Eventide H9 Max Multi-effects Pedal Reviews

It's always a pleasure working with Sweetwater and Scott in-particular. Excellent service and fast delivery! My recent purchase was no different. The Eventide H9 was just what I was looking for. Performs as advertised.

Sweetwater is my go-to music supplier!

Bobby

Was looking for the best harmonizer in pedal form. One with saveable presets. $ a bit much, though, but I dont skimp when it comes to gear if it meets or exceeds my demands. This has been around awhile and seen on many pro pedalboards. Midi, too. Easy tweakability patched into the usb of my Mac. Much to learn and explore. Will keep me occupied for awhile. Have this in the effects loop of my Mesa Boogie Badlander along with Strymon BigSky and Timeline. Stellar sound. Ive owned other harmonizers and the H9 has so much more. Along with that, now I have many other effects to mix and match with the Strymons. Have all the presets Ive saved so far midi programmed from my Boss ES5 switcher. Between these 3 quality inspiration machines, I spend many hours exploring and creating patches and know that there is still so much more to discover. But, then I have to stop fiddling and get on with learning and creating music. That, to me, is what its all about.

I've been in bands pretty much every weekend and more since 1978. Played with many pro's. I've been through more than a hundred amps pedals guitars etc. I have a good collection of everything but the Eventide H9max is with out a doubt that one that tops them all! Seriously amazing studio quality sounds live sets me apart from the rest AND THE MOST FUN PEDAL EVER MADE!!!Want to have a blast and sound better than the rest? Buy it! It's actualy simple once you know know how to use it. Out of a million sounds at my feet and fingers I can play Are you Experienced solo live in real time just for one. I love my stereo amps and the doubler. Anything you need and more! Pro! Fun! AMAZING! Worth 10X the price!

It's a great device. I mostly use the 'tasteful' presets (compressor/EQ) for solo gigs, and the 'way out' presets for (modulation/synth/etc) the band gigs.
I'm glad I invested in it.
The only thing better than one H9 is 2H9's.

I've had this for a couple years. And I love it. My daughter uses it for writing music and I've used it in studio and live. Super high quality both in build and sonically. A little learning curve, but I'm no pedal ace and used it quite quickly. Love using the blue tooth for control and saving patches. A guitar player could replace a lot of pedals with this, but would take some getting used to the flow. We've used it on guitar, keys, love vocals, you name it. I'd recommend highly

The quality of this pedal is excellent. Overall, for the price- the number of effects offer, this pedal is a good deal. I would say the Pros and Cons are:
PROS
- Sound Quality is beyond excellent
- Number of effects per Price. 99 for the H9 Max
- Integration and sound compatibility with others effects is seamless
- H9 control software interface is intuitive and useful
CONS
- Only one effect can be ran at the time
- For the number of parameters that can be changed, there are not enough physical bottoms to make changes
- Some presets are good benchmark to start working on, but some presets are not even close to useful.
that's about it.

Probably the most amazingly versatile pedal ever made. Sounds are amazing and widely varied. App is so simple to navigate and it can be scaled to different instruments, bass for example, as well as guitar, and vocals, with the tap of a menu button. Film scoring efx abound aplenty, and can really take you to many unknown places, with your imagination. Plus, the stereo imagery is the best I've heard yet and the updates are always a sonic surprise. You'll always find the right sound to fit in your mix and looking at all the possibilities is a lot of fun. Kudos to Eventide. With all you get plus future downloads, the price point is a steal for all the high quality efx's you get. Love it! Cliff Hunter

I've been using Fractal Audio processors for quite a while now. Didn't think I needed an H9, boy was I wrong. The algorithms have a dimension and depth you can feel. It doesn't cloud your tone but enhances in all the best ways. I just wish it was a little easier to use/configure. Not difficult, just takes some getting use to.

