Why You Need a Volume Pedal!

The volume pedal is a pretty amazing piece of gear , and I don’t think most people realize all that they can do with it. It’s usually seen as this simple volume control device-- which is accurate --but it also holds within it magic. In this episode, we’re going to unpack some of that magic.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:28 History of Volume Pedals
2:40 Fuzz and Volume
4:34 "Swollen Face"
6:28 Expression
8:08 "Venus Frontier"
9:52 Effects Loop
10:54 Effect Loop Demonstration
12:17 Swells
13:48 "Prairie Dog Daydream"
15:07 More Volume Pedal Tips
16:52 Record Time
17:42 Thanks for Watching!

Gear in this Episode:
Dunlop JHF1 Jimi Hendrix Signature Fuzz Face
Ernie Ball 6180 VP Jr Mono Volume Pedal
Universal Audio Starlight Echo Station
JHS SuperBolt V2
EHX Oceans 12
Boss RV-6 Reverb
Vertex Boost
Insert Cable

Record Time:
Beabadoobee - Fake it Flowers

Josh’s record player is by U-Turn Audio:

The jams from this episode are on BandLab! Head over to the link below to jam with us, download the stems, and create your own samples from our sounds... or all of those things.

#jhs #thejhsshow #volumepedal

[robotsongs]

I LIKE THE PART WHERE THE BIG MAN HOLDS THE ELECTRONICS

[RaxFx]

BREAKING NEWS: volume pedal sales volume has just increased beyond expression

[Infinighost]

HE USED ONE OF THE SOVTEKS! HE USED ONE OF THE SOVTEKS! Does this mean we're one step closer to the mythical Sovtek episode???

[robertpurdy]

The trick of turning your volume pedal into an expression pedal just blew my mind. This may be the most important video ever!!!

[eggnogthespacecadet]

I love it when Nick yells from offscreen, I just always find it hilarious for some reason.

[natehofer]

As a pedal steel player, I want to recommend looking up the 1950s Bigsby volume/tone pedals. Up and down for volume (like we all know) but also left and right for that “boo-wah” tone effect. Two pots. I think you all might dig knowing about it.

[billphillipstube]

I’d like to take a moment to recognize two items:
1. Nick’s “brushes on toms” drum tone during the Prairie dog jam was amazing. Very pleasing. I think that deserves to be recognized.

2: Referring to what happened to the see saw as if everyone knows what happened, although no one, in fact, actually knows what happened, isn’t nice. You have the tea. Spill the tea.

Oh, and I use my volume pedal to control my volume, post gain but pre wet.

[stfisher]

Alex Lifeson is a master at using volume swells to remove the attack of his picks. One of my favorite guitarists.

[VertexEffectsInc]

Cool video! Thanks for the honorable mention at 16:13 we appreciate it!

[DylanMichaelToddMusic]

Honestly the acting with the baby was moving. Just as good as the musical

[Bliggick]

This guy I played with a long time ago was a master of using his Ernie Ball volume pedal with bends on his Telecaster to simulate Country pedal steel guitar. I tried it but it takes years of practice.

[jacquesd]

JHS is such an amazing musician-composer. His "jams" are full-blown awesome mini songs with lots of soul, feel and good ole rock n' roll. Thanks for the great tips, and, most of all, thanks for the great music.

[richieworrell]

wow I never thought I would SEE what I SAW in this video

[RexKrueger]

The trick with the volume pedal in the effects loop really blew my mind, but it also made me wonder why more amps don't just come with a volume pot in that part of the circuit. Seems like a feature many people would want. Lots of folks use an attenuator with loud amps and I imagine that's better at capturing power-tube distortion, too. But is the fancy attenuator really that much better? Many interesting questions here. Oh and fantastic video. Just amazing.

[greycastro]

The little red pedal getting trash-talked near the end looked like the Hotone Soul Press. I’ve got one, and I really like it. I use it primarily as a volume pedal, doing swells, but on a crowded board, having the option of using it as a wah or an expression pedal (it does all three)—and the whole thing having a fairly small footprint—is super nice.

[jdsherman]

And Josh's Slide Guitar sound takes a giant leap forward. Rhett Shull weeps.

[Nightryder]

Your simplicity is amazing!. That fact that you show different and good products on your channel makes me wanna buy ur product more.

[privateer]

Steve Morse was famous for using volume pedals as expression pedals. I think he invented their use as such back in the mid-70's. He would use his main amp as the dry sound and then use the preamp out of that amp to drive a second amp for effected sound only. The cable to the second amp would go to a passive splitter and then have one cable going to each of his three effects (long delay, short delay, and guitar synth) He would then place a volume pedal between each effect and then run all three back to a 2nd splitter which reassembled the three cables into a single one that plugged into the 2nd amp. He could thus bring his effects in and or combine 2 or three at various levels for an almost infinite variety of sounds. Simple, brilliant, and effective. He constantly switched pickups and hit those pedals...he was a busy man onstage. Look at any performance from any era and you'll see.

[brendanguinn]

Just want to say yall's channel really relit my love of guitar, and music too. Thanks for all you do, I hope to one day be able to afford one of your pedals

[Kashed]

Another tip, if you are playing out and the sound guy is known to not give you enough volume, do the soundcheck with the volume pedal at 75% and when it comes time to play or solo you have the volume you deserve. 🤓