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Ernie Ball Mono Volume Pedal Link. Title: Ernie Ball 6166 Mono Volume Pedal Price: $126 new, paid $50 used  Year Manufactured: Example: N/A Specifications: Controls volume via passive circuit with 250k pot. Sturdy all metal chassis, all jacks on front, microswitch that adjusts sweep, dedicated tuner out, overall classy look. I tested the pedal going directly into my Peavey Valveking 112 with no other effects in the chain. Guitar is a 1985 Ibanez Roadstar II series with basswood body, rosewood board, and s/s/h pickup configuration. I went through clean and dirty channels both at bedroom-ish volume. Sound: 5/5. Not much to ask of a volume pedal except transparency. To be fair, I think it may have taken a little bite out of my ultra high frequencies when I plugged into it, but a tiny tweak of the treble control on my amp fixed that. I'll stand by my 5 since I think it's only a problem if it can't be EQed out. The smoothness of the sweep also has to be considered, and this is where the EB excels. The taper provides a perfectly even swell for nice violin and pedal steel-esque sounds. It also does some very nice sounding tremolo effects if you rock back and forth quickly, but this is fairly labor intensive if you want both speed and depth. Slow and deep is easy, subtle and fast is easy, combining the two requires lots of ankle work. I don't mind it at all, and found that I could get some very pleasing sounds by alternating tremolo and swell effects. Quality: 5/5 I don't think these ever actually die. There's very little in them, and EB will replace all of it for $45 if you mail the pedal to them (prices vary by model, that's the price for the mono version that I have). Some people worry about the little string/spring assembly inside being relatively exposed, but I have yet to hear of a pedal dying for that reason. I think the pot will probably wear out before the mechanism does. If the assembly does fail I'm told it's very tricky to replace. That's not a big enough deal for me to dock a point since there are plenty of people who can't fix their own gear, and those that can can probably manage this. EB will replace it (string/spring only) for $25. I can't imagine a volume pedal more durable so I'm sticking to my 5 here too. Usefullness: 5/5 This one's pretty subjective, but again I'm fiving it because there's absolutely nothing interfering with its intended use. You can use it to do anything you volume knob does. Adjusting for song dynamics, compensating for differences in volume caused by other effects or looping/layering (this is the big one for me), making whale sounds, and the tremolo technique discussed above. It's very nice to have with tube amps that clean up when the volume is rolled back. Oh yeah, and if you play lap steel you can use a volume pedal to make it sound like, well, a pedal steel. There's also the whole world of things yu can do by combining it with delays and filters but that could be a thread unto itself. Suffice to say, if you own a Memory Man, Nova Delay, Hog, or anything that makes space noises, this will play nice with it. I'm not going to say that everyone should have one, but if you periodically adjust your volume knob or if you ever do volume swells, you should. Overall Value: Example 5/5 Try eleventy billion out of five. I almost never see these for less than $75 even heavily used. That said, it's not super expensive new for what it does and how long it will last. If you're willing to spend $350 on a distortion pedal (which, let's face it, you are) then this should be a no brainer. And as evidenced by my experience you can find them dirt cheap used also, which makes good sense since they stand up so well over time. I feel like I've already written a whole lot about a very simple device, but the fact that it gives the player so many options is one of its big selling points. I'm not normally the type to give fives in category, but my criterion is whether or not the product could be improved. In every case concerning the 6166, I think the answer (without going into audiophile/silly territory) is no.
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Sep 20, 2008 23:26
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 20:23 |
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