Muy Bonita!
During my time at Premier Guitar, I’ve made no secret of my regard for recent Squiers. I’ve purchased two Teles—a ’50s Classic Vibe I found on Craigslist, and a Vintage Modified Telecaster Custom. The former I modified with Fender Custom Shop pickups, and the latter was part of our March 2013 “Mod Madness” cover story, which chronicled (among other things) the process of adding a Bigsby vibrato. I’ve recorded with these Teles, used them with my band, and pitted them against more costly T-style instruments from a variety of manufacturers—and I always come away completely satisfied with what I’ve got.
Months prior to my Mod Madness project, I’d been lamenting the dearth of both Bigsby-outfitted production Teles—Fender or Squier—and more affordable versions of the La Cabronita Telecaster, a sharp-looking Custom Shop guitar outfitted with TV Jones Classic pickups. So imagine my excitement upon hearing about the new Bigsby-fied Squier Cab, which features aspects of both ideas: It’s the first FMIC-built Tele in several years to have a Bigsby B5 Telecaster vibrato kit factory-installed, and its neck pickup is a Fideli’Tron humbucker, Fender’s take on the Gretsch Filter’Tron-style pickup that TV Jones Classics are based on. It also has a traditionally voiced single-coil in the bridge position. Other specs: a polyurethane-finished basswood body (in black only), a modern C-profile maple neck with a 9.5"-radius fretboard, a master volume, and a sturdy-feeling 3-way pickup selector.
Like many guitars these days, Squiers don’t come with a case or gigbag. When I removed the VM Cab from its double-boxed shipping carton, I found that the vibrato arm had been positioned fully clockwise, which made it extend an inch or so past the butt end of the guitar. It appeared to have taken the brunt of many impacts during shipping, because the arm had cut a little bit into the raised edge near the hinge, creating a jagged edge I had to watch out for. Otherwise, the VM Cab looked like a million bucks, and felt and played wonderfully. Hopefully Squier has since found a way to avoid similar damage during shipping.
Twang ’n’ Warble
I tested the Cabronita with a Fender 1965 Twin Reverb reissue and a Goodsell Valpreaux 21, at times engaging a Pigtronix Fat Drive and/or a Keeley Compressor. Through the Twin’s vibrato channel with the EQ knobs at 5 and bright switch engaged, the Fideli’Tron sounded gloriously fat, yet crystal clear and even across the frequency spectrum. Truth be told, I was shocked, especially considering the price of this instrument. A pick conjured bell-toned blues, and thumb and fingers summoned jazzy lines with an impeccable mix of thump and articulation—dynamics for days. The Supro-esque Valpreaux, with its gain, volume, and tone knobs at 3 o’clock, yielded similar results, though with a swampier, more vintage vibe. The neck pickup produced warm, corpulent flavors with more grit and attitude, sounding like a guitar costing many times the entrance fee.
rudeness with fantastic clarity.
I happen to think a Tele without a Tele bridge pickup is hardly a Tele—that single-coil is key to the snap and twang that made the guitar legendary. Thankfully, the VM Cab’s single-coil agrees: Paired with the neck pickup and the Twin, it delivers a spanky, compressed sound that’s great for squeaky-clean rhythms, though this setting did reveal the bridge unit’s lean, less-refined tendencies. Soloed through the Twin, the single-coil sounded a bit anemic and brash. But when I engaged my Pigtronix Fat Drive in its higher-gain mode, it transformed the bridge unit into a scrappy punk with tons of attitude for spitting riffs and leads.
Ratings
Pros:
Highly desirable “mods,” straight from the factory. Classy looks. Tones range from smooth and refined to twangy and rude. Nice feel and playability.
Cons:
Problematic bridge saddles.
Tones:
Playability/Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$399
Squier Vintage Modified Cabronita Telecaster with Bigsby
fender.com/squier
Switching back to the Goodsell, I set the Fat Drive to my preferred low-gain mode, which lets me goose the amp with a clean boost for a more organic feel. Soloing the bridge pickup again, I found bristling rudeness with fantastic clarity. It’s a little rough around the edges, but not in the way I anticipated. Tele-modding dude I am, I expected to think it would sound better with an aftermarket bridge pickup. But I promptly got carried away with the ratty-in-a-good-way riffs that the bridge unit made possible. It sounds badass for stanky funk lines—think Nile Rodgers in a pissy mood. Engaging analog repeats from my Ibanez Echo Shifter reminded me of crystalline early U2 tones. And with or without a compressor, you get fantastic chicken-pickin’ tones of the sort traditional Tele fans require.
