What instrument do you play?

I’m a bass player who just bought a H9 Max.  I play anything from jazz to metal depending on what gigs I can pick up.  I like using the H9 to change my tones for solos, ambient intros/outros, and the occasional breakdown.  Its still so new that I haven’t even scratched the surface yet, but I can tell it will be a big part of my sound.

Probably not very common here, but I am a violinist 🙂 classicaly trained, but now I study jazz violin and play in a pop/rock band.

Currently in the process of learning about the effects and all. I have H9 and TC electronic Sub’n’up, PolyTune and Ditto Looper. I need to connect expression pedal and some aux switches to my H9 for some improved functionality.

Cheers,

Nina

I play the guitar. I like to play/develop and record my own compositions on iPad and place them on my Soundcloud page. I also like to jam along backing tracks (sort of rock/blues orientated).

A few weeks ago I bought the H9 Max. My setup now is:
Guitar > Boss GT 100 multi effects pedal (with Strymon Mobius pedal in the fx loop of the GT 100) > H9 > Yamaha Studio Monitors (or a Sonic Port interface to iPad when I record).

Good initiative to make the forum a bit more music orientated instead of technical! In this spirit, I boldly go where no-one has gone before 🙂 and present some real music with the H9 (i am a bit surprised i didn’t find some material of users, perhaps I didn’t search good enough, or perhaps it is forbidden, though I checked the rules….it doesn’t seem forbidden).
A few days ago I recorded this little subtle relaxing soundscapish instrumental with my new H9 at the end of my pedal chain:
https://soundcloud.com/officiallyalive/a-gentle-breeze

I record and perform on electric, lead guitar –  new country mostly.  My job is both to create a sonic bed for the lyrics and emotion to fit in, and add a few lead fills every now and then to spice the tune up with.  I normally use a Marshall JVM410 and Fender Twin live.  Those are mic’ed with a SM57 and Royer R121 on each unit.  All of my effects are kept in a rack, close as possible to the amps to keep cable lengths to a minimum.   I use a GCP foot controller in my performance position – at the right of that box are two foot controllers and a tap tempo switch.  To the left of the GCP are both amp controller switch boxes.  I have a snake that routes all of that back to the rack and makes setup a piece of cake.  I use radio between the guitar and the rack, keeps me mobile and shortens cable length.

The rack has a GCX switcher that controls all the stomp boxes I am particular to at that time, 3 maxed H9s, the RF base, a strobe tuner and power management box. One of the H9’s front ends the Marshall and Fender and is the master time control.  The other two are inserted into the effects loops of each amp. I use two individual inserts to eliminate any extra noise that can happen when two amps are inserted into one unit,   

I went with this configuration because I can either control each and every effect individually – very usefull for studio, or create sets of scenes for live performance, that either I (prefered), or a individual back stage can manage,   When I am writing recording inventing, I use an iPad to change configurations and save them.  Its actually pretty easy to keep track of.  Verbs and time based effects are all relegated to the 2 inserted H9’s.  I make a change on one and copy it to the other.   However, I have two scenes I run live that have two different effects that really sound full and beautiful when my amps are panned left and right in the sound system. All the really neat sounds like pitch or stereo effects go to the front end H9. I save off all of the recording configurations because, you never know when that song will come up on the set list,  and its amazingly handy to have what you recorded,  availble to create scenes with on the effects and GCP.

I can honestly say that those 3 H9’s are used over 70% of the time in the show.  They have not failed, and every year they get better and better because of the new algo’s being introduced.   They allow me an almost infinite set of possiblities and with a iPAD – are so darned easy to create with.  The only problem is that there might not be enough time left in my life (I’m 60) to try all the possible combinations that this configuration gives me.

Take care,

LL

I may have a previous posting that I started that got away from my as they often do, so anyway where we go again:

I am a synthesist/guitarist a seemingly common pairing these days. I have five H9s’s in series between my guitar and either a Fender Twin Reverb, a heavily modified Marshall class 5 – there is a large mod community out there – or DI’d right into my mixer with a tube is solid state pre-amp. The amps are mic’s by a comprehensive collection of BLUE Microphone – I drank the BLUE koolaid and it was delicious 🙂 this is all in the midst of a large analog synth collection and large collection of rack mount gear consisting of more synths, H8000FW, GTR4000, H3000, 2 x Kurzweil KSP8’s, and 2 x Lexicon 300’s, various and sundry analog gear, and lots of patch-bays. As you can imagine this is housed in a mastering class project studio. My main interest is in ambient sound scapes, I should have had a career in it, I would have had a lot of fun in it.

My work with the H9’s usually follows the compression/distortion/harmonization/delay/reverb chain. Although mixing things around with great flexibility – as the H9 MAX is best known for – often provides surprising and novel results. I often like to start with the common chain mentioned above and see where things take me. Hours later I’m far from where I was and having a wonderful time of it. Space time is one of my favorites as it allow me to compress several often used functions usually dedicated to a single box and fre up the other boxes up without loss a some aspect of the soundscape I’m working on. Another favorite is to set all the H9’s to the same algorithm and the make slight adjustment to each instance and list to the sound swell with the added depth as successive instances of the same effect are added (multiplied?) by the next one in the chain

“Wow! You certainly have all your “ducks in a row.”   “

Well – I am originally from Oregon.  I needed a road ready system, thats easy to load on and off stage, is relatively light,  fairly tough, and easy to use.    It performed well this summer fair and rodeo season.    I have a little work to do before next year – like put a shield over the LCD on the GCP.  Mid afternoon performances in the sun kind of make it hard to see the screen.   I am also going to try a new compressor – I used a Keely 4 knob this year which was pretty sweet.  It will be a toss up between the Wampler Ego and Keely compressor pro.    The nice thing about the GCX and rack drawers is, it takes less than 10 seconds to change something out.

I will spend a good amount of time this off season to write, record and work on improving the pallet of H9 max sounds, and adding them to the GCP.  I have learned to appreciate that quiet time with the H9’s and a empty room.  Really amazing little hoober doobers, no doubt.  Thank you Eventide !!

Take care

L

… with equally interesting responses.  I’ve always had an obsession with pure sound.  Music, environmental sound, electronics … That’s led me down the path from bass & guitar, through the universality of keyboards and synthesizers, drums & percussion, and dabbling in anything that produces a sound.  Recording engineering, FOH work, and synth preset expansion packs were all part of the natural progression.

My current pedalboard / rack combination is an outgrowth of synthesizer programming.  I’m still most comfortable with guitar as ‘controller’.  My system needs to be relatively portable (home in studio; break off for live gigs).  It has always been stereo, and heavily incorporated MIDI, expression pedals, aux switches, and more.  I won’t bore you with the sordid details, but it’s taken years to consolidate all of those complexities.

The system approach borrows from modular synthesizers (which has helped immensely with an ability to program most any kind of sound).  “Waveshaping” [tube, pre, models, digital distortion], amplitude shaping [compressor, ADSR, freeze], pitch modulation [whammy, ring mod], filters, delay-based FX … you get the idea.  As for Eventide effects, I can’t seem to let go of my PitchFactor; it’s essential.  Two H9’s finish up my pedalboard – switchable in series / parallel – then out to the rack mixer.

It’s been a long time coming, but I finally feel that I can reproduce most any sound that (in the past) I would’ve turned to a synthesizer for.  As for the music itself, I don’t enjoy playing covers as much any more.  As a ‘hired gun’, I have to maintain a facility with many styles of music.  “Jack-of-all-trades; master of none.”  It’s an edgy, creative approach that never fails to keep me on my toes.  And current technology makes that all possible.