Hilton Volume Pedal

Allan Thompson · Post by **Allan Thompson** » 30 Apr 2003 11:05 am

I bought a Hilton volume pedal at the Dallas show and have just got a voltage reducer for it as we run at 240v over here. All I can say about it is WOW!!!! The difference between this pedal and the pedals I have used with pots in them is unbelievable. If the Goodrich pedal is as good I think pots may become a thing of the past.

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 30 Apr 2003 1:20 pm

Yup!
----->Electronics

Tommy Detamore · Post by **Tommy Detamore** » 30 Apr 2003 2:57 pm

I just got my second pedal from Keith and it is even better than the first! I personally like the beefier attached power supply, and the low-profile model has been made lower and more compact. And it is oooh so smoooooth and sounds wonderful! And Keith is just the best guy to do business with.

Jeff A. Smith · Post by **Jeff A. Smith** » 30 Apr 2003 8:31 pm

I have a Goodrich pot pedal which is great as far as it goes, but when it recently came time to change the pot, I thought:

"Hey -- I'll just buy myself a Christmas present and get a Hilton instead."

I had thought about the Goodrich potless pedal also, but as of yet they don't make a low-profile model, which is a must for me.

When I first plugged the Hilton in and heard how pure and noiseless the tone was, I almost cried. I had that rare feeling one gets when they encounter a manifestation of pure quality, with no commercial compromise.

I'm still a little mystified about how the pedal accomplishes this pure transmission of sound, regardless of how far it is down. Someone told me that it has to do with impedence matching.

I purchased it through Herby Wallace, right before Christmas, had it in a few days. I also received a prompt e-mail reply from Keith Hilton to a question I had.

I think Keith is one of those people who really want to make something that approaches perfection, and is a total straight-shooter as well. People like him deserve to be supported.

W

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 1 May 2003 7:46 am

I too recently got a Hilton for my Fessy S12U with BL-710 and Nashville 400. The new timbre with the high overtones was a revelation. In fact the Fessy with the BL-710 was now giving me too much in the high and presence ranges. I think that is a matter of this combination guitar and pickup, they are both so responsive for the highs - also, I like a mellow tone with warm mids and powerful lows. To fix this I set the EQ controls on my amp flat (all at 12 o'clock) and adjusted the tone on the bottom of the pedal until I liked it. I ended up near the middle of its range. Now I will make all future adjustments at the amp and will have the full range of those controls in either direction. This use of the pedal's tone control to "center" the sound you want in your amp's EQ range is very useful and a great idea from Keith.

By the way, I tried a seperate tone control clipped onto the leg of my guitar, but it wiped out all the new highs the Hilton provided, so that's a no-no. I also have a feeling that cheap FX units will also not do the Hilton justice, but I haven't tried alot of these yet. I'm now hoping Keith comes up with a clip-on tone control that matches the Hilton pedal. A nice clip-on distortion device similar to Goodrich's Steel Driver would also be nice. On pedal steel I like switches and controls near my right hand. My feet are busy, and the amp is not always within convenient reach while playing. Hope your listening, Keith.

Daniel Vorp · Post by **Daniel Vorp** » 1 May 2003 9:16 am

I too have been experiencing too much in the higher frequencies since using the Hilton pedal in combination with an Emmons all pull guitar and a Webb 6-14E amp. I appreciate your post and will try doing the same with the tone control on the pedal as Keith suggested to you. Thanks for the info!

Johan Jansen · Post by **Johan Jansen** » 1 May 2003 10:39 am

For all Europeans:
you can purchase the Hilton volumepedal through Venmans Music Products in the Netherlands, http://www.mp-venmans.nl

much quicker and cheaper then all the custom-import-crap you have to go through, and including the 110/220V adapter!
regards, Johan

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Click on the pic!

<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Johan Jansen on 01 May 2003 at 11:40 AM.]</p></FONT>

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 3 May 2003 6:59 pm

Jeff Smith says above, "When I first plugged the Hilton in and heard how pure and noiseless the tone was, I almost cried. I had that rare feeling one gets when they encounter a manifestation of pure quality, with no commercial compromise." Jeff,lots of people have said good things about my pedal, but what you said is probably the kindest of all the nice things that has been said about my pedal. It should be me thanking you for using my product. THANKS! "Pure quality with no commercial compromise"--that is exactly how I feel-PERIOD. I think most of the famous players understand I won't settle for second place. That is why almost all of the big shows out of Nashville use my pedal; Clint Black, Tim McGraw, Shania Twain, Mel Tillis, Merl Haggard, Roy Clark--and many more. That is why so many of the most famous steel players use my pedal: John Hughey, Hall Rugg, Doug Jernigan, Herby Wallace, Tom Brumley, Bobbe Seymour--and many more. For me,it is a labor of love!