My only real complaint was that, while the guitar stayed in tune even under heavy Bigsby use, the B5 vibrato-kit’s bridge suffers from the same issues as vintage and vintage-style Jazzmasters: The multi-grooved saddles don’t hold strings well under heavy attack, and—far more annoying—the high E- and B-string height-adjustment screws seem to have minds of their own. If there’s one mod you’ll want to do on the Cab, it’ll be opting for a Mastery bridge or one of the more affordable home remedies adopted by Jazzmaster aficionados.
The Verdict
Squier has done a lot to improve its image over the last decade, but the brand still doesn’t get the respect it deserves. That opinion became more ensconced after playing the Vintage Modified Cabronita Tele. Sure, plenty of players grudgingly admit Squier Classic Vibes are nice enough to own, but they quickly qualify the admission with a list of their “real” Fenders, implying that Squiers can’t cut it for serious playing. Frankly, it all smacks of pretension and refusal to confront current-day reality.
Of course, there are real differences between the two brands—the lower prices come from somewhere. For one, Squiers’ pickups, pots, jacks, and wiring often aren’t as robust or high-spec as Fender parts. You’re also pretty limited in terms of color options, and naturally the finishes aren’t nitrocellulose. However, Squier necks, bodies, fretwork, and attention to detail are on par with Fenders and other quality brands. If you’re looking for a Tele with some delectable twists, you owe it to yourself to try this guitar.
G&L Tribute M-2000
Muscle and value—that’s the M-2000 in a few words. But you could use many more in praising this affordable G&L. Reviewer Dave Abdo commended the comfort and playability as “simply stunning.” He also praised the intuitiveness and fidelity of the pickups and preamp, as well as a build quality that rivals much more expensive instruments. For anyone who’s longed for a G&L but found the price a little steep, the Tribute M-2000 is worth a look.
$699 Street, glguitars.com
Recording King RO-310 February 2013
A good OOO or OM is the acoustic-guitar equivalent of your favorite baseball glove—it’s got that just-right fit, it’s capable of both routine and spectacular plays, and in the best of times it’s like an extension of your own fingers. The Recording King RO-310 delivers each of those qualities, but at a price that we’ve rarely seen for an OM or OOO this good. Like any OM, it’s the essence of balance, but it’s the fact that it won’t knock your bank account out of balance that makes it Premier Gear.
$499 Street, recordingking.com
PRS 408 Maple Top February 2013
In 2011, PRS issued limited editions of the Custom 24 and Studio models that many considered the finest of the breed. Apparently, Paul Reed Smith decided those guitars were too good not to share, because the 408 Maple Top is essentially a production version of the maple-topped Private Stock instruments. As Jordan Wagner noted, it’s a guitar that can be “almost anything you want it to be.” With all that potential on tap, we’re excited to know what classic performances will emerge from this guitar in the years to come.
$2,990, street, prsguitars.com
Strymon MobiusMarch 2013
This outfit of vintage tone fans with turbo digital know-how keeps on delivering stomps that sound amazing and invite deep musical exploration. The analog purists on our staff tend to be blown away by how convincing these pedals sound, and the digital-loving nerds among us love the endless options and MIDI versatility. But the essence of the Mobius is the ability to generate crazy-good emulations of modulation effects that have stumped DSP engineers, well … forever. Nice work, Strymon—again!
$449 street, strymon.net
Epiphone '62 Sheraton E212T March 2013
Classy, classic, and just plain killer to play, the Sheraton had to be one of the finest luxe-for-the-bucks experiences we had all year. The U.S.-made Gibson mini-humbuckers made the Sheraton a willing partner for everything from Stones raunch to uptown Wes Montgomery-style tones. If you’re into this style of guitar, it would be hard to find a cooler piece of wood to hang around your neck—especially at this price point.
$779 street, epiphone.com
Mesa/Boogie Grid Slammer March 2013
Fear not, the Grid Slammer is not a super villain’s plot to undo the nation’s power infrastructure. It is, however, one hell of an overdrive—capable of kicking your amp into realms ranging from sweaty blues to medium-gain bliss. But it’ll also add an aggressive, singing quality to heavy leads and make any on-the-fence tube amp sound mean enough for the most evil super villain.
