Peavey HFD2 Hotfoot Distortion

3 knobs - Level, Presence, Gain
Start with the presence at 12'oclock for basement jam volume, and adjust for less presence the loader you get, more presence (2 o'clock) if you have to play quiet in a bedroom

Everything good said about the sound from this pedal is true. This is one of very few pedals that I agree with HC ratings / reviews.

This should be a $200 pedal, not a $20 pedal. Does excellent crunch on lower gains, say 9:30 - 10:00, and gives the creamiest, most articulate lead sounds from a stompbox at 1:00 +.

The sound is better for pop rock (Brian Adams, John Cougar) than for metal. This is a mid-focussed unit - NOT a mid-scoop pedal. Growl, with clarity and definition.

A slightly overdriven signal going into this, makes it sing to you.

1 point off because I get a "pop" when I engage/disengage the foot switch.

It has the heaviest construction of any pedal I have ever used.

The pots are recessed to help protect them.
Footswitch has a heavy rubber dust cover on it to protect it from the elements.

No one seems to mention about paint quality - That's why this pedal is generally in "mint condition". Its the heavy enamel paint.

Whenever I email PV about anything (got a few PV amps, etc) I generally get an email reply within 2 hours.

If this pedal cost $100, I would rate it a 9. The fact that it costs $15 to $25, it is a 10. Best for medium rock, not metal.

A good box like this can totally refocus your approach to music.

Pedal muito facil de se manusear. Tem somente 3 bot?es!!!

Pedal de alta qualidade, possui uma variedade tremenda de timbre distorcido, e o tipo do pedal que se encaixa desde aquele blues que todo guitarrista gosta de tirar ate um Heavy metal bem pesado, com uma simplicidade, e o melhor de tudo, o pedal n?o faz ruidos, somente obtem o timbre da guitarra e joga ele no amplificador com o timbre escolhido.

Confiabilidade Total

Nunca precisei, mas tenho amigos que dizem que a Peavey e muito prestativa com seus clientes.

Eu gosto de tirar rock'n'roll, mais uma belezinha dessas nos permite tirar qualquer som. Se vc tem aquelas parafernalhas todas, varias e varias pedaleiras, jogue as fora e compre um desses pode ter certeza, que seu problema estara resolvido.

Doesn't get easier - volume, presence, distortion.

Through the past 12 years I have owned the following quality distortions/overdrives: Zvex Super Hard-on, Japanese Boss DS-1, Marshall Bluesbreaker, Rat, MXR Overdrive, and a Big Muff. They were all Ok, but nothing that great with my long-time setup of a Fender Tele with Humbucker bridge and a Marshall Plexi. I got the hotfoot a few months ago for $20, and I kid you not, with my setup it blew those other pedals away. Why? It doesn't screw with your natural tone or eq, it just distorts. I like my clean guitar sound deep and bassy, but every Dist/OD I tried then blew it apart, so I always had to eq the clean trebly. Not with this thing, it just adds distortion and crunch (from mellow to extreme) without screwing the natural tone.

The switch design kind of sucks, not easy to turn on/off like a Boss, you have to stomp on it -but so far it hasn't broke

Haven't dealt with them, but I have a few friends who have 5150 Amps and have dealt with customer support and said it's excellent.

For $20 it is the best pedal I have ever owned hands down. I'm sure with certain rigs, all those other boutiqe type pedals I had could be wonderful, but with my rig, this is it. Heavy and dirty sound without screwing up the natural clean tone you eq. Unbelievable value.

A nice, wide range, from barely there to insane, and all points in between...the presence control was a master stroke

This was always my fave because it's SOOOOO quiet....there was a time i had a huge, complex setup, and then i stripped down and sold everything...except this pedal....great general purpose box...i've had lot's of other's; the only one i wish i still had was my ProCo Rat...

unreal....this one i'd abuse without a thought...heavy steel chassis....as the years pass, the jax are getting a little crusty, but this is normal....

peavey's great for repair.....not that this thing ever needed it, but i know peavey well

a real deal if you can find one....you won't be sorry....

This is a simple three knob distortion unit - level, presence (tone) and drive. There's also an LED to tell you when it's on. It is very, very easy to get a great medium to high-gain tone out of this pedal. It does the crunch thing very well. Leave the low-gain tones to a Tubescreamer. The presence control changes the tone from real dark to piercingly bright but there's plenty of happy medium.

