# Soul Press II (review with demo)



## Brian Johnston (Feb 24, 2019)

Soul Press II is a true bypass pedal and an upgrade from the original Soul Press, and with some significant changes. This pedal has Volume, Wah, an Expression out and a Volume/Wah combo. In the latter instance, the toe switch acts as a control between the Volume/Wah (shifting from one to the other), whereas the toe switch turns the Volume or Wah on/off if selected individually. The demo helps to clarify this. The Expression works independently, so that you can have the Volume or Wah operating, as well as controlling parameters from other gear and with the Expression. There’s also a Tuner Out feature. Another cool function is the adjustable mode treadle status indicator, which shows the pedal’s position in real time, allowing you to visually zero in on a particular Volume, Wah or Expression range.






Next, comes the sound. Overall, this is a quiet pedal with no noticeable noise (or noise interference), even with the wah. In use, the tone remains very true, as a result of the pedal’s newly-designed active volume circuit. Some wahs have noise artifacts, whereas the Soul Press II does not. The Volume and Expression work as those two aspects usually do – very straight-forward. The Wah has two tones – Warm (290Hz to 1.4kHz) and Classic (360Hz to 1.8kHz). In either instance there is a very decent range of tone via the Q knob, which adjusts the frequency. When compared to a Morley ‘classic’ wah, the Soul Press II’s classic setting has a broader sweep with the Q up full. Bringing the Q down to about 2-o’clock makes it comparable to the Morley’s frequency range.

The warm setting definitely is warm, and extremely vocal sounding, with big vowel-like expressions. The classic setting is more typical of what you would expect, e.g., via a Morley or Cry Baby type wah. Both sound incredible with a clean guitar tone. With a hi-gain tone, I found it sounded best with the Q around 12-noon to 1-o’clock, as going deeper in Q produces more high-end frequency, which is OK for dark amps and pickups, but a bit shrill otherwise (including the hi-gain gear I used in the demo). The most important point is that you can adjust this parameter to accommodate any guitar and amp.

Now, this version of the Soul Press does have a larger footprint, but it’s still rather small, measuring 3” (W) x 6.3” (L) x 2” (H) or 81 x 162 x 51 mm, and weighing only 1.1 pounds or 500g. Hotone Audio made the Soul Press II’s footprint slightly larger to increase user surface, together with a textured treadle surface made of slip-resistant material. The chassis (a polarized finish that changes colors at different angles and lighting) is made of lightweight aluminum alloy with a steel shaft connection. It is powered by a standard 9V DC power supply (negative center with 30mA draw) or 9V battery, although the Expression function works without power.

Overall, the Soul Press II is a massive space saver, offering several functions in a small footprint area. The Volume and Expression are noiseless in use, the active LEDs are cool and help to zero in on specific ranges when playing, and the Tuner Out certainly is a nice bonus. The wahs are very decent in their own right, although the warm simply sounds fantastic with a clean guitar – I’m most impressed with that function. For $119 USD, Soul Press II has got to be one of the best deals of 2021, a true winner in the category of size and function.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I was gifted with a Korg Mr. Multi, which is also a wah-but-it-does-other-stuff pedal, from the'70s. It has two types of wah, one of which is very reminiscent of the old Schaller "Yoy", as well as 4-stage phaser. Unlike the Cry Baby, and I imagine the Soul Press, it has no inductor in the wah circuit, and no adjustment for Q. However, the foot treadle can be selected for either manual sweep of the wah/phaser, OR autosweep rate. Toe down is faster, heel down is slower. I'm not keen on the fastest speed, and the pot taper is not ideal - definitely some tweaking required - but being able to have speed under foot control, much like a Uni-Vibe, is appealing. And, as with the Soul Press, nice to have a few things in one package.


----------



## Sunny1433 (Nov 23, 2018)

Anyone know where I can find this pedal (Soul Press II) in Canada?


