PSG's most have an audio taper different from most pedals

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Stuart Legg
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PSG's most have an audio taper different from most pedals

Post by Stuart Legg »

volume pots for steel guitar is the most confusing thing I've ever seen or heard in my life.
Most say 250K-500K but don't tell you what taper. Then you hear that all steel guitar volume pedals are audio taper and then you buy an audio taper volume pedal like the Ernie Ball Jr and it sounds like an on off pedal instead of volume control.
You can hear it is not even close to sounding the same as the old Sho-Bud or Emmons Pedal but it says it's audio taper and steel players swear that's the taper you use.
So I'm assuming the confusion is deliberate to keep the taper a secret because if it is audio taper then it must be a modified or special taper because every audio taper pot I purchased at a music store and I put in a volume pedal never worked very well for Pedal steel.
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Christopher Woitach
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Post by Christopher Woitach »

The Telonics volume pedal solves all of that, and offers multiple tapers to choose from. If you call Dave Beatty, and he has time, he’ll explain everything in detail.

As a guitarist, the potentiometer for volume on the guitar has never been a huge issue, but the taper of the tone, especially for archtop jazz guitar, is absolutely critical - I spent a lot of time with a very smart repair guy crafting a setup that would work for my wonderful but quirky custom archtop, which now does what I want, thankfully
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Tom Gorr
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Post by Tom Gorr »

I seem to recall there are different tapers even within the logarithmic taper group.
Donny Hinson
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Re: PSG's most have an audio taper different from most...

Post by Donny Hinson »

Stuart Legg wrote:volume pots for steel guitar is the most confusing thing I've ever seen or heard in my life....You can hear it is not even close to sounding the same as the old Sho-Bud or Emmons Pedal but it says it's audio taper and steel players swear that's the taper you use.
While the resistance value of the pot may affect the tone, somewhat, the taper doesn't. As far as the sound, it'll sound exactly the same if the pot resistance value is the same. (It doesn't matter what the taper is.) The only thing affected by the taper is the action of the pot, how slowly, how quickly, or how smoothly the volume changes.

Most say 250K-500K but don't tell you what taper. Then you hear that all steel guitar volume pedals are audio taper and then you buy an audio taper volume pedal like the Ernie Ball Jr and it sounds like an on off pedal instead of volume control.
I've used both log (audio) tapers and linear tapers, and once you get used to the different movement for a certain amount of volume, one works just like the other. It's all in what you get used to. :|

Also, problems that some players have with the volume coming on "like an on-off switch" can be caused by improper wiring, a defective pot, a wrong-value pot, or simply not turning up the amp enough.
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Stuart Legg
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Post by Stuart Legg »

I appreciate everyone's response here but geez give me a break!
I'm not speaking here of how you use it, string it or wire it. I'm just s saying "why don't folks just come out and tell folks what pot they need to ask for to replace the one they have in their old PSG volume pedal?" Instead of beating around the bush with all the MumboJumbo and referring folks to some company or person who has just the pot for you.
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Bo Legg
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Post by Bo Legg »

I have 3 volume pedals that attach to Sho-Buds and one pedal that attaches the the Emmons push pull and a Goodrich floor and they all swell and work very very close to the same.
I want to get a pot that works and swells the same to replace the ones in the Sho-Bud pedals. The gear will fit on the shaft of most volume pots so I just need to know what "K" value and the correct taper Volume Pedal pot to ask for.
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b0b
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Post by b0b »

Bo Legg wrote:I have 3 volume pedals that attach to Sho-Buds and one pedal that attaches the the Emmons push pull and a Goodrich floor and they all swell and work very very close to the same.
I want to get a pot that works and swells the same to replace the ones in the Sho-Bud pedals. The gear will fit on the shaft of most volume pots so I just need to know what "K" value and the correct taper Volume Pedal pot to ask for.
500k audio taper. The Dunlop pots are pretty good.

https://www.jimdunlop.com/super-pot-500 ... ntiometer/
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Donny Hinson
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Post by Donny Hinson »

Stuart Legg wrote:I appreciate everyone's response here but geez give me a break!
I'm not speaking here of how you use it, string it or wire it. I'm just s saying "why don't folks just come out and tell folks what pot they need to ask for to replace the one they have in their old PSG volume pedal?" Instead of beating around the bush with all the MumboJumbo and referring folks to some company or person who has just the pot for you.
Well, we've done that...time and time again. But evidently, you haven't been happy with the answer (a 500k audio, or log taper pot), or with parts we've recommended for you. :\