HILTON'S ME262-B Volume Pedal

Kenneth Kotsay · From: Davie/Ft Lauderdale, Florida

Three weeks ago I received a new Keith Hilton ME262-B volume pedal. Now I'm no wizard when it comes to electronics, so what I will say about his volume pedal is this:

#1 - It's Like comparing 1950's black & white T.V. to 1999 Color HDTV or 78 rmp records to CDs.
#2 - I now have 4 Goodrich volume pedals in mothballs collecting Floridian dust.
#3 - Come this Christmas I'll be purchasing a second ME262-B which I will package air tight and placed in my bank deposit box for future use, year 2025.
#4 - Again, his volume pedal is just too much to describe in words.
5# - Those who do purchase his new volume pedal will most likely end up shell shocked, it's like a blast off on the space shuttle.
#6 - Guys, do your self a big favor just order it and you'll experience results like you thought never existed in pedal steel sound.
#7 - Caution, turn your amp volume (gain etc) settings down when you start playing through this volume pedal and be prepared to hear sounds you never thought would be heared coming from your pedal steel.
#8 - What a leap forward in steel guitar technology,
THANKS MR. HILTON

WWJD

[This message was edited by Kenneth Kotsay on 05 April 2000 at 05:36 PM.]

[This message was edited by Kenneth Kotsay on 11 April 2000 at 05:22 PM.]

Bob Metzger · From: Waltham (Boston), MA, USA

Those are mightly words, but Do You Like It??

Bob

LeRoy Sawyer · From: Walton, NY 13856

Kenneth

WWJD??? I believe he would have played the Devil out of it.

LeRoy
"I Steel Stuff"

DanWann · From: Longmont, CO USA

I'm an easy sell. Is there a WEB site where I can check it out and buy online?
How much by the way?

Kenneth Kotsay · From: Davie/Ft Lauderdale, Florida

O.K PEDALERS, like I said, I'm no electronic wizard but what ever Keith Hilton did with this new volume pedal is beyond even N.A.S.A to develop. Heck, if Keith worked for them this country be landing men on Mars. His pedal is just too amazing to describe in words and I'll repeat myself, come Christmas time I'll be ordering another ME262-B. I fear one day Mr. Hilton might decide to retire to sunny south Florida and hang a sign in his shop saying "GONE FISHING, FOR GOOD". Heck if I knew MSA was going to stop producing pedal steels back in the 70's I buy a few for reserves.

FOR BOB METZGER:
Do I like it? well for $269.00 why would I want to purchase one more of these priceless gems???.

FOR DANWANN:
You can contact HILTON ENGINEERING at:
klhilton@aol.com
or go to STEEL LINKS find RELATED PRODUCTS and finally you'll scroll down to HILTON ENGINEERING. He's a down to earth guy when it comes to any question about his product.
Go ahead and ask Keith a few questions about his new pedal, be prepared to read about three pages of how his pedal operates.

I'll give you guys an example of what happen to me when I fisrt received his new pedal. First I tested my Goodrich #120L & 122 volume pedals. Sure they did a good job but I felt I wasn't getting that punch,something was always missing with my sound. During my test I was using a DPC 1400i & Transtubefex switching to a Profex II in between, I also made a test with my Nashville 400 & Session 500. I was using my 1998 D-10 Zum with 710s and a 1999 D-10 Franklin with 710s. All was o.k. until I hooked up the ME262-B, then pow!!!! blast off, what sound, I just sat there for about two minutes wondering what had happen and why. What gets me is the control of my picking and pedaling on & off the A&B pedals, seems I have leaped a few feet ahead with this pedal. There's about ten other things that just amazed me with this volume pedal that day. I won't explain here, I'll let you discover what's up with this new kind of volume pedal. Those who have the money to spend will go ahead and purchase this pedal. It's like every thing else we buy now a days especially if it is for pedal steel and it happens to be one's profession or in some case someone's major hobby. Money should be no problem in this area, not at least to me. Want the best, then spend it, your not taking it with you when it's time to go and you'll never get to spend it all anyway. Am I satisfied with this purchase, you bet, 100%. Thanks again MR. Hilton for a product that is beyond my comprehesnion.

