Eventide’s H90 Harmonizer is an insanely powerful and insanely expensive guitar pedal
Eventide declared the H9 the “one pedal to rule them all.” But that was over eight years ago. It was the definition of cutting edge digital effects 2013. Things change though, and in 2022 the company is finally introducing a proper successor — the H90 Harmonizer.
The H90 is built on the same high-end ARM architecture as Eventide’s $8,000 rack mount H9000. While the company doesn’t get any more specific about the tech specs than that, it’s safe to assume it’s not the same exact setup in this $900 stompbox. There are 62 effects algorithms built-in to the H90 and, unlike the H9 (which has only 52 algorithms) you can run two of them simultaneously for more exotic and extreme effects.
You’ll still find all the sounds from Eventide’s TimeFactor, ModFactor, PitchFactor, and Space pedals, as well classics from the company’s older rack mount units like the SP2016 Reverb. Headlining the new effects is probably Polyphonic Pitch Shifting, which uses Eventide’s SIFT (Spectral Instantaneous Frequency Tracking) tech. This isn’t the first effects processor to do polyphonic pitch shifting, but it’s not super common (and it’s quite difficult from a technical perspective).
The six other new algorithms exclusive to the H90 include Prism Shift, which turns chords into arpeggiated synth delays; Even-Vibe, a Uni-vibe emulation with envelope followers; and Wormhole, a massive modulated reverb with pitch warping.
The other huge upgrade over the H9 is that the 90 has actual on board controls and a much cleaner UI. The original had one large knob and basically required you to use the companion app for anything beyond switching presets. The H90 on the other hand has five knobs, a trio of foot switches and a handful of buttons that should make it not just feasible, but simple to customize and tweak effects settings. But, there is still a companion app for macOS and Windows.
There’s connectivity galore here too. Four mono audio ins and outs, two expression control ports, 5-pin MIDI in and outs, plus USB for MIDI and software updates. Those audio jacks offer a lot of flexibility too. You can process two audio signals independently, or set them up as sends and returns to put other effects pedals in between two algorithms on the H90.
Oh, and it has a tuner.
The Eventide H90 is available now for $899.
Eventide declared the H9 the “one pedal to rule them all.” But that was over eight years ago. It was the definition of cutting edge digital effects 2013. Things change though, and in 2022 the company is finally introducing a proper successor — the H90 Harmonizer. The H90 is built…
