The Steel Guitar Forum

Where did you set your Hilton volume pedal settings on the bottom? Just wondering what guitar, pick-ups and settings you use on yours.

moved to 'Electronics' section

Frank,

I turn the 'off' knob full ccw. It will go very low but not off.
I turn the 'volume' knob full cw as suggested by Keith in the manual.

George L E66 pickup>Hilton>dual mono>Lexicon>stereo out to 2 amps. Very satisfied with the sound. MSA SU12.

Noticeable improvement over the L120.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Ron Randall on 27 July 2003 at 11:18 AM.]</p></FONT>

Frank,and Ron, thanks for using my pedal. Thought it might be helpful to relate where I see most players setting the 3 adjustments. Most players leave the Tone adjustment all the way clockwise. Turning it counter clockwise takes off highs. There is nothing wrong with rolling off highs if your ears prefer a more mellow sound. The adjustment marked Volume is simply the output signal strength control.
Most players leave the adjustment marked Volume all the way clockwise. Turning it counter clockwise decreases signal strength.
The only time you would ever want to turn down the Volume control is if you had other pre-amps in the signal chain, making the signal strength too strong. You would be surprised at how many people don't know how to control their pre-amps. For example: a ProFex II has a input gain control, output gain control, and gain controls on each of the program segments. If possible it is best to turn down the other pre-amps and only use the Volume control adjustment on the pedal as a last resort. This adjustment was put on the pedal for guys who can not control the signal strength of other pre-amps in line. With this control on the pedal it is therefore impossible to overdive a signal, because the adjustment can be turned down, down,down, even to off. Again it is best to leave this adjustment all the way clockwise if possible. That is what most people do. The Off Point adjustment adjusts where the pedal goes off. I would say 80% of the players like a slight bit of sound left on in the off position. 20% of the players like their pedal to go full off in the off position. You can have the pedal go all the way off at any point, or adjust how much sound stays on in the off position. I personally feel the response and feel is better if there is a slight bit of sound left on in the off position. I have found most of the Hall of Fame players, but not all, like a little sound left on in the off position. They tell me they think it makes their playing smoother. Anyway the Off Point adjustment is "RELATIVE" to what other pre-amps you have in line and their gain settings. Adjust the Off Point adjustment to what you want the pedal to do in the off position. Let me say this about pre-amps in a signal chain---Their output gain is not addition, it is multiplication. To understand this lets add 8 plus 8, we get 16. If we multiply 8 times 8 we get 64. 64 is a long way from 16, so you can see that it is important to control the signal strength of pre-amps. By the way--everything that is powered has a pre-amp. Let me stay something about these adjustments on the Hilton pedal; They only turn approximately 180 degrees, which is about 1/2 turn. If they are forced to turn past the stop point it ruins the adjustment. When that happens the pedal will either sound terrible or won't work at all. I have thousands of pedals out in use and over the years I have only had 3 people force these adjustments past their stop points. It is easy to see that these adjustments are not easily broken.
When you get these adjustments set where you want them, you might put a piece of black tape over the holes. I have seen some pretty nasty stage floors. Again, I want to thank everyone for using my product. I feel honored that you are using my product and I will do anything to help you if you do happen to have a problem.

Good stuff! I had mine set just a little off full volume with the tone just a little off full (cw) and the off point about 2 o'clock. Thanks to the great input on this thread, I'm tweaking around (again).
The pickup is a GFI I (I think that means a Geo L special) with a steel driver III between them with all of it into a Peavey Bandit 112. This little S10 student model with 4 knees (2 added) and three pedals keeps me plenty busy learning and exploring.
I've used the pedal a little over a year now without the slightest problem. Any input on why there is a "tinny tone" area around the 12th fret (like muted)- would be helpful to me. Is it the nature of it or too many bells/whistles? Otherwize, it sounds very good to me!! Thanks again.

Robert, thanks for using my pedal. The 12th fret is one octave. There are lots of harmonics going on at the 12 fret. Check where the strings go over the end rollers, if there is any wear this can cause problems. Also check string guage sizes and if particular strings need to be wound or plain. Every guitar is set up for particular string guage sizes, and wound or plain strings in certain places. My pedal will not create any harmonic distortion at a particular fret. Several things can cause a change in tone at different frets. If you pick the strings closer to the pickup, the sound is much more bright than if you pick the strings further from the pickup. Many things can cause what you have described. I have seen speakers that were almost blown and would only cause problems at a particular frequency, meaning at a particular fret.

Keith,
Appreciate your response and will check/recheck stuff along the possibilities you described. Great pedal!!

Mr. Hilton built mine to "come on in reverse" several years ago.

Mine only has 2 controls ...

I keep the "Output Volume" fully on (clockwise) ...

I set the "Off Control" to the volume I want my average picked note at ... around 2 o'clock ... and use the remainder of the sweep to add subtle sustain and when I use palm harmonics.

Most of the time my foot is not even on it ... but I won't dream of not having it in my "chain" ... it is my sole means of volume control (always keep the pots on my Rickys full on) .... lets me get the most out of my horseshoe pickups and my Fender Twin ...

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<font size=1>www.horseshoemagnets.com </font><FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 29 July 2003 at 08:29 AM.]</p></FONT>

I'd just like to point out that the tone control on the pedal allows you to use the same pedal with two or more guitars with different sounding pickups on them. You can find the right tone setting for each pickup and mark the tone control so you can go right to it easily if you switch guitars. Nice feature.

Keith,
I sent you an e-mail a few days ago and haven't heard from you. Holler back when you get time.

Frank, check your e-mail, I wrote you. Ever pedal I have ever built has a tone control.
Pedals made in the last year and a half have the control accessable from the outside. For pedals older than a year and a half, the tone control is inside the pedal. You need to remove the bottom cover and look for a little blue control. The little blue control looks just like the other two blue controls. Hope this information helps.