Passive volume pedals = tone suckers?

[Xavier]

Since I have reconfigured my pedalboard into a smaller one, I need to have a volume pedal. I have 2 I can use for this, both Boss, an old FV100 and a plastic FV50H.

Whenever I insert either of them in the FX chain, there's a noticeable decrease in the treble frequencies. Not huge, but enough to be noticeable.

Is there anything I can do to compensate? maybe placing a JFET buffer before or after (or inside !) the volume pedal?

I believe it has a 250k pot inside, I have to check though................. any ideas?

[earthtonesaudio]

Treble bleed cap?

[Xavier]

I have less treble content even with the pedal full on !!!..........I thought about a treble bleed cap but I don't think it will solve the issue................

[petemoore]

  A bit strange, and a bypass cap can't do anything across a connection...
  Bigger value pot would be the next answer or at least something to try.
  ...Ahh...other than cables...part of the equation during use of any pedal with jacks.
 

[Mark Hammer]

Where the volumepedal goes is a big determinant of treble loss.  The volume pedals that you can find on organs are often 50k or even less.  They don't lose treble because they are being fed by a low-impedance output.

So, a 250k volume pot between the guitar and the first pedal or amp will suck tone.  That same volume pot inserted after any pedal that can provide buffering will be of less tonal consequence.

One solution is to buffer the pedal itself with a little single-FET unity-gain buffer.  Another is to stick the buffer in the guitar.

[Xavier]

Thanks Mark,

this is my fx chain:

CS3---Barber DIrect Drive----Dr. Boogey (with JFET buffer)------volume---------AMZ Mosfet booster-------Dimension C-------DD7

So I have 2 buffered pedals before and 2 more after................ shouldn't be that much............... maybe I will mod the AMZ mosfet booster to provide buffered bypass....

[Mark Hammer]

One alternative is to stick the MosFet booster in the volume pedal and have the volume pedal be switch-configurable for unity gain at full volume or some preset boost at full volume?  I will note that the MosFET booster is excellent for that sort of application.