Hilton And Goodrich Volume Pedals

Dennis Manuel · From: Quesnel, B.C., Canada

Has anyone done an A/B comparison on the Hilton and new CD-2 Goodrich volume pedals yet?

Gary Steele · From: Columbus, Ohio, USA

I havent compared them but it looked to me like the Goodrich pedal still has a string to make the volume go up and down. I dont know how they sound but i love my Hilton pedal.

Gary

Jim Watkins · From: Kellyville,Ok. USA

Dennis,
I haven't actually hooked them up at the same time and repeatedly switched them back and forth. I didn't think I needed to.... Because when I first hooked it up it was obviously hotter. So hot I had to back off my highs quite a bit. And the tone is ,,,so ,,,,much better. Didn't realize how much voltage or whatever is lost with a pot pedal.
It is a little pricey but it is great.

Jim

------------------
Jim Watkins

Emmons LaGrande, Profex II, Nashville 400

Jim Watkins · From: Kellyville,Ok. USA

Dennis,
Sorry.......I was refering to the HILTON pedal.

Jim

Jim Smith · From: Midlothian, TX, USA

Larry Dahl · From: Melbourne, FL USA

I also would like a comparison. I am convinced of the Hilton pedal's merits by all the good reports by so many Forum users.
But the Goodrich is stereo, and I have been quite happy placing my stereo pot pedal in the last position in my chain of effects.
Since the Hilton pedal is only available in mono, I can't get around to trying one.

Jerry Erickson · From: Atlanta,IL 61723

Larry,
My Hilton pedal has two outs on it.
It's 4-5 months old, maybe older ones are only mono.
Jerry

Sage · From: Boulder, Colorado

I play thru an old Edwards light beam. How do these new ones compare to that?

Larry Dahl · From: Melbourne, FL USA

I am assuming that the two outs must be mono. There would also have to be two ins for it to be stereo. So, one would have to run the volume at the beginning of the effects chain.
I had an Edwards light beam pedal a long time ago. I can't remember if it fattened the tone, or not. I think the main reason I switched to an Emmons was to have the pedal attached to the pedal board for ease of setup at shows. I later started using a Franklin stereo pedal, which attaches in the same manner.
I don't find the string to be any problem at all. I might have had a problem with a string a couple of decades ago, but it doesen't come to mind.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

From my electronics background, I'm at a loss to understand what the "stereo" pedal does for you.

You can either come out of the pickup and split the signal into "stereo" (two signals but they originate from the same pickup) or you can come out of the pickup into the volume pedal and it splits the signal into "stereo" (two signals).

If you physically have two separate pickups mounted in the same neck and have separate outputs for the two pickups then a two channel volume pedal would be appropriate. Other than that I don't see a need for a two channel (two separate inputs/pots/outputs).

Don Townsend · From: Turner Valley, Alberta Canada

I take it then, back to Dennis' original question, no one has done an A/B comparison of a Hilton and Goodrich CD-2 pedal???

Steve Feldman · From: Central MA USA

You don't really need stereo for that - just two outs, eh?

Jim Smith · From: Midlothian, TX, USA

From http://www.steelguitar.com/accessor/pedals/GoodrichCD2MoreInfo.html the new Goodrich pedal is described: "You can use this pedal in several different ways: As a superior mono volume pedal using 1 or both channels to drive 1 or 2 amps. As a true stereo pedal using the 2 separate inputs and outputs. As a stereo using the stereo jack and a stereo input cable." I can see the use of that with a stereo effects loop. I run my mono Goodrich L120 in the loop of my GX-700 which is a mono loop. I could use the stereo loop of the GP-100 with this pedal.

Frank Parish · From: Nashville,Tn. USA

I've got one of the Hilton pedals and it's a fine pedal but is there a Goodrich pedal made on the same order without the chord? I thought I seen here a while back where somebody had the Goodrich pedal that uses a battery and does the same thing the Hilton does. Which Goodrich is this one?

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

Dennis, most of my dealers also sell Goodrich products. These dealers tell me that they have had one of the new Goodrich CD2 pedals on order, but production has been delayed. These dealers also tell me the only Goodrich CD2 pedals they have seen are the two samples Goodrich and John Fabian had at steel shows. Goodrich was supposed to have these pedals out right after the 2000 St. Louis Steel Guitar Convention. Hopefully Goodrich will come out soon with their new CD2 pedal so you and others can try one. I hope this information helps.
If you need information about my pedal, you can visit my web site at www.hiltonelectronics , or e-mail me, or call me on the telephone at 417-334-6487 Thanks!