So I have known about this for quite a while but never really knew how good it was. I have been using Strymon stuff for a while and still do. This sits next to my Timeline. Back in the 90's I dreamed of owning the very expensive and large H3000 rack harmonizer. It was the only way to get all those cool Steve VAI tones. I bought this solely for the Micropitch that EVH used on the Balance and For Unlawful albums. Well it nails that sound but I also now have all the VAI sounds, and also Zappa stuff, Incredible delays and great harmony shifts. The thing is they sound incredibly authentic and feel very responsive to the touch, they never get in the way. I am running this into the fax loop of my Friedman BE100 and it is quiet and transparent. While I do love my Timeline for it's crystal clear cold digital delays, this thing has richer, fatter, warmer and more responsive delays in it. I love this pedal, and once you figure out how to use it it is super cool! I highly recommend this! There are tones in here that nail the tones of VAI, EVH, Lukather, Landau, Thompson, Petrucci, Gilmour, and so many more! I honestly like the warm and organic feel of these FX over anything in the AXFX III or anything else but the real rack stuff. Eventide nailed it with this little box! Not a huge fan of using Bluetooth for editing. Although the editing is very good and simple, I just don't like Bluetooth because it's not good for you. Otherwise an incredible pedal that more like a real piece of Vintage rack gear .

I use the Eventide H9 Max in my home studio and bought it primarily for use with synths and samplers and to replace a Digitech DSP 256 that served me faithfully for about 30 years. Out of the box, updating was easy and I went through the presets with a guitar and bass. I generally use stompbox effects, most of which are analog, and a couple digital multi-effect units for the guitar and bass. That said, I really appreciate what the Eventide has to offer in terms of effect configuration, settings via the computer interface, and the sound quality for which they are known.
The H9 Max is just as impressive with the electronic instruments in my home studio. Granted that I have only begun to scratch the surface of what this unit can do beyond the presets. The staggering possibilities for my personal experimentation will no doubt continue to inspire for some time.
Lastly, the engineers behind the Eventide H9 Max hit mark for compatibility. My different expression pedals, Moog MF-201 foot controller, Electro-Harmonix 8-Step Program all seem to work well with the H9's expression input.
In fact, I thought of a few more things I wan to try with this effect processor while typing this review. Inspiration strikes.

I play 120 shows a year on acoustic guitar in a duo with my wife on violin. We’re rock musicians at heart so we decided to make the Eventide jump. Stoked that we did! Here’s everything I know.

For acoustic guitar. This this sounded unbelievable straight out of the box. Crystal clear, studio quality. The barn OX makes it easier to use, but I still found it to be totally accessible on its own. The distortions were my least favorite, but I did find a killer blues dirt sound in Sculpt. The delays and reverbs are fantastic. The wah sounds are very good and the ability to tweak everything makes this the most versatile wah ever. I prefer using an external volume/expression pedal. The ability to set the wah to the hotknob and turn dials on the fly is mind bending. The possibilities literally become endless. The only effect I find not usable is the Octave down on acoustic. It doesn’t track right. Just makes spitting sounds. Works fine with my Les Paul, just not acoustic guitar. All in all this unit is great for acoustic guitar. Get a Grace Design Alix and run an H9 max into the effects loop. Minty!

For violin. Wow, Eventide delay on violin for the win. We run an acoustic violin into a Felix preamp by Grace Design, and run anEventide into the effects loop. There are a lot of really cool sounds we can get. The distortion sounds work well with violin cuz we can endlessly tweak until there is little or no feedback. All of the problems that usually plague a violinist when using effects are gone. You can just dial out the problem. The wah sounds are rich and delicious with a violin. The chorus warms everything up and rolls off the sneering tones violins sometimes get. Even just the EQ Compression patches wake up the violin.

All in all, I can’t see going on stage again without it. All of the demo videos show a really intense version of all of the sounds, but every patch has an intensity knob that allows you to dial it back a bit. If this is your first Eventide H9, buy the Max. It’s totally worth it. Even if you think you won’t use a certain sound, it’s not about the musician you are, it’s about the one you will become when you plug this in.

Purchased this fantastic piece of gear from Sweetwater a few months back and still haven"t scratched the surface of all the available effects in the MAX. Initial setup was easy enough and quick connection to my iPad helped with navigating the world of Eventide options available in this fantastic little white box. It"s my secret weapon on my pedalboard when I gig to add texture to rhythm guitar. Want a touch of chorus? Boom goes the dynamite. How about a bit of phase – same. Some ambient delay – got that too. Lush reverb? It"s in there. A nice throbbing vibe for a lead or an auto-wah? It"s in there. You"ll want to get to know how to set up the buttons to configure easy access to load favorites. Love a piece of gear that is only limited to the imagination and fits within an existing rig. Worked with Adam and he was very knowledgable about the product.

