After a few of the comments posted here and after having used this pedal for a week now, I wanted to write my own review on this pedal. Before I begin with the actual review, there are a few things I would like to clarify. First and foremost, please understand that I have been a musician for over 30 years now. My experience includes both stage and studio work and in addition to guitar, I also play bass, drums, some keys, etc.. In other words, I do very much know something about "effects pedals"...I've been using them for a LONG time now.
Secondly, while I have no doubt that I will very likely use this as a simple volume control for my guitar (in place of having to fiddle with the volume knob on the guitar itself to adjust volume), my primary interest in this pedal was/is for use with my guitar synth...in this case a Roland GR-30 (along with a GK-2 pickup installed on an '96 Fender Strat). The GR-30 has some lovely and very convincing organ sounds and I wanted a basic volume pedal for doing "swells", ala Booker T, Deep Purple, etc....think Booker T & the MG's tune "Time is Tight". That said, in addition to the guitar synth, I have tested this pedal with both my Strats (with single coil pickups) as well as with my Ibanez Semi-hollow (a pair of humbuckers), so as to provide a well rounded test.
I would like to mention that I did look at/consider a few other pedals before giving this one a shot. In searching for a volume pedal, I did of course consider the rather infamous Ernie Ball and while it's a passive pedal (which is what I was after) and while it has a metal construction that so many people seem to prize (more on that in a bit), considering the price, I have to say that stupid string really concerned me...and this concern grew when I saw that there are "repair kits" for these pedals which suggests those stupid strings do in fact tend to break (and Murphy's Law suggests that when that string does break, it will probably happen at a gig!)...just not something I wanted to risk $80+ on. Likewise, I did take a look at both Morley's and Behringer as well, however I very much wanted a simple passive pedal and not something that required batteries, a plug/adapter or that had any kind of "tone controls" (my guitar has tone controls, my amp has tone controls...why the devil do I need them on a volume pedal?). I also had no interest in a multi-fuction pedal either...I don't really need a "volume/wah combo" as I already have a wah pedal I'm quite happy with. Obviously such concerns narrowed the field rather significantly.
Ok...all of that out of the way, I have to say that I am quite pleased with this pedal! I own other products from Quik Lok which have served me well, so I had high hopes for this pedal...so far it's met my expectations! The "plastic" construction is in fact quite heavy duty...unless you're the kind of moron who likes to destroy his gear simply for the sake of destroying his gear, then the plastic construction should not be an issue. A lesson I learned along time ago is that if you take care of your gear, it will take care of you! The truth of the matter is that a lot of companies have been making plastic pedal casings for years, including MXR, Arion, Digitech, etc.. I own pedals from all of these companies and while I can't speak for others, a plastic pedal has NEVER been an issue for me.
Beyond the heavy duty plastic casing, I've found the operation of this pedal to be smooth with no issues concerning noise, any change in frequency, etc...and unlike some reviewers here, I do tend to have a rather discerning ear - this pedal does NOT sound thin or tinny in any way (nor is there any reason to suspect that it would unless someone is using something truly unconventional in their rig). With the synth, the Strats and my Ibanez, everything sounded just as it should. I would also add that the fact that this pedal is indeed passive (again something I wanted specifically) is certainly a plus...I already have more than enough "devices" that require batteries (including pedals, tuners, guitars with active pre-amps, etc) and more than enough power cables laying on the floor.
In the smallest possible nutshell, this pedal does exactly what it's supposed to do! On that particular note, I would like to say (for those who may not know or understand the difference) that this is a volume pedal - it is NOT a boost pedal which is a different animal entirely. This device works in the same way the volume control on your guitar does...you use it to REDUCE the volume of your guitar (or signal chain, depending on where you have it linked in). If you are looking for a pedal that adds gain to your signal, this isn't it. If you're looking for something to add gain to your signal...honestly...buy a bigger amp. The way you would use this pedal would be to set your amp at the loudest volume you're likely to need...say for leads...then you would use this pedal to lower your volume to other playing conditions (such as rhythm parts).
Now for the singular con... If I really have any niggle about this pedal at all, it's simply the sweep of the volume control...it's not quite as linear as I would personally prefer. Most of the volume change seems to occur at the low end of this pedal, so with only the slightest adjustment, it goes from "off" to "3" (using a guitar volume knob as a comparative illustration)...it really takes a very gentle touch to get it smooth on the lower volumes. With a delay pedal and other effects (ala Jeff Beck), it's not really THAT noticeable, however with a straight signal down in my studio, with no other instruments being played, it was enough to catch my attention. For most players in most situations I doubt this will be an issue, however because my primary use is again to control organ sounds on a guitar synth, I may very likely swap out the control pot somewhere down the road. That said, I would quickly add that I don't really see this as a design flaw in any way as much as my own rather picky tastes :-)
Finally, I will simply ad that if you are looking for a basic, passive volume pedal...and assuming you're not some idiot who likes to abuse their gear...then this pedal is quite simply an unbeatable value! Well made, does what it should and great price...this gets 5 stars in my book!
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This item: Quick-Lok VP-2611 Volume Pedal for Keyboard or Guitar (Mono) , 9.2 x 2.8 x 3.9 inches
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This Item  Quick-Lok VP-2611 Volume Pedal for Keyboard or Guitar (Mono) , 9.2 x 2.8 x 3.9 inches | Recommendations  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $39.99 | -5% $75.90 List: $79.99 | $219.00 | $69.99 | $29.00 | -52% $73.00 List: $152.99 |
| Delivery | Get it as soon as Friday, Mar 21 | Get it as soon as Friday, Mar 21 | Get it as soon as Friday, Mar 21 | Get it as soon as Friday, Mar 21 | Get it as soon as Friday, Mar 21 | Get it as soon as Friday, Mar 21 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Sold By | Amazon.com | Riverfield of Black Rock LLC | Cottonwood Music Emporium | JFOUT | Amazon.com | Future Station |
| power source | — | — | — | AC adapter | Corded Electric | Corded Electric |
| amperage | 10 milliamps | 500 milliamps | 30 milliamps | 22 milliamps | 300 milliamps | 100 milliamps |
| signal format | Analog | Analog | Analog | Analog | Analog | Analog |
| controls type | Knob | Footswitch, Expression Pedal | Knob | Pedal | Knob | Knob |
— | — | — | Volume | Modulation | Volume | |
| voltage | 9 volts | 9 volts | 9 volts | 9 volts | 9 volts | 9 volts |
Worked once then pot detached and bent slide fork.
I bought this and used it once and it stopped working. I got back to it later after it was too late to return it. I reviewed John-1*- "Didn't Work" - United States on November 30, 2021, who had a picture of the internals (that I copied and reused above). Very simple design. I opened mine up and found something similar to what John found (see John's photo above). My metal slide fork had gotten bent, apparently when the potentiometer (pot) came loose. This was easily bent back by hand to straight (very malleable fork metal, in my opinion too flimsy for rugged music wear and tear). There is a nut with two washers on the pot shaft that were not attaching the pot shaft to the plastic anchor prong (see John's photo). So I spread the washers, pushed the pot onto the anchor so that the washers were gripping on each side, also aligning the slide fork on the pedal pin, and then tightened the nut. The unit is working now, but I couldn't say for how long. If it stops working again it'll probably be an easy fix again, but the manufacturer definitely had some quality control issues assembling this unit and designing for endurance.
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- Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2015
- Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2020
- Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2014
Surprised at the decent quality, definitely want to check internals before mounting to a pedalboard.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2023
