vol pedal you would recommend

Dwight Rudd · Post by **Dwight Rudd** » 15 Jan 2006 6:39 pm

I would like to buy my first and only volume pedal, what's your recommendation & why?

Bob Knight · Post by **Bob Knight** » 15 Jan 2006 6:49 pm

Goodrich 120

Roger Francis · Post by **Roger Francis** » 15 Jan 2006 7:05 pm

Hilton, a great pedal,dos'nt affect tone, no pots to replace, and Keith is a great guy to deal with, MPO.
Roger

Sidney Malone · Post by **Sidney Malone** » 15 Jan 2006 7:15 pm

Hilton....it's just the best there is! Clean, clear, balanced, never scratchy, great service (if needed)and it even works right if the sun is shining on it

Paddy Long · Post by **Paddy Long** » 15 Jan 2006 7:19 pm

Goodrich LDR2

Jim Ives · Post by **Jim Ives** » 15 Jan 2006 8:19 pm

Hilton.

John Davis · Post by **John Davis** » 15 Jan 2006 9:54 pm

Hilton works best for me..

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 16 Jan 2006 2:58 am

I'll ad to the Hilton. The pot pedals are cheaper but after a short time of replacing defective pots you will have your money back. And there is no signal loss or tone loss with the Hilton.

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 16 Jan 2006 6:13 am

I still have a problem with the concept of plugging in a volume pedal. Also, the power cord on the Hilton is not removeable. Thats why I stick to my Goodrich 120.[This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 16 January 2006 at 06:14 AM.]

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 16 Jan 2006 8:03 am

Hilton is my choice. If you will not be putting a lot of hours on the pedal a Goodrich 120 will work fine. Here's something to ponder: A lead guitar player that I work with, recently sent 2 pot type pedals back to the manufacturer because the pots wouldn't last very long. He bought hilton pedal that should last a lifetime.

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www.phelpscountychoppers.com/steelguitar

Ken Yates · Post by **Ken Yates** » 16 Jan 2006 10:17 am

Hilton, one of the best, worth the xtra bucks

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Derby SD 10,,,Nashville 112,,,Hilton,,,RV-3

Ron Sodos · Post by **Ron Sodos** » 16 Jan 2006 10:18 am

I own both the Hilton and the Goodrich. Hilton is my choice hands down!!!

Ron Randall · Post by **Ron Randall** » 16 Jan 2006 5:12 pm

Goodrich 120 or L120 (low) depending on how it fits you. Same pedal, different heights.

Why? Simple. Dependable. Easily repaired. Only one electrical componenet. No power supply, no wall wart.

Use it with Brad's Steel Guitar BLack Box for the best tone and sound.

Hope this helps. It works for me.

Ron

Charles Dempsey · Post by **Charles Dempsey** » 16 Jan 2006 5:49 pm

Emmons if you've got an Emmons type mount on your pedal bar, Goodrich 120 (or L120) if you don't.

Charlie

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 16 Jan 2006 6:00 pm

If Hilton would add a L-ion battery to the pedal that would run 5-6 hours and could be swapped out and recharged offline, I would buy one. The newer batteries have a lot of power density and that way there's no wall wart or extra cables and you plug it in and use it just like a standard pedal. Would be a great way to upgrade the design and take away one of the few negatives about this great pedal.

Greg

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 16 Jan 2006 9:32 pm

Let me say thanks to everyone using my pedal.
I usually stay out of conversations concerning which pedal is best. Greg's post made me think. Batteries have improved greatly over the years. Normal batteries would not be a good option, but there just might me a chance that re-chargable batteries would work. Let's see how many batteries it would take, and look at cost.
My pedal is powered by +12 volts, and -12 volts, as most IC chips today run off of dual polarity. This means you would need at least 24 volts. You would have to have a voltage regulator, so you would have to have at least 2 to 3 volts over the required regulated voltage. This means it would take at least 26 volts. I'm going to take a wild guess as to the mili-amp draw of the circuit. I would guess in the range of 40 to 60 mili-amps. Batteries are rated in "mili-amp hours". Say a battery was rated at 360 mili-amp hours, and the circuit drew 60 mili-amps. Then the circuit should work 6 hours, since 6 times 60 equals 360.
With these figures to work with, try and look up the performance of different batteries, and post your results. Then look at the cost of the batteries and how many times they can be recharged. Let's see what these figures look like. I am not afraid to try new things. I might mention that I used to make power supplies that plugged in, and un-plugged, from the pedal. Over time 80% of the users had problems with the connection. I learned anything that plugs in eventually causes problems quicker than something that is permantenly connected.
I went to the attched cord, because of user problems with stuff that plugs in. Out of over 10,000 pedals, since going to the attached power supply, I have only had two power supply failures. Both these failures were dogs chewing the cord apart. It took years of research, and testing, of every detail to arrive at the pedal I build today.
It is easy to be an arm chair engineer. A casual thought of how something might be better can't replace extensive research and testing. Then again, most people are a lot smarter than me, so their ideas might just work. Many of the details of my pedal took thought that required years of thought from me, not minutes.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 17 Jan 2006 5:55 am

Here's an example click here at retail prices of L-ion batteries showing for $29.95, a 14.8 volt, 2000 maH battery pack. At your proposed 60 maH draw, this battery pack would run for 33 hours! You could use 2 packs or maybe a DC to DC switching supply with one pack to get the -12 volts saving the power dissipation loss of a series regulator. The batteries internal reistance is very low so no additional filtering or decoupling caps should be needed.