I've read many positive reviews of this devilish box, yet it surpassed all my expectations. I'm using it along with some other external FX units for live synth performances / studio work and it gives me absolutely astonishing results. It is my main choice for all delay and chorus effects, it is definitely my main choice for reverberation. All the effects are top quality and boost your creative forces in an unprecedented way.

For example: I love Lexicon reverbs, I know their sound a bit, I can tell only best words about them, yet they just loose to the depths and dimensions of this little box. No kidding, I absolutely miss the words to describe them. Same with chorus, delay and, actually, most of the rest - unbeatable, brilliant, astonishing, you name it.

Functionality, reliability, easiness of programming (download the app right away!) - all are best of the best.

This is my highest recommendiation ever, for real. I'm gonna get another one, this is more than sure.

Creates a desire to have 2 or 3 of these!
Didn"t know the history behind these, I"m not wasting any time catching up!

I attended my first GearFest this year (2018) and was seeking one specific piece of gear to take home....a multi effects pedal for bass. I'd had others, but was never really happy with the quality of the sounds. I get to meet my sales rep and I tell him what I'm looking for. Without hesitation he says, "Eventide H9". He points me to the tent where they are demonstrating their goods. I was impressed with the sound, but when I saw the user interface connected bluetooth from an iPad (also works wirelessly with Mac, PC, or iPhone, or Android) I was just gobsmacked. The configurability is amazing. The I asked, "Will it work with bass". Sure it will...just change the input source to bass right here in the interface. Bam! Patches adjusted to work with bass. But some effects are best before compression, some are best after. Some are best before preamps, so are best after. No problem....the H9 has two inputs and two outputs and you can have one set outside of your effects look and one set inside your effects loop and tell each patch where in your signal chain you want the effect! I kid you not!! It's amazing!

I don't run many effects on my bass. From time to time I'll run an octaver, a fuzz, a synth bass sound, and maybe a wah if I'm playing some funky stuff. If I had to buy the 4 pedals to do those functions, it would cost about as much as the H9...which has WAY more functionality, takes up less space on my small board, and uses fewer power feeds from my supply.

I've been exploring this pedal for the last month and I've barely scratched the surface. Each algorithm on offer is like a world unto itself -- you can dial in all of your standard effects readily, but also take things into strange, beautiful, and interesting territories very easily. Many of the effects this pedal offers are iconic, and it's been fun to explore all the well-known music that has been created with this thing.

The iPhone app makes this a breeze to work with, bringing the learning curve down to near-zero. The only slight downside of the iPhone app is that each algorithm's knobs take up two pages, so you have to page back and forth to access everything. This isn't an issue on the iPad though, and I'm hoping Eventide will continue to improve the iPhone app -- it would be great if you could customize which knobs are on each page!

With full midi functionality and the ability to use an expression pedal (not included) to morph between two custom settings within each preset, this pedal is easy to integrate into a studio or live workflow. But ultimately, its beauty (however you define that!) is it's major selling point.

Huge thanks to Nick LaMendola for helping me get a great deal on the H9! His customer service is always stellar.

I have been searching for a multi effects pedal that covers all the bases for quite some time. I have tried the Helix, Headrush, GT 100, and many others but they were too complicated or just sounded bad in general. I didn't need something with amp and cabinet modeling, I just wanted a great sounding effects pedal that covered all the bases like delay, reverb, chorus, flanged, phasers, etc. Well this pedal does that and so much more. All of its effects sound great. Its effects are studio quality and sound just like they should. Every effect is tweakable in ways that I never imagined possible and its bluetooth connectivity makes the tweaking super simple with the H9 Control app for android, iOS, and PC. My sales engineer Shelby Strunk is an awesome guy as well and has done great things for me over the years but hooking me up with the H9 max and rushing it to me for Saturday delivery has been his greatest service thus far. I'm planning on ordering another H9 core soon which will automatically upgrade to the H9 max to use as a distortion in front of my current H9. The distortion options on this pedal are awesome as well and all effects are in stereo. If you have never heard a stereo distortion through 2 tube amps I recommend that you give it a try. Everything about this pedal is top notch over the top quality, the sounds, the physical build, the design, and the controlability. Its pricey but has already saved me money by replacing a lot of the pedals I already own and by supplying all of the pedals that I wanted to buy in the future. ...for nice single effects pedals I could have only had 3-4 pedals for the price of the H9 Max. With the H9 I have them ALL.

