You might look at Eventide’s H90 Harmonizer and go away with the impression that it’s ‘just another guitar effects pedal’, but that would be a serious mistake. For a start, it’s not just suitable for guitarists - synth players and mix engineers will also find plenty here to love - and it isn’t restricted to giving you one effect, either. Far from it.
Eventide, of course, has been a huge name in the effects processing industry for more than 50 years. In 1975, it wowed the recording community with the H910 Harmonizer - the world’s first commercially available digital audio effects device, no less - and the company changed the game again in 1986 with the H3000, a true stereo multi-effects processor that was ahead of its time then and is still in use today.
More recently, we’ve had the H9, a customisable multi-effect pedal that features some of the greatest pedals in Eventide’s history. In fact, with the fully-loaded H9 Max you get all the effects from the TimeFactor delay, ModFactor modulation processor, PitchFactor pitch shifter and Space reverb. These can be managed with the H9 Control app, which offers remote access to parameters, presets and other settings.
Which brings us to the H90, a pedal that’s steeped in Eventide history but goes beyond anything we’ve seen and heard before. There’s a new button layout, more inputs and outputs, a crystal clear OLED display, a new UI and the powerful Hot Knob, which enables you to tweak multiple parameters with a single control.
The H90 contains a whopping 63 different algorithms - an ‘algorithm’ being another word for an effect. Among their number are enhanced versions of all 52 from the H9 Max and 10 new ones: Polyphony, Prism Shift, Bouquet Delay, Head Space, WeedWacker, Even-Vibe, Wormhole, Instant Flanger, Instant Phaser, and SP2016 Reverb.
But that’s not the end of the story. The H90’s ARM-based architecture means that not only can it create mind-blowing effects right now but, in tandem with Eventide’s proprietary SIFT (Spectral Instantaneous Frequency Tracking) technology, it’ll also have the power to give you new and creative ones well into the future.
You can already hear this in action in the new polyphonic pitch shifting (featured in 10 algorithms), which eliminates the ‘warbling’ sound that can typically manifest itself when this kind of effect is generated using ‘loop and crossfade’ techniques.
And we haven’t even got to the really good news yet - the H90’s immense power means that it boasts a dual engine that can run two algorithms per program, with true spillover between them via a transitioning buffer. Effects can be routed in series or parallel, and there are flexible I/O options.
These include a Mono Insert Mode that enables you to to incorporate external effects in any configuration you like, or to combine them into a stereo insert. And then there’s Dual Mode; this supports both the four-cable method, in which you connect both your amp’s input and its effects loop at the same time, and the option to process two stereo instruments simultaneously. You can also set up dual inserts in your DAW.
Thanks to the enhanced user interface (did we mention the five push-turn knobs?) the H90 is great for performance. In fact, the dedicated Perform mode offers six programmable footswitches to which you can map functions such as tap tempo, preset and insert bypass with momentary states, and performance parameters such as reverb freeze, pitch flex, or delay repeat. Three HotSwitches, meanwhile, enable you to throw in instant parameter changes.
As with the H9, the H90 has a dedicated control app for editing programs, creating lists and updating firmware. Everything you need, basically, to configure your device exactly how you want it.
That said, it’s worth pointing out that everything is also editable and modifiable on the hardware using the knobs and buttons, and comprehensive MIDI implementation means that you can also control many features remotely (you’ll find full-size MIDI I/O ports on the side of the device).
The H90 is far, far more than just another guitar effects pedal, then: it’s a next-generation multi-effects powerhouse for all manner of different musicians. Find out more on the Eventide website and the Eventide YouTube channel.