Guyatone SV2 Slow Volume

Two knobs. Its simple. I have not read the manual.

Fender Roudhouse=>EHX OCtave Multiplexer=>Dunlop Crybaby=>Boss Xtortion=>Voodoo Labs Proctavia=>Ibanez Phase Modulator=>Guyatone SV2=>Cheap-ass Squire Amp

This pedal is not noisy. It works better than I thought it would. I loose some volume with this setup. I wish there where different waveforms for the volume swell. It sounds cool with the Proctavia on. I can get a sound similar to the hook twoards the end of NIN's "Into the Void". I can also get a decent violin\chello\upright bass sound.

It gets a 9 for exceeding expectations in the area of easily producing the sound I want.

Its seems to have a decent stregth encloser. It is, however, still made of plastic. Certain sounds would be near imposible to get if it broke. I do not gig. It gets a 7 because its plastic.

I play experimental. This is a good tool to do that with. I've played my ass off for 4.5 years -play by ear. If it were stolen I'd deffinitely buy it again. I don't think there are any other products on the market that do what this does. I just wish is had different swell shapes. This pedal is tiny - probably 1/9 the size of my Octave Multi-plexer.

Altough there are only two knobs and a bypass switch on the unit, you will need to do a lot of tweaking to get a consistent slow volume effect; this is normal, since the dynamics of what you are inputing will vary. I never needed to look at the manual, not even to figure out which kind of adapter to use (that information is clearly indicated on the back of the unit).

The unit is transparent sounding, with no hiss or hum added (using a Boss PSA-120) The bypass switch is very quiet, allowing you to switch the effect off during silences. I had had previous experience trying out a Boss Slow Gear, and I did not really notice anything different about this box except its physical appearance.

The construction of the unit is good enough, but the back plate that covers the electronics and battery compartment is only held on by a rubber ring, which in time could probably be broken. If you take care of your stuff, you shouldn't have any problems. I like the size of Guyatone pedals, and I also appreciate the fact that they have put the connections at the back, rather than at the side, making it easy to wedge the pedal between two other boxes.

I have never had to deal with Guyatone. However,I would like to thank the people at Buzzfox.com for their prompt service: I ordered the SV2 at 4:30 in the afternoon, and it was in my hands the next morning at 11:00. The reason I'm bringing this up is that Guyatone pedals are kinda hard to find in certain "local" music stores who claim that "If we don't have it, you don't need it".

I'm using the SV2 on my Korg Electribe EA-1 since there are no amplitude envelopes on the synth. The SV2 allows me to simulate bowed synth patches, and it also really helps when feeding the synth through a huge reverb to make pad sounds that do not "click" in. I'm fully aware that there aren't too many pedals out there that do the same thing, and there is no way I would pay the asking price for a Boss Slow Gear. My advice is to grab an SV2 before they become as rare as the vintage Boss model.

This pedal is similar to using a volume pedal conceptually; you have to play in a way that maximizes the effect. You can get nice violin
like sounds, but you need to play slowly and cleanly to get max effect. If you play fast 64th-note runs the effect really can't be heard, but this is an advantage in a way! You can leave the pedal on
as you play and the effect is minimal until you accent with slower notes, where the effect will be stronger! This way you don't have to
think of switching in & out as you play your solo! Lemon s to lemonade! Manual is not much help, but experimentation is easy! Also
it doesn't work that well with distortion, which washes out the effect.

Gibsons, Yamahas, Carvins thru Carvin X-60 heads and 412 cabs. Not noisy at all, sounds great for the intended effect. With echo, does
the intro of Xanadu from RUSH beautifully! That's what I wnted it for
and it also does the Cathedral from EVH which is the same idea really!

Seems pretty rugged except for plastic jacks, but then Marshall has the same plastic jacks and they're alright. I'd use it without a backup but I do have a volume pedal, and also have done the same thing
with guitar volume for the last 25 years, so I has my feets and thumb
and forefinger for backups! Made of metal but lighter than Boss.