This box is really amazing. It nails all of the sounds you've heard on all the records and have never been able to afford an Eventide rack to reproduce. Considering all it does, it's a great value. My one gripe (if you can call it that) is that it is difficult to jump around among the patches. However, coupled with the Boss ES-8 loop switcher, I can store midi patch changes for each patch along with tempo information. The Boss has totally unleashed the H9 for me. I'm really looking forward to using Ableton to manage all the patch changes for live.

This thing is digustingly amazing. I recently started picking up the guitar after a five year hiatus. Sometimes you need a break. My wife (amazing singer) and I got back to making music for her old band which runs along the lines of The Cure, Depeche Mode, Brand New, Portishead... you get the picture. The pedals I had available to me weren"t getting the sound she was looking for which involved chorus, reverbs, delays and so on. I have loved Eventide stuff ever since I heard my first Satch and Vai albums way back. When I saw the demos for this thing, I decided to bite the bullet and buy. My wife"s reaction to the price tag was what one could expect but as soon as she heard it, she immediately fell in love. The sound quality is absolutely spectacular. The effects this thing produces have garnered rave reviews from people that have come to our shows and TONS of questions regarding how I was making those sounds. I don"t use it for any of the overdrive presets since I use a Boogie F-30. I will remark that on their own, the presets are amazing but, to get the best results from the vast amount of configurations available for each preset, you absolutely must read the manual. I have already decided that a H9 Core is a must and this will nearly eliminate the need for anything else aside from my Soul Food. I will end this by saying the videos out there great for getting an idea of what this thing can do but you have to try one for yourself to understand why everyone wants one.

Such sublime tones. And everything else, too. Noisy, crazy, lush, and insane. This pedal pretty much does everything, and most of it, it does extremely well. I was going to get two, but decided that one gives me all of the recording tonality I am looking for, and since I don't play out anymore (for now), it gives me the abilities I need to get my sound.

So much inside this pedal, it will take months to get it all inside my head. Very satisfied.

It doesn't get any better then this: The H9 Max is a single pedal that can add color to accommodate any style of playing, from subtle to extreme, with limitless tweak-ability of sounds, in an elegant compact package brilliantly designed. Watch the videos, read the reviews, this one is a "must have".

I've been using Eventide gear for 30 years (so far). Every box they've ever made has always been top-notch. The H9 MAX is no different. Interestingly enough, I added it to my studio, with the idea that I can add some Eventide magic to my guitar tracks. Mission accomplished there. But what I didn't plan on was how I've been able to integrate the H9 into my studio outboard gear. Stereo I/O and line level capability allows me to add my H9 into my mixes, just like I've been doing with classics such as H910, H949, H969, H3000, Eclipse et al. As most of us involved in music production these days are centered around our DAW, the genius of the H9 is the Bluetooth connectivity and the integration of the OS app. I can mix with all my gear, as usual, and adjust anything on the H9 via the H9 Control software. So cool. A superb box, with all the legendary Eventide quality built in. Highly recommended.

I'm completely blow away. I thought I was buying a stomp box, but it's so clear I could put it into an Aux channel on my PreSonus and easily have access with every instrument in my studio. A brilliant piece and a tremendous value.

There's a bit of a learning curve, but all of the information is in the included manual, as well as online. You just need to put in a little time getting familiar with the controls. This thing is amazing! It's not just the amount of effects this box has, but the quality.....They just have the "sound", the "sound" that you've heard on a lot of recordings. The H9 app is pretty cool and makes it a lot easier to navigate thru all of the pre-sets. I was up and running in about 30 minutes. I'm running this box in Stereo thru (2) Mesa Boogie Stilletto Ace Heads, w/ (2) 2x12 RECTO Bottoms and the sound is incredible. Definitely worth the money for what this box does! You'll love this unit!

