Need Opinions on Volume Pedals.

Ron Sodos · Post by **Ron Sodos** » 19 Feb 2004 9:49 am

I am about to buy another volume pedal. I have owned a number of pot pedals. I currently use a Goodrich. I have an old Sho-Bud pedal that I keep for backup. Some years ago I had an edwards light beam and i hated it. My question is I am interested in opinions on the Hilton pedals. They are more than double the price of a new Goodrich. Is it worth the cost? Are they really that much better? Thanx in advance for feedback.
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[This message was edited by Ron Sodos on 19 February 2004 at 09:51 AM.]

autry andress · Post by **autry andress** » 19 Feb 2004 10:18 am

I'm a old tight wad & thought the hilton was to high, but I did break down & buy one.
Glad I did. I'm very pleased with sound & tone of the Hilton. I do own 2 now & yes they are the best & worth it. And maintance
free. Great product. Go for it.

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 19 Feb 2004 10:22 am

I have a Goorich L10K and a (borrowed) Hilton pedal. The Goodrich has better sound (fidelity or frequency response) and significantly less noise. The Hilton is too noisy for recording use but you probably wouldn't notice the noise in a rowdy bar room setting.

Morton Kellas · Post by **Morton Kellas** » 19 Feb 2004 10:27 am

Buy the Hilton. I have two Goodrich pot pedals and they both have different tones. The Hilton tone is sweet and does not change as you change volume. I would get the two back adjustment legs with the pedal so you can match the angle of the pedal you are used to.

Bill Terry · Post by **Bill Terry** » 19 Feb 2004 11:14 am

Another vote for the L10K, got two of 'em. Batteries last forever, sound great, no power supply hassles.

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 19 Feb 2004 11:40 am

I switched from a Goodrich pot to a Hilton. It was definitely worth it. It is nothing like the crappy light beam pedals from the '70s. It gives you the same EQ regardless of pedal position, no matchbox needed, no scratchy pots to replace, no jerky string pulley, no string to break. And the tone and volume adjustments alone are worth the difference in price. You can "voice" the pedal to match particular pickups and amps. And you can set the full-off point. I hate the wall wart, but hate batteries worse. The Hilton is simply a more reliable and more versatile professional quality device. I don't hear the noise Earnest refers to. Maybe he got a bad one.

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 19 Feb 2004 12:15 pm

Earnest you must have borrowed a damaged Hilton, the one I got is dead quite for recording.

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 19 Feb 2004 12:25 pm

Yes, it is worth twice the price!

Paddy Long · Post by **Paddy Long** » 19 Feb 2004 12:33 pm

I bought a Goodrich LDR about 6 months ago to replace my 10K job and it's the best investment I have made in steel gear in years. Wonderful tone from the MCI, and nothing to break or fail!!

Billy Murdoch · Post by **Billy Murdoch** » 19 Feb 2004 12:55 pm

I recieved my Hilton a few weeks ago and it is a fantastic difference from the Emmons pot pedal I have been using for years,tone remains the same thru'the volume range.
To cap it all Keith Hilton is a relly nice person to deal with and I would certainly have no hesitation in resommending this item.

Best wishes Billy

David Spires · Post by **David Spires** » 19 Feb 2004 12:56 pm

Ron,

I'll give you another vote for the Goodrich LDR. I've used it for 4-5 months now, and I just would never want to go back to a pot pedal. (I did use a pot pedal for one "plug and pray" gig. It is still a hassle to have one more thing to plug in, but 99% of the time - I am glad to do it.)

If you have the money to spend - Goodrich has always been there for me, and the LDR is a great step forward in technology.

(In case you ask, I have never personally tried a Hilton, but many players swear by them too.)

Good luck,

David Spires

C Dixon · Post by **C Dixon** » 19 Feb 2004 1:20 pm

I see NO advantage to using a "matching" type of volume control pedal and a three cable hook up on a Peavey amp. They both have the same objective, IMO.

NOW, if you want to CHANGE what is coming off the pickup from a "tonal" point of view, that is a different story. But if you want exactly what is coming off the PU, go directly into the amp from your guitar, then use two cables to insert your pot volume pedal (using the effects loop) and there is NO losses.

Albeit, pots tend to be noisy in time. If that bothers you, find the cheapest LDR volume pedal and use the same 3 cable setup.

carl

Pat Burns · Post by **Pat Burns** » 19 Feb 2004 1:38 pm

Need Opinions on Volume Pedals.

..well, you've certainly come to the right place to get opinions, all you want and more...

Is it worth the cost? Are they really that much better?

...to answer your question, the Hilton pedals are that much better and they are worth the price, in my opinion...[This message was edited by Pat Burns on 19 February 2004 at 01:41 PM.]

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 19 Feb 2004 1:46 pm

i bought a used Hilton ME 262 from a fellow in England
i had a Goodrich 120 that i found to be quite adequate
once i plugged the Hilton, it was a much clearer and better sound
so i'm usin' the Hilton and keepin' the GR120 as a spare
that's all she wrote....

Craig A Davidson · Post by **Craig A Davidson** » 19 Feb 2004 5:24 pm

Get a Hilton cause they are the best.