$179 street, mesaboogie.com
Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Bass Big Muff Pi April 2013
As reviewer Jordan Wagner noted, some of the mightiest bass tones in the galaxy come from combining a towering bass amp and a Big Muff. But Electro-Harmonix’s latest addition to the bass Muff family takes the impressive potential of that combination several steps further—adding noise gate, dry blend, and switchable crossover features that yield (get this) a more nuanced Bass Big Muff. Considering that a bass and Big Muff are typically about as subtle and nuanced as a B-52 raid, we consider this an award-worthy achievement indeed.
$118 street, ehx.comhttps://www.ehx.com
Carr Impala April 2013
Steve Carr’s work over the last decade has been consistently excellent. There’s not much in the amp-o-sphere he hasn’t tried: AC-like EL84 circuits, Deluxe-inspired 6V6 amps, and EL34-driven combos built for cranking out the heaviest rock. The new Impala is built in homage to the blackface Bassman, and like that classic workhorse it’s a beautiful blank slate. Reviewer Alex Maiolo called it “one of the finest rock amplifiers I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing.” But considering how much more the Impala can do, a Premier Gear award is a no-brainer.
$2,490 street, carramps.com
Bogner Ecstasy Red and Blue May 2013
For players fond of post-’70s hard rock and metal, Bogner’s Ecstasy amps are a little like a Mercedes-Benz—objects of lust, but also trusted to deliver and last. For those who can’t afford the original amp, the Red and Blue stompboxes gets you remarkably close to that coveted Bogner sound. The Blue is the tamer of the two, delivering exceptionally defined low- to mid-gain tones, while the beastlier Red is geared for British-style metal.
$299 (each), bogneramplification.com
Eastman AR371CESB May 2013
Eastman’s archtops, semi-hollows, and acoustics have impressed us with regularity over the years. But Adam Perlmutter found the company’s ES-175-inspired AR371CESB to be a top-quality, beautiful-sounding archtop equally adept at rowdy rock and sophisticated jazz. At just under 800 bucks, he also found it to be a value “nearly impossible to beat.” Keep the sweet deals coming, Eastman!
$780 street (with hardshell case), eastmanguitars.com
Vigier Excalibur Special 7 May 2013
Vigier is a relentlessly inventive company—which is always nice to see in a an industry that often seems chronically retro-gazing. The Excalibur Special 7 puts that inventive spirit to work in very tangible ways that yield real results. From the proprietary vibrato to the stainless-steel frets, it’s a flawlessly built marvel of playability and a monster tone machine to boot.
$3,495 street, vigierguitars.com
Way Huge Echo-Puss May 2013
Jeorge Tripps and the Way Huge crew seem almost incapable of making a bad—or even mediocre—stompbox. And the Echo-Puss is a superb analog bucket-brigade delay that lives up to Way Huge’s impressive reputation. Anyone who’s ever loved and lost a vintage Deluxe Memory Man will love this thing. Its combination of gorgeous analog tones, smart-sized enclosure, and rugged utility make it a Premier Gear shoo-in.
$169 street, wayhuge.com
Diezel D-Moll May 2013
The 100-watt, KT77-driven D-Moll starred in our Monsters of High Gain roundup because of its superior definition and midrange detail. But lest you think Diezel traded civility for ferocity, keep in mind that our reviewer emerged from 10 rounds with the D-Moll calling its overdrive “pretty intimidating.” Indeed, the D-Moll may be a cultivated monster, but it’s a monster nonetheless.
$2,999 street, diezel.typo3.inpublica.de
Ibanez AFJ957 May 2013
Seven-string archtop players could safely be called a niche market, but that’s what makes the AFJ957 so impressive. It takes commitment and thoughtful design and execution to make a niche guitar like this so affordable. The result, as Joe Charupakorn put it, is a guitar that’s “not just a great guitar for the price, but a great guitar period.
$799 street, ibanez.com
Spaceman Saturn V Harmonic Booster May 2013
This Portland, Oregon, pedal manufacturer riffs heavily on ’60s-era NASA design aesthetics, but its pedals also seem built to space-faring specs. They are rock solid and, in the case of the Saturn V Harmonic Booster, a heavy-duty musical asset. This incredibly complex boost pedal enhances picking dynamics, responds to input changes from your guitar, and delivers cool overdrive tones that are full of character. Plus, it looks like you just ripped off a component from an Apollo capsule to put on your pedalboard!