AWESOME !!! BEST QUALITY !!! BEST MULTIFX ,BEST TECHNOLOGY !!!EVENTIDE THE BEST EVER

Ok, my title is a bit much.. but I've owned this pedal for about 4 months.. I have tried it straight in the front input, strictly in the loop, and 4cm.. I personally prefer the 4cm.. This thing simply shines in a STEREO RIG!! I set the left side through my mesa roadster using it as the preamp, and my right channel through my power amp section of my jvm410.. Holy crap!!! i could feel the swirl of the vortex in the modulation effects.. they made me dizzy!!! Hah.. swells are pristine, classic eventide harmonizer fx, plus every last stinking algorithm plus future ones included for one price!! The h9 control application is genius.. The only labor intensive experience I've had with this pedal was because of personal preferences (my OCD problem), I manually saved user presets in the correct routing set-up for my rig. But no biggie.. Overall i use this extensively in my studio.. I almost bought 2... but, they are kinda pricey !! Buy all of Eventide with one purchase!!

So you spend years sometimes chasing the sounds you hear on all those recordings you spent hours listening to, and then it happens. The moment you play through an Eventide you realize this is exactly what everyone is using because it sounds amazing. Not only are all the earlier sounds here, but they are still inventing and releasing algorithms that sound unique and fresh, and inspiring. Half the plug-ins out there are just trying to emulate this (and not successfully in my opinion). Take that in for a moment. You can argue that every new greatest thing adds a new flavor of this or that, but having now played through this for myself, there is no comparison. Eventide has brought something amazing to the world. So do I recommend this? Absolutely. It is beyond versatile, and the Max package will keep you discovering new sounds for years to come.

Well... Just saying, you're going to want to spend a lot of time with this before you get it out on a gig... There's a TON going on here, and it's all great!! Great sounds, great quality, lots to learn...

The H9 is totally more than I figured,not only does it do what it says but it a does a whole lot more.,The instruction manual was written in English Not a manual that was written in some other language and then converted to English. Those are very hard to understand.
.I was expecting a lot of hiss and buzz but this is the most silent pedal I own, no hum or buzz what so ever. I ask AJ at Sweetwater if it has a noise gate because it is totally silent. Putting the H9 in front of my looper makes some interesting loops I have only had the pedal for 2 weeks I feel you get your moneys worth. As usual Sweetwater and AJ have hit a home run again. I could get by with two H9s and strip my pedal board. It makes many of my pedals useless.

Sounds great! Super high end algorithms. Distortion modeling is less than great... But I feel that way about all digital distortion emulations... I don't use it for that and it does everything else brilliantly!

If I correctly recall, this is the first five star rating I've given ... I truly am blown away. The little white box holds the most amazing technology ever compiled into such a small and convenient package. If you've never heard the high-end digital magic that is Eventide then you are in for a real treat; the delays, reverbs and modulations are lush, deep and exquisite. While the presets provide a look into the wide range of ultra-high quality sonic possibilities offered by this unit, it's the sophisticated and robust adjustability that puts this "stomp box" in the same league as top-of-the-line rack units. If you are looking for top quality, great sounding effects for your rig don't waste your money on anything else; this is truly cutting edge, top shelf signal processing at it's best. In addition, once you own a MAX you can load up to four CORES with any and all of the algorithms if you need more than one unit; however, the new Space-Time algorithm provides the perfect way to incorporate modulation, delay and reverb into your signal with just one H9.

I really love the H9. The quality of the effects are superb, and the different algorithms make the H9 a very versatile effects processor. The iOS app is great, deep, and easy to use. I can't ask for more. This thing is top notch.

I hate to give a 5 right out of the box because after only a week or two of owning these pedals, I can't speak of their durability. But the H9 is incredible.

I bought the H9 Max knowing that you can play only one algorithm at a time, but I also knew there were some algos that mixed multiple effects (modechoverb, for example). So I bought the H9 Max and loved the sounds, but found out that I could so much more if I bought the Core as well. Note: if you own a max, you don't need two max's because you can share the algos with a Core (much less expensive). This way I can use one for time based effects or straight reverb and another for modulation or a looper, etc. Either way, one Max is great, but adding the Core makes this setup extremely versatile.