First thing I noticed about this petal is how quiet it is. Despite the amount of gain it can generate, it's nice and quiet. As for the tone, I am very impressed. I a/b'ed next to a modified TS5 TubeScreamer, a ProCo Turbo Rat, a vintage MXR Distortion +, and a Boss DS-1. The tone was closest to the DS-1 and was very ballsy, especially in the lows and did not alter the basic tone of the guitar very much. The tone was much fuller than the TS-5 althogh the TS-5 would be my choice for blues. The Distortion+ was in a totally different league - more like a fuzz pedal. The Hotfoot didn't have as much gain as the Turbo Rat but better sounding. Overall, it's a great pedal for $20

The build quality on the Hotfoot is very good. The pots are mounted to the chassis, the jacks appear to be of high quality, and the switch is shrouded in a dust cover. Switching is via a low-noise FET circuit but the switch itself is heavy duty

never dealt with Peavey. Product was made around 1987.

If you're looking for a good rock-n-roll pedal, consider this one. I can't believe it was only $20....

3 KNOBS NO WAITING, LEVEL, PRESENSE, DISTORTION. IF YOU CAN'T WORK IT YOU CAN'T PLAY ANYWAY, AGAIN 3 KNOBS.

TONE IS WHERE I
T'S AT. THERE ARE NO BLANKET STATEMENTS, OR GENERALITYS, BUT IF YOU WANT A PEDAL THAT WILL GIVE YOU MORE GAIN WITHOUT CHANGING YOUR TONE THIS ONE WILL. THE BEST DISTORTION PEDALS IN MY OPINION ARE THE ONES THAT GIVE YOU THE SAME TONE YOU WOULD HAVE IF YOU COULD PLAY WITH YOUR AMP ON 10 AND MAKE TOAST OVER THE COOLING VENTS ABOVE YOUR TUBES.I THINK THATS WHY YOU FIND ORIGINAL TUBE SCREAMERS SELLING FOR OUTRAGEOUS PRICES, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A BLUES PLAYER AND YOU DONT WANT TO SOUND LIKE METALLICA.THE LEVEL KNOB CAN BE USED WITH THE DISTRTION KNOB TO GIVE YOU TREMENDOUS GAIN, OR JUST A LITTLE EDGE. THE PRESENSE KNOB IS BASICALLY A TONE KNOB THAT IS VERY VERY BRIGHT WHEN TURNED FULL UP, AND IN THE BRIDGE POSITION
WITH A STRAT OR TELE IT IS AS BRIGHT AS A CRY BABY FULLY DEPRESSED.

RELIABILITY? THERE OLD UNITS, I KNOW WHERE I CAN GET ANOTHER ONE AND THAT WILL BE MY BACK UP. LIKE WITH ANY OLD EQUIPMENT BE PREPAIRED FOR IT TO GO, AND IF YOU LOVE IT BUY EVERY ONE YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON,WERE TALKING TONE HERE FREINDS, PRESEREVE IT AT ALL COST'S!!

IT'S TOO OLD TO MATTER

TO ME IT'S REALLY HARD TO NAIL DOWN YOUR OWN HOLY GRAIL OF TONE AND IT IS SUCH A PERSONAL THING,BUT IF YOU DO BLUES, OR IF YOU SIMPLY WANT TO PRODUCE A MORE NATURAL DISTORTION FROM YOUR GUITAR THIS OLD
THING WILL DO IT.IT WONT COLOR YOUR TONE,IT WILL GIVE YOU ENDLESS TESTOSTERONE,AND WHEN I HAVE IT SET THE WAY I LIKE IT IT GIVES ME SIMPLY MORE OF THE TONE I ALREADY HAVE. TO ME THAT IS THE JOB OF A GOOD DISTORTION PEDAL, AND THIS ONE DOES JUST THAT,STEPPING ON IT MAKES MY AMP LOUDER AND MORE DISTORTED BUT IT SOUNDS TONE WISE JUST THE SAME, JUST FULLER AND SLIGHTLY LOUDER,NOT FUZZY, OR GRUNGY.BE AWARE OF COURSE THAT DIFFRENT AMPS AND GUITARS RESPOND IN DIFFRENT WAYS.I PLAY A USA STRAT,AND AN OLD TELE DIRECT INTO AN OLD MUSICMAN H.D.130 BASS AMP HEAD { AN ASTOUNDING HEAD, READ THE REVEIWS} AND AN OLD MARSHALL 1960 4X12 CABINET, AND I SIMPLY LOVE THE TONE.A BUNCH OF MISFIT PARTS BUT GOOD TONE IS WHERE YOU FIND IT.