I’m done with H9… Am I missing something?

[Sp4zRX]

I’ve had the H9 a little more than a year and it seems like this pedal is not for me.

A lot of the effects don’t seem to have a mix/blend parameter. My understanding is the first parameter on an algorithm is supposed to act as a blend/mix, for example, Intensity on Flanger and Phaser. My experience is turning that all the way down does not remove the effect. In fact, even turning all the parameters down don’t even remove the effect.

Some may wonder why I would want to use an effect if I want to turn it down. Sometimes I hear something strange in an effect and I want more or less of that strangeness and I try turning all the parameters down until I hear it go away so I know which parameter controls that sound, then I can dial back in to taste but sometimes it seems none of the parameter effect the thing I’m trying to target.

I also sometimes need the effect to be very subtle which I am finding almost impossible. The over the top effects sound great but I need and want to be able to dial in both. I would also like to use an expression pedal with effect engaged but not audible then blend in the effect to taste with the expression.

Maybe I am missing something simple?

[PRSGUY513]

Sounds like you may have the “kill dry” function engaged on the unit. Also, read about setting up the input and output levels, etc..

https://downloads.eventide.com/audio/manuals/h9/H9-UserGuide.pdf#page18

https://downloads.eventide.com/audio/manuals/h9/H9-UserGuide.pdf#page23

[Sp4zRX]

Global Kill Dry is off. I haven’t checked each individual preset for the Kill Dry setting but I will check that on the presets I’m using.

I know I setup the input/output levels when I first got the H9 but I will double check that too. Thanks!

[noodle1]

I think you may be correct that Modfactor algos don’t always use a true wet/dry.
Use a parallel-izer, blender, or mixer, and use the H9 with an expression controlling the volume to open up new worlds…

[apalazzolo]

I think your intended use of the H9 is perfectly valid.  Blending an effect from zero to any level is a great idea either in use or during preset creation.  The effects should do that and, in fact, almost all of them do.  I think the H9 can easily do this and that there IS one simple thing you have overlooked.

Many of the 52 algos have a mix knob at the top left.  In most of the Modfactor algos, you should use the Depth control for this.  Yes, it is natural to try the intensity control.  Yes, the “Info” tab should explain this (it is good but imperfect).  I suggest you try the Depth control.  Some algos get “out there” and even the Depth control does not remove the effect.   Undulator and ModFilter are two of them.  But there really are very few of them.

I also think you are correct that few factory presets are subtle and it takes work to make them subtle.  I have come to believe that the reason for this is that the H9 is a victim of its own success.  It covers soooooooo much ground and sooooooooo many different types of musicians and composers use it that it is impossible to give everyone what they want in just 99 presets.  Shoegazers, synth players, movie score composers, DJ’s us the H9 as much as rock and blues cover-band guitarists.

I’m in the latter group and I’ve created a couple of preset lists that may be more to your liking.  In one, I try to make the H9 sound like popular vintage effects and name them as such so it is easy to understand what the presets do.  I suspect trademark concerns limit Eventide’s ability to do this.  The second list has more advanced use of the hotswitch and exp ped.  If you are willing to post your email address here, I’ll send them to you.  They are not perfect but you may find them easier to work with.

Good luck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[apalazzolo]

You can also search my username in the preset sharing page.  I’ve posted about 70 presets there.

Good luck.

[Sp4zRX]

Thank you. This and your post above might help sort things out for me. There are a lot of things I like about the H9, I really want it to work. While I use both subtle and more intense effects, those subtle effects that I can use to color the guitar tone are the most commonly used for me. I did not know depth was the Mix control on the modulations. I have played with it before but I thought I read somewhere (manual maybe?) that Intensity was the mix. In fact, I had an expression pedal mapped to the intensity and I wasn’t getting the results I had hoped. I will play with the depth control a little more and check out your presets.

[Sp4zRX]

I imported and auditioned your EHX flanger, One Phaser, and both the Univibes. They all sound really good. These are pretty much the exact sounds I was looking for. They sound great both pre and post gain. Im using a PBC6x so I use it in both places. I think the H9 is going to find its way back on my board. Wow, I can’t thank you enough! I didn’t even know there was a preset sharing page until now. I’m going to check out some more of your presets, I see quite of few that interest me. Thanks again!

 

[PRSGUY513]

Having Factory presets programmed “over the top” was (not so much anymore) a common thing among manufacturers. The idea was that the units would be tried out in noisy music stores and its purpose was to grab the buyer right out of the gate. With the advent of YouTube and a million gear demo channels this attitude has diminished a good bit. However, I never felt the H9’s preset FX levels were very extreme. At least not compared some digital MultiFX units of the 80’s and 90’s. It was a given back then that it would be necessary to make your own or tweak the factory.

As far as not being able to control the FX level on the H9 was a bit confusing to me. I was out of town when this post was made and didn’t have the H9 available to test this. I never had an issue with getting the right levels. I usually use the H9 either in 4CM with send and return level controls or now I use it in the FX loop of a Fractal FM3 and have many ways to control levels and I suppose never realized any of these issues and/or shortcomings.