I sold a Strymon Timeline and Mobius and I'm running 2) H9s instead. I liked the Mobius, but having previously owned an Eventide Modfactor, I realized I preferred that to the Mobius (both are great pedals). But with the Timeline and Mobius I was considering adding a Big Sky Reverb to the mix and found that I essentially can do what I need with those three pedals in 2) H9s. The reverbs are great in the H9 and the delays are perfect for me.

I'm running these in front of a JVM or Deluxe Reverb (lately I've been leaning towards the JVM only because its front end clean channel is surprisingly good for a Marshall and it loves pedals).

I will say this--the front end controls are supposedly fully functional, but it seems like a hassle compared to just connecting with your computer or iphone (or ipad).

You can connect via Bluetooth to multiple H9s at once with one ios device and control both--very cool.

I think you also need a midi control or aux input foot switch (I'm using the digitech fs3x) in order to get quick control. I have the fs3 set up as: tempo, preset up and preset down. That might change over time.

Eventide effects are truly studio quality. With the H9 you get all of their floor stomp boxes in one. Expensive, but I have no buyer's remorse.

You'll see a write up I did on the regular pedal a few months back... I decided to upgrade that pedal to MAX - it was well worth the investment. I was using the MAX as a front end - and around April, decided to make a change in the rack and amp stack. I added a JVM with 'the evil Twin' around February, and then wanted to further use an H9 in each of the amps preamp to power amp loop sections.

For me, it was a great move. Two isolated time based effect units that are under GCU midi control, with a front end unit that splits the signal to each amp - and which becomes the midi time controller. The options in the H9 work great with routing parallel and serial inserts - I can't say enough about the configurability there. The iPAD program handles all three well - you have to switch to each H9 individually, but it makes sense that way. For syncing the two amp insert H9's effects - you couldn't have a better software program to create on one H9 and copy to the other.

The benefit - two amps with rock solid matched effects which sound great when I load up reverbs and echos, and a front end unit that handles pitch, chorus, ethereal stuff nicely. Once I MAXed out one unit, the other two have MAX privileges - a second benefit. Yes - blown away.

The only thing that popped up in this journey was MIDI CC messages from foot pedals ran into the GCU EXP 1 and EXP 2, which in turn pass midi CC data to the H9 have a small latency problem. The data can hit the H9 faster than it can respond. That's easy to get around. Instead of sending the foot controller data from the GCU to the H9, I added a 20' cable and drive the first H9 directly into the expression jack with it since its direct hardware input. Works great.

This is probably not for everyone - but if you are thinking about trying something like this, I can say that it works and sounds very different than anything else I have the privilege to perform alongside.

Take care....

This is truly the best decision I have made on a gear purchase in a long time. I was sticker shocked at first, but this is not an ordinary stomp box guys. There is a reason it's $699.00. This is replacing 3 pedals, pedals I really like, on my pedal board. And I've only scratched the surface. In 20 minutes I uncovered 3 presets that I was blown away by! For years I always loved the Steve Vai Harmonizer tones but just never had the 5 grand to throw down for it. This my friends has those same quality effects at a fraction of the cost of the rack units. You will be happy if you fork out the $$ for this.

Simply the most powerful single effects processor you can buy I never used to like much reverb when I used a distortion sound. Now I can use reverb and it doesn't muddy up my distortion tone. Plus It doesn't take much room on your board. It's like having a pro tools effects plug in at your feet.

I played with an Eventide Eclipse for several years and loved it. However, toting the rack was getting to be too much. I moved to a pedal board system. This H9 max is like putting my old Eclipse onto my board. I'm blown away by it. Two comments though: The Apple editor (tablet, ipod, iphone, etc...) is essential. If you don't have an apple product that can use the H9 app, then this may not be for you. Second, I strongly encourage getting an expression pedal to expand your control of the unit.

I picked up this pedal about a week and it took me a couple days to set it up in my already large pedalboard and man what a great pedal, I now kind get also any guitar sound or effect on the planet and some, iam speechless!!! sweetwater you guys are the BOMB!!!!!

This Harmonizer pedal is simply amazing! There are so many sounds, it's mind boggling. It is so simple to use, especially with the iOS app. The possibilities are endless.

I have the H9 and love it.I used to product demo the rack stuff at NAMM in the early 90's before the H3000 team started soundtoys.PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE EVENTIDE MAKE THE H9 MAX500 SO I CAN STICK IT IN AN API LUNCHBOX.

