volume pedal (Visual Sound, ThruTone, JHS).
Sorry i can't say what will work best for you. I just wanted to point out the potential tone suck. I have an Ernie Ball pedal that kills highs even when it is fully open (100% volume). I'd be interested hear if you do pursue something like the VisualSound.
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More and more, I'm thinking a boost pedal might do the trick. I'm sure the volume situation can't be that complicated.
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This boosts 12 dB and EQs as well.
Originally Posted by stuttsdc
Dunlop Manufacturing :: Electronics :: MXR :: 10-Band Graphic EQ
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Thanks for the tip. I'm going to bookmark that one for the future. For right now, I think I'm going to play around with the GT2 pedal up front to give some warmth to the sound, similar to an EQ. And then I have my eye on a used BBE Boosta Grande pedal for a clean boost. But I will consider a unit like this if that doesn't quite pan out.
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I also used to find it bothersome to deal with the volume control on my guitar and used a volume pedal for years. But I got tired of being anchored to one spot, spending a lot of time standing on one leg. So, I learned to use the guitar volume control. Just like everything else on guitar, it gets easier with practice to the point that you should be able to adjust volume in a fraction of a second. I don't miss having to carry that extra piece of equipment around.
As for clean boost pedals, I like the Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster. It's small and transparent sounding, but also has a switch that can slightly alter the EQ of your guitar. It's also reasonably priced. I usually put it first in my chain of effects, but whatever sounds best with your other pedals is the way to go.
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For what it is worth - i also hate the tone loss upon turning the volume knob on the guitar down. Spending most of the time on one leg to operate a volume pedal that also leads to tone loss is equally unappealing. I guess a cheap and reasonable solution is an eq pedal like the Boss GE7. You could adjust the amp such that you like your rhythm tone and then set the eq pedal such that it boosts volume and, say, the portion of the mids that allows you to cut through and have the solo tone that you like.
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Potential update if you never figured out your boost needs: Ernie Ball just released an active volume pedal which includes a minimum volume option and 20db boost.
Ernie Ball MVP
Ernie Ball | Pedals
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Most of us aren't playing fusion on an electric nylon string with an inconveniently located volume control on the top of the guitar, which seems to be the problem. I think a volume pedal would be more flexible as it would allow you to adjust the level you need for any given situation, while a booster or EQ is going to limit you to a level you'll have to preset and live with when you turn it on/off.
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I have the visual sound volume, and i cant rate it highly enough. it has an internal boost, so you can add some DB, this means, because it's active, you can have your normal comping volume set, and have plenty of room left for a boost. amazing, no roll off on tone etc...
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I have a Xotic RC Booster pedal. One of my favourite pedals. It can give you a boost if you want and also you can EQ with it. If I'm not cutting through it's the first thing I step on.
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I've used a Boosta Grande from BBE with very nice results. Also used a ModTone Mini Clean Boost, but it seems to color the tone slightly. Whit Smith from Hot Club of Cowtown uses a T-Rex Clean Boost I believe.
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I have an MXR clean boost pedal and I love it and it is great.
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I also have the Xotic RC booster, very nice and trasnsparent. Originally Posted by dmorash
It has 4 knobs:
Volume, gain, treble and bass.
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I have an RC Booster clone (in a combo pedal with a tube screamer) with different op amps (OPA2134) and gain pot (1M). It's the best stacker I've heardm, both my heavily modded TS and RAT sound much better with the RC after the. It opens their sound and allows to add some lost bass and to cur the treble in a much more natural way than the filter / tone controls.
It's also brilliant in front of my henriksen... that Baxandall EQ and tube vibe are perfect for the amp, as good as the Barb EQ (which has a completely different voicing, that's why I use both).
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I've just starting using a Boss EQ pedal, it has 7 bands, a volume level and a quiet on/off. I've no volume or tone controls in some of my guitars, so I'm using it for those.
I'll keep you up dated with my findings.
Guy
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i also like the ep booster for this. ideally, i'd have two- one to add more dirt in front of a dirt pedal, and one after to fill out the sound and bring up the volume some. the rc booster is great because it has little detentes so you can set it flat. probably the best solo boost design i could think of. you can also add a little more grit if you need to. it might stay on my board if i actually did solos. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
i've seen eq pedals used for this sort of thing as well, but you have to be a little more cognizant of exactly which frequencies you want to bump to make you stand out without fundamentally altering your sound. not everyone is that eq savvy. you could also just add more volume with them, but that'll add more gain if you aren't careful.
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I used a little Yamaha EQ box for this for a while, but found exactly that problem with the gain and I couldn't really control it as easily as I wanted. Originally Posted by feet
I also had a volume pedal built into the floor controller of the Vox amp, but after I managed to catch it inadvertently whilst moving around onstage and silence myself a couple of times, I was a little wary of that too - plus you get all the volume in the first 30% of the travel of the pedal - not subtle.
In the end, I invested in a Carl Martin Hydra Boost. +15db of clean boost, with a gain control if you want to add a little 'edge' to the solo. The whole advantage for me is to be able to preset a level of "lift" without having to guess or adjust as I would with the volume pedal. Since I stand while playing, I don't want to be balancing on one leg trying to get the volume level exactly right. I need fewer things to have to think about while playing, not more!
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I've tried stacking with Shape EQ, GE-7, BYOC Parametric EQ, Para Driver DI, etc... all were pretty lame compared to the RC Booster. The RC is also an excellent warmer / eq to use with a sterile amp like an Henriksen. Never tried the EP honestly... I've heard it has a low-mid bump which could be good / bad depending on one's setup. Originally Posted by feet
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you don't say. maybe i should give it a shot with the roland. i have an old liquid blues tube overdrive that i use as a warming preamp, but the thing is huge. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
i tried the ep booster with the jc-77 and it was very much the unstoppable force (overdrive) vs the immovable object (sterile amp). the amp was not happy at all. i do love it for my voxes, though. it does add a little warmth and a little "wow" (sort of a technical term there), but you can shape it a little with internal dip switches. depending on your amp and how it is set, it won't begin to distort until past 12 o clock. you could even set it all the way off and bask in its warming glow without an increase in volume (unless you set the internal db boost). i prefer it to the rc booster as an always on, or slight overdrive kind of thing. especially because i play at low volumes, i can get a little more fullness without having to crank the amp. but the volume knob on your amp would have a pretty similar effect, too.
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