s.fitzsimmons
Inspired
The dead spot at the end of the Boss FV500's always annoyed me. I took one apart and realized that it's a mechanical issue, not anything to do with the pot or it's sweep. Tried a Mission/Dunlop style pedal, and could never get used to the height of that style chassis. Ernie Ball volume pedals were always my favorite, so I rigged mine up with a new pot for a linear sweep.
Very happy with how they turned out!
Ultimate Ernie Ball Volume Pedal JR mod
Watch this video first!!! If you don’ think that you can get the pedal back together properly, don’t mess with this mod.
Order this part number from Mouser: 785-380C110K It’s a heavy duty sealed, 10k Linear taper pot, perfect for expression pedal use. Not the cheapest pot out there, but I’m sure you only want to do this once.
Modifying the pedal
Remove the two screws holding the jack plate to your pedal.
Using your spring puller, disconnect the spring from the strings.
Remove the two screws holding the pot mounting assembly from the pedal.
Using an allen wrench, disconnect the brass bushing attached to the potentiometer.
At this point you can remove the circuit board from the jackplate, and the pot from the mounting assembly. Put these aside if you ever want to return the pedal back to stock.
Using a 3/8” drill bit, drill enough through the mounting assembly to create a hole the full width of the bit. Flip the mounting assembly over, and drill all the way through. This will prevent burrs that you would need to file off.
Mount the pot to the plate using the supplied hardware. Pot tabs pointing towards the rubber bumper, opposite side of the idler pulley.
Next mount the brass bushing on the new potentiometer. Make sure that when you tighten down the set screw your pot turns freely.
You will need to cut off the excess shaft. I used a Dremel cut off wheel designed for metal. Watch heat build up so you don’t ruin the pot. Do this with the bushing attached. It will act as a heat sink, and cutting guide. When the bushing gets hot to the touch, let it cool and start again.
At this point, soldered three 4 ½” wires to the pot. Be careful to bend the pot tabs away from the mount so you don’t inadvertently ground anything. Solder the opposite ends to a TRS jack.
If you want to get fancy, you could probably connect up to two more TRS jacks in parallel to have one pedal control multiple expression assignments.
Once this is done, you can hookup the strings as shown in the Ernie Ball video. Some kind of hook as shown in the video is a must have tool! I also rubbed a candle on the string to make it easier to work with.
Carefully attach the TRS jack to the mounting plate, ensuring that nothing will ground out when a cable is plugged in.
Very happy with how they turned out!
Ultimate Ernie Ball Volume Pedal JR mod
Watch this video first!!! If you don’ think that you can get the pedal back together properly, don’t mess with this mod.
Order this part number from Mouser: 785-380C110K It’s a heavy duty sealed, 10k Linear taper pot, perfect for expression pedal use. Not the cheapest pot out there, but I’m sure you only want to do this once.
Modifying the pedal
Remove the two screws holding the jack plate to your pedal.
Using your spring puller, disconnect the spring from the strings.
Remove the two screws holding the pot mounting assembly from the pedal.
Using an allen wrench, disconnect the brass bushing attached to the potentiometer.
At this point you can remove the circuit board from the jackplate, and the pot from the mounting assembly. Put these aside if you ever want to return the pedal back to stock.
Using a 3/8” drill bit, drill enough through the mounting assembly to create a hole the full width of the bit. Flip the mounting assembly over, and drill all the way through. This will prevent burrs that you would need to file off.
Mount the pot to the plate using the supplied hardware. Pot tabs pointing towards the rubber bumper, opposite side of the idler pulley.
Next mount the brass bushing on the new potentiometer. Make sure that when you tighten down the set screw your pot turns freely.
You will need to cut off the excess shaft. I used a Dremel cut off wheel designed for metal. Watch heat build up so you don’t ruin the pot. Do this with the bushing attached. It will act as a heat sink, and cutting guide. When the bushing gets hot to the touch, let it cool and start again.
At this point, soldered three 4 ½” wires to the pot. Be careful to bend the pot tabs away from the mount so you don’t inadvertently ground anything. Solder the opposite ends to a TRS jack.
If you want to get fancy, you could probably connect up to two more TRS jacks in parallel to have one pedal control multiple expression assignments.
Once this is done, you can hookup the strings as shown in the Ernie Ball video. Some kind of hook as shown in the video is a must have tool! I also rubbed a candle on the string to make it easier to work with.
Carefully attach the TRS jack to the mounting plate, ensuring that nothing will ground out when a cable is plugged in.