I had owned a couple of the Eventide *factor pedals, and liked the way they sound, but found that having 8 or more knobs on the floor and only a so-so Mac editor made them hard to tweak enough, so they became sort of preset machines.

The H9 solves that with the iOS apps, which are superb. So the pedal stays on the board, but you can tweak, change presets, explore, modify sounds, in a very convenient and easy way.

This is just a brilliant way to work, and the sounds are Eventide - rich, delightful, complex when you want that, and - a word I don't drop too casually - downright inspiring.

Investment class price of course - the most expensive pedal I've ever bought - but extremely versatile and worth holding onto. The Max version is worth it if you can afford it.

If you are a pedal junkie and a gear tweeker you are in for a treat. The H9 Max is is ultimate studio and recording pedal. There is simply nothing that can't be done on it. There is too much to list so watch the video on this beast. It is also gret for live use if you are comfortable rotaiting presets or better yet if you have a laptop to quickly switch capability. This and a laptop you can process effects for an entire live set! All in all nothing bad can be said about this pedal for all of the work that it does. Brilliant engineering on Eventides behalf. Wow!

I ordered this two weeks ago and WOW ! excellent quality and editing with my iPhone and mac mini and recording with it in stereo in logic and I am a happy camper! You won't be disappointed!

As others have said, this pedal does an amazing variety of effects, but (for the most part) only one effect at a time. Basically, that's the cost of having all the individual effects be some of the most robust and versatile you can imagine (that takes processing power). It's basically a Timefactor, ModFactor, PitchFactor, Space, and exclusive H9 effects plus a (good) tuner in one box. You can switch, but not stack. Also, once you have one MAX pedal, up to 4 more H9 pedals on your account can effectively be "Max" pedals, so while the first Max hurts the wallet, subsequent pedals are a bargain (Note that the Core and Standard versions are discontinued though). Also factor in an external foot switch (such as the Digitech 3 button one) and/or an expression pedal (Midi controllers open up a huge range of other stuff too, even if just to switch presets).

Negatives:
there can be slight lag when switching algorithms, with no spillover (unlike the individual pedals)
steep learning curve (but it totally pays off to spend a lot of time with the pedal, especially with some of the inventive approaches on the eventide forums/preset sharing)
LED screen is limited (there are only 6 characters displayed, with the two-digit preset number + first four of the preset name).
Another foot switch and/or additional input would be welcome (you can only input one TRS, which is either three switches or one switch and an expression pedal).
The app replicates the aesthetics/UI of the 'Factor pedals, for better or worse.
The looper is only mono, and doesn't have an undo function (it's taken from the Timefactor)
You can switch presets with the right button, up by default, down after you click the encoder, but the pedal doesn't indicate which direction is set.

Positives:
the sounds
the possibilities
You can do deep(er) editing on the face of the pedal in "pro" mode (hold down the X button, and you can then cycle through all the parameters)
The negatives above are all pretty minor.

Take your time to study the pedal and its possibilities, don't rush, you'll need time. Your patience will be well paid back having a good partner on stage helping you to unleash your creativity. Expect deep signal transformation, clarity, top of the market algorithms.
I had problems with the power supply (humming and buzzing), I have contacted the support and they promptly shipped a new one that fixed the problem, so you have a top quality support as well.
I know it's expensive, but you pay for what you got.

Before taking a stab with Eventide, I tried to save a buck with Strymon. I was impressed by some videos using Strymon products and ordered a Mobius. I sent it back disappointed. For me, the Strymon sounded DIGITAL. It sounded cold.

I remembered Vai's old albums, Satriani and many others who used effects (back in the 80s and on) with Eventide. I read the reviews on the H9 and pulled the trigger on a Max.

It is digital but I wouldn't describe the sound as digital. For me it sounds STUDIO. It sounds professional. Despite being digital it sounds warmer. I don't know why.

I've already added a second H9 (core--which became a Max also once registered to my account!) to my pedal board and am saving for a third for my acoustic rig. The spring reverb is killer. There's some effects there I'll never use, for sure. But it is a joy to discover and be inspired using this unit.

