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What is it?
The multi-effects pedal market is the most stacked I’ve ever seen it, and now guitar players have yet another option to consider. The Eventide H9 Harmonizer Gen 2 isn’t like the more typical combined effects and amp simulators we see released these days; instead, it focuses on delivering the most pristine studio-level effects algorithms in a form factor that will fit on any pedalboard.
So why this, over a used H9 Max or the H90? Well, from the spec alone, the H9 Gen 2 blows the H9 Max right out of the water. Not only does it feature all of the algorithms from that most popular of multi-effects pedals, but it also has all the same effects found on the H90. It only runs one at a time, though. If you want the power of dual algorithms, you’ll need to fork out an additional $300 for the privilege of owning an H90.
The number of onboard presets has significantly increased over the H9 Max, so you can now save over 1,000 of your finest machinations. It’s got the same ARM processor as the H90 (and the H9000 studio rack unit), and the 6-character LED screen has been replaced with a 2.5-inch one. The micro-USB has been replaced with a modern USB-C, and there are now separate expression pedal and control jacks.
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The H9 Gen 2 comes with a 12V, 1A power supply in the box, but you can run it at 9V, 400mA if you want to use your pedalboard power supply. It’s got stereo ins and outs, plus MIDI in and out/thru. It’s compatible with Gen 1 presets and has a spillover function, which solves one of the big issues with the original.
Specs
- Launch price: $599 | £599 | €694
- Type: Multi-effects pedal
- Controls: 4 knobs, 4 button pads for menu navigation, 2 programmable footswitches, 2 contextual LED buttons
- Features: 74 algorithms spanning the complete H90 and H9 Max libraries, 1,000+ factory presets, SIFT polyphonic pitch-shifting, built-in tuner, Select/Bank/Perform modes, full parameter control with no companion app required
- Connectivity: 2x 1/4″ TS inputs, 2x 1/4″ TS outputs, USB-C (Eventide Control app), 5-pin MIDI I/O, expression pedal input, aux switch input, Bluetooth (Mac/iPad, via Eventide Control)
- Bypass: Flexible wet/dry and pre/post routing; footswitches control preset/bypass
- Power: 9-12V DC, 300 mA @ 12V / 400 mA @ 9V, 12V 1A power supply (included)
- Dimensions: 133 x 127 x 69mm (5.25 x 5 x 2.7 inches)
- Weight: 0.6 kg (1.32 lbs)
- Options: Harmonizer+ Suite vocal processing available with Mixing Link (sold separately)
- Contact: Eventide
Build quality
Build quality rating: ★★★★½
Despite the high price and huge feature set, the Eventide H9 Gen 2 is tiny for a multi-effects pedal. It’s slightly narrower than two Boss pedals side by side, and shorter in height than the most popular of pedal enclosures. It weighs about the same as a single Boss stompbox and is wedge-shaped to provide a better angle for pressing the footswitches when it’s ‘board-mounted.
The ins and outs are very close together, so if you’re planning on using all of the connectivity, make sure you’ve got some very slimline patch cables. I had to pull a couple of different options out of my box of spares to get two that would fit snugly enough together to utilize the H9 Gen 2 in a stereo configuration.
The base is made out of metal and devoid of rubber feet, so you can mount it straight to your pedalboard. The front fascia is hard plastic, and all of the knobs feel firmly mounted to it. The three smaller knobs provide a firm, smooth travel and are all pressable, while the large encoder is stepped, and can also be pressed down when menu-diving.
The four buttons provide a quiet operation, but are firm in feel when pushed down. Overall, the unit feels very robust, but the contextual LED lights that double as buttons feel a bit flimsy. They move around in their housing a bit, and don’t take much force to press in.
Usability and features
Usability and features rating: ★★★★½
The rest of it is a lot harder to decipher without having to dive into the manual
Plugging the H9 Gen 2 into my Universal Audio audio interface with my trusty Telecaster at the other end, I find navigating the unit is fairly easy on the surface. The large knob changes presets, with a click to confirm my selection. The three knobs below the screen have parameters already dedicated to them, while in the default mode the left footswitch changes to the next preset while the right footswitch engages or disengages the effect.
The rest of it is a lot harder to decipher without having to dive into the manual. I can work out how to change the three settings already assigned to the knobs, but I can’t fathom how to move to the secondary pages. The LED switch above the left footswitch also works to engage the effect, while the right-hand one only seems to change color with no discernible effect to my ear.
I cave and head for the manual, which enlightens me to a lot of additional, and useful, functionality. It turns out the right LED switch changes the direction of preset change, so you can move up through the numbers when red, or back down when it’s blue. ‘Params’ is what I was looking for to dive deeper into settings changes, while global settings and tempo can be accessed via dual presses of the top section of four buttons.
Hitting the Perform button allows you to change what the footswitches do, whether that’s assignments such as tap tempo, momentary/latching operation, as well as ‘HotSwitches’, which allow for multiple parameter changes at the same time. You can dial in timings, effects changes, mix amounts, pretty much anything you like. I’m not sure I’d want to do this with the hardware controls, to be totally honest.