[PRSGUY513]

One other thing to understand is the H9 is an algorithm based unit and using the right algorithm within an FX type is key. Not all algorithms are created equal yet have the same control parameters. This is the nature of the this type of technology. It gives loads of high quality FX at a reasonable price, but might not have the deep dive capability some may want. Other than having a dozen of individual FX and maybe analog this is a great setup. I bet checking out some of @apalazzolo presets will help get a grip on things.

[apalazzolo]

PRSGUY513 wrote:

Having Factory presets programmed “over the top” was (not so much anymore) a common thing among manufacturers. The idea was that the units would be tried out in noisy music stores and its purpose was to grab the buyer right out of the gate. With the advent of YouTube and a million gear demo channels this attitude has diminished a good bit. However, I never felt the H9’s preset FX levels were very extreme. At least not compared some digital MultiFX units of the 80’s and 90’s. It was a given back then that it would be necessary to make your own or tweak the factory. ….

This is a really good point.  I have a few friends who were amp designers for Fender in the 90’s and heard about marketing executives changing amp designs with the conscious goal of wowing potential customers in music stores (arguably to the detriment of subsequent use).

I also could have made my point better.  Yes, I have dialed back H9 presets to suit my pedestrian tastes.  But my point regarding H9 user diversity really speaks to the percentage of the presets inapplicable to me.  That isn’t really a tweaking issue.  It’s an issue of the intended customer for some of the 99 factory presets (understandably) being someone else.  It’s a big world and me and my ilk are just a sliver of it.

But it is also worth noting that there are something like 600 other presets in an H9max and not on the 99 factory preset list.  Quite a few of those presets suit me just fine as is.  Plowing through the haystack to find those needles is the task there.  There have been several occasions when I worked on a preset for an hour or two only to find a factory preset that was essentially the same (but better) right there all along.

 

 

 

[PRSGUY513]

apalazzolo wrote:

PRSGUY513 wrote:

Having Factory presets programmed “over the top” was (not so much anymore) a common thing among manufacturers. The idea was that the units would be tried out in noisy music stores and its purpose was to grab the buyer right out of the gate. With the advent of YouTube and a million gear demo channels this attitude has diminished a good bit. However, I never felt the H9’s preset FX levels were very extreme. At least not compared some digital MultiFX units of the 80’s and 90’s. It was a given back then that it would be necessary to make your own or tweak the factory. ….

This is a really good point. I have a few friends who were amp designers for Fender in the 90’s and heard about marketing executives changing amp designs with the conscious goal of wowing potential customers in music stores (arguably to the detriment of subsequent use). I also could have made my point better. Yes, I have dialed back H9 presets to suit my pedestrian tastes. But my point regarding H9 user diversity really speaks to the percentage of the presets inapplicable to me. That isn’t really a tweaking issue. It’s an issue of the intended customer for some of the 99 factory presets (understandably) being someone else. It’s a big world and me and my ilk are just a sliver of it. But it is also worth noting that there are something like 600 other presets in an H9max and not on the 99 factory preset list. Quite a few of those presets suit me just fine as is. Plowing through the haystack to find those needles is the task there. There have been several occasions when I worked on a preset for an hour or two only to find a factory preset that was essentially the same (but better) right there all along.

I agree and get your point. I was a bit thrown by the OP (and this is not to diminish their problem) that I figured it was something simple like the Kill/Dry function. I’ve owned the H9Max for at least 5 years now and forget some of its unique design specifics and with the App can dial in sounds on the fly pretty easily. The Control App is a life saver. Like you said there are so many presets that there’s something for everyone…hopefully.

I’m happy the OP is able to find a sound and the H9 is finding its way into their signal chain.👍

Edit:

And yes, Product Sales Engineers are a slippery bunch. I was an R&D Lab tech and they were always trying to get me to fudge numbers “just a little bit”.

[Sp4zRX]

I think my main problem was/is a lack of understanding of what the parameters control, specifically in modfactor. It could be that my ear is just not tuned enough to what the parameters are controlling. There are some parameters that sound like they do nothing to me. I thought I could be missing something simple because I always hear how people are “deep editing” on the H9 but when I use H9 Control, I only see about 10 parameters to control. I don’t really consider that “deep editing”. I thought maybe there was another level of editing I was overlooking. I may spend some time, at a later date, analyzing some of apalazollo’s preset settings to figure out where I was going wrong but for now I am happy with them as they are. I really appreciate everyone’s input. I am glad I decided to start this thread before listing the H9 on Reverb.

[apalazzolo]

Good to hear!

Your oversight was totally understandable.

One more thing to watch out for is parameters that have multiple functions and/or change operation of other parameters.  Sometimes 10 controls do 15 things or more and do so in surprising ways.  This is especially true in the H9 algorithms.

The “Info” button in the top right of your screen is your friend (much of the time).

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