Question about Hilton volume pedal

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 2 Sep 2002 6:35 pm

Eddie,
The Hilton pedal is expensive, but is the only pedal I've ever used that
1. Has exactly the same tone 1/3 open as it does wide open
2. Allows you to adjust where the volume starts increasing with a screwdriver in 5 seconds
3. Does not use critical moving parts like a nylon string and potentiometer that can fail on the job

It is all electronic, but I'm not familiar with the electronics enough to explain HOW it works -- and don't particularly care -- I leave that to Keith, who knows enough about that stuff for both of us

. It has two little trim pots. One lets you set where the pedal starts to increase the volume -- you can set it to shut all the way off or have a little bit of volume when all the way back with the turn of a screw. The other one sets the output. You can (and should) set it to provide the same output that you would have if you plugged straight into your amp. Once you've done that, it does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING other than change your volume. That's what is so great about them.

Other pedals use a potentiometer (or 'pot') which can affect the tone. Often, it will sound great wide open, but will cut the highs when you use less than full throw. One solution is a 'match box' or buffer amp. Goodrich makes excellent pot pedals and match boxes. They also make a 'non-pot' pedal similar to the Hilton that I have not tried so can't comment. As far as I am aware those are the only two (Hilton and the newer Goodrich model) that don't have the tone problems that players have fought with pot pedals for years. That design usually uses a piece of nylon string wrapped around the shaft of the pot to turn the pot and increase/decrease volume. There are two failure points -- the string and the pot itself. I've used the Hilton for three years -- at least two or three gigs a week plus practice, rehearsals, and sessions, and have never had a moment's problem with it.

My opinion: I will not use a pot pedal without a matchbox again -- don't care for the way it changes the tone. I have had separate matchboxes and pot pedals with that circuitry built in. They work fine. The Goodrich 10K series is one I can recommend highly -- but it still uses a string and a pot, both of which are constantly moving and can wear out. I carry it (as a spare) and the Hilton everywhere I play - my own little paranoia, but I WILL have a volume pedal that works.

Just my opinion. The Hilton is a keeper.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 02 September 2002 at 07:43 PM.]

Doug Earnest · Post by **Doug Earnest** » 2 Sep 2002 7:57 pm

I finally tried the Hilton pedal at St. Louis in an A/B comparison with a pot pedal, and will say that there is one heck of a difference. It's like there is more of everything coming through the Hilton pedal, or as someone said, it sounds like I took the blanket off my amp! If you can stand to have one more AC cord to plug in you'll probably like it.

autry andress · Post by **autry andress** » 3 Sep 2002 4:38 am

As I understand it, it also has a built in
Digital Sustain unit. (Keith Hilton) Please correct me if I'm wrong. I bought a Hilton
in March 02 & will never go back to a pot pedal. Keith has a great product. I"m very
happy with my unit.

Chuck McGill · Post by **Chuck McGill** » 3 Sep 2002 5:42 am

Eddie
I have a store in Jackson Tn.(The Bandstand) and am starting
to stock some steel acc. The Hilton Pedal is
on my wish list now. We have some used guitars in stock now along with the Carter
starters. Call me @ 731-668-7426 or come by
and talk steels with me.
Thanks
Chuck [This message was edited by Chuck McGill on 03 September 2002 at 06:42 AM.]

George Macdonald · Post by **George Macdonald** » 3 Sep 2002 8:32 am

I was convinced about the quality of the Hilton pedal after a friend kindly lent me his to try for a couple of days. Now, since getting one of my own, I would hate to have to use my other pedal [that I really had no problems with.] The Hilton is a fantastic pedal, and Keith Hilton himself is a great guy who stands behind his product 100%.

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Hal Higgins · Post by **Hal Higgins** » 3 Sep 2002 8:34 am

I bought a Hilton pedal almost two years ago, and I'm very very glad I did. It's by far a superior pedal....I've not had the first problem with it. Keith has a fine product and I would highly recommend it! HAL

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Be Blessed........HAL

richard burton · Post by **richard burton** » 3 Sep 2002 12:15 pm

I'm confused.
The Hilton pedal of a steeler friend of mine has a miniature tone pot in it. It took ages to find a setting and, to me, having another tone option in the chain causes more problems and headaches. I'm sticking to my Goodrich passive pedal.

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 3 Sep 2002 2:51 pm

Richard,
Is it marked 'Tone'? How did you conclude that's what it is? I'm certainly no expert on Keith's product line, but would be very surprised to find a tone control on a Hilton pedal. I can understand your frustration if you were treating it as a tone pot when it was actually a control for sensitivity or where in the pedal travel the volume begins to increase.

Have you EMailed Keith?