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I give it a 10 for price, ease and sound. Although my RP-3 and RP-7
have the effect built-in too, I like stompboxes sometimes, and multis
at others. I like to have both options, and this little "Guy" is cool
and takes up very little space as well! Why pay ridiculous "vintage"
bucks for the Boss when this is made now? $40-$50 on Ebay if you're patient! You can't beat THAT with a stick!

With 2 knobs (speed & threshold)you'd think it would be pretty simple to get a sound, but like previous posters have noted, the slow volume pedal is like an envelope follower (or auto wah)in that how hard you pick, your pickup's strength, etc. make a difference. And you do have to mute a note, or let the note die completely, or the next note might not get the effect added to it. So it can be a little tricky to use, a little unpredictable.

The sound quality is good...does not make noise of it's own. It sounds good in front of a distortion pedal and/or echo. I'm not sure if too many famous guitarists use this effect, so copping someone's sound, I don't know. People like the late Roy Buchanan and Dickey Betts used volume knobs on their guitars to get a similar effect, and Larry Carlton used a volume pedal, so this effect aims for the same kind of thing, only the pedal may not be as predictable.

Just got it a week or so ago, used it on 4 gigs and it's reliable so far. I got the adapter with it too, just because I try not to use batteries for anything. Since it's a very unique effect that I haven't used on many songs yet, I doubt I'd get a backup.

Haven't dealt with them yet, and I hope I don't have to...their website gave some tips on how to use it, which seemed cool.

So far I'm happy with it...it's not the kind of effect you can use on every song, and it is a little tricky to use. But the few times I used it and it seemed like the right setting on the right song, the other people on stage smiled approvingly. Not too many companies make this (are there any others besides the discontinued Boss Slow Gear?) so comparison shopping was out of the question. If it were stolen or lost, I probably would buy another, but it wouldn't have to be immediately.

this only has two knobs, so it's pretty easy to figure out what it can do. but as far as i can tell it's more of just a noise gate with a fancy name than something new.

the sound quality is pretty clean, but the way it gates thing can be pretty annoying. basically to get it to do anything that you want it to do, you need to write using it, not apply it later.

i haven't had any problems with it, but the unpredictability of this effect as you start playing fast & hard makes it a little weird for live use.

if you get a noise gate you can do most of the things i've gotten this to do & you'll save some money, but it is cleaner than your average stomp noise gate....

Very easy to use. Only 2 knobs.

This pedal can create some really interesting sounds, but you really have to play with it to get the sounds you want. Tweaking the knobs can give you some interesting sounds. I found this effect to be really useful when combined with other effects, especially delay. Throw in some tremolo, phaser, or auto-wah and you can really get some interesing, eery, atmosheric sounds. I have it plugged into an adapter and that produces some noise, but with a battery it is really quiet. Take some time to get used to this effect, you have to mute notes and let it reset, so playing with for awhile to get it down is critical.

I've only had it for a week, but it seems sturdy.

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I would give this effect a 9 because it produces some unique sounds.
It probably isn't an effect that can be used a whole lot, but when you are looking for something out of the ordinary this thing is cool

I was looking for a slow attack pedal to simulate a bowing effect, it took me about 10 seconds to figure out how to achieve it!

The manual is unfortunately a vague "basic settings for the entire line of pedals" foldout, pretty useless IMO.

But for this pedal, a manual is not necessary: you set the speed knob at the rate you want the volume to swell and the threshold at the level you want the effect to kick in and that's it! Simple!

My guitars are an Epiphone Les Paul Studio, a MIM Fender Strat and a home made DC Les Paul Junior. My other effects include a bunch of Boss pedals: AC-2, TW-1, LS-2, DF-2, HR-2 & CE-5. Non-Boss fx include an Ibanez TS-5 (not used at this time), a Dunlop Rotovibe and a Zoom 508 Delay pedal.

The signal chain goes like this: SV-2-> AC-2-> TW-1-> LS-2 (used as a signal splitter for the "detector in" of the HR-2 and doubles as a mute switch)->DF-2-> HR-2-> Rotovibe->CE-5-> Zoom 508.

The effect on its own is very quiet and is free of switch popping (not even a muted click). But if memory serves me right (I used to own a Guyatone "The Fuzz"), there is an increase in hiss if an AC adaptor is used.

