Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

I have been playing guitar for about 7 years now and have been playing live for about a year(which is why I needed this pedal). The Ernie Ball VP JR is a great choice for anyone who needs greater control over their volume in order to produce a more dynamic sound. When creating swells, it just doesn't get much better. You can put your full weight onto the pedal and it will still pivot smoothly, overall a good purchase for any serious musicians.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

Ernie Ball makes a fine volume pedal for the money. I love my VP Jr Passive Volume Pedal! It's clean, transparent, eats none of my signal, and gives me the active control I need while playing live. It is nice looking on my pedal board and takes up less realestate than the other pedals in their line. And, it requires no power. Sweet! Let me include, however, that I originally bought the VP Jr Active 25, because that's what the Ernie Ball folks recommended for the active pickup in my acoustic guitar (Fishman Stereo Blender, 9v powered). I was concerned that the Active 25 pedal has only a 25k resistor in it's circuitry, whereas the VP Jr Passive has a 250k resistor. Less resistance for an active pickup that has a stonger signal and visa-versa didn't make any sense to me, but that's what they said I should use. The Active 25 ate about 10 db of my signal strength and the volume sweep was intensley concentrated at the last bit of the pedal's throw - not good. So, I tried the VP Jr Passive. What a difference! Not only does it NOT eat any signal at all (flat, like my Radial JDI MK3), it has a sweep profile switch that allows choice between two different sweep profiles. One of them is much more gradual, allowing much more gain at the earlier part of the pedal's throw. In conclusion, I highly recommend that you try both with your guitar before buying. It'll save you all the trips to the store that I had to make.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

I bought this pedal a couple of months ago, and in the middle of a gig, this thing went out on me. It's string operated, rather than a gear, so when the string breaks, the pedal is useless. I replaced the string, and a few weeks later it started having calibration problems. So I replaced it again, and the potentiometer went out. Buy this if you don't gig a lot. but if you do, i wouldn't prefer it.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

I originally bought a ModTone to do guitar volume swells, but the action was too clunky and the volume jumped abruptly. I gave the Ernie Ball a try, and was instantly won over. This is a very simple pedal, but it does exactly what I want it to - swell smoothly from 0% all the way up to 100% volume with a steady rate across the board. Very smooth pedal action. Well worth the few dollars more to have a nice piece of equipment.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal. I like this volume pedal because it doesn't color tone... you maybe thinking to yourself, "Its a volume pedal... theres not much to it." Wrong! If the components are poor in quality the volume pedal will reflect that. The tuner out is very handy but be aware that if your tuner is poor in quality it may still effet the tone.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

I like the pedal and would have given it 5 stars had it not been for the sudden jump in volume at the end of the 'throw' of the pedal. It takes some getting used to,as far as where this major spike in volume occurs, and can prove to produce a very awkward result in the music.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

This pedal delivers. Smooth rocker, very smooth. Sturdy construction. Doesn't add noise. Passive, so no power supply necessary. I've tried a lot, this is the best.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

The pedal is extremely sturdy and well built. It has a very smooth motion and smooth volume control. It doesn't cut the sound off abruptly like other vol pedals. I see some people complaining that it affected their tone or changed their sound but I have had no problem with mine sucking tone. I use it at the begginning of my chain and I absolutely love it. I highly recommend this volume pedal.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

I totally agree with the previous reviewer. I've owned several volume/tone pedals that just couldn't do swells smoothly. They were either abrupt or sucked the tone out of the amp. Sold those pedals and tried the Ernie Ball pedal. A dream. Built strong but gives me the control of my volume. I use it at the beginning of the chain and everything flows smooth as silk. I highly recommend this pedal. Buying used from Guitar Center not only saves bucks but you get an almost brand new pedal for a lot less money. Solid 5 stars.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

definitely alters your tone. as a bass player you lose some of the "sweet spot' in your tone - bass, low mids. though it does not make your tone sound bad, it simply doesn't sound the same when not using it. i realize when using effect pedals this i always a balance, but being that this isn't really an "effect" pedal, and therefore it should not alter your tone in any way - bit it does. too bad i had to return it back as i liked the concept of having a volume pedal on stage.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

I have taken mine apart and put it back together many times now. It started to squeak at the pivot bar so I sprayed some gun oil in it. The squeak stopped but the feel of it changed to a loose/mushy feel. I completely tore it down, cleaned the parts with alcohol, then greased the friction points with Vaseline to restore the smooth action I wanted. Then the pot started causing a crackling noise in the signal. Sprayed the pot with brake cleaner and fixed it for about 2 weeks then it locked up completely. After replacing the pot, I stretched the spring out of shape and tension was too loose. The string kept coming off so I had to replace the spring. I have tried to find a better pedal but I keep coming back to this one. Nothing else has the same gradual swell I want. Besides, now that I'm an expert on it I can fix just about anything else that may go wrong with it again. It's been a real pain but I can't find anything that works better.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

Purchased this about 7 months ago. Already the volume pod is crackling and popping. Can't stop it either. Extremely disappointed.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

Just what I needed to play at my church.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal. Its an industry standard... and you can tell why. It has a tuner out, instrument in, & amplifier out. The pedal is smooth, solid construction, & worth every penny.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

I think the pedal is a little expensive, but it is worth it. It is super simple to use and sounds really good. It doesnt introduce any static/hiss/hum in the sound (probably because its passive and also well grounded). Thats why it doesnt even need a power supply. It is also built really sturdy and will handle abuse really easy.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

This volume pedal is the one to buy! Great price and a simple but rugged design. I recommend it for any guitarist.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

I have had three of these now and each one has been a hassle. The first ones string broke after about being passed down from my old lead guitarist at the church I play at. (He broke his first one) I had the one he passed down then it broke, got a new one with the warranty and that one only lasted a few months then it broke. And now the one i have pops and crackles like an old record. Other than the fact that they break regularly they suck a tiny bit of tone but you can work around that. They rock for volume swells, dont take as much space as a morley or the normal Ernie Ball VP, and its passive so it runs without power but as I said before they break really easy.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

The pedal works smoothly and the volume control is very precise. I am very happy with my purchase.
I have concerns about all the reports of string breakage, but I am using it on my lap and pedal steel in a very gentle way.
I can imagine that people are madly jumping on the pedal to cause the breakage, but I really don't know that for sure.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

Horrible pedal tone sucking and breaks easily.

Comments about Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal:

I bought a 1680 six months ago. Shortly after I bought it I started noticing a snapping kind of sound. The frequency has continued to increase until now it is several times during a verse or a song. I sentit to Ernie Ball who rebuilt it but the problem is still there. I sent them a sound bite two days ago so they could hear what was happening but have not heard from them as of yet. It is now starting to affect the amp sound by sudden changes in volume. It is under warranty so hope they will fix it or replace it as an inferior pedal.