Best vol pedal for use with Voodoo Vibe ?

[Fusionista]

Tried my Budda Wah which can double as an expression pedal but it doesn't want to play.

[downbytheriver]

Ernie Ball. It doesn't want an expression pedal, it wants a volume pedal.

[Fusionista]

I thought they were the same thing ?

This Voodoo Vibe is a big piece of real estate. OK for Bonamassa whose gear is carted around by techs and has big stages to plonk it all on. For me who wants the smallest footprint possible, it would be very handy if I could get a wah pedal which did also function as a volume pedal. All suggestions gratefully received.

[downbytheriver]

An expression pedal has one lead from the device to the pedal.

A volume pedal has two leads - one to the pedal, one to wherever it's going - this pedal sits in the send and return loop on the voodoo vibe.

If you had a wah that worked as a volume, I am at a dead loss as to how you would wire it to work with the voodoo vibe AND as a wah - you need two pedals. As a huge lover of the voodoo vibe I would have to say, if you want to minimise space and still want pedal control of the vibe, go and get the fulltone vibe that is built into a rocker pedal.

[Fusionista]

One lives and learns. I discover a wah/volume can serve as either one or the other (even when it works) but not both! The Fulltone idea is a good one. I have an original Mini Deja Vibe (unpainted box) but needed a Trem and also wanted to compare the Roger Mayer. BTW it does not disappoint - the sound is amazing - just it is a little old-fashioned sizewise.

[ICBM]

It's not the number of cables, it's the number of *connections* that matters.

Some pedals require a simple variable resistance, like the output side of a volume pedal, and can be connected with a mono cable (2 connections - ground+signal). Others (including the Voodoo Vibe) require a potentiometer (3 connections - ground+hot+signal), and need to be connected with a stereo cable. If you're connecting the second type to a *standard* volume pedal, you need a 'Y' cable, but some volume pedals (eg some of the Boss models) have output jacks that are configured as stereo connections if there's nothing else in the input jack. Some purpose-designed expression pedals are like this too, but there are two configurations depending on which way round the connections in the stereo plug are, so not all may work.

I built my own from a dead Cry Baby and the two of them are rather permanently bolted to my pedalboard at the moment, so unfortunately I can't confirm which way round the connections on the VV are, sorry...

[Fusionista]

That explains a lot, thanks :-)

[Fusionista]

Here's a lesson I've never learned: READ THE INSTRUCTIONS
http://www.roger-mayer.co.uk/voodoovibespeed.pdf
But I'm still confused about volume pedals - why would you want high impedance vs low-impedance ?

[ICBM]

But I'm still confused about volume pedals - why would you want high impedance vs low-impedance ?

High impedance is necessary if you're running a guitar directly into it - low impedance kills the tone due to loading the pickups too heavily. Low impedance works better after a buffer - high impedance will work too, but can pick up more noise and have too steep a taper sometimes, depending on the input impedance of what follows it.

Guitar > volume pedal > amp (or other pedal): high impedance
Guitar > non-buffered pedal > volume pedal > amp: high impedance
Guitar > buffered pedal > volume pedal > amp: low impedance
Volume pedal in FX loop: usually low impedance

[Fusionista]

I use a GigRig Midi 8 (which I believe is buffered all through although I do not understand it), but the VV is too big for the board (esp with a vol pedal) . All my gear is true bypass however so maybe I could try the old-fashioned way The rig is Guitar-Wah (have two, one buffered the other TB) -Tuner-Compressor-OD-(various optional pedals)-VV+-Delay-Amp. It's all in series straight into the front (got an effects loop but never used it).