5 Tips: Turn any sound into an instrument – featuring Eventide H90

The Eventide H90 Harmonizer is a pedal, but it still performs excellently in any studio, for live performance or band performances – across lots of genres. And since the quality of the algorithms included is, as usual from the manufacturer, beyond any doubt, we believe that everyone should see and hear the H90. Therefore, we briefly introduce the multi-effect here and provide the most important tips and features that might not be so obvious for a pedal. Enjoy!

In a nutshell: What is the H90?

The H90 Harmonizer is a pedal multi-effect with currently 64 algorithms, such as delay, reverb, pitch-shifter, distortion, and even a looper, two of which can be used simultaneously, either in series or parallel. More algorithms are expected to follow via software update. Thanks to its versatility, the H90 is the ideal companion for guitarists, as well as all other musicians and producers looking for high-quality effects and/or who enjoy experimenting with sound design.

Tip 1: Granular Looper

One of the currently 64 included effects is a looper that allows recording up to eight minutes (!) of sounds and playing them back at variable tempos. Start and end points can also be varied at any time, so that you can turn the H90 into a real granular sampler with extremely short loop times.

Tipp 2: Spillover?!

When switching presets on other effect pedals, the sound usually cuts off abruptly and the newly selected preset becomes active. Not with the H90! The pedal effectively has not just two, but four effect processors, as the two most recently selected effects do not cut off when switching presets but fade out until the end. Well, that‘s only half true, because if you select a Blackhole or Shimmer reverb with an end-lessly long decay and then switch the preset, the reverb continues in the background while you use two completely different effects in the foreground. This is not only technically well-implemented, but also a fantastic sound design tool.

Tip 3: Not just for Instruments

We love the H90 not only for instruments and melodies of all kinds but also for vocals. The pitch shifters in particular quickly transform spoken words – even those of rather thin voices – into deep humming sounds. Not to mention when one of the distortion algorithms is used as a second effect. You can also quickly and easily add second and third voices to sung vocals with the pitch-shifters.

Tip 4: Effects over time

The effects of the H90 are already amazing, and being able to use two (or thanks to spillover, even four) algorithms simultaneously takes it even further. But that’s not all, because with automatable MIDI program changes, preset switches can be recorded along with notes and sequences in the DAW. This allows effects to be programmed in the timeline analogously to the song arrangement.

Tip 5: Effects over time

The effects of the H90 itself are already bombastic and being able to use two (or even four, thanks to Spillover) algorithms at the same time goes one step further. But that's not the end of the story: thanks to automatable MIDI programme changes, preset changes can be recorded together with notes and sequences in the DAW. The effects used can also be programmed in the timeline in the same way as the song arrangement.

Listen in: Creative audio demos for the Eventide H90

• Eventide H90 Demo 1 – Asian Touch: A beautiful melody played with an Asian plucked instrument, initially lightly reverberated, then combined with Preset 24 Tidal Wave, a combination of Ultratrap Delay and Filter Pong. Here you can feel how the simple melody suddenly develops a life of its own and could continue running for minutes.
• Eventide H90 Demo 2 – Looper: Melody and sound are unspectacular but develop a very dynamic life of their own in the looper. The recording tempo is varied, and the start and loop points are shifted in real time. By pitch-shifting the two algorithms of the Shimmer effect between -24, -12, +12, and +7, the sound shifts between powerful booming and crystal clear.
• Eventide H90 Demo 3 – Techno Distortion: This is the first time we go full throttle in terms of sound: We run a simple Techno pattern of kick, shaker, and synth congas through distortion, filter, and delay. The original mono loop becomes a massive beat in full stereo and can be designed interestingly over a long period of time without any change in the pattern. Together with drum fills and a bassline, the track would be complete.
• Eventide H90 Demo 4 – Synth Melody: Similar to the second demo, we start with a melody that could hardly be simpler and then bring in Preset 12 with echo and reverb. This is followed by switching to presets 15 and 13, each of which also contains a reverb, but also contains Doppler and pitch shifters, which enrich the sound with additional tones. The transitions between the presets are absolutely seamless and without any interruptions. Fantastic!
• Eventide H90 Demo 5 – Glassy Chords: We start with glassy Downbeat chords and a typical flanger effect, which change towards the end after a preset change to the crystal pitch shifter, which brings new, playful dimensions to the groove and sound in terms of pitch, stereo width and echoes.
• Eventide H90 Demo 6 – Hang Drum Love: A sentimental steel drum melody, to which we fade in a Wormhole reverb and later dissolve the original melody completely in a wall of reverb with a 100% wet mix. As if the music fades into eternity. This would practically be possible with a longer reverb tail! A great tool for musical textures or video backgrounds.

Introduced: The Eventide H90 – What’s the magic behind?

The H90 Harmonizer features a modern ARM-based architecture derived from Eventide’s most powerful effects processor, their flagship, the H9000 Harmonizer. This paves the way for the development of further advanced effects processing techniques. Thus, the pedal not only oers the iconic reverb, delay, modulation, and pitch-shifting effects of the H9 Max but goes far beyond with eleven new powerful algorithms, including modern, fast, and warble-free polyphonic pitch shifting. Eventide’s SIFT technology (Spectral Instantaneous Frequency Tracking) paves the way for long-dreamed and unimaginable next-generation effects.

The most important features at a glance:

• 66 pre-installed effect algorithms with 14 new algorithms: Polyphony, Prism Shift, PolyFlex, PolySynth, Bouquet Delay, Head Space, WeedWacker, Even-Vibe, Wormhole, Instant Flanger, Instant Phaser, Aggravate, Sticky Tape and SP2016 Reverb
• Includes all 52 effect algorithms of the H9 Max Harmonizer with expanded functions and improvements
• New polyphonic pitch shifting with low latency and SIFT (Spectral Instantaneous Frequency Tracking) technology
• ARM-based architecture lays the foundation for new and exciting creative effects
• Simultaneous use of two algorithms per program
• True spillover between programs
• Effects can be used in series or parallel
• Instrument or line level operation
• Two mono inserts or one stereo insert can be placed anywhere in the signal chain
• Dual mode for processing two independent stereo signals simultaneously
• Five pressure-rotary knobs for more tactile control
• Two expression inputs for pedals, aux switches with up to 3 buttons, and CV signals
• With the H90 Control software, you can edit programs, create lists and update the firmware on a Mac or PC // Built-in tuner

Price: 1.049 Euro | www.eventideaudio.com | www.sound-service.eu