Volume Pedal Build

[Ultrakd]

Ok Im wanting to build a volume pedal. I was looking original a getting a Ernie Ball Jr or a Morley Little Alligator but I was sure which to get. So then I started thinking of making a combination.  I want features that they both have. Then I also wasn't sure which is better a passive or a active volume pedal? Ok now some of the requirements I would like are:

I would like a EB style body. Does anyone know how to make one or where I can get a case that is similar to the EB's? The reason I like the EB cases and dont just use a wah is because the EB have (or at least look like they do) more travel.
I would like a minimum volume control
A tuner out

I guess Im pretty much just wanting a EB with a min volume. I just dont know where to get or how to make the case. I dont have the money to get one new and everyone Ive found on ebay goes over $50 for even broken ones. Any Suggestions?

[DavenPaget]

Ok Im wanting to build a volume pedal. I was looking original a getting a Ernie Ball Jr or a Morley Little Alligator but I was sure which to get. So then I started thinking of making a combination.  I want features that they both have. Then I also wasn't sure which is better a passive or a active volume pedal? Ok now some of the requirements I would like are:

I would like a EB style body. Does anyone know how to make one or where I can get a case that is similar to the EB's? The reason I like the EB cases and dont just use a wah is because the EB have (or at least look like they do) more travel.
I would like a minimum volume control
A tuner out

I guess Im pretty much just wanting a EB with a min volume. I just dont know where to get or how to make the case. I dont have the money to get one new and everyone Ive found on ebay goes over $50 for even broken ones. Any Suggestions?

Take a thrashed (beyond repair) Wah pedal and do the magic .
A active pedal is actually just a high quality pot and input/output buffers .
Passive pedal ? High quality pot .

[Ultrakd]

will you get as much sweep with like a crybaby body?

[joegagan]

the eb uses 100% of the pot's travel, and does have a wider physical travel than a crybaby, which uses approximately half of a standard pot's rotation (which is why almost all wahs use a non-linear taper).

pot sweep and physical travel should be thought of as independent elements, since you could have wide physical travel with narrow pot sweep and vice versa.

some people prefer wide travel -others feel it wears their foot and ankle out. mike fuller found this out after releasing the original wide travel clyde wah, later he came out with a sister version in a smaller crybaby sized case and travel.

as a piece of hardware, the ernie ball design is marvelous engineering. i love them. apparently, string replacement in these is a bitch but the smoothness the string provides ( along with the ability to utilize the full pot travel) is a feature a lot of people like. i would recommend finding the 50 bucks for a vp jr used , it would be damn hard to build something at home nearly as good without a lot of time and tools.

i have made a lot of volume  pedals in crybaby cases, the upside is that a lot of players are familiar with them, most people are used to that range of travel if they have been wahing. i use a 1meg linear pot which actually goes to around 450k at toe down due to the limitation of the gear setup. if 50 dollars for a used EB pedal is too much, you may be able to find a broken crybaby for around 20  to 30. you may be able to actually reuse the wah pot. try to find one with a hotpotz2, a very durable pot, and the 100k value might work well with the active circuit you will be needing to drive the tuner out.

when you say you  want a minimum volume, do you mean a separate knob on the side that sets a level that the pedal will not go below? i think the morleys have this, right?

[joegagan]

one more note on the ernie balls. i bought a  new 25k (active ) vp jr this year, it was made with a linear pot. there was a note at their website regarding pot replacement that indicated over the years they have had 5 different pot suppliers and they could not guarantee that current replacement pots match the taper of earlier made ones. not sure what this means exactly since i haven't tested any of the previous ones.

[DavenPaget]

one more note on the ernie balls. i bought a  new 25k (active ) vp jr this year, it was made with a linear pot. there was a note at their website regarding pot replacement that indicated over the years they have had 5 different pot suppliers and they could not guarantee that current replacement pots match the taper of earlier made ones. not sure what this means exactly since i haven't tested any of the previous ones.

Kind of reminds me when i bought a linear 10K in the past , i tested it , and it turned out to be a log pot . MAGIC OR WHAT I DON'T KNOW .