$219 street, spacemaneffects.com
ValveTrain Trenton June 2013
This boutique amp outfit’s mantra seems to be that top tones need not mean top dollar. Though ValveTrain’s wares aren’t cheap, they’re almost always a great value for the quality and sound they deliver. With the beautiful-looking Trenton, Valvetrain delivers great tones via four switchable voices that, as reviewer Derek See described it, go from “clear to Crazy Horse.” For a very reasonable 1,400 bones, we’ll just call it killer!
$1,399 street, valvetrainamps.com
Dingwall Super P June 2013
As iconic and familiar as Fender’s Precision bass is, it’s unusual to do a do double take when you see an instrument with those same familiar lines. But with its fanned frets and biomorphic headstock, it’s hard not to stare at Dingwall’s Precision-inspired Super P. When reviewer Steve Cook wasn’t drooling over its cool looks, he was marveling at the playability, ergonomics, attention to detail, and range of sonic possibilities—which he called “downright incredible.”
$2,730 street, dingwallguitars.com
Ibanez ES2 Echo Shifter June 2013
As obsessed as we get about how stompboxes sound, it’s easy to forget that great pedals can be instruments in their own right. Take the Ibanez Echo Shifter: That control layout—three adjacent knobs, two switches, and a big slider—makes this one of the most fun-to-use echo units since the Maestro Echoplex. But they also make it incredibly versatile, expressive, and musically responsive. Whether you use it as a tool for freaking out or playing it cool, it comes at a price that make it dang-near irresistible.
$149 street, ibanez.com
Nik Huber Rietbergen Standard June 2013
We’ve had the good fortune to spend some quality time with Nik Huber and check out how they do things at his shop in Rodgau, Germany. So we were hardly startled when reviewer Ben Friedman returned a rave review of Huber’s sumptuous semi-hollowbody, saying the tones from the Häussel pickups “were bound to dazzle.” Considering this is probably the most beautiful guitar we’ve seen yet from this remarkable builder, we’re not about to disagree.
$7,325 street, nikhuber-guitars.com
Amptweaker TightFuzz June 2013
This pedal from amp guru James Brown is one of two bass fuzzes in our Premier Gear lineup this year. And attentive bass-gear manufacturers out there would do well to take note of how a good bass fuzz can be an unexpectedly versatile texture. The Tight Fuzz does it with a control set that’s sure to look busy to old-school players, but we’re betting it only takes a few minutes to change the minds of those fence sitters and curmudgeons, because the Tight Fuzz has the goods to transform your tone.
$220 street, amptweaker.com
Ibanez Iron Label RGIR20FE July 2013
You can’t really fake a good shred guitar, because even shredders on a budget have no time for crappy action, dodgy playability, and squishy, unresponsive electronics. Ibanez gets that. And in the form of the Iron Label, they’ve delivered a superb, affordable shred machine. We found the quality and playability astounding for a 600-dollar guitar. That, plus a surprising adaptability, helped make this Ibanez an easy choice for a Premier Gear award.
$599 street, ibanez.com
EarthQuaker Devices Disaster Transport SR August 2013
EarthQuaker Devices is a company with gumption, derring-do, and a music-first sense that results in pedals that can be practical and bizarre—often all at once. Case in point—the Disaster Transport SR. Yes, you can dial this dual delay up (with surprising ease) for a conventional, parallel long and short delay. But it takes but a few tweaks before you’ve converted this silver-flake delight into a peyote voyage in a box.
$345 street, earthquakerdevices.com
Reverend Kingbolt August 2013
Despite boasting a roster that includes adventurous and virtuosic players like Reeves Gabrels and Pete Anderson, Reverend’s more traditional-looking body lines can often give the impression the company has a retro agenda. The Kingbolt, however, could change that perception for good. With hot, no-cover humbuckers, a 12" fretboard radius, Wikinson trem, and graphite nut, it’s an unquestionably metal-geared machine. While reviewer Joe Charupakorn found it varied enough to deem it “a gold mine of tonal possibilities,” we suspect a lot of players are going to dedicate their Kingbolt to getting heavy above all. So much for that retro agenda.
$1,079 street, reverendguitars.com
FU-Tone High Performance Bridge Packages August 2013
Dedicated shredders obsess over guitar details that’ll never even occur to many other players. For these demanding and ultra-specialized players, little things add up to big tone and playability dividends. Yes, at least one of the packages here is built around a titanium tremolo block, yet reviewer Gerry Ganaden found the difference in tone profound. And for downright religious tone hounds, the payoff will be worth every penny invested.
