Hilton vs Telonics

John Larson · From: Pennsyltucky, USA

At the risk of reviving a topic that has no doubt been beat to death.

Is the Telonics pedal really 2x as good as the Hilton? Both are optical so no pots to wear and get scratchy. I'm looking to upgrade to a pot free volume solution and I want to make an informed purchase decision. Which has the smoother physical travel feel?
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Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

I tried both the Telonics and the Hilton.
I couldn't tell two cents difference, so I kept the Hilton. Very Happy

Erv

George Kimery · From: Limestone, TN, USA

To NOT answer your question, have you considered a Lehlie 90? (model 90 has jacks on the side for steel) It's built like a tank and is as smooth as butter. It uses magnetic technology and there is almost nothing that can go wrong. I have had two Hiltons and they are great pedals, but for an active pedal, I use the Lehlie 90. But...I use my old Goodrich 120 with a 500k Allen Bradly pot most of the time. The new pots that are available today last practically forever. Pots are easily replaced.

Abram Denzlinger · From: Nebraska, USA

The thread below is good reading. Especially the bit from Keith Hilton about the Lehle.

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=226317&highlight=hilton

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

I've had both. Mechanical "feel" is the same.

Hilton is "infra-red" (optical) and the Telonics uses solid state position sensors (not optical).

The Telonics has user selectable pot taper emulations and is firmware upgradeable. I settled on switch position 4 and never changed,

I found I didn't need all the features of the Telonics so it was sold.
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GFI Ultra Keyless S-10 with pad (Black of course) TB202 amp, Hilton VP, Steelers Choice sidekick seat
Cakewalk by Bandlab and Studio One V4.6 pro DAWs, MOTU Ultralite MK5 recording interface unit (for sale)

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Almost word for word what Jack says, although I've kept the Telonics cos it's kinda cool and lights the pedals up blue Smile

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Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs

Per Berner · From: SkÃ¶vde, Sweden

I would guess they perform equally well, but my Telonics, the shiny silver anodized version, is in a league totally of its own when it comes to finish and quality feel. It's built like a tank AND like a classic mechanical Leica camera. You do pay a lot for that pleasure, though. A Dodge and a BMW will both get you to the supermarket and back, but I know which one I prefer to drive...

John McClung · From: Olympia WA, USA

Joe Naylor · From: Avondale, Arizona, USA

Hilton because of cost for one and there is no difference. I will not say any more.
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Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

I agree there's no detectable difference in performance. For the average player the Hilton is better value for money as the Telonics has a host of clever facilties which most people are unlikely to need.
Still a cool thing to have!
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Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs

Roger Crawford · From: Griffin, GA USA

The blue light has a “cool” factor, but our singer who usually wears white pants, thought it made them look blue. I had to turn it off.

Roy Carroll · From: North of a Round Rock

I had the Hilton, liked it a lot, however, I found the Omni to be more versatile with either passive or active settings.
Very smooth. Bill Ferguson has them and the price is right.
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Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

If you really want to always have your guitar see a real high-impedance buffered input, then I think either of these pedals are good choices. I've tried (but not owned) both and I have to conclude that I really don't always want to see a high-impedance buffered input. In fact, most of the time I don't.

In a situation where I really want that, I use one of my old Sho Bud pot pedals and a Sarno Freeloader, which clips to the right leg and goes between the guitar and the volume pedal. This gives the option of an input impedance from, I think, around 100K Ohm to 1 MOhm. I don't really even bother most of the time anymore, but it's there if I want it. Freeloaders are not expensive, clip to the leg to give an instantly accessible and useful tone control, are battery powered, and the battery lasts a real long time.

I guess if I really wanted a modern pedal, I'd be a candidate for the Goodrich Omni, which gives the ability to switch between a buffered and non-buffered input. And has the option of battery power - I admit that I really don't want yet another cable hanging near my right foot.

But they're all good pedals. And I think all are made in the US by good people. How much money do you wanna spend?

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

I had considered the Omni pedal, once, but as it is still a pot pedal (with electronics) it was eliminated.
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GFI Ultra Keyless S-10 with pad (Black of course) TB202 amp, Hilton VP, Steelers Choice sidekick seat
Cakewalk by Bandlab and Studio One V4.6 pro DAWs, MOTU Ultralite MK5 recording interface unit (for sale)

John Larson · From: Pennsyltucky, USA

Paddy Long · From: Christchurch, New Zealand

The Telonics is in a league of it's own... I have two of them and have used them since about 2006 (or when they first became available) .. never had a single issue with them, and the tone I get is just fantastic ... End of story Very Happy

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14'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
08'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
94' Franklin Stereo D10 9+8
Telonics, Peterson, Steelers Choice, Benado, Lexicon, Red Dirt Cases.

Keenan Friday · From: Magnolia, Arkansas, USA

In my experience the Telonics seems like it has a little more taper which is what we want for steel guitar. If for nothing else than that feature i have a certain respect for it.

In my experience the Hilton had crisper brighter highs that I respect. In my experience the Hilton pedal is set at a higher volume or overall volume is higher. I could see it working well with a low wattage amplifier. The Telonics reproduces the natural sound of your guitar. I like the feel of the Telonics better.

So I like them both, could use both just depends on what features matter to you
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Keenan Friday
Mullen Pre Royal D-10, Walker Stereo Steel, Hilton pedal, George L cables, Livesteel Strings, (White) Fred Kelly thumbpick, Dunlop .025 fingerpicks

Jon Voth · From: Virginia, USA

I had a Hilton, now have both. I use the Hilton setting on the Telonics, and lately the one that has the extra gain at the end. It is many settings, maybe even one you can program someday but I'll probably not change.

My Hilton (used) is wobbly, but it has heel extenders on it. And the model has a big transformer that is attached. And it doesn't have a dedicated tuner out. The Telonics has a friction setting that I use just a little of. Both play and sound great as far as I can tell. The Telonics will last me my life.

The blue light is cool, but also gaudy. Maybe it can be turned off, like other aspects of the pedal it is very engineered and more than you need but I like having all the options.

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Later Hiltons have none of the drawbacks that Jon mentions, but they do have a higher output than other brands. I don't agree with Keenan that that makes it more suitable for use with a small amp. It can overload the input stage of any amp, and I reduce the input gain compared to my Telonics or Goodrich.
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Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Starting off, I just want to say that I don't mean any of this to offend anyone. It's just an opinion, and you can take it or leave it, for whatever it's worth.

Just as a general observation over my 60+ years of playing music and listening to thousands of players, I've never seen (or heard of, for that matter) a steelplayer get fired because of his "tone". I've seen many lose their jobs for of playing too loud or too much, not playing enough, not knowing how to back up singers, not being willing to practice, not having good playing skills, substance abuse, bad attitudes, screwing around with the singer's spouse, etc., etc. You name it, and I've seen it. Over the years, I've heard what, to me, are good tones as well as bad tones, but that stuff is very subjective and it's hard (or impossible) to please everyone with "your" sound, whatever that happens to be.

Now, my playing days are just about over (and I was never really that great to start with). And I also realize that there are a good number of "tone-heads" out there, those who obsess over tone above all else. I guess that's why I find it surprising that so many players worry about their "tone" when, from my own observations, that should be the last of their worries when it comes to actual playing.

Just something to think about. Or not.

Peace. Neutral

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