Hilton Digital Sustain and Volume Pedal

[Garry Pugh]

Could I get some feedback on whether or not it is advisable to use the Hilton Digital Sustain together with the Hilton volume pedal?

I asked Keith and he felt,while there may be some benefit with the extra pre-amp, the volume pedal has the digital sustain circutry, therefore the use of the remote Digital Sustain box would not be necessary.

I have not tried either device, however, after reading the posts in this forum it seems the use of the Hilton volume pedal alone would be sufficient.

[Brad Sarno]

You only want one of these devices. Two would be redundant. Both of them contain Keith's audiophile preamp circuit (what Keith calls "digital sustain"). One happens to be incorporated into his volume pedal, the other is simply a clip-on preamp that you can use if you keep your passive (pot-type) volume pedal. Either unit will give you that Hilton sound. If you aren't totally attached to your current volume pedal, I'd recommend getting the Hilton volume pedal. It's really an amazing piece of gear. It's perhaps the cleanest sounding steel guitar preamp circuit ever made. People are shocked to hear their pickups come to life like they do with the Hilton stuff. The volume pedal is probably the better option because you take advantage of the pot-less volume control that wont wear out, and sounds a bit cleaner too. In my humble opinion...

Brad Sarno
Blue Jade Audio Mastering
St. Louis, MO

[David L. Donald]

If you get sound advice from a mastering engineer take it seriously. They hear all the drek that gets in mixes all day long, so are more sensitive than mere mortals about such things...and the ways to fix it.