For me, I’d much rather do this through the Eventide Control app. Dialing in my sound here before taking it to the rehearsal room and making some final tweaks alongside my band worked much better for me. For studio users, you’ll probably just want to keep it hooked up to your laptop for quicker changes.
I did find one issue with this, though. It was quite noisy with my guitar because there was some noise issues happening with the pedal going to the interface, the interface connected to my laptop, and the pedal being connected to my laptop all at the same time. It was definitely bordering on unusable for me, especially for clean sounds. Thankfully, there’s a fix in the works for this, as the pedal will get Bluetooth connectivity in a future update, so you can run the companion app alongside all of your regular gear.
The Eventide Control app is really intuitive, though. You can quickly set a tempo for each preset and create fresh banks (called ‘lists’) of user presets. It even asks you if you want to save changes before you click on another preset, a godsend when I’d spent half an hour tweaking without committing my changes to the pedal’s memory.
The depth on offer really is something. There are far too many options to go into here, but things like the ability to set LFO rates from 1/64th notes all the way to a full 16 bars is absolutely amazing. Effects can be tweaked to the nth degree, making it not only great for guitarists who like to deep dive, but super useful for studio users who need that level of control for the mix.
Sounds
Sounds rating: ★★★★★
There are more sounds packed into the Eventide H9 Gen 2 than I could possibly fit into the constraints of this review. I’ve put together some audio samples for you at the end of this section if you want to hear what it’s capable of for yourself. For now, I’ll just go through some of my favorite sounds that I encountered as part of the stock presets during my testing.
I start with the H910 algorithm, a recreation of a very famous studio rack unit. It’s a subtle sound, one that’s more noticeable when I switch it off. My tone suddenly sounds anaemic with the effect bypassed. This is the sound that was famously used by Eddie Van Halen in rack form, and I can see why as I play my favorite licks through it. They sound fuller and fatter than ever.
It’s similar to the famous MicroPitch algorithm, which uses multiple, slightly offset tunings to make it sound like more than one guitar playing together. Again, it can be subtle depending on how it’s used, but it’s incredibly effective. If you’re the only guitarist in your band, it’s a great way to massively thicken up your sound in a way that doesn’t drastically affect your core tone.
It adds a spiralling, seemingly endless space that somehow never completely consumes your tone
Next up is the algorithm that’s so popular it got its own pedal, the Blackhole reverb. With moody open chords, it adds a spiralling, seemingly endless space that somehow never completely consumes your tone. It’s addictive for lead work and maintains remarkable clarity even when you start getting into more complex runs and chord work.
Moving on, I start to get into pitch effects with the Polyphony algorithm. It’s set to fifths by default and tracks remarkably well no matter what I play. Chords hold up spectacularly well, as does bending, with the pitch tracking staying incredibly accurate. I thought I caught it out at one point, but it turned out one of my strings had slightly detuned during some aggressive bending.
Alongside the more out-there stuff, there’s a selection of overdrives which feel like a waste with the power of this pedal, to be honest. But there are also great fuzz tones, flangers, phasers, room reverbs, delays, all of which are delivered in superb quality. It’s a one-stop shop for effects of all kinds, with the ability to work in pretty much any genre you can think of.
Verdict
It’s a multi-effect in the truest sense
I like that the Eventide H9 Harmonizer Gen 2 bucks the recent trend in multi-effects pedals and doesn’t try to be a do-it-all unit. It’s a multi-effect in the truest sense, providing supreme-quality effect tones without the added complication of amp and cab simulation. It does that job stupendously well, too, with some of the best effects algorithms I’ve come across.
Is it easy to use? Kind of. Switching presets and using the pedal on a face level is self-explanatory enough. If you want to get the most out of it, you’ll need to dive into the manual and be prepared to spend some time experimenting. Do this, and you will be greatly rewarded for your patience.
It’s not cheap, but it’s my honest opinion that the quality of the sounds makes it worth the entry price. Power users will want to spend more for the H90. These effect algorithms are so good that for some it would be a shame to only be able to use one at a time. Those who live a simpler tone life will absolutely get their money’s worth here.
Guitar World verdict: Packing some of the very best effects algorithms into a pedalboard-friendly format, the Eventide H9 Harmonizer Gen 2 is an absolute triumph. I’ve tested a lot of multi-effects units over the past few years, and the sounds here are absolutely the cream of the crop. It requires deep diving and knob twiddling to get the most out of it, but the level of customization on offer is huge, and it’s a pedal that can play in pretty much any genre you can think of.
|
Test |
Results |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Build quality |
Very well put together, but the ins and outs are a tight fit |
★★★★½ |
|
Usability and features |
You can use it with just the hardware, but it’s much more powerful with the companion app |
★★★★½ |
|
Sounds |
Amongst the best quality effects of any multi-effects I’ve tried |
★★★★★ |
|
Overall |
An incredibly powerful multi-effects, compact enough to fit on any pedalboard |
★★★★½ |
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