Wholesale prices of batteries are certainly much lower and there are smart chargers available off the shelf for these packs.

The Hilton is an awesome pedal. MAYBE eliminating the power cord makes it more awesome?

Maybe having to charge the pedal occasionally and /or carry a spare battery kills this idea. Could the smart charger power the pedal on it's own if the battery died (high internal resistance) or lost most of it's voltage?

Looks feasible and it was just an idea that sounded interesting so I through it out!

I own a Goodrich 120 and used it for 7 years for both practice and 2 gigs a week with no failures so I am sold on it. The Hilton is a great choice too. Also some people may prefer the sound of an active pedal like the Hilton, or not. If I had it to do over I would likely buy a Hilton to try and a Goodrich, keeping one as a backup. How can anyone possibly own too many gadgets?

Greg[This message was edited by Greg Cutshaw on 17 January 2006 at 08:55 AM.]

George Kimery · Post by **George Kimery** » 17 Jan 2006 6:10 am

Hilton, Hilton, Hilton!!!! I have a Hilton and the 120. Plugging in the pedal is not an issue with me. I have one of those extension cords that rolls up into a housing like a tape measure. It has 4 outlets on it. So, my amp, my Lexicon MPX-1, my Black Box, and my Hilton are all taken care of. I have no issue with plugging in 4 things instead of 3.
For me, it is a much better option than dealing with batteries and/or recharging.

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 17 Jan 2006 12:49 pm

I do not see a problem with plugging the pedal into a 120vac line. You have to plug in your amp... what the heck.
I sit a rack case next to my steel. It contains an effects unit and a tuner. I installed a flush-mount AC outlet on the rack case where I plug in the power supply for the Hilton pedal.
Keith has already considered a lot of options for powering his pedal. He chose one that is dependable and cost effective. I wouldn't want to take the chance of a battery going dead in the middle of a song.

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www.phelpscountychoppers.com/steelguitar

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 17 Jan 2006 9:00 pm

Greg, the battery idea interests me more for the many countries that have 240 volt at 50HZ power systems. These people must plug into a transformer that drops the voltage to 120 volts. I agree that filtering would not be a problem with batteries. I am very paranoid about over voltage, from bitter experience. So, I would hate not using a regulated voltage. Two of these batteries, you mentioned, would provide over 28 volts, and that would work great for the +12 and -12 after regulation.
Greg, when I first started building pedals, I used a DC to DC converter with an input of +12 volts, that output +15 volts and -15 volts. It worked great, but the problem was cost, the DC to DC converter was costing me $38.00. I still did the regulation and filtering with the DC to DC converter,to be safe. I think you are talking about a DC to DC converter, instead of a switching power supply. Next question: How big would two of these batteries be? I assume they would need to go inside the pedal. Don't know if there is room. Attached outside the pedal might be better, but would look a little wierd. Then a battery holder would have to be installed for easy access. A battery holder that would hold the batteries in place, just in case the piano player tripped over the pedal cord and jerked the pedal 20 feet across the stage. Greg, if you are really interested, and would be willing to buy the extra parts needed, I will build you a battery powered pedal. 2000maH sounds good to me.[This message was edited by Keith Hilton on 17 January 2006 at 09:03 PM.]

Buck Grantham R.I.P. · Post by **Buck Grantham R.I.P.** » 17 Jan 2006 9:01 pm

Hilton all the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Buck Grantham R.I.P. · Post by **Buck Grantham R.I.P.** » 17 Jan 2006 9:03 pm

Hilton all the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 18 Jan 2006 5:35 am

Keith, I am interested in the battery powered pedal only if the batteries could be fit into the pedal. Maybe the batteries could be scaled back to 1000MAH. I did notice that the cell phone battery for my phone that sells for $40 at cellular One is only $2 !!! on ebay so maybe finding a battery that is produced and sold in high volume is the key to keeping the price down. Of course the cell phone batteries don't have enough MAH. Next question is whether the pedal can be designed to run on the charger if the batteries die between charges. Not a requirement just a nice thing to have. Count me in!

Greg

Mark van Allen · Post by **Mark van Allen** » 18 Jan 2006 7:09 am

I've been using Hilton pedals almost since Keith started making 'em, probably the one thing that will never change in my rig. Incredible product, and very much better than the degradations from running signal through a pot.
Last week for the first time ever I hit the road leaving my steel seat in the studio. Ouch. I managed to get by with some borrowed picks and a Dobro bar- but I was in tonal hell using a Morley pot pedal. I missed the Hilton far worse than anything in the seat, including the seat.
Go Keith!

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Stop by the Steel Store at: www.markvanallen.com

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 18 Jan 2006 8:59 am

Hilton. I record with it and play live.