The Steel Guitar Forum

Hello Gents,
I'm going through a volume pedal funk right now. My Hilton power supply crapped out on me so I need to order another one, and then last night at a session my goodrich L120 started scratching. I prefer the the L120 to the Hilton for PSG but am getting tired of pots going bad. How long are these things supposed to last? I bought this L120 4 months ago so it has the new Goodrich pot in it and it's already scratchy. Is that normal? I'm sure this has been covered so I apologize if this thread is redundant but I'd love to know what pots you guys are using with success.

Thanks,
Christopher

I believe Tom Bradshaw is still selling some good pots (the electrical kind, not the plant).

I agree with Richard.
I bought a 'new' Goodrich L120 in 07'. It was scratchy from day one, fresh out of the box. I replaced that pot, and put two more pots in it, inside of a years time. After grousing about the fact that there seemed to be no good replacement pots, anywhere on the planet, somebody on the SGF turned me on to Tom Bradshaw's Dunlop pots. It turned out to be a great alternative to the long gone Bradleys. I've had it in my pedal since early 08', and it hasn't made the slightest pop, noise, or tone alteration. In fact, it is probably the purest, cleanest pot that I've ever had in any pedal.

*One good tip, though. Check out Greg Cutshaw's tute on installing the Dunlop pot. You'll find it on his website. It is meticulously illustrated, and explained, and it will surely spare you the agony of trying to understand, and work from Tom's diagram.

(..No offense Tom,...most of us just can't think like you.)

Just buy a Telonics pedal. Problem solved.

Bill

Also, have you checked into getting your Hilton fixed? They are great pedals. Are you sure it is the pedal that died, or is it the power supply wal-wart? My wal-wart died on me a couple of months ago. Give Keith a holler.

I'm not sure a $500 Telonics pedal is the answer. Heck, buy another pot pedal to keep as a backup (of course, put one of Bradshaw's pots in it).

Bill Fisher wrote:Just buy a Telonics pedal. Problem solved.

Bill

What Bill said. The Telonics is expensive, but you get what you pay for. It really is outstanding.

FWIW, I drilled a tiny hole in the pot cover, #54 or around 1/32" or so. I used a drill press so as not to go deep and screw it up. Sprayed just a tiny bit of Caig DeOxit in the hole, worked it back and forth then tipped it toward the hole to let the excess and any fine chips out. Stuck a piece of blue painter's tape over the hole. I did this 2 days ago on an AB that was scratchy and now it's working fine. I like the old AB pots and try to save and revive them 'til the end of their useful life.

If your pot is only 4 months old, this should clean up the scratch and give it extra life. Old pots with worn out wipers and carbon cannot be helped much.

As I have said before. I like the Canadian pots better, I think they were PEC, but I got tired of changing them out so often and went with the longer lasting Dunlop pot. RP

The Dunlop pot that Tom Brandshaw sells is outstanding. I am using the same pot for going on about three years, and it still sounds great. The tone of the pot is very good, too. Even if you are using an electronic pedal, a pot pedal is a good thing to have as a backup. You might try cycling the pot that is in your pedal. Sometimes they will sound scratchy if they've been sitting for a while, and cycling cleans it up, but I have never had this happen with the Dunlop pot.

I cannot stress enough that the pot Mr. Bradshaw sells is the only one on the market today worth 10 cents.
I fooled around with several new old stock, ones supplied by Goodrich, stuff from Fry's, etc before I bought one of Tom's. I sure am glad Mr Bradshaw ended our frustrations.
Mine is going on three years.

On a side note, the Telonics pedals are among the finest ever built. Some folks just prefer a "pot" pedal.
Good luck in whatever you decide.

Sorry. I have access to a Telonics pedal and I am comparing it to my Hilton. I can't tell any difference whatsoever. So, tell me why it is worth almost twice as much as a Hilton (which is already outrageous in price). Don't give me the crap about multiple selectable tapers. I'll bet everyone that owns one has settled on their favorite taper and never changes it. Now the little blue light on the side (I was told it was to light up your pedals) is cute, but I don't need my pedals lit up. I never have to look at them. And that little light isn't worth an extra $200.

Drilling and cleaning will work fine. Tom Bradshaw's Dunlop pot is the best. I'll take a pot pedal over a powered pedal anytime.

Tom Bradshaw's Dunlop "Hot-Potz" get my vote too. I have three spares and two Goodrich L120s fitted with them. (If you buy the pedal from Tom he'll put the Dunlop pot in it for you. How good is that? )

I like Tom Bradshaw's, they are really good

Richard Sinkler wrote:. So, tell me why it is worth almost twice as much as a Hilton (which is already outrageous in price).

If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure neither manufacturer is making much money. Probably because these are small US companies. You are probably playing an instrument worth $2-3k why start complaining about prices now?

Paying twice as much for any product that doesn't perform any better than the lower priced item is crazy to me. I also think SOME of the items specifically made for the steel guitar (not the guitars themselves) are maybe a little higher priced because the manufacturer knows there are many of us who will not question the price and just buy the item. I just find it hard to pay $500 for a freakin' volume pedal. Heck my NV400 didn't even cost that much when I bought it new in'84. I wonder what it would cost new if it was still in production.

I am going to use my friend's Telonics pedal tonight at a gig. I will alternate sets between my Hilton and the Telonics. I will report back if I notice any difference. The Telonics is set to a Hilton Taper. It has a little too much sound bleed thru in the "off" position for me, but I don't want to mess with his adjustments, even though he said I could.

Now I do notice a difference in feel between a pot pedal and an electric type pedal, but only in feel and not sound. I could be happy with a good pot pedal with a good pot. Of course, if you smoked a lot of good pot, none of this would matter.

something else to consider that keeps the prices high: specialized products for steel only appeal to a very small market. Its not that manufacturers are jacking up prices - its that there are only a few people on earth that will buy the products, so they are made in smaller quantities.

we should be grateful that there are products for the steel guitar at all - if it were up to the large music equipment manufacturers, we would be shoe-horning everything into guitar amps through guitar pedals, because they can make 10,000 in China and sell them for $89. I personally do not mind paying a little extra to keep the small guys around, and to support their products because they are specialized products.

I haven't tried one of the Dunlop pots so I don't know about them. I have been using the new PEC pots that Goodrich recently made standard and I am very happy with them so far. The new "million cycle" standard PEC pots have the same feel and sound as my NOS Allen Bradley pot as far as I can tell. They are available from any Goodrich dealer.

This thread addresses something that I have been wondering about for a while. I have a Goodrich 120 and a Hilton. There is a drastic difference in tone. The Hilton also feels much smoother than the Goodrich. I have heard many players who sound great using Goodrich pedals. However, mine sounds "dark" and muddy in comparison. Could the pot in my Goodrich be affecting the tone that much?[/list]

Jim,
The difference could be the pot or how you have your Hilton set. There is a thing that acts like a tone control you turn with a little screw driver on the Hilton.

Bob- The Hilton sounds better than the Goodrich regardless of its tone adjustment. Thanks.