Mine was provided with an owner's manual that explained all that stuff. Perhaps there's a misunderstanding of the function of that control (or perhaps I should mind my own business).

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 03 September 2002 at 05:47 PM.]

John Hawkins · Post by **John Hawkins** » 3 Sep 2002 6:30 pm

Anyone who is considering a Hilton should consider it very carefully and do what you can to get one . They are not cheap but I can assure everyone , at least from my experience with them , you will have a fine pedal that will not take ANYTHING away from the sound as it comes out of your guitar . What sound you get by bypassing a volume control pedal completely , will be the sound you will be getting at the amp going through the Hilton . This pedal will NOT delete anything as far as sound goes and is quiet as a mouse in the studio.

I have two of them --one high and one low profile . I use one of them for a spare. I have not had one minute's trouble with either.The one I use for stage and recordings gets played a lot .

In my opinion , you can't buy a better volume pedal than the Hilton ,

Hey Chuck way up there in my old home town of Jackson , TN --- go ahead and spend some of that TN . money and stock that store of yours with a few . Keith Hilton is a fine guy to deal with . You'll love'm .!!

Regards ,

John

Eddie Malray · Post by **Eddie Malray** » 3 Sep 2002 6:32 pm

Thanks guys for your replies. I,m going on a hunt for a Hilton and try it out.

John Hawkins · Post by **John Hawkins** » 3 Sep 2002 9:08 pm

Eddie ,

Here is the home page link for Keith Hilton .

It will give you all the details on the volume pedals ,contacting Keith , prices , etc.
Click on the volume pedal portion when you bring up the home page .

Here is the link : www.hiltonelectronics.net/

Good luck and happy "pedaling "!!
John

richard burton · Post by **richard burton** » 4 Sep 2002 11:03 am

Larry,
The potentiometer to adjust tone is concealed under a plate. The other two pots are accessible without taking a plate off. These pots are for starting point and full volume setting. Have a look at your pedal to see if it is similar; maybe my friend has got a different model to yours.

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 4 Sep 2002 6:34 pm

Thanks to all those using my product and a special thanks to all those who have told others how much you like my product. What is most important to me is helping people and trying to be a good person. I am always here to help anyone--KLHilton@aol.com, or you can call me on the telephone at 417-581-4158. I continue to be amazed at the many top Nashville acts that use my product. I feel honored and blessed by the many top name steel players and Steel Guitar Hall of Fame players using my product. I want to also thank the many steel guitar builders who sell my pedal, as well as my many dealers. Let me try and answer Richard Burton's question; Richard, there have always been 3 adjustment controls on every pedal I have made. Until a few months back the tone control adjustment was not out in the open, but under the bottom cover plate. On the recent castings the tone control adjustment is out in the open because the bottom cover plate is smaller.
I furnish instructions on how to set the adjustments and have never had a single person say they had a problem with them. Once these adjustments are set people leave them alone and forget about them.
Richard mentioned that it took "ages" to find a tone setting. That is real interesting Richard, since all you have to do is twist the control and you can hear highs decrease and bass increase. How difficult is that? What are all the tone knobs on amps and effect units for? Most people leave the tone adjustment on the pedal "off". For those who want they can roll of highs with the tone adjustment and make my pedal sound as dull and lifeless as an old pot pedal. With that said, the electronics and sound of my pedal has been exactly the same on every pedal. The only difference now is the tone adjustment
is out in the open instead of under the bottom cover. With a famous name like Richard Burton, I am sure, Richard, you can understand how some people think I own all the "Hilton Hotels". I want to let everyone know I don't own a single Hotel. Since my wife's name is Beverly, as in Beverly Hilton, we used to get people calling all the time wanting to rent Hotel rooms. My only claim to fame is I did work for North American Aviation-Long Beach, California- in 1965 on a thing called the Lunar Landing Module. That device took men to the moon for the first time in 1969. One other thing Richard, I do have a very large and vast sea shell collection that is very valuable. This very, very large and valuable sea shell collection is so valuable I keep it hidden on beaches around the world. I do have some of my collection hidden around English beaches. Perhaps, Richard, you have seen some of my collection?[This message was edited by Keith Hilton on 04 September 2002 at 07:35 PM.][This message was edited by Keith Hilton on 04 September 2002 at 07:38 PM.][This message was edited by Keith Hilton on 04 September 2002 at 07:40 PM.]

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 5 Sep 2002 6:19 am

I knew there was something I liked about you, Keith -- An engineer with a twisted sense of humor!

