If you read my “Synth Tricks” articles, come to my shows, or read anything I post in forums, then you’ll know that I am a hopeless effects junkie. I like them all, from small, battery-powered stompbox effects to high-end rack processors. But in the past few years, there has been an explosion of studio-quality effects that take advantage of modern CPU chips to deliver features and fidelity that are worthy of every studio in the industry and fit in a stompbox format!
For example, Strymon has an entire line of stellar effects processors that includes delays, such as its TimeLine flagship delay, DIG Digital Delay, Brigadier dBucket Delay, and El Capistan dTape Echo, and astounding reverbs, such as their BigSky Multidimensional Reverb and blueSky Reverberator. And modulators, such as their Mobius Multidimensional Modulation, Ola dBucket Chorus and Vibrato, Orbit dBucket Flanger, and Deco Tape Saturation and Doubletracker, create effects that delight the ear and create entirely new sonic worlds.
Eventide, the undisputed originator of unparalleled studio effect magic, has distilled its famous, world-class algorithms into effects pedals such as the TimeFactor Delay, Space Reverb, PitchFactor Harmonizer, and ModFactor Modulation effects pedals. And now, the potential power of all four of those pedals has been combined into their H9 series of high-end stompboxes (H9 Core, H9 Harmonizer, and H9 Max).
You may be thinking, “Sure, they’re all awesome pedals. But do I really need this level of processing perfection?” That depends. If you’re playing your instrument in a band where everyone is almost always playing at the same time, then it’s reasonable to assume that any good-quality pedal will do the trick.
But if you’re performing with an analog synthesizer, electric guitar, wind instrument, or voice in a situation where not only is the instrument itself a primary focus of the music but also its ambiance (reverbs and delays), modulations (chorus, flange, rotary, tremolo, etc.), and processed harmonies, then it suddenly becomes obvious that your effects processing is an equally crucial and integral part of how you sound.
There has been a recent resurgence of synthesizers with a 100% analog signal path. And, even if you buy an analog synth without fully understanding all the implications, one of the benefits you get is a dramatic absence of aliasing and other digital artifacts. After playing with analog synthesizers for a while, your ears will appreciate the lack of digital artifacts.
The key to designing a high-quality digital audio processor is making sure that there is more than enough processing power to perform the unimaginable amount of calculations required to mathematically simulate the complexities of sound bouncing around in various environments or creating harmonies and other sonic manipulations. The above processors do this by dedicating computer CPUs powerful enough to run a home computer to a single effect or group of effects.
Bring the quality of your performances and recordings to a level once possessed only by the top studios in the world with these amazingly powerful effects pedals. Call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer to find out which of these are the best for your needs.