----------



## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

Sunny1433 said:


> Anyone know where I can find this pedal (Soul Press II) in Canada?


I've been eyeing this as well. I think Amazon may be our best bet. I contacted a store I used to get Hotone stuff from and they said that the distributor for them changed or something so they can't get the new stuff 









Hotone Wah Active Volume Passive Expression Guitar Effects Pedal Switchable Soul Press II 4 in 1 with Visible Guitar Effects Pedal : Amazon.ca: Musical Instruments, Stage & Studio


Hotone Wah Active Volume Passive Expression Guitar Effects Pedal Switchable Soul Press II 4 in 1 with Visible Guitar Effects Pedal : Amazon.ca: Musical Instruments, Stage & Studio



www.amazon.ca


----------



## Brian Johnston (Feb 24, 2019)

mhammer said:


> Unlike the Cry Baby, and I imagine the Soul Press, it has no inductor in the wah circuit, and no adjustment for Q.


Unless I'm misunderstanding... the Soul Press II (the latest version) does have a Q adjustment. No idea about the inductor in the wah circuit.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

A number of Crybaby-type wahs also have Q adjustment, and it is certainly easy enough to implement on wahs that do not already come with this (nicely illustrated/explained here: The Technology of Wah Pedals ).

Of course, filter Q is not unique to inductor-based wahs, so having it as a feature doesn't say anything about the specific design. I made a clone of the Ibanez WH-10, which also has a form of Q control, and it is as inductor-free as they come. Similarly, the Systech Harmonic Energizer (favored by Frank Zappa) is also a form of fixed/cocked wah pedal with variable Q.

That by no means makes the _absence _of variable Q any sort of "flaw". Certainly many of the most treasured players who used wah to great effect only had an on-off switch on theirs with no other adjustments. So having more adjustments simply affords more variety in flavours and is no indicator of tonal quality.

A search for gutshots yields nothing, unfortunately. The Soul-Press II has a lower profile and electronics enclosure than the original orange Soul Press, but I don't know that this provides any compelling clues, whether a change in circuitry (from inductor to non-inductor), or indication of inductor-use in the first place. Hotone seems to be able to get lots of things custom made for them, so having a custom low-profile inductor made does not strike me as beyond their capability. In short, I'm in the dark about the internals.

RG Keen has some interesting things to say about preference for certain types of inductors, and what happens to them with use over time. I made myself a Crybaby clone with a large "old-school" inductor I got at a surplus place here, and it sounds wonderfully throaty.


----------



## Brian Johnston (Feb 24, 2019)

mhammer said:


> A number of Crybaby-type wahs also have Q adjustment, and it is certainly easy enough to implement on wahs that do not already come with this (nicely illustrated/explained here: The Technology of Wah Pedals ).


Heck, I was just correcting or adding info that the II version has Q adjustment, lol.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

And I was just clarifying that having a Q control does not imply presence or absence of an inductor. I have no skin in the game, but some folks can be a little fussy about inductors. That's all.


----------



## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

I just got mine and I although the pedal is pretty cool, the volume taper is, I think from first trying it, even across the travel. I would rather have it like my old Dunlop where the volume is compacted into the first bit of travel so I'm not doing complete ankle workouts to get it to sound sort of violin like. I will look into a pot change, if not I think it will not suit me. The wah from first try is better than others I have tried, but also may not be able to be as nice sounding as my Fulltone Clyde Deluxe. It is definitely workable though. But I will need to get the volume taper like my Dunlop.

Anyone know if the volume taper is adjustable or looked inside to see if it's changeable?


----------



## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

I opened it up and it has one pot, with a circuit board attached so there won't be any way to change the taper of the volume.

I gave the wah a bit of a run and it's pretty good. I was able to A/B it with the Fulltone Clyde and the Clyde does sound better. More articulate and just better sounding. But the SP is very usable. Lots of adjustments with the warm/classic switch and the Q knob. Too bad about the volume because that's what I bought it for.


----------