------------------
1985 Emmons push-pull,S-10 Marlin,Evans SE200,Hilton pedal

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 19 Feb 2004 5:30 pm

Yea on the Hilton if you're going for an active pedal. Mine is dead quiet, studio quality sound. Really hard to beat that pedal in many respects. If you like the passive pot-type pedals, the new Goodrich 120 is a very refined and smooth piece of gear. I've got one of each and they both get used.

Brad Sarno

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 19 Feb 2004 6:18 pm

Thanks to all the people who have said nice things about my pedals. I feel honored when great players take the time to say, "Job well done!" Most important: I take pride in taking care of any problems customers have.
I have thousands of pedals out in use and have never had a noise complaint from a pedal that was operating correctly. Earnest, instead of complaining about a noise problem, why don't you send the pedal to me and let me help you? Anyone who contacts me gets help. No noise is why my pedal is taking over the studios in Nashville. A special thanks to all the great shows using my pedals: Shania Twain, Tim McGraw, Clint Black, Merle Haggard, Mel Tillis, Roy Clark, Martina McBride, Pam Tillis, Patty Loveless and many,many more. A special thanks to all the great Steel Guitar Hall of fame players using my pedal: John Hughey, Hall Rugg, Tom Brumley, Herby Wallace, Doug Jernigan, Walter Haynes. Also, a special thanks to all the steel guitar manufacturers who sell my pedals with the fine steel guitars they manufacture. All these people are my friends. The Goodrich people are good people and they build quality products. I respect the Goodrich Company, because they support my love, the steel guitar. One important thing to remember is this; Both Hilton and Goodrich design,and build, pedals for steel players--FIRST. Our designs are not for standard 6 string guitar players first, and steel players second. I am currently back in the University working on more Digital Electronics classes. This semester has been fun but challenging, there are so many exciting and new things happening in electronics. I am constantly thinking of how new electronic things can be used with steel guitar.

Nicholas Dedring · Post by **Nicholas Dedring** » 20 Feb 2004 7:17 am

Ron, I have a pot that's going south in my Sho-Bud pedal, and everyone I've talked to has said that the clarostats are garbage, and that you get a lot of defective units. The pot I have in mine now is an old one, and has been in there since before I got it.

I'm going to go with a potless pedal simply because I want to be able to rely on the gear working, and because I have been told repeatedly that the new pots no longer allow me that assurance. Consider the parts you don't have to buy... and the price starts to seem pretty reasonable. don't know about LDR (potless) versus Hilton infrared...

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 20 Feb 2004 11:07 am

Keith, two suggestions (steelers are never satisfied, are they?):

1. Is it possible to incorporate the DC converter into the pedal, so it doesn't have to dangle at the end of the chord and eat up a lot of space on a power strip?

2. For the pedal bar bracket, instead of a one-size-fits-all bracket, would it be feasable to have some kind of adjustable bracket. Pedal bars of the different manufacturers are at different heights, and players adjust the bar height with the adjustable legs, creating further differences. With your bracket as it is, if the bar is high it raises the front of the pedal too high and creates too much of a pedal angle. You can raise the back of the pedal with your adjustable feet to correct the angle, but that makes the whole pedal sit too high. Presently I just don't use the bracket, but an adjustable one would be nice to have. I envision a two piece bracket with slots and wing nuts for adjusting the height.

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 20 Feb 2004 2:40 pm

David,by nature musicians are creative people with ideas, and that is good. I don't agree that steel players are never satisfied, I have stacks of letters from happy satisfied steel players. David, I agree that no one likes an additional wall wart to hook up. The solution is a power strip that will help organization and where one button turns everything on and off. Battery power would not be practical for the Goodrich LDR pedal, or my infrared pedal, because of the battery life. By the way, the LDR means--"Light Dependent Resistor". The electronic name for it is a Cds cell. This is the same electronic part that was used in the old time light beam pedals of the 1970's. Same part turns on street lights. My pedal does not use a "Light Dependent Resistor" it is new infrared technology. I invented a new way of doing things, and have a patent pending on the process. A pot pedal has no power cord, but that is no advantage if sound quality is less. I make two different kinds of pedal bar brackets: The universal, which fits over the top of the pedal bar, and the Emmons type that fits in a small hole in the pedal bar. Pedal bars are usually kept really low to the floor. The front legs of a steel guitar can be extended, raising the pedal bar and pedals as high off the floor as a person might want. Most people don't do this, they keep their pedals close to the floor. I see where where raising the pedal bar would be a problem for any type of pedal bar bracket. I have never had a complaint about our pedal bar bracket. I do know that "any" kind of pedal bar bracket will cause problems on heavy deep carpet where the legs of a steel sink into the carpet. In the case of heavy deep carpet, I advise players to put the legs of their steels on 4 inch by 4 inch square pieces of plywood. These squares of plywood keep the legs from sinking into the carpet. I agree that an adjustable height universal pedal bar bracket would aid those who have their pedal bars raised off the floor. Actually our pedal bar brackets are somewhat adjustable. By that I mean there is probably an inch or more of tolerence up and down with the Universal bracket. The Emmons type has two adjustment thumb screws with rubber tips. Yes,we can make our pedal bars "more" adjustable to where they would fit high pedal bars, but this would add cost. David,we are the only pedal maker who has the back leveling feet, "Option", on our pedals. We have a "Patent Pending" on that design. Yes, this allows you to bring the back of the pedal up, if your pedal bar is up off the floor quit a bit. David, I hope this information helps.