Hotone Soul Press – Multi Purpose Expression System That Just Works

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As a super-small clever mixture of volume, expression and wah pedals, the Soul Press from Hotone is a great option for players looking to get just a little bit extra out of their volume pedal.

By investing just a bit of extra time into this fella, you will actually be able to cover all three domains with just one item. We decided to take it out for a test run, you can check out our findings in the full review below.

Features

The product features a sexy red metal casing that's sturdy enough to take on extensive touring, but not more than a few heavy stomps due to the aforementioned mini size. It's no Boss FV-500H, so be gentle as often as you can. This is a mono pedal, meaning that you can only plug in one instrument and use one amp or mix entry in the output domain.

The pedal features an active volume mode that will secure a lossless tone, meaning that you can expect zero loss of sonic quality in the Volume regime. The device operates as a true bypass pedal, which is a crucial feature if you're combining it with other devices. As for that mini size, the product weighs in at 8.8 ounces and features a total size of 2.9 x 1.7 x 1.7 inches.

Controls

The first thing that made this fella stand out is the presence of the minimum volume control, or the Bottom Value as it's referred to here. This allows you to adjust the level of sound volume then the pedal is at its lowest value, or lifted all the way up.

As far as additional knobs and tweaks go, there's also a three-way switch that determines whether the device will operate as volume, expression, or wah pedal. The switch isn't something you can reach with your foot or easily adjust during performance – unless you pretty much completely stop playing for a few seconds – hence we have to point out that this is not a good option if you're looking to switch between effects during one song.

But seeing that you can easily organize yourself to switch the functions between tunes, we see no problem in using the device for all three types of effects during a single gig.

Performance

The pedal itself is quite smooth and accurate, although the super-small size does take some time to get used to and simply never works for some players. When it comes to sonic quality, the sound remains solid and very close to the original in VOL and EXP modes, while the wah sound was based on the iconic CryBaby pedal, the one that Jimi Hendrix used to change the world with “Voodoo Chile (Slight Return).”

While the wah-wah sound is quite alright for the listed price, it's no actual CryBaby. But it's usable and works like a charm for beginner and intermediate players. What's important is that the volume pedal and expression pedal features are solid, the wah is realistically just a nifty addition.

Value/Conclusion

For the listed price, you're most definitely getting a killer bargain here. In fact, we're pretty sure that this fella ranks among the best guitar volume pedals for beginners! The main thing you have to pay attention to is whether or not you're cool with such a small device. Apart from that, this is a great 3-in-1 product, thumbs up!

For more info about the Hotone Soul Press, click here.
For more Volume Pedal Currently On The Market, click here.