I bought a Hotone Soul Press Wah/Volume back in May 2015. I was really into the idea of a mini wah and I already had an AMT Japanese Girl Wah, which was superb. However the AMT didn’t quite have the sweep I was after for those truly vintage sounding wah chops. It was close, but just not quite there.
The Soul Press proved to be closer to what I was after in terms of tone and I was really happy with it, especially as it saved some crucial millemeters on my nano board at the time.
BUT… After about 7 or 8 months at a big gig, it started to f**k up. It was probably not noticed much by the audience, but it started crackling to the point of cutting out and once I got it home to troubleshoot it became obvious that it was no good. I would need to replace the pot because it became scratchy and beyond repair (I tried all the contact cleaner I could muster).
With all the unknown variables exploring replacement wah pots (not to mention the expense) I decided that I wanted to go back to a non-physical pot to control the wah (Like the AMT). I ended up deciding to get a Mooer Wahter Wah and I’m super-happy with it. If anything, it sounds better than both the AMT and the Hotone and it doesn’t rely on a pot that can get scratchy. Looks like my wah needs are set for now!
UPDATE:
I sold the Mooer Whater. I use a rechargeable power supply on my board and it just took too much juice, sapping the charge time of my power supply to the point of it becoming a possible issue during a gig. It’s only rated at 50mA current draw, but I suspect it’s more than that.
If you do not have such concerns about current draw then the Mooer sounds very good and feels very nice to use.
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At least I’m not the only one! I have 2 (they sent me a second one to replace the first one and didn’t care if I returned the first one!) Quality with a K I presume….Unfortunately now they both have the same issues you described only after 2 weeks! I wish I had found your review before I purchased it. I’m currently looking into POT replacements… any you could recommend? (I’m new to the guitar world)
Hi Colin. Sorry to hear you’re having problems too. I don’t know about replacements for this pedal. A lot of player upgrade the pots in their Dunlop wahs with a “Hotpotz”. The pot in the Hotone seems pretty small though and I don’t know if that type of pot will work in the Soul Press.
I’m sorry I don’t have more info. I didn’t bother to research much further as I didn’t feel like sourcing a part like that and paying a lot of money for it, which would have been the case, especially where I live (in S.E. Asia). Little things like that become long, drawn-out missions sometimes!
Best of luck though and thanks for visiting the website.
I got an HOTONE SOULPRESS OFF OF EBAY, AND 1 SHOW, IT WAS CRAP !! NEVER AGAIN. THANK GOD I DIDN’T PAY FULL PRICE !!!
Thanks for the comment Jim,
Yeah, while I do generally sing the praises of many of these affordable Chinese-made pedals, there are still some that are just not up to the job, especially when there is the factor of moving parts that reveal the quality of the components.
I noticed a couple of other brands like Donner and Rowin I think have released very similar looking wahs. Probably the same circuit, so I haven’t dared try those! I’m actually considering a Behringer Hellbabe wah because it’s cheap, has lots of settings and is optical, so no pots to wear out.
I hear it may be a bit of a tone sucker though, but It’ll just be occasional use and off the pedal board anyway, so no big deal.
Same with mine, lasted a year with minimal use. Now it’s scratch and noisy even when not in use, sad I loved its sound, size and feel
Yes, it was an absolute gem of a pedal when it was working. I’m now considering getting the Behringer Hellbabe wah and not including it on my board, just bringing it along to gigs when I need it and for recording. It ticks all the boxes for me like:
Price, it’s optical, so no scratchy pot, it’s full-size, so I don’t even have to worry about fitting on my little board and with so many controls, it must have a sound in there that I love!
I regret selling my AMT Japanese Girl wah. That was superb and now seems to have gone up in price.