Larry Dahl · From: Melbourne, FL USA

Have been off the Forum for a couple days, but here is why I need a stereo volume control.
First of all, I go 100% straight to the effects, instead of variation of the volume pedal.
Secondly, most of the time I can get a clean sound in the places I pick at.
But, some places it is impossible to get a clean sound because of lights, ect. With the volume as the last thing in the chain, the only time there is noise in these places is when the band is playing, and consequently, the noise is not heard.
This solution has worked for me for years now, using a stereo Franklin pot pedal.That is why I wondered about whether,or not, the Goodrich stereo pedal produces the same enhanced results as the Hilton.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

Larry, I never thought about running it that way. I don't think there's any "electronic" pedal out there that is totally two channel.

I run two channel (stereo) but I do it with a Transtube Fex, which has one input and two outputs which go directly to the two channel power amp/speakers. The outputs of the Transtube Fex are at line level, where most electronic pedals are made for lower instrument level.

The signal level is a consideration in pedals. I had a Goodrich L10K model pedal that I tried running with the "3 cord" system, with the pedal in the effects loop of the Nashville 400 and I got distortion in that configuration because of overload.

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

Larry,you are putting your foot pedal after everything else, because you think it seems to help with noise problems, and you get a better sound. I agree that putting anything with a pre-amp before the pedal will improve the operation of a pot pedal. I can see how putting the foot pedal last might help lower some noise problems experienced in your equipment chain. This makes 4 hookup cords going across the floor to your pedal. You are splitting the mono pickup signal coming out of your guitar ,in some effect unit, before you run to your pedal. Now, back to what Jack's first post said;
If you only have one pickup on the guitar neck you are playing, you only have a mono signal. To get a stereo signal, you would need two pickups on the guitar neck you are playing. To get a stereo signal,most players who have only one pickup on the guitar neck they are playing, run to a effects unit that has two outputs. Units like the Peavey ProFex II and Transtube Fex have two outputs and this splits the signal into stereo. My standard pedal has one input and two outputs. The two outputs are "Y"ed together and are not stereo. I can, and will, build you, or anyone, a pedal with as many "STEREO" inputs and outputs as you want. I can build a stereo pedal with two inputs and two outputs. That would be a one channel stereo pedal. I can just as easily build you a pedal with 4 stereo channels. 4 separate stereo channels means you would have 16 chords running to your volume pedal. It is my personal feeling that "more" in this case is not better, but really sounds good in a sales pitch, as the word stereo sounds great. The bottom line is "sound quality". I have built some unusual pedals. I built one that went on and off in reverse, like Jerry Byrd uses. I have also built pedals where the cords all come out the left hand side, for left hand players. I will be happy to build you a stereo pedal, or even a pedal that has 4 separate stereo channels. 16 cords coming out of a pedal does not mean it will produce a better "sound quality" than one output cord coming out of the pedal.

[This message was edited by Keith Hilton on 06 February 2001 at 09:23 AM.]

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

Since one post mentioned the reason they bought the pedal was because of the hole mount on the pedal;----I might mention that I make mounts that fit over the top of the pedal bar. I also make mounts that go in holes in the pedal bar, for Emmons, Derby and Franklin guitars. My new pedal has caused people to take a look at something they always took for granted. Most people don't know the right questions to ask. Here are the questions you need to ask: #1 Is my sound and tone quality improved? #2 Can I easily set the off and on starting point, and even leave a little sound on in the off position if I want? Can I increase or decrese the output signal strength? Can I adust tone on the pedal? What is the up and down movement-in exact relationship to the height of the pedal? Does the hinge point give me the right feel, is it too fast or too slow? I have always been bothered by the words "Low Profile" or "Low Boy". These are great words to use in sales literature. The use of these words is not false advertising, they just don't tell you the whole story. No one even seems to notice that the "hinge" point on Low Profile pedals is set back further to the rear. When the hinge point is set back, the action is made quicker. It even seems quicker, even if the movement up and down is the same. The problem I am just starting to see, is manufacturers decreasing the up and down movement, just to gain a edge in height. It is an attempt to get a sales edge.
They can then claim, "We have the lowest pedal." They never tell you the up and down movement has been decreased, and the hinge point moved further back. Here is something everyone should understand. Suppose you had a pedal only 1 inch high. You can not get that pedal to move up and down more than a inch, because it is only a inch high off the floor! We have a model we call "low profile".
We can custom make and cut the pedal down even lower, even lower than anything on the market. We will always be up front with the customer and say, "Below a certain height, you start to lose up and down movement." I can honestly even build a rubber pressure pad, 1/4 of a inch thick. This would be a really ultra low profile pedal. With a 1/4 high pressure pad pedal you would only have 1/4 inch up and down movement at the most. Know the "right" things to look for and the right questions to ask!

