The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm interested in getting the Goodrich L-120 pedal, but I came across this Omni pedal by Goodrich. The 2 things I like about it is it's low profile and has the built-in tuner-out. I'm struggling though, with it being active and passive--since I've been a dedicated pot pedal user--I'm wondering why I would need that capability.

Anyway, I did a search on the forum to see if a steel player did a performance review on it, but I couldn't find one. If someone could comment on it's performance, it would help me and possibly others that may be interested in it. Thanks.

Jim Palenscar (Steel Guitars North County) is the man to contact and he will explain all

I'm looking for an objective review from someone other than the person who sells them.

Gotcha

I don't blame you for not wanting to use the manufacturer for an opinion. You could ask Nils Lofgren, Pete Anderson, John McFee, Dean Parks, JayDee Maness, Greg Leisz, Doug Pettibone, etc. for their opinions. That being said, your questions don't ask for an opinion- just a factual response. The active/passive part was developed for our perceived problem of having to stop playing and replace the battery in our active pedals (H and L10K) when the battery level dropped to the point of the output being distorted. It seemed simple enough to add a bypass switch to get rid of that problem. That also added to the functionality of the pedal and widened the intended audience. There are situations where one might want the added clarity and slight increase in gain that is provided by the active circuit and some like the tone of a passive pedal better than an active pedal. The battery lasts for greater than 1,000 hours of use but we also added and include a 9v power supply if the user wants that. The discrete tuner out is used to keep from having to go through a tuner as often this results in output distortion. Having the input/output jacks mirrored on both sides was a decision to allow for the user to determine how the pedal is physically hooked up as those using pedal boards frequently want left side access. From a marketing perspective, it was our decision to strongly consider the needs of the guitar player as that audience outnumbers steel guitar players about a thousand fold. I am always happy to answer any questions about the Goodrich products.

A lot of great ideas in one pedal! Thanks for posting. I've checked out all the net videos and promos on this. Guess this is a fairly new product?

Thanks Greg- it was released at the Winter NAMM show this year. There is one more point that deserves attention. There are 2 considerations that one should be aware of and that is tonal change as gain is increased. One of them is a phenomenon known of as the Fletcher Munson Curve that we can't do anything about and it basically says (from the internet) "At low listening volumes – mid range frequencies sound more prominent, while the low and high frequency ranges seem to fall into the background. At high listening volumes – the lows and highs sound more prominent, while the mid range seems comparatively softer."
The 2nd thing is that passive volume pedals create a similar experience and that is the experience of increased highs and lows as the potentiometer is rotated from off to full on. This is not generally the case with electronically assisted volume pedals and as a retailer I've had a couple of high-end electronic pedals returned to me because there was no tonal change through the sweep and the end user was not used to that.

I've been asked a number of questions about the potentiometer we use in the OMNI as well as the rest of our pedals. Our first order of business after purchasing the Goodrich Company was to solve the high failure rate of the pots that were being used. After exhaustive testing we chose a pot similar to the one Tom Bradshaw recommended as the "Dunlop" pot and had it modified for our purposes. Since that time, the failure rate after one year dropped from about 50% to less than .1% and we are happy with that choice.

I've been replacing most of our carbon track industrial pots here with conductive plastic ones. They are readily available in many configurations and last as well in harsh conditions as the old AB ones they replaced.

Well aware of the Fletcher Munson Curve and it's one of the reasons I've never gotten as used to the electronic pedals as the passive ones. As soon as I mention the "Curve", it falls on deaf ears! Nice to have both choices in one pedal.

Hi Jim, can you go into any more detail about the new pots? What are the modifications? Is the taper the same as Tom's Dunlop pots?

After searching for a pot that would last with the right taper, we settled on the one marketed by Dunlop and found the engineer responsible for its development. We left the electrical characteristics alone as they were fine but simply had them change the shaft from a D shaft to a round shaft and had it extended. That enabled ease of adjustment and gave us a bit of wiggle room for the pot collar.

Are these available yet? Price?

I love the concept!

One source:

https://www.google.com/search?q=goodric ... Ck8QsxgIKA

Jim Palenscar wrote:The active/passive part was developed for our perceived problem of having to stop playing and replace the battery in our active pedals (H and L10K) when the battery level dropped to the point of the output being distorted. It seemed simple enough to add a bypass switch to get rid of that problem. That also added to the functionality of the pedal and widened the intended audience. There are situations where one might want the added clarity and slight increase in gain that is provided by the active circuit and some like the tone of a passive pedal better than an active pedal. The battery lasts for greater than 1,000 hours of use but we also added and include a 9v power supply if the user wants that. The discrete tuner out is used to keep from having to go through a tuner as often this results in output distortion. Having the input/output jacks mirrored on both sides was a decision to allow for the user to determine how the pedal is physically hooked up as those using pedal boards frequently want left side access. From a marketing perspective, it was our decision to strongly consider the needs of the guitar player as that audience outnumbers steel guitar players about a thousand fold.

Not often I say this, but...brilliant ideas. Simply brilliant!

Thanks for the kind comment Donny. We kept adding features and after 3 years had to stop and just do it.

If the active side goes out, can you just flip the switch and the pot side will be completely functional and vice versa? This could eliminate having to carry a back-up volume pedal. Now the big question: How does the active side sound, say compared to a Hilton or Telonics? How about compared to a Lil Izzy? If this pedal can hold it's own, sound wise, you have just revolutionized the volume pedal in my opinion.If it is just a buffer built in, then not so revolutionary.

Sounds like flipping the switch will work when the battery goes dead in active mode to keep the pedal running in passive mode. Seems the pot is used on both modes so if the pot goes "to pot" the pedal would be unusable. I could be wrong about this and often am!

If the pot fails the pedal will not work in either mode however we have gone to great lengths to insure that this would be a rare event (so far less than 1 in 1000).

Still interest in more details as to the active side. Is the technology similar to a Hilton or Telonics or does it have a built in buffer instead?

I've been using a Hilton since around 2004 but this looks like something I may get.

I may be wrong bit I believe both the Hilton and the Telonics pedals utilize buffers in their pedals. The Omni uses an updated version of what our previous offerings- the H10k and the L10k- used. We had an engineer from Alesis help update the buffer which is used to help “clarify” the signal from the guitar reducing tone sucking effects from other parts of the signal chain (cords,pots,effects,etc.) and increase the gain just a bit. It turns out that the signal can be modified in drastic ways through the design of the buffer and we chose to simply clean it up a bit slightly modify the gain.

Larry Sasser called today and had this to say about his new OMNI pedal "The minute I plugged it in and started playing- there it was! The sound that I'd been wanting to hear for the past 40 years- maybe even ever!"
Thanks Larry- we try

Jim, check your PM.

Jim Palenscar wrote: tonal change as gain is increased. One of them is a phenomenon known of as the Fletcher Munson Curve t

Sounds exactly like why they have (actually had is more like it) "loudness countours" on hifi systems.

I've noticed that the tone quality of my Telecaster sounds a lot better with the volume knob on the guitar all the way up- all volume adjustment made at the guitar amp.

Do the Omni or other Goodrich pedals have spring to return to off- like car accelerator pedal? Can set "off" position volume above 0? Not saying they should- just might help me as a newby.

Thanks.....

There is a return spring on the OMNI and from the factory is adjusted to keep the volume the same if you lift your foot off but it is adjustable. It does have an adjustable off level as well however it is recommended that the user contact Goodrich before doing so.