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Topic: Hilton pedal |
Damir Besic
From:
Nashville,TN.
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Posted 15 Feb 2003 2:54 pm |
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I just bought me a nice low profile hilton volume pedal at SGN from Bobbe and what a suprise.I alway tought that Hilton is foto cell pedal but it is not.So what is it?I pic inside and there is nothing to see???How that thing works?Bobbe said it is some kind of magnetic thing or something,I`m still under the shock and can`t wait for my gig tonite to try it.Anybody knows how Hilton works,on what princip?No pot no foto cell,so what is it.Excuse me for my ignorance  [This message was edited by Damir Besic on 15 February 2003 at 02:55 PM.] |
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Larry Bell
From:
Englewood, Florida
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Posted 15 Feb 2003 3:02 pm
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infrared -- like your tv remote
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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro |
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Damir Besic
From:
Nashville,TN.
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Posted 15 Feb 2003 4:03 pm
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| Hi Larry,thanks |
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Damir Besic
From:
Nashville,TN.
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Posted 17 Feb 2003 5:20 pm
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played that gig and what?Hilton is great pedal.still can`t understand how it works tho.I know its a infra red but no moving parts?Thats like a space science to me old cave man who is used to see things turning and humming and stuff.Well,I have to get used to it  I guess |
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Posted 17 Feb 2003 5:26 pm
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I tried a Hilton Digital Sustain unit recently.
It really made a big improvement in tone... similar to a BBE Sonic Maximizer.
I understand this circuitry is part of the Hilton Volume Pedal.
Is it possible to bypass the Digital Sustainer circuitry in the Hilton Volume Pedal (if one wanted) to get the pure steel pickup tone?... or blend the Digital Sustainer in at user selectable levels?
Just curious.
Thx,
~pb
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Posted 18 Feb 2003 2:43 pm
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I read where the newer Hilton Digital Sustain units come with a tone knob.
Do the newer Hilton volume pedals come with a tone knob too?
That would be a nice feature.
[This message was edited by Pete Burak on 18 February 2003 at 02:43 PM.] |
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Bob Lawrence
From:
Beaver Bank, Nova Scotia, Canada
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Posted 18 Feb 2003 3:41 pm
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Pete,
There is no knob that I know off but there is a tone adjustment on all Hilton pedals. The pedals made before July 2002 (around that time) had the adjustment but it was not exposed through the case. The newer ones expose the adjustmnet and can be adjusted with a small screw driver. Keith talked about it in a post some time ago.
Bob
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[This message was edited by Bob Lawrence on 19 February 2003 at 05:28 AM.] |
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Posted 18 Feb 2003 4:43 pm
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Cool!
Thanks for the info.
Can you turn the Digital Sustainer portion of the Volume Pedal completely off?
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Frank Parish
From:
Nashville,Tn. USA
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Posted 19 Feb 2003 3:56 pm
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| There's two little plastic screws underneath that adjust tone and the attack. The pedal reads like a scanner at the grocery and unlike the old pot pedals will give you that warm and full tone at any volume. The old pot pedals sound the best when they're wide open. Recently it's been real hard to find a pot that's good for the old pedals even when they're brand new so I'm really glad I bought the Hilton. The Clarostat pots are history around here. George L won't even guarantee then anymore. |
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Tom Olson
From:
Spokane, WA
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Posted 19 Feb 2003 10:00 pm
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| If the Hilton uses the scanner technology similar to bar code scanners, then I don't understand what infrared has to do with it. The bar code scanners use LASER light from what I understand. Also, for the bar code technology, the light source must move or "scan" across the bar code in order to read it. If you look inside a bar code scanner, you'll see a little rotating mirror that makes the laser beam scan across the bar code. I doubt there's a rotating mirror inside a Hilton Vol. pedal, but I could be wrong. Not trying to be argumentative -- just trying to understand how it works like Demir |
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Larry Bell
From:
Englewood, Florida
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Posted 20 Feb 2003 7:15 am
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Not laser. IR (Keith may have misspoken in the quote below re: the grocery scanner).
No tone control accessible without removing the bottom plate (at least for the model I have)
No switch to disable the active electronics ('Digital Sustain' function)
My personal take on this is that I adjust my tone at the preamp or fx device which is always handy in my stage setup. I setup different patches or presets for different situations.
I don't view the Hilton pedal as either an equalization or fx device. The objective is to get the same signal one would obtain by plugging the guitar directly into the amp at any volume -- and IT DOES. Adjusting the EQ takes place after the volume pedal. I've got enough knobs to tweak without having one on my volume pedal.
Works for me.
Words from Keith: quote:
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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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 20 February 2003 at 07:27 AM.] |
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Posted 20 Feb 2003 8:25 am
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That's cool.
I'll have to get a hold of a Hilton Pedal and a Hilton Digital Sustain and mess around.
The reason I asked is, I was playing a steel with the Digital Sustain box and it sounded great. Upon taking it out of the loop there was a huge difference in tone.
I really liked the Digital Sustain tonal improvement, and was thinking... ahh! now I know why everyone loves those pedals!
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