I'm a tone freak, so most the time I don't use much effects beyond a taste of spring reverb. But when I want something that gives that added texture and spice, this unit delivers. I've had my frustrations with the manual (no one writes a good manual anymore) and customer service is okay but kinda on the rude/less patient side. The product is top notch for me. This is the top of the heap in my book.

I'd give a full five stars if Eventide had Android support or included a mini-USB, but it's a small gripe. This is an amazing unit. If you can imagine a sound, you can dial it in. I know the Strymon vs Eventide debate rages, and I own plenty of Strymon stuff as well. This takes the cake for an all-in-one. It does everything and does it well. The presets tend to showcase how weird the pedal can be, but don't worry, it goes as in-depth and subtle as you want, and it plays well with other pedals. If you just want good tremolo, for instance, instead of sounding like Bjork's band, it's in there, and it does it well. I was a bit worried it wouldn't get along nicely with an amp, and would be more of a D.I. box, but it's amazing with tubes and solid-state alike. Huge thanks to Ian Roegels for being my point-man on this. Now quit reading this and buy one.

It does exactly what I expected, which is a ton, some of it impossible to achieve with any other pedal, some of it a decent substitute for what you could do with a more focused one-trick-pony pedal (i.e. the Leslie).

The main thing that is disappointing is that my iPhone forgets the pedal (via Bluetooth) every time I walk out of the room with my phone in my pocket, and I have to go into Settings/Bluetooth and set it up again as if it was new. It's crazymaking. I don't know if this is an Apple problem or an Eventide one, but it would make me worried gigging with one if I was planning on using an iOS device to control it.

Look, I know 3 stars is maybe a little harsh. It does a LOT, and it does it well. So why didn't I gel with it?

1. The sound quality is incredible.... but it took a LOT of tweaking to get it to warm up and blend well with the natural guitar and amp tone.
2. There is virtually no "on the fly" capability here. If you want to enjoy the product, you have to have it connected to the app. Great for studio but that gets me to my next gripe.
3. The entire H9 suite is a fraction of the price for studio use. If you're forced to use the app to tweak things, you can use local compute resources, save money, and run as many instances as you want at once.

I know, I know.... it's not the pedal for me and that's ok. I know plenty of people who love it and you might too. If you're the type that likes to craft and fine tune a preset, and use midi to surf on your pedalboard for all the presets you make, then this offers a lot of options in a small package. If you're like me, who likes to play guitar to get AWAY from phones and tablets and computers... you might not like it.

First, this unit has wonderful sounds and lots of different effects to pursue and use. Very deep and interesting. But, there is no way to set a global output level. This means out of the box it will need to go into and instrument level device. So you are stuck with ether using it at this level or programming every preset to drive a line level, then it will be too loud for an instrument input (like a guitar amp). I really should not have to decide between the two. This unit will output a line level signal.

I have never seen a multi effect device with no output level control (none of the preamps, effects units or pedals I have or have owned had this crucial item missing).

I took two stars of because of this issue. If it had a global output volume I would give it 5 stars. For me this is a real pain and dilemma.

I bought two. Was having a trouble getting the 2nd unit registered and synched to my iPad. I tried everything. Submitted support ticket at Eventide. Nothing. Haven't gotten any communication. I returned the 2nd unit. A lot of other great pedals out there. Replaced the H9 no problem.

I am returning a new H9 max because it does not sit in the effects loop of my amp with other pedals which run at line level input. Where in the past one could adjust input gain level on the H9, Eventide support states that "the chip shortage caused us to not include this feature and to redesign the H9". "There is no way (with newer H9's) to adjust the input gain, or to globally adjust the output gain on the H9", according to Eventide. The H9 is now an instrument level pedal-only. This contradicts video 4 in the Eventide YouTube series on the H9, which continues to instruct users on how to set you levels "to get the most out of your H9". The key sub-menus referenced in the video no longer exist in the software or in the pedal. The factor pedals continue to have a line/instrument level switch, but not the H9 which tries to emulate them. As a result, the new H9's algos lose much of their dynamics and depth with the signal reduced to -20db gain @ input & output. A sort of hack is to save a preset after a boosting the output level and adjusting the mix because your dry signal will get lost in the effect as you increase the output level. Now repeat for 99 presets.