Rockman RV-1 Optical Volume

Super easy as most volume pedals are... one input, and one output but the 9VDC input is not standard as it has the reverse polarity of a Boss pedal and the center pin has a larger diameter than most.

Perfect sound. So smoooooth! It doesn't use traditional pots that wear down. Doesn't add any noise.

This thing is built like a tank. It'll never die.

It was never an SR&D product to my knowledge, so I would imagine Dunlop will take care of it.

This is a well built volume pedal, but I think it lacks some features... would be nice if it was in stereo and even nicer if it could be used as a panner. True, these are not standard features and many other high-quality brands (EB and Goodrich) have volume pedals that lack the same features. But it would still be nice if this thing had it. They also should have used standard 9VDC jacks. I got rid of this thing and bought an Ibanez VL-10 instead. In a perfect world, all volume pedals would be built will the features of the Ibanez and the robustness of the Rockman.


Now, here's my story (my rant - nothing to do with the review)... First of all, I NEVER wanted this unit. I had ordered the Rockman Optical Wah via the Fred's Music website. They botched up the shipment and sent me the volume instead. They sent it UPS which charges an arm and a leg for import "brokerage" (I live in Canada) which I did not want to have to pay again. So I called UPS and asked them how I could avoid the UPS charges when Fred sends up the wah.
They said that Fred would have to pay for it at their end (and why shouldn't they... afterall, it wasn't my fault they screwed up and I shouldn't have to pay for the brokerage fee twice). So I asked Fred's Music to ship up the wah and to take care of the brokerage fee... they said that would not be a problem. I was impressed with their willingness to co-operate and they didn't ask me to return the volume first. But when the UPS guy came, sure enough, there was a COD charge for the brokerage fee and I just about flipped out on him. Timing was another issue... the UPS guy came just I was heading out the door for a two week vacation. I told him I refuse to accept the charges and that I'd have to contact Fred's Music when I get back to figure out what's going on. I asked the UPS guy if he could hold onto the package until I get back from my vacation and he said that would not be a problem. So I get back from my vacation and call UPS about the package... they sent it back to Fred's because they can only hold onto it for a few days! I felt like strangling the UPS delivery guy for saying he could hold onto it for a few weeks. I was so furious and discouraged that I just gave up and accepted the volume pedal which I didn't need. Finally found the wah on eBay for a decent price and sold the volume pedal at a pretty big loss. Fred's Music can bite me and UPS can kiss my ***.