Ernie Ball 6166 250K Mono Volume Pedal for use with Passive Electronics

This is a volume pedal. Plain and simple. You don't need editing options, digital conversions, thoughts whether it's best with a tube or a transistor. This is pure analog. You get a 1/4" inputs, output and tuner jack. It says 'Tuner Out' on the pedal, but it is in fact just a parallel signal, so you could actually use this, as a passive split, should you feel the need for that.

UTILIZATION

I bought this pedal, as I was tired of the impracticality of using the volume knob on my guitar, when doing volume swells and such. Throwing this baby into the chain made it so much easier.
It couldn't be any easier to set it up too. Take the jack from you guitar, plug it into the input of the pedal. Take the output of the pedal and send it to your amp, or the next effect in the chain. Simple as that!

I use a G-system and run one 6166 volume pedal in front of the G and one using the build in volume pedal expression jack in the G. This gives me the option, to kill my input volume and let a delay tail die out on its own, or lower the volume in general. This is a really neat trick, if you'r using guitars with different outputs don't want to change settings on e.g. your drive pedal.

SOUND QUALITY

This is were you might find some issues. I've not experienced it myself, even though I'm a huge sucker for tone, but some people complain about the fact, that this pedal takes away some of your treble signal, when pulled slightly back. Some have also complained about the parallel output (tuner) to suck away some tonal quality to the main signal. I haven't experienced that myself neither. It might all just come down to a matter of buffers in the setup (and partially also some psychological factors).

OVERALL OPINION

If you want a sturdy and practically unbreakable volume pedal, without any unnecessary options, then you should go for this one! It's build out of a solid block of aluminum, so it won't break even under heavy stress. The weak link is the string pulling the pot internally, but for as little as $10 (tops) you'll have it fixed again. You can even do it yourself. You pay a bit more, when buying it new, compared to other volume pedals, but you'll be glad you did! If you need it in stereo - don't worry. Ernie Ball got you covered to.

This unit is simply a Volume pedal, no more, no less. There is no need for computer editing as this is strictly and Audio piece of gear. This is completely analog with a small potentiometer that regulates the volume envelope. This is strictly Analog, no digital required. The unit comes with one 1/4" input and two 1/4" outputs. They are not stereo ouputs by the way, in fact the other is a "copy" of the first output designed to feed a Tuner pedal/device. I have used the tuner output before as a second audio path and noticed no inferior sound quality so I believe you could use this feature if needed. It is not rackable in any traditional sense.

UTILIZATION

This pedal does not come with any extra control options like you would find on some other volume pedals. Just volume control. The setup is as simple as pluggin in your instrument into one end and the other into your amp/speaker. I have never referenced a manual nor could ever see needing one.

SOUND QUALITY

I use this pedal at the start of my AUX1 effects loop. This way I can adjust the aux channel on the mixer but not actually feed signal into the effects chain until I operate this volume pedal. It comes in very handy as my mixer is too far away from my gear to operate. I have never noticed any degradation to audio signal with one exception, DUST. When the pedal is completely backed off, the innards are exposed and if left in this position, dust can easily get in there and cause some issues. A good cleaning is usually all that is needed, but it is a pain when you experience it in a live situation.

OVERALL OPINION

What I like most about this pedal is it is very sturdy and offers a good amount of resistance so you have very accurate control over your volume. I really like to use this with my Rhodes to get some nice volume pad sounds and this pedal doesn't disappoint, very sturdy and accurate. I got this used for $50 and I am very happy with it. If for some reason the innards get messed up, the body of the pedal will most likely last for ever and the insides can be replaced relatively cheaply. I have used the Korg xvp 10 which is a stereo pedal. I plan on buying the stereo version of this pedal to replace the korg soon. Yes, I definitely recommend this pedal to everyone in need of a dependable, sturdy volume pedal.

The main problem that I have with most volume pedals is the lack of control. I know I'm probably being a huge stickler for quality. I only really bought volume pedals because I thought that they would allow me to lower my volumes during live shows when necessary, but also not rob me of brightness or tone. A second, more active use I have for them is for volume swells. I was used to performing this technique on my guitar's volume knob, but the impracticality of that was severely limiting. I have often been frustrated with some of the volume pedals that I have purchased over the years, but have recently found a few good ones. This pedal is definitely one of those. It's a little more pricey than what I would really want to pay for it, but it's a good value and Ernie Ball will fix it anytime for a reasonable price (so they say). The pedal is only suitable for guitars and basses with passive pickups because of the resistance that it can handle, but I don't own any instruments with active pickups anyway, so it's not a problem for me at all. Another neat feature is the fact that it provides a switch that switches between two rates at which the volume will swell. For the most part I stick with one setting for my main sound, leaving it at about 80-85% of total volume, and cranking to 100% when it's time for a solo. I find the other setting to be better when I actually want to throw some volume swells in there. I find this technique with a good delay can make some really cool sounds! Another neat feature is a tuner bypass switch, which will allow the guitar to tune while the pedal is completely depressed for silent tuning. However, since I already have a tuner that bypasses for silent tuning, I don't really need this at all, though I'm sure many others will appreciate it. I feel like this is one of the better volume pedals I've tried. I have mixed feeling about the Ernie Ball brand in general, but lately I've really been coming around to them. This pedal has certainly helped in that situation. It's versatile enough for anyone trying to stick with one channel.