VP Jr. "Tone Sucker"?

[Scott Rolf]

More than once I have heard (on other forums) that VP Jr.'s are "Tone Suckers".
I personally don't get this. How can a passive volume pot "suck tone"?
Can anyone shed a litttle light on this please? Kind of has me a little concerned.

Thanks,

 

[beej]

"Tone suck" is kind of a blanket phrase people use that doesn't accurately describe the problem.

A lot of people use volume pedals between their guitar and pedals/amp. When you do that with a passive guitar, the extra resistance from the volume pedal affects the impedance the pickups see. It's like adding another 250k volume pot to your guitar- the extra resistance (in parallel) from the VP lowers the overall resistance from your pots, which affects the resonant peak of the frequencies from your pickups.

Similar to the tonal change you get from replacing 500k pots with 250k pots ... everything gets a little less bright. This effect is also dependant on the length of your guitar cable, since it interacts with the capacitance of your cable.

Anyhow- that's usually what people are referring to. To some, it's not a problem. If it is, the way to avoid any tonal effect is to use the 25k verion of the pedal and put it after a buffered pedal (or in your effects loop), so it's isolated from the guitar.

Hope that helps.

 

[Scott Rolf]

"Tone suck" is kind of a blanket phrase people use that doesn't accurately describe the problem.

A lot of people use volume pedals between their guitar and pedals/amp. When you do that with a passive guitar, the extra resistance from the volume pedal affects the impedance the pickups see. It's like adding another 250k volume pot to your guitar- the extra resistance (in parallel) from the VP lowers the overall resistance from your pots, which affects the resonant peak of the frequencies from your pickups.

Similar to the tonal change you get from replacing 500k pots with 250k pots ... everything gets a little less bright. This effect is also dependant on the length of your guitar cable, since it interacts with the capacitance of your cable.

Anyhow- that's usually what people are referring to. To some, it's not a problem. If it is, the way to avoid any tonal effect is to use the 25k verion of the pedal and put it after a buffered pedal (or in your effects loop), so it's isolated from the guitar.

Hope that helps.

I'm using a buffer after my guitar and before the VP. I'm guessing this will help?
Amp is a non-master volume, single channel, non-reverb, non-EFX loop type (Komet) so everything is in front.

 

[auxren]

The MVP alleviates any of these "tone sucking" issues, and gives you up to 20dB of gain. Also a buffered tuner output so your tuner won't weigh down your signal. It's my favorite pedal.

 

[beej]

I'm using a buffer after my guitar and before the VP. I'm guessing this will help?

Absolutely. Buffer into a 25k version of the pedal and you're good to go.

And, as Auxren mentioned, the active MVP pedal solves this problem as well.

 

[Scott Rolf]

Absolutely. Buffer into a 25k version of the pedal and you're good to go.

I'm using the standard non-25K version with a buffer. Am I still "good-to-go

 

[beej]

You want the 25k version after a buffer, not the 250k (it's just for a passive signal).

 

[Scott Rolf]

You want the 25k version after a buffer, not the 250k (it's just for a passive signal).

Ok got it. 25K is for Active electronics.

 

[Scott Rolf]

You want the 25k version after a buffer, not the 250k (it's just for a passive signal).

I forgot to say "thank you" for your input. I really appreciate that.

 

[Spudmurphy]

I learnt a lot from this too.

 

[beej]

Happy to help fellas