WWJD

Keith Hilton · From: 248 Laurel Road Ozark, Missouri 65721

Kenneth, thanks for the kind words about my product. I agree with you,the improvement in sound quality is truly dramatic. Even though I invented the product, it still amazes me. There are many other great features about the pedal, but it is the "SOUND" that sells the pedal. I think you best describe it by saying, "It is like going from a BLACK and WHITE television, to a COLOR television." Yes, that is the feeling, and the difference in sound you hear.

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Terry Wood · From: Lebanon, MO

Hey Kenneth,

I hear that you now have an Emmons-Derby type and the Universal type pedal bar mounts. Will either of these mounts fit my BMI? Thanks for any help!

Terry J. Wood

Jay Jessup · From: Charlottesville, VA, USA

Geez, Kenneth, what am I doing wrong? I just bought a Hilton and it probably is the best volume pedal I have ever had but it's not that much better than my low profile Goodrich with the buffer(I forget the number)built in. So far I have only played it at home at low volumes with my E-66. maybe I need to pull out my Zum with Lawrence's on to see if the difference is more obvious there?

Keith Hilton · From: 248 Laurel Road Ozark, Missouri 65721

Hello Terry, when are you going to drive down and visit? I suppose you are really busy teaching school. To answer your question, our universal pedal bar mount will fit your ZB--BMI Beck Musical Instrument guitar.
Jay, I think we all should drink a can of Pepsi, don't you? How many cans of Pepsi does your operation put out each day? Thanks for saying my pedal is the best one you have ever used. I think you will hear a big difference in sound when you turn up.

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[This message was edited by Keith Hilton on 11 April 2000 at 08:52 AM.]

[This message was edited by Keith Hilton on 11 April 2000 at 08:54 AM.]

Jay Jessup · From: Charlottesville, VA, USA

Keith,
We can run them anywhere from about 350 bottles a minute for the 2 liter size to about 950 a minute for the 10oz glass. We buy our canned product from another Pepsi bottler. OOPs back to steel stuff. I will be playing a low volume gig saturday and will most likely only take a old Vibrolux but that should be loud enough to tell something shouldn't it?

P Perry · From: Lebanon, OH, USA

Keith,
Is the digital sustain unit built into your volume pedal?

Keith Hilton · From: 248 Laurel Road Ozark, Missouri 65721

Hello Phil. The question you ask is a commonly asked question. The answer is yes, but there are several things different. The sound of the Digital Sustain used with a OLD POT type pedal is different than the ME262-B pedal. The ME262-B infrared pedal has no POT. The way the electronics are hooked up creates a different situation. After signal leaves the Digital Sustain, inside the pedal, it goes on to another 16 pin processing chip and a lot more electronics. This is what creates the sound that is different from the Digital Sustain. The main point being that the pedal has "MUCH" more than just the Digital Sustain inside. There is one company who manufacturers pedals ,and pre amps that attach to the leg of a steel guitar. That company takes the box off the leg of the steel, and puts that same electronics inside all of their active pedals. Those particular pedals "ALL" still have a old fashioned POT that controls volume. My pedal has no POT inside, and it is not a light beam pedal either. I invented this new technology. It works like the bar code scanner on the cash register at the super market, with infrared.
Here is my opinion for what it is worth; The worst situation and sound is a 500K pot with no pre-amp. You can get a improved sound by using a pre-amp. The pre-amp can be one hung on the leg of your steel, like my Digital Sustain ,or the Goodrich pre-amp. You can use the pre-amp built into a Peavey amp ,by using Mike Brown's 3 cord hookup. Evans and many others make rack mount pre-amps. Yes, I may be prejudice, but I feel that my pedal creates a better sound than any of the other pre-amps. Here is the most important thing to think about---"ALL"--other preamps are used in combination with OLD POT pedals. All other pre-amps and hookup methods are used with old fashioned POTS. My pedal has no POT. Another common question is this, "Can you use the Digital Sustain, or some other pre-amp with the ME262-B pedal?" The answer is yes, but I personally only use the pedal. Some of my customers like to use pre-amps with the pedal. Buck Grantham uses a Evans pre-amp, and we all know his sound is legendary. The only possible problem with using to many pre-amps in line, is over driving the signal and possibly increased noise. If you overdrive the signal you get distortion. My pedal is the only pedal that allows the user to adjust "overall" output signal down or up. This means you can turn up effect units and pre-amps and not get distortion.
I hope this answers some of your questions.