$320 street (Standard Upgrade Package), $923 street (Full Titanium Package), fu-tone.com
Jaguar HC50 August 2013
The Jaguar HC50 walked away with a Premier Gear award largely for its mastery of the sound/simplicity equation. Four knobs, a couple of EL34s, a good 12" speaker, and—voilà!—you’ve got a palette of tones that ranges from jangly and airy to monstrous. Reviewer Matt Holliman also noted that the HC50 took to just about every effect he tried “like a fish to water,” which might make this the finest blank canvas for sound sculptors we played all year.
$2,029 street, jaguaramplification.com
Lakland Decade 6 August 2013
Six-string basses are odd birds, but for players willing to investigate the potential of these instruments, the musical payoff can be big. Lakland’s Decade 6 is, like most every Lakland bass, beautifully built and executed. Mate that quality with the ability to move from Spaghetti-Western baritone sounds to powerful, thumping low end, and you have a serious studio and stage secret weapon—not to mention a means of expanding your vocabulary in unexpected ways.
$3,250 street, lakland.com
Epifani AL 112 August 2013
The AL 112 bass combo makes us wonder why the guitar industry often seems so dang obsessed with the days of tweed cabs and carhops (cool as those are). The Epipfani looks vaguely like a circa-’72 vision of the future, but it takes a very different approach to bass-amp construction—using an aluminum cabinet to create a very light, tough, practical, and big-sounding bass amplifier. That’s the kind of forward thinking we can get behind.
$1,599 street, epifani.com
Catalinbread Echorec September 2013
The original Binson Echorec is perhaps most legendary because of its role as the echo unit that powered early Pink Floyd work. Those associations aside, the Binson was a gloriously quirky and unique machine with a very distinct musical personality. Catalinbread’s own Echorec uses DSP technology rather than the clunky mechanicals of the original to achieve its lush voice and superb rhythmic delays. But delay fiends and Floyd fanatics aren’t likely to give that much more than a passing thought once they plug this unit in and experience its liquid, spacious repeats.
$230 street, catalinbread.com
Fargen Blackbird VS2 September2013
The 40-watt Blackbird, as the name cheekily suggests, pays homage to Fender’s mid-’60s blackface era. But it’s counted among this year’s award winners for delivering a super-responsive tone-shaping section and an incredibly pedal-friendly voice. If you’re ready to retire your heirloom blackface, you’d have a hard time finding a better replacement.
$2,650 street, fargenamps.com
Death by Audio Thee Fuzz Warr Overload October 2013
Known for their bizarre contraptions of aural destruction, DBA’s latest fuzz is a collaboration between two chaos-loving artists—the Death by Audio team (which includes A Place to Bury Strangers’ Oliver Ackermann) and Thee Oh Sees’ John Dwyer. Not surprisingly, it’s capable of producing a brutalizingly powerful fuzz tone. But what makes the DBATFWO Premier Gear is its surprising flexibility—and even civility! The onboard treble boost is a perfect match for the Muff-like fuzz, and the tone control has considerable sound-sculpting power, making this fuzz a killer whether you need a slik glove or a wrecking ball.
$225 street, deathbyaudio.com
Dunlop Fuzz Face Mini Germanium FFM2 October 2013
While we were pretty excited by the convenience of the smaller Fuzz Face Mini Germanium, in the end it was the amazingly authentic vintage Fuzz Face tones and dynamic interactivity that knocked us off our feet. Senior editor Joe Gore—a seasoned Fuzz Face user if there ever was one—declared, “you’d be hard-pressed to find a Fuzz Face that sounds better at any price.” But with all that tone in a new pedalboard-friendly compact enclosure, this new Fuzz Face excels at being practical and musical.
$129 street, jimdunlop.com
Pigtronix Quantum Time Modulator October 2013
Pigtronix makes impressive-sounding, sometimes complex pedals. But with the Quantum Time Modulator, it delivers a typically inventive and rich-sounding fusion of chorus and vibrato in a compact enclosure that’s beautifully simple. The sum is a modulation unit that ranges from subtle to downright insane with a few quick twists. This ability to appease mellow texturalists and freakishly experimental players alike make this pedal a Premier Gear no-brainer.
$199 street, pigtronix.com
TC Electronic PolyTune 2 November 2013
TC’s original PolyTune tuner wowed the world with its ability to check the pitch of all six strings with a single stroke or switch to single-string chromatic mode with the pluck of one string. This newest incarnation adds a more accurate strobe mode, a super-bright readout, and a sensor that will adjust to prevailing light conditions. Who knew a little tuner could do so much or make our playing lives so much easier?