Maybe this was an isolated incident and not common to all Guyatone pedals ... but so far, so good, great sound quality!

I've only owned it for 2 days, and I've read some varied comments on the lack of consistency in sound quality/reliability of other Micro Series pedals ... but I can't judge this unit from other comments.

It's built of metal, has a sturdy metal stomp switch, and other than the plastic jacks (not a big deal)it's a very study and compact build...

I treat my gear with respect, so my guess (it's only been 2 days) is that it's very reliable.

Never dealt with them, I can't comment ...

I play an odd mix of blues & folk Rock, with a big psychedelic Rock(here read Pink Floyd)influence. I sometimes even venture in the realm of Latin and Punk-esque music ... I like variety!

Overall, I like it a lot. While the reviews of the Micro Series pedals on HC vary a lot as far as the quality/reliability rate is concerned, I must say that the Slow-Volume 2 didn't disapoint me at all. It does exactly what I want it to do and does it well.

It's ruggedly built, light as a feather and compact; there is nothing I would change ... well ok, maybe I'd change the battery access: that plastic ring holding the pedal's bottom might stretch over time, to the point of no longer fitting snug. But changing that might mean making the pedal larger and klunkier ... so nah, I like it the way it is!

Besides, I intend on using an AC adaptor with it, so battery changes won't be a worry.

I'm glad and thankful that Guyatone took it upon themselves to resurrect 2 defunct (and in demand) Boss pedals: the Wah Rocker is a reincarnation of the Boss T-Wah (mind you, I was fortunate to find a genuine article for cheap) and the Slow Volume is a remake of the ever elusive Boss Slow Gear.

This is again not the type of effect to be used all the time on every single song, but for a bowed string effect or a reverse guitar effect when a song calls for it, this little pedal really delivers.

It fits in well in my home-made pedalboard and can be applied to many styles of music (fits my pseudo-psychedelic moods very well).

It looks way simple . . . two controls, Speed and Threshold. Maybe too simple. Unlike the average Chorus or Distortion pedal, that you can plug in and play, the SV-2 takes a bit more time to work with. If you use an Envelope Filter, you're used to folling with the Threshold or Sensitivity control to get it just right; that's what this is like. This effect was not designed for rhythm guitar, nor was it designed for fast lead riffs. Although it's billed as a sort of backwards-guitar effect, it's really a volume swell effect, and that's how it works best. You will have to let each note, or chord fade out before you can trigger the effect again. Think of slow, synth-like string sounds, or pads, and that's more what it does. If you've ever heard Roy Buchanan make a Telecaster weep by tweaking his volume knob, this pedal is the next best thing. You'll have to tweak it for different guitars, and it will work best at the front of your effects chain, where it will always get the same signal strength from your guitar. Put it before your Distortion pedal. The one-page description in the manual doesn't realy offer much guidance.

Tried with a stock Strat, Hamer Special with P-90's and an Epiphone Dot with stock pickups, through various amps as well as direct. The sound is very good, but again, it takes some fine-tuning to get the most out of it.

It's simple, and affordable. The next closest thing is the Prescription Electronics Experience Pedal, which goes for around $200, or the Slow Gear effect on the Boss multi-effects pedalboards liek the GT-3.

Great e-mail contact, very helpful folks.

I knew what to expect from an attack-delay device, so I was very pleased with the SV-2. Fans of the long-lost Boss SG-2 Slow Gear will find the SV-2 a good replacement.

its a filter operated volume pedal, two knobs speed and threshold, very easy to use.

use with fender mustang, gibson explorer, and fender twin reverb. pedal sounds great, no noise, but the filter does not sense pick attacks very well at all. to have a volume swell you must completely mute the guitar. if you have any feedback going into the pedal, it will not create a swell efffect at all. it will not work on rhythm at all.

great reliability, ive dropped it, and had no side effects at all.

dont know, I sent in the warantee card, i hope i dont need it.

good pedal, though it doesnt always do as it is supposed to. it can give some hendrix like backwards effects, but nothing like are you experienced, more like intro to castles made of sand. if it were stolen or lost i think id save the hundred bucks, because quite honestly the filter sucks.