Never would have guessed the difference - passive vs. active volume pedals

[Michael Lester]

I've been back to pedal steel after a lengthy stray into 8 string console and lap.

Been playing my trusty L120 Goodrich and assumed all was well.

As a fan of Johny King I noticed one of his posts showing a selection of volume pedals and concluded that "....if I just had a more modern volume pedal, life would be perfect."

Talked to Johny and ended up with a barely used Hilton.

My, what a positive difference.

For those of you who have followed my "So you want to sound like Paul Franklin" thread in Electronics, this new-to-me pedal has inched me even closer to the Stardom I deserve.

HILTON PEDAL.jpg

goodrich 11.jpg

[Ian Rae]

The Goodrich has "character" but the Hilton has transparency, which suits me better

[Michael Rogge]

I was using a Dunlop volume pedal at first but when I got the Hilton it was like the guitar woke up. It did some Justice to my Justice.

[Tom Gorr]

My experience has been this:

If you use a passive vol pedal, use the shortest, highest quality cables you can get away with. This helps preserve the highs.

If you use an active pedal, or an active buffer, use longer cables between the steel and first active pedal to shed some highs, or it may be shrill or hard to dial in in many cases.

Which direction is best depends on the amp and speaker. I prefer passive into an amp with bright speakers, for example.

I can see why Sarno's Freeloader device could really be a helpful tool.

[Steve Lipsey]

Going through any pedal with a buffer - like a tuner - before hitting the volume pedal pot, will preserve the highs lost in a passive pedal when it is not fully on.

[Nathan Pocock]

Going through any pedal with a buffer - like a tuner - before hitting the volume pedal pot, will preserve the highs lost in a passive pedal when it is not fully on.

I tried this route using my Goodrich passive pedal and my Peterson Strobostomp as the buffer. I found I didn’t really like the sound and I liked the passive pedal better. But the tone was still variable depending on where the pedal was in the throw. I decided to try a Sarno Freeloader into the Goodrich and I really like that setup. It just allows you to fatten up the sound of the pickup in a sweet way.