Dunlop Volume (X)8 Volume & Expression Pedal

The Dunlop Volume (X)8 Volume & Expression Pedal, model number DVP5, is a passive pedal that does two jobs: you can rock the treadle for volume swells, or plug it into an effect's expression jack to control a parameter with your foot. Dunlop describes it as a way to "create incredibly smooth volume swells or control your favorite FX parameters" using its patented Low Friction Band-Drive¹². It shipped in February 2021 with an MSRP of $171.41 and a street price of $119.99³.

What it does: volume and expression in one pedal

Like every pedal in Dunlop's Volume (X) series, the (X)8 works as both a passive volume pedal and an expression pedal³. In volume mode it sits in your signal chain and the treadle attenuates your level, 250 kΩ pot wired for passive operation⁷. In expression mode you run a stereo or TRS cable from the pedal's FX jack to your effect's expression jack, and the treadle sweeps a 10 kΩ pot that the effect reads as a control voltage⁷.

Guitar World's reviewer Trevor Curwen noted that "the X8 offers Volume mode control alongside Expression mode parameter tweaks," and listed its controls simply as "Treadle, internal"². There are no knobs on the outside; everything beyond the treadle itself is set inside the pedal.

The controls and jacks

The pedal has four jacks on the front: Volume, FX, Output and Tuner¹⁷.

The Tuner jack is the silent-tuning feature: because the tuner feed stays live no matter where the rocker sits, you can roll your volume back between songs and tune without any sound going to the house⁷. Internal controls set the expression mode's minimum effect level and the rocker's heel/toe polarity¹.

MusicRadar's review team found the expression side flexible but noted one practical point⁶:

So the range of an expression sweep can be trimmed to suit a particular effect, but it is a screwdriver job, not a knob on the side⁶¹³.

An 8-inch housing designed with Pedaltrain

The defining feature of the (X)8 is its size. Dunlop built it "with our friends at Pedaltrain" so that "the Volume (X)8 Pedal allows for the most efficient layouts on Metro Series" boards, with an 8-inch housing that gives the most efficient use of pedalboard space¹. Bass Gear Magazine's launch coverage put it more concretely: "Its 8" housing and front-mounted jacks line up perfectly with the routing spaces" of those pedalboards³. Guitar World's review likewise credits the design to a collaboration with Pedaltrain².

For players who hard-mount pedals, West Coast Pedalboard sells a mounting plate for the DVP5, measuring 12 × 6 × 1 in, which the retailer says "fits the Volume X 8 volume pedal perfectly"⁴.

History and the Volume (X) series

The (X)8 sits in the middle of a three-pedal line. The original Dunlop Volume X (DVP3) is the full-size model, which MusicRadar describes as "both a passive volume pedal and an expression pedal," building on the success of Dunlop's earlier DVP1 Volume Pedal⁸. It carries the same dual pot values, 250 kΩ for volume and 10 kΩ for expression⁷⁹, and shares the internal polarity switch and adjustable rocker tension of the family⁷⁹. The Dunlop DVP4 Volume (X) Mini is the compact version, which Dunlop says "does everything that the larger DVP3 does at half the size"¹⁰.

The (X)8, then, is the board-space answer between them: full-size treadle travel in a housing sized for small boards. Replacement electronic parts are available for both the DVP3 and the DVP5 from Dunlop⁵.

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