So many classic keyboard tracks owe their sound to wah, phaser, and flanger effects. I can’t imagine Stevie Wonder’s Clavinet without the Crybaby wah or Donald Fagen’s Rhodes without an MXR Phase 90. Source Audio has been thinking outside the box and moved these timeless sounds forward by adding a “Hot Hand” ring. A what? It’s a way to control effects with they the very hand motions you make as you play, instead of needing a sweep pedal. Each unit includes a ring — the kind you wear on your finger — adjustable to five sizes, with a 1/8" cable to the pedal. We highly recommend the optional wireless ring, though. Since one wireless ring can control multiple Hot Hand pedals, it makes sense to sell it separately.
Power is supplied to either pedal by four AA batteries or an included AC adaptor. I usually run my keyboards in stereo, so I was a bit disappointed that these pedals had mono input and output. If this makes you think “guitar,” remember that classic keyboards like the Clavinet and Rhodes are mono, as is my trusty Moog Little Phatty, which made it a perfect test specimen.
HOT HAND PHASER/FLANGER
This pedal offers up 14 different phaser and flanger effects. It features three knobs for Depth, Frequency/Delay, Effect selection, and Motion/Speed, along with a dedicated on/off switch and a second switch to move through four editable presets. Modulation can come from the Hot Hand motion ring, the LFO, envelope, or an internal “sequencer” that provides a fixed eight-note pulse not unlike the organ in the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” These settings are easily tweaked from the endless knobs, with all settings clearly depicted by their red LED “collars.” Both the Phaser/Flanger and Wah include an expression input. I tried this with a Roland EV5 pedal, and it worked flawlessly.
I ran my Nord Electro’s Clav sound through the Phaser/Flanger, and it nailed the instantly recognizable phased sound from Steely Dan’s “Peg,” with a bit more depth and character than the Electro’s onboard phaser. My hand motions accentuated the sound by controlling the speed of the phaser. If I waved faster, the phaser period speeded up — very fun for introducing funkalicious, bubbling bursts that are perfect for any ’70s tune.
HOT HAND WAH
Similar to the Phaser/Flanger, the Wah features a trifecta of LED-encircled knobs (Frequency, Effect, and Motion) along with two pedal switches, one for on/off and the other for stepping through the presets. Eleven wah and filter effects are featured, from Classic Wah to Multi Peak to Auto-Wah to Volume Swell, which isn’t a wah — it lets you control volume via hand motion. This pedal can easily clone any classic keyboard wah track, from Billy Preston’s “Outta Space” to Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground,” to name a couple.
WIRELESS RING
The rings that come with each pedal are wired, which works, but feels like you’re gigging with a hospital IV in your hand. I didn’t truly tap the power of the effects until I went wireless. My left index finger was optimal for lead synth, and right middle finger best for rhythmic two-fisted playing. I found sonic nirvana by taking my Nord Electro’s left output through the Wah, its right through the Phaser/Flanger, and wirelessly controlling both at once. The result was positively on fire, as was running my Moog through both pedals in serial fashion. The ring’s internal battery holds a charge for up to eight hours, and it got me through a few gigs with no issues. The ring uses its own wall wart for charging — I’d prefer that the pedals had a “ring dock” for this purpose.
CONCLUSIONS
I had a blast with the Hot Hand pedals. Although panel settings such as “pick” and “strum” are clearly aimed at guitarists, you can tweak hidden settings on the wireless ring to make it interpret hand motions in a far more keyboard-friendly way. In fact, Source Audio wrote a detailed explanation of exactly how to do this, and we’ve posted a PDF of it with the online version of this story at www.keyboardmag.com/audition. It took me a few minutes to lock into a comfort zone that felt natural for, say, invoking the effects during two-handed Clav playing, but I coaxed out some intense sounds after a bit of practice. When I played lead and bass lines on my Moog, and let the ring do its thing whenever my left hand went for the pitch and mod wheels, it was downright hot! It was so very natural to flap my left hand while playing with my right, and so addictive that I think I’m in love from the Hot Hand engagement. With this blue LED ring, I hereby pronounce these pedals to be lots of fun for keyboardists!
Wah and phaser/flanger effects pedals with wireless hand motion control of effects.
Pros Reliable and repeatable performance. Solid build quality. Multiple pedals can be controlled by a single wireless ring. True bypass when not in use. Effects sound great even without using ring.
Cons Mono input and output. Hard-wired ring is difficult to use; wireless ring costs extra.
Hot Hand Wah, $309.99
Hot Hand Phaser/Flanger, $309.99
Hot Hand Wireless Ring, $125
www.sourceaudio.net
See video demos of the Hot Hand in action at livefrom.musicplayer.com.
Eric Lawson is the funky keyboard force of Virgina-based show band SoulerCoaster (www.soulercoaster.com), and a regular pillar of the online community at the Keyboard Corner (forums.musicplayer.com).