Best regards and thanks for making THE BEST VOLUME PEDAL ON THE MARKET.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 05 September 2002 at 07:20 AM.]

richard burton · Post by **richard burton** » 5 Sep 2002 9:42 am

Keith,
The reason for my first post was because Larry Bell stated that your pedal only altered volume level, and did not colour the sound. My post was to clarify that there was a tone control on the pedal, and in my opinion, and my opinion alone, I thought that this tone control was unnecessary. At least Larry now knows that he has got a tone adjustment on his pedal.
My British sense of humour means that I don't understand the sea shell portion of your post at all.

Jeff Watson · Post by **Jeff Watson** » 5 Sep 2002 11:19 am

As the owner of a second hand Hilton pedal, I don't know what the original setting was. I get the feeling from Keith's post that it might be the brightest setting (all the way clockwise)?

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 5 Sep 2002 6:36 pm

Jeff, the adjustments do not turn a full 180 degrees, only about 90 degrees. To have the tone control all the way off, turn the adjustment like a clock moves. Jeff, if you would like a copy of the instructions, e-mail me your address and I will mail you a copy.

Jeff Watson · Post by **Jeff Watson** » 5 Sep 2002 7:51 pm

Thanks for the after market support Keith. This pedal is pretty amazing.

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 5 Sep 2002 8:07 pm

Glad that one got resolved, now I have one. I run my volume pedal in the effects loop of my Boss GX-700 processor and don't notice any tone changes. In fact I stopped using my Matchbox as I don't need it in this configuration.

My question, is there an advantage to using your pedal in my situation or the three wire configuration that Peavey amps provide? I believe both hookups are essentially accomplishing the same thing. Thanks in advance for your response.

Gary Walker · Post by **Gary Walker** » 6 Sep 2002 8:47 am

The only kick about the pedal is the AC cord, bigdeal. The benefits outweigh that small problem so much, it's not even worth mentioning. The tone, taper, evenness is unmatched in anything I have ever tried. Needless to say, I love mine to the max.

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 6 Sep 2002 10:00 pm

Jim, let me try and answer your question. The solution to the tone change problem with a pot pedal is to have your signal run through a pre-amp before it gets to the pot pedal. If you have a Peavey amp, you can use the Peavey 3 cord hookup method and use the pre-amp in the Peavey amp. Almost every powered device has a pre-amp in it. I'm sure your Boss GX700 has a pre-amp in it. Therefore, using the Matchbox, or my Digital Sustain, would be pre-amping a pre-amp, which accomplishes nothing. So you don't need the Matchbox, or my Digital sustain, if you are utilizing the pre-amp in the Boss GX700. Here is what is important: Your pickup needs to see a high impedance. Most effect units have a high input impedance. The signal coming "out" of a effect unit is stronger, and is called a line level signal. This stronger signal is what needs to be sent to the pot pedal. Your Boss GX700 is showing your pickup high impedance, which is good. Your Boss GX700 is feeding your pot pedal a line level strong signal, which is good. These two things are the "Key" to keeping a pot pedal from changing tone. Another good thing, the stronger signal seems to overcome the capacitance in the pot. I'm sure if you have the Boss GX700 arranged as I decribed above, you are getting a good sound without tone change. Getting back to the subject of this topic, my pedal, I'm sure you know my pedal has no pot. Which means there is no $24.00 pot to pop and crack. You can set the off and on point of my pedal with an adjustment. That is important for those who want their pedal to go all the way off, or those who want a little sound left on in the off position. There is no way to adjust the off and on point with a string and a pot. My pedal has a output signal strength adjustment. There is no adjustment on a pot, a pot only subtracts from the input signal. My pedal has a tone adjustment, and there is no way to adjust a pot for tone. Almost all the steel guitar pots used today are made in Mexico to standards that are not as good as they were when they were made in the good old United States. You will find that the taper, or how these pots come on and go off, is not as nice and consistent as the good old days of past. The taper of my pedal, the way it comes on and goes off, is much better and more consistent and smooth than a pot pedal. Hope this information helps Jim.

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 7 Sep 2002 5:40 am

I learned a lot from your very informative reply, Keith. Thanks!

Buck Grantham R.I.P. · Post by **Buck Grantham R.I.P.** » 15 Sep 2002 2:52 pm

The Hilton pedal is the best pedal I have ever used and I have been playing steel for 52 years.

Jerry Roller · Post by **Jerry Roller** » 15 Sep 2002 6:06 pm

Buck, someone told me you had been playing steel guitar 72 years? Was yours a typo?
I would not want to ever go back to a pot pedal or any other pedal after having my Hilton. I have sold many Hilton pedals and told each buyer that if not satisified for any reason at all just send it back within 30 days no questions asked and I would refund purchase price and I have not had one pedal returned.
Jerry