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Terry Wood · From: Lebanon, MO

Hey Keith,

I'll try to get down there and see you as soon as our annual spring artshow is completed. That show will be later the 27th of this month.

Terry J. Wood

P Perry · From: Lebanon, OH, USA

Thanks Keith that answered my question. Expect my order in the next couple of weeks. Thanks Again

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Phil Perry

Dave Smith · From: Whipple/Marietta, OH USA

I've been playing with this pedal for about a month now and it is fantastic. There is no loss at all through the pedal. You can prove that to yourself by setting your amp gain with the volume pedal wide open, then plug your amp straight into the guitar. No change! And the tone is the same as playing without a volume pedal. It's like it isn't there (except for doing what it is supposed to do).

The only problem I have is turning down my Webb amp gain so low that I'm not on that sweet part of the curve. To correct that I have to use a match-box with a volume control so I can turn up the Webb gain and control the volume at the match-box. Hate to do that but have to.

Cliff Swanson · From: Raleigh, NC

Just a fine point of clarification please... On the website the ME262-B description includes a statement that the unit is sold with a power supply. Can the pedal also be powered by batteries? If so, what is the normal life expectancy of batteries used for this purpose (I'm assuming 9V batteries for this purpose).

TIA,

Cat

Keith Hilton · From: 248 Laurel Road Ozark, Missouri 65721

Dave, there are two controls on the bottom of the pedal. The number 1 control, controls the signal strength. You can turn this down or up. This should help you regulate the signal to the Webb amp with whatever else is in line. I do know that the Webb amp has a line level, and a instrument level input. I would guess that the instrument level input would be over driven, unless the pedal signal level was turned down really low. Thanks for the nice words about my pedal. That makes all my work worth-while. I feel honored that guys like you are using my pedal!
Cliff, let me answer your question. I furnish a 12 volt adapter with the pedal. You can not use batteries with the pedal. The reason is simple; It takes quite a bit of current to run the infrared. This would probably draw down two 9 volt batteries in about 30 minutes or less. With my 12 volt adapter, you don't every have to buy those expensive 9 volt batteries, or worry when they are going out. Thanks Keith Hilton

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Kenneth Kotsay · From: Davie/Ft Lauderdale, Florida

Everyone take note, Keith has been answering questions about his new pedal, I wish I could reply like he does but I'm not one to be able to go into this subject of electronics etc., like he does. Prior to buying his pedal he e-mailed me 3 pages of how his pedal performs etc. No body that I have ever done business with has taken the time out like Keith did with me in explaining in detail about a produced I was about to purchase. I once purchased a new Jeep and when I went to pick it up the salesman greeted me, handed me the keys and said have a nice day, here's the keys, your Jeep is in the parking lot, isle 10-D. He then walked away with my check. Some customer service and relatiopnship. That was a $25,000 Jeep. Again, you can not go wrong with his volume pedal, it's the new pedal steel volume pedal for the 21st century.

[This message was edited by Kenneth Kotsay on 12 April 2000 at 05:19 PM.]

[This message was edited by Kenneth Kotsay on 12 April 2000 at 05:20 PM.]

Dave Smith · From: Whipple/Marietta, OH USA

Thanks Keith - why didn't I think of that?

You see guys and gals, this guy not only builds a great product, he has the answers.

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