I love volume pedals. Let's start with the min vol preset. I don't have one of the older ones but on the newer ones there is a switch inside the body to change the shape of the swell from linear to logarithmic. I think the min vol preset tries to do just this. For the linear setting this means the volume increases more like a 1:1 ratio as the pedal travels forward. For a logarithmic setting the volume increases more rapidly and then tapers off at the end. Since I am a math freak I included a couple of plots to graphically represent these shapes.
The linear setting is good if you are using your volume pedal to set the overall volume of your rig during a gig or using the volume pedal as a voltage controller for another effect (a different topic entirely)
The logarithmic setting is great for doing volume swells. With the volume pedal all the way back, strike the string(s) then rock the pedal forward as if to mimic the attack of a violin. (The proper way to attack a violin is to raise the volume pedal above your head and then bring the volume pedal down briskly, striking the violin. Repeat if necessary.
) Of course you can do the same thing with the volume knob on your guitar but sometimes its just easier to do it with a pedal. Also try rolling the tone knob of your guitar at the same time you rock the pedal forward. Not only is that more expressive, it impresses other guitar players (oh, that's what the tone knob is for.) and chicks dig it to. (I wish)
This sound becomes more majestic if you follow the volume pedal with a delay and / or chorus effect. Generally the volume pedal works best at the front of the effects chain with a few exceptions. These would be noise gates used to alter attacks, compressors and distortion boxes that can change tone depending on how much signal that is sent through them. If your effects tend to be noisy then putting the volume pedal at the end of the chain can eliminate this. Kind of like a manual noise gate used to silence everything when you are not playing.
I refer to my volume pedals as Ernie Ball Volume Hammers. You can jump up and down on these things and they stay where you put them. Also, few things work better at driving nails. Finally, for about $40 Ernie will rebuild your volume pedal including replacing the main pot and string, a proper factory cleaning and adding a tuner output port should you desire. Ta-Da you now have a brand damn new pedal. Thanks for letting me share.
