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RE: Boss volume pedals

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10/26/2004 8:08 PM

RE: Boss volume pedals

Hello. Thanks first off to all of you esp. Mark for answering all my ?'s so far.

I have found that I need a volume pedal after my effects chain and before the amp. Will just any vol pedal do?

What is the main electronic difference between the boss FV50 series and the Ernie Balls and Dunlop/Vox types?

I have read everything I can find, but no one specifically addresses the issue of placemnet of the vol between the effects chain and amp except for the users of FV50-L.

Boss make two type, the 50L and the 50H. L and H meaning low and high impedance. Explain why the difference.

When we are talking about impedance, are we talking with respect to ground? ie the high input on alot of amps with a 1M resistor between the signal jack and ground. Isn't this high impedance?

Please clear this up for me.

I need a vol pedal to do the job and there are a lot to choose from.

BTW, it can't be too hard to turn an old wah into a vol pedal. Anyone done this?

Thanks a ton!

JIG

10/27/2004 6:56 AM

You are correct that the 1 meg input resistor equates to a 1 meg input impedance, which is "high-impedance.

Basically, the 50H would be used when you plan to plug into an amps front panel input jack. (Hi-Z)
The 50L would be used when you intend to use it in an effects loop, or into a mixing board, where the effective input impedance will be closer to 10k-20k.

As a side note: when you hear people, in audio, refer to "low-impedance", it generally refers to a microphone input, which would be in the 150-600 ohm range. These will generally be an XLR type connector. (3-prong)

10/27/2004 8:56 AM

those plastic Boss ones look like cheap pieces of crap, IMO. Cheap, lightweight housing (probably flop around a lot, easily moved on a stage), cheap-ass-looking potentiometer (doesn't look heavy duty enough to be used/abused on a regular basis). Sho-Bud? w/the metal housing--those look better built to me. I would guess the pots for the high and low impedance are different in value, high has a high value pot, low lower value for low impedance lines which can drive a heavier load, probably. Still, you might prefer those so check them out personally if at all possible.

11/4/2004 12:38 PM
Ben N	Ditto on the Boss pedals. You can't go wrong with an Ernie Ball: solid as heck and easy to service. Not cheap, but less than a Sho-Bud or Goodrich, and they will last forever, although you will have to replace the pot and the string eventually. It you have it following a pedal with a buffered output, you will have no tone-suck worries, either. jm2c Ben

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