Pedal Steel Guitar Volume Pedals: Which is right for me?

Thanks for great info on pedals. I’m using sho bud pedal with my 6139. Like the classic sound of 70’s :)

I have one of each, a 46 year old original MSA "drop pin" pot pedal, it's a hoss. I have replaced the pot with the same value 2 or 3 times. These are rack and gear pedals, not strings. Long before the pots crap out, they get stiff and scratchy and static. Easy to work on and replace the pot.. I also have a first or second gen. Goodrich 120 bought new to use as a spare. It's still my spare.. they sound and feel great but use a string to operate the pot.. I haven't used it enough to test its reliability in all these years..mainly because it doesnt attach to my pedal bar ... I bought a Hilton at least 10 years ago or more... it sounds, feels, performs as good as anything.. absolutely ZERO mechanical issues. I sent it back because the power cable got damaged.. he replaced it, and added the new LED pilot light, readjusted it to the newest specs.. years later sent it back for a new power supply. excellent service.. yesterday for the first time I tool the tread off to see if a dust bunny was causing a volume dropout issue .. it was almost sterile inside.. no dust bunny.. problem was a bad ground on an effects loop cable. I bought the up pin attachment that connects it to pedal bar . ABSOLUTELY 100% reliable and if there is a tone difference between a pot pedal and the active light beam < i think its a laser> I don't hear it..

Great channel! Thanks for the PSG vids.

great video TSG !

I have used Ernie Ball, Goodrich and is now using Lehle. For me the Lehle Mono 90 is great.

My 2c: I’d been using an active pedal since I started on PSG, but I just picked up an old Goodrich (guessing mid 70’s), and MAN does it sound better than what I was using. Something about the simplicity of pot pedal is making my Sho Bud sound like it’s supposed to. I can distinctly hear string separation on the low end a lot better. Plus, now I can leave my cables plugged into it at home and not worry about killing a battery.

Thank you for this info! I’m new to steel guitar after being a fan for many years…definitely not liking any of my standard passive guitar volume pedals with the steel. Hilton sounds like a winner! I had not heard of those.

Lots of variables in pedals. The technology of pots have come a long way in the last couple years as well as the active pedals.Quality of cables is a tone factor. Length of cable is a factor. Pick up, speaker, wattage of amp. type of speaker cabinet, guitar neck (wood or metal) Hard to pick just one. Try them all lol.

I have a budget active volume/wah pedal from Joyo and the tone suck is very audible when volume is switched on. Fortunately it can be disabled and then it works as a true bypass wah, this is what I bought it for. For volume I bought a vintage Ibanez VL10, passive, high impedance, and it's working great at the end of my pedal chain.

Thanks for the video. Hard to find videos on the differences between passive and active out there.

New subscriber, really enjoy the videos!!! 😎 I'm "using what I have", an ancient DArmond volume/tone pedal... 😮

My Goodrich pedal has a 9 volt battery hidden under the base plate. This should be known because it didn’t come with any instructions or acknowledge this.

Been using Ernie Ball pedals for steel guitar for 50 years, done many thousands of gigs, and had very few problems, and I have been doing up t0 8 gigs a week more often than not.

I've used a Hilton pedal for years and years and I've never had a problem at all...great performance and reliable. The Telonics is $200+ more than the Hilton and not any better for my money.

Wow.Great vid.Good use of time and info. packed non stop!! Gotta figure pot and string replacement on passive pedals , annoying and costly too.Hilton may be worth it.Thinking out loud.

I use Hilton myself but have used Goodrich and Ernie Ball in the past, no problems with the Passive until the pot goes. Hilton you don't have that problem ,but I do carry a spare, just in case.

Cool video

I just scored a Goodrich L120 at a thrift store for under 15 bucks! Now I need a pedal steel.

I've been using a George Dennis GD20 for about 12 years. They are an active optical pedal. I am a bass player and this pedal is fantastic. All steel, no tone suck and I power mine with a 9 volt lithium ion rechargeable battery. Unfortunately they are no longer being made. I paid $130 for mine, new.

This may be an unusual question, but would these pedals designed for steel work well for a standing "Spanish" style electric guitar player? I play a strat through a Twin Reverb without distortion and I seek to emulate steel tones. Thank you in advance.