$99 street, tcelectronic.com
When we editors at Premier Guitar decide what gear to review, our overarching guideline is pretty simple: Check out the stuff that you will find compelling and useful in your creative quest. We base that on both the constant feedback we get from you online (via email, Twitter, Facebook, etc.), as well as what we can intuit by reading between the lines of your requests and putting it in context with new stuff you may not have heard about yet. As a result we see a lot of really nice stuff.
So when one of our editors or contributors is struck by a convergence of value, quality, and sound that adds up to being Premier Gear worthy, it’s a safe bet we’re talking about something special. It’s fun and satisfying to encounter these especially excellent guitars, basses, amps, effects, and accessories—doubly so because so many of our award winners come from small shops and tiny bands of craftspeople who are in the same position many of the mainstream names you see alongside them were decades ago. There aren’t many industries out there where multimillion-dollar giants and little guys can share the spotlight, and we love being part of it.
Siri’s Lovechild
It’s possible to manipulate the H9 via its built-in controls, but if you hate scrolling through screens on a typical multi-effect unit, working with the H9’s 6-character display will really test your patience. However, once you pair the H9 with its Control app—which lets you see all the virtual knobs and other interface options—the editing process becomes quite intuitive.
Though my first couple of tries at pairing my iPhone 4 timed out, I succeeded after a couple more. The H9’s accompanying documentation doesn’t list iOS system requirements, but when we mentioned the connection issues to Eventide we determined my problems were because my iOS wasn’t up to date. The H9 is compatible all the way back to the iPhone 3GS, as long as the device is running iOS 5 or greater (it also works via USB with OS X 10.5 or later, and Windows machines running XP or later).
Things got quite fun after connecting my phone. It was pretty sick to be able to tap in a tempo from a remote touch screen, though maneuvering the virtual knobs does take some getting used to. (This remote accessibility could open new doors for techs who manipulate guitar effects from offstage.) I later connected to an iPad, where all the controls were visible on a single screen. While initial setup may take some time, once you’ve got what you need in place, you don’t necessarily need the H9 to be connected to any devices at a gig.
The H9 can store 99 presets, more than you’re likely to need in one setting. Additionally, you can save a practically infinite number of presets to your iOS device and load them as needed, exponentially increasing the H9’s usefulness. For example, you might have groups of presets programmed for different bands, and you could then swap them in and out of the H9 itself as needed.
Algorithms at the App Store
Although the H9 can produce all of the sounds of Eventide’s stompbox line, the purchase price doesn’t include all those sounds. Each of the four stompboxes in the series includes approximately 10 algorithms, and the H9 comes with nine of the 40 or so. Each algorithm includes 10–30 presets. You can buy additional algorithms to upload for $19.99 each, with five minutes to audition each one before you buy. (Note: the TimeFactor’s looper function is currently not available on the H9.)
Ratings
Pros:
Amazing sounds. Vast potential.
Cons:
Takes some time to figure out.
Tones:
Playability/Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$499
Eventide H9
eventide.com
You can use only one algorithm at a time, but an algorithm can contain multiple effects, so that isn’t as limiting as it might sound. For example, the ModEchoVerb [Modeko] preset contains delay, chorus/flanger, and reverb, all of which can be used simultaneously or individually.
Ambient [i]Pads
Eventide helped set the gold standard for ambient and time-based effects, so I wasn’t surprised by the H9’s killer sounds. However, the cynic in me worried that the H9 might offer “lite” versions of the individual stompbox effects. Just to be sure, I convinced a friend to lend me his Eventide pedal collection. I couldn’t hear any sonic difference between the algorithms.
Included H9 effects such as Shimmer and the U2-inspired Streets delay are among the H9’s incredibly rich and three-dimensional sounds—you’d be very hard-pressed to find better-sounding reverbs and delays. The H9 is also capable of esoteric outer-space effects. Ultra Tap is a 64-tap delay that allows you to distribute the taps across a roughly four-second time span, with results varying from percussive repeats to ethereal cinematic textures.
The Verdict
The Eventide H9 produces glorious sounds that, until recently, required bulky processors costing thousands of dollars. Considering this, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that this diminutive wonder also offers such seemingly infinite possibilities that it can easily become overwhelming. This review only scratches the surface of what the H9 can do. You could twiddle its knobs for years and still find groundbreaking discoveries to take your music to the next dimension.