Larry Dahl · From: Melbourne, FL USA

Jack and Keith, thanks for your input(no pun intended.) Yes, that is exactly how I hook up, with 4 wires to the volume pedal. That is not a problem. Most places the rack is next to the right rear leg with short cables, and one place down state I have to run long cables to place the rack way off to the drum riser on my left, but the long cables have not caused any noise. I have tried the Peavey "3 wire hookup" to both pots/circuits with no noticable improvment. The pivot point on the Franklin stereo is an exact match to the old mono Emmons, as a matter of fact, the whole pedal is, of which I am happy. From where I am sitting, I don't want to change my wire hookup/sound. Keith, I will contact you by e-mail about your options.

Gary Walker · From: Morro Bay, CA

Having used the Edwards light beam pedal for years which caused a great loss of signal, I went back to a Goodrich pot pedal and Matchbox, I am anxious to get the new Hilton pedal that I ordered because I know it will give the utmost without all of the add-ons,Thanks,Gary

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

Gary, I shipped your pedal today, by the Post Office. I shipped it where we can track where it is at on the computer. If you have not got it by about Wednesday, we will look up where it is at. Everyone who buys my pedal always reports back to me! Let me know how you get along with it?

Jim Smith · From: Midlothian, TX, USA

FYI, getting Delivery Confirmation on a package at the Post Office is NOT the same as package tracking at UPS. Delivery Confirmation is just that. You'll see it on the USPS web site about a day after you mail the package, then IF the mailman remembers to scan it when it's delivered, you'll see that it was delivered. You get no "progress report" as it travels from town to town like you do with UPS.

I once shipped a rack unit via USPS to a guy who happened to be out of town when it was delivered. Their web site showed that it was being returned because of a bad address, when in fact it was sitting on his porch, bent like a bow with accessory pieces missing from the box.

[This message was edited by Jim Smith on 08 February 2001 at 09:45 PM.]

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

You are correct Jim, but they can tell you where it is at. My biggest problem has been postmen who don't leave a notice that a package is at the post office. Most people don't realize the amount of increase the post office put on stuff. They just think stamps increased .01 cent. When I ship by the Post Office, I ship insured, priority mail, with delivery confirmation. To ship one pedal in the U.S. cost me $10.55 in postage. I was only charging $10.50. When the new postage rates came into effect, the same pedal shipped costs me $11.95. So I now charge $12.00. I think it is highway robbery! I think they jumped the price so much on boxes, because E-mail is eating into Post Office profit on letters. I wanted to mention a word of caution to owners of the old Edwards pedals. These pedals are approaching 30, or more, years old. These pedals have a 120volt AC cord run to a transformer that is inside the pedal. All the protective insulation on these pedals is getting cracked and old. Even the stuff on the transformer windings is getting cracked and falling apart. Understand that you have 120 volts AC under foot! Your steel serves as a good ground, and you are inbetween. If it were me, I would not be playing the old Edwards pedal on a concrete floor, or anywhere the steel would be grounded. I could not sleep at night if I built pedals with 120 volt AC run to a transformer inside the pedal. There is a lot of danger with a 120 volt transformer inside a pedal. My pedals have the transformer outside the pedal. That way the max voltage you could get is 24 volts. +12 and -12. That would be like a house door bell. You could hold the wires in your hand and not even feel the voltage. By the way, I have a fence charger at my house. Checked the voltage and it was 6,200 volts. To keep from killing people, or animals, fence chargers will not produce very much current. High voltage, but low current. Had a friend who hooked up a 120 volt AC wire around his garden to shock the deer that eat in his garden at night. He had it connected to a 100 watt light bulb. He thought the 100 watt light bulb would act like a fuse and burn out before it killed anything. To make a long story short, he found a dead deer tangled in the wire around his garden.

Steve Feldman · From: Central MA USA

Still looking for a report on the new Goodrich, if anyone's got one yet.

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