Which volume pedal to buy?

[Phillip Leggett]

Hey folks!

I’m looking to buy a volume pedal, hopefully one that will last me years to come so I don’t mind spending money.

Which are your favourite volume pedals and why?

Thanks in advance!
Phill

[Joseph Carlson]

I've owned pretty much every brand of volume pedal and my current favorite is the Lehle Mono 90

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... lume-pedal

The thing I like best is that it can be powered by a standard 9 volt pedal power supply like a OneSpot.

No weird wallwart that is impossible to replace and overly fragile.

[Larry Dering]

I've been a Goodrich user for over 35 years. One of the most popular and widely used pedal in the industry. There is other choices and I've tried a few but Goodrich is my main choice, I have 5 of them.

[Roger Crawford]

Goodrich is the Eveready Bunny of volume pedals. With the new pots, they last forever.

[Paul Sutherland]

I have been using a Hilton for almost ten years and have no plans to change.

[Stew Crookes]

If you want an active pedal, the Hilton is great
If you're more into passive pedals (which I've ultimately realized is my preference so I sold my Hilton) you can't go wrong with a Goodrich 120. That's what I have in my practice/recording setup, and my gig pedal is a Moyo which I also really like!

[David Ball]

I've owned pretty much every brand of volume pedal and my current favorite is the Lehle Mono 90

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... lume-pedal

The thing I like best is that it can be powered by a standard 9 volt pedal power supply like a OneSpot.

No weird wallwart that is impossible to replace and overly fragile.

Another vote for the Lehle. I've had pretty much all of them and still have a couple of Goodrich pedals as well as a Bigsby and Fender. The Lehle just sounds best to me, and it's easy to adjust the "zero point" to allow just a hair of sound to come through so intonation when you rev it up doesn't come as a complete surprise.

Dave

[Marvin Born]

Check out the Telonics FP-100 vol pedal. They are all electronics, no pot , no string, no light system. They are expensive compared to other pedals. But last forever, and if a problem occurs, Telonics has outstanding customer service. I have three, one was a first run model. NO problems ever.

The FP100 has adjustable taper, if you play a Goodrich or a Hilton, you can set the Telonics to match and you never have to relearn a new pedal. You can also adjust the pedal for Zero gain or plus 6 db which is handy when you need just a little more sustain for a couple of measures.

HIlton pedal brackets fit the Telonics.

Check out Telonics.com , then Pro Audio.

[Phillip Leggett]

This is great, thanks everyone I really appreciate it!

[Phillip Leggett]

Also when choosing a volume pedal, what am I looking for? What is it that makes one volume pedal more desirable than the next?

Thanks!

[Bill Fisher]

Read what Marvin said about Telonics. Your answer lies within.

Bill

[Lee Baucum]

Goodrich is the Eveready Bunny of volume pedals. With the new pots, they last forever.

Agreed.

[Bob Hoffnar]

I’m another standard Goodrich L120 guy. I also keep the mini version Moyo pedal as a backup around. It’s fantastic too. I use it for fly dates. It actually feels and sounds the same as the Goodrich.

[Bobby D. Jones]

I use Goodrich 120's. They stand alone. No power supply, Batteries and wall warts to deal with. For quick band changes on small stages, Where equipment must be changed at break between bands.

[Tommy Boswell]

Here's another option: https://www.stageonesteelguitars.com/pedals

It has a gear drive, no string to mess with like the Goodrich, if you ever have to replace a pot. I've got two of these. I've found them to be very reliable.

[Bob Watson]

Goodrich or an old Sho Bud are my two favorites.

[Erv Niehaus]

The latest Goodrich pedal is a good choice, it can be run either active or passive.

[Daniel Policarpo]

Have been real happy with my Stage One volume pedal. Like the way it works towards the end of the throw, lightweight, looks good, feels good, took any consideration of looking for another volume pedal off the table.

[Bill Duncan]

Lehle. I always used a pot pedal and thought they were great until I tried the Lehle. That is my opinion and only matters to me of course.

[Dave Stagner]

I love my Moyo. Besides being tiny and tough, it is very comfortable to play. I’d like to try a Lehle at some point, though.

[Rick Contino]

Here's another +1 for Stage One. Here's what I like:

- It's passive so no battery or power cord to worry about
- The control mechanism is a rack and pinion setup. I could never for the life of me figure out the restringing on the goodrich and I am a pretty handy dude.
- Lightweight, looks fine, easy overall.

[Jim Pitman]

I've had a Shobud, inherited a Goodrich, and borrowed a Fractul EV1 which is full size.
The Sho-bud seemed to eat pots until I modified it by adding a support to the opposite side of the shaft. - Problem solved. It's higher profile than the others which I think is a detriment considering one actuates knee levers with the right leg. I inherited a Goodrich that I've been using for a couple years that has been trouble free and is lower profile. The Fractul was nice. It was lower profile and used a rack and pinion which in my opinion is much easier to maintain/adjust than string pedals. However it uses a 100k pot which is on the low side for some guitars/amps and may attenuate the highs.
If I had to buy one. it would be the Fractul and then replace it's pot with the Dunlop or Goodrich. 470k is appropriate for our High Z pedal steel pickups. The EV1 is full size. They offer the smaller EV2 as well. Either that, or the stage one which comes with a Dunlop.
I'm not a fan of active pedals because of the battery issue.

[Mark Evans]

Volume pedal is sorta new to me. Lotta knee movement w/volume pedal and steel on the lap, sitting. Initially awkward. But The variety of tones has made it worth adapting to.
The Moyo is quite nice - smooth operation, small footprint… but its size makes it disappear under my guitar.
I’m getting to know a Lehle Mono 90 and I like it. Wonderful sound, easy to find with my foot. Adjustable. I like.

[Stephen Cowell]

Volume pedal is sorta new to me. Lotta knee movement w/volume pedal and steel on the lap, sitting. (snip)

I wondered why Cindy Cashdollar put the pedal so far out there when sitting and playing... then I noticed... her knee was not pumping up and down. It's the little things...

[Mark Evans]

Volume pedal is sorta new to me. Lotta knee movement w/volume pedal and steel on the lap, sitting. (snip)

I wondered why Cindy Cashdollar put the pedal so far out there when sitting and playing... then I noticed... her knee was not pumping up and down. It's the little things...

I’ve heard this (and I saw her at an outdoor festival I Madison, WI… but I was far from the stage.). It. Seems that the pedal would have to be slightly propped up for that, like the angle of a gas pedal in a car. Perhaps I’ll search on YouTube for vids of her. Anyway, I’ve found that using my right foot moves the guitar body a bit but not so much the neck/left hand area.