$15 craigslist score! Old Schaller Fusschweller F121 volume pedal (with pics!)

[Honga Man]

Today just before I got off work I was browsing craigslist and saw a volume pedal for fifteen dollars. Holy cow! Fifteen bucks? I've been wanting one for a while and checked my wallet - yep, I had a ten and a five.

So I called the guy and it turned out he lived just a couple miles from my office and would be there for another thirty minutes or an hour. I zipped over there and grabbed it within 45 minutes of seeing the ad. I didn't even plug it in to anything - he said he no longer had a guitar and amp, which means he either had no use for this pedal or he's a smart craigslist seller and didn't want a stranger to know he had a basement full of expensive gear. No problem - I'll trust a guy for fifteen bucks.

I brought it home and plugged it and it works fine. I had to be fussy I'd say it applies 50% of volume in the first 25% of pedal travel, but I think with practice I'll be able to use this smoothly. It's dirty and I blew out a bunch of cobwebs when I removed the back cover, but I think it's a winner and I got a great deal.

It seems to be missing some kind of grippy rubber pad on the pedal, but I bet I can go to one of those ladies crafts stores like Micheals, JoAnn, or Hobby Lobby and find something suitable so the hard plastic pedal won't be so slippery. You can see the recessed area on the top of the pedal where I'm thinking I can apply some sort of black anti-skid tape or something.

In the next day or so, I'll break out the 409 or Fantastik, some Goo-Gone, paper towels, and an old toothbrush to scrub the funk out of the plastic. Cosmetics aside, I'm really pleased with this purchase!

Here are the pictures:



Check out the dust on this thing!




Here's a size comparison with some other pedals:



Bottom plate has "Made In Germany" stamped into the metal





This is why I don't think volume pedals should cost $100!

[tgfmike]

Very cool. And I bet you're the only guy in Colorado with a Fusschweller.

[oramac7891]

Very vintage! Nice Score