Eventide H9 vs H3000D/SE

[@encryptor6710]

So glad you played some Amsterdam! That is my favorite tone of all time!

[@TheTmag]

I remember being a kid and seeing pics of the Η3000 Eventide in guitar magazines and dreaming to have one. I would say it is still unmatched!

[@geezberry8889]

absolutely. when vai, satriani were using those i was drooling. In those days you literally needed to be rich to afford one

[@Havanacuba1985]

@@geezberry8889 I could barely afford a Boss pedal . I’ve got the H3000 Factory plugin now and the tricerachorus Got them in a sale for literally a steal & the presets are awesome

[@derekthrasher1116]

02:29 Damn! Whoopin' out some GIANT "I'll see you in my Dreams". 🤘

[@benhunley9215]

On Amsterdam the eclipse sounded like chorus. Maybe other commenters have already pointed this out, but there is an H9 app to connect via Bluetooth. Love what you do sir. Excellent work!

[@davew1134]

I think a big reason a lot of the older processors sound much better is, in those days DSP was limited, so they routed all the dry signal through analog paths instead of today most processors digitize everything including the dry signal, and it is definitely noticeable especially with high gain. Today it actually costs more to have a pure analog dry path because most companies simply digital everything through the processor.

[@0megalul309]

good point

[@drkam6]

A very important point indeed. This is why the dry signal through many of today's digital effect processors gets impoverished, pushed into artificial resonance.

[@realtruenorth]

The old units converted to digital. But I think quality for dollar was better back then. Thanks to steady inflation. Our dollars is worth less and less. 1000 dollars today was like 200 back then. So if you spend 3 thousand back then. It would be closer to spending 10k today.

[@fabiol.9161]

Great point.. Do you know if the tc g force can be considered like the others with sort of analog dry path?

[@shaft9000]

High-end gear sounds great no matter the era, even going back to the 1930s. It kind of _has to_ if no corners are cut. Old recordings sound bad because what's left of them have been put through generations of dubbing from master to master before the tape had fully disintegrated. Blame the early tape formulas :o) ...the other gear sounded phenomenal in it's day, and still does today when fully restored. _see/hear : Altec preamp, Dept. of Commerce Compressor_ (CoilAudio 73 and 286 preamps are a currently-made mic pre of this lineage)

[@joeshaban4665]

Great playing and your tones are incredible! Thank you for the video - I am a fan!!

[@abrackas1]

Have had the H9 for many years. I’ll agree that it’s a pain in the ass to setup a sound but once you get there you’re set! Great comparison Michael!

[@robb4340]

The Eclipse at 3:44 sounds great too. Always had one in mind after I sold a H-3000 SE years ago which I regret to this day. BTW, Always love your videos, sound & playing is Spot On.

[@geoffreymerrifield5666]

Michael, This video is incredible. I have an H90 on order but was thinking of going for a H800 , Orville or similar. Reminder that ease of use and practicality are crucial when things are close.

[@b.scottfarthingsworth]

Opens with Dann Huff - nice choice brother. That album and the tones, awesome

[@kenwhitejr6464]

Great comparison and killer video as always! You truly know your stuff brother!

[@BPToneReview]

For Amsterdam, the eclipse sounded like it had a little bit more slap back delay in the setting. I’m sure it’s the same settings just seemed pre delay was set higher.

[@pcbullets8726]

The 3000 is still the best. The others are good too, but still don't beat the original. Thanks for sharing!

[@orlandoalvarado4775]

Finally someone , match the classic h3000 with the H9’series , thanks Michael . Both Eventide rock but now we can get , eventide power in the pocket with the H9

[@TheOligoclonalBand]

Thanks for this video. I am a newly converted Eventide fan. I bought a H9 Max around Christmas. I got the plugins for free with it and that's a lot of fun to play around in the DAW. The H9 did a lot of great things: It filled the Blackhole shaped hole in my rig and gave me a lot of strange sounds for all kinds of purposes. Right now I am building a drawer with my essentials (Boss DD-500, Torpedo CAB, NUX Monterey Vibe - cheap but sounds awesome to me - and of course the H9) which gives me all the things I need to jam and fool around with my guitar sounds, including acoustic guitars.

[@GonzaCordovez]

H3000 for the win...Key factor...Note separation!!...less intrusive with the dry signal...it lives in a different dimension!...Beautiful!

[@SolarWarden88]

As always, awesome video man! Love that Space Blackhole tone! So deep and lush.

[@infinitybrian]

Great demo Michael! Got all units in the video and H3000 still sounds the best to me. Not to say other unit is bad, but just different.

[@AudioAtmos]

The H9 blows me away and I love being able to tweak patches with a mobile device, iPad or PC and GUI. In fact as you mentioned, just a little tweak of some parameter and you can get the H9 to sound anyway you want. I’m a electronics engineer and the one thing I hated about all rack MultiFX units was the mounds of menus to sort through. Sometimes just to make the simplest changes. I love my H9 Max. I’ll admit a second one would be perfect and make it the biggest bang for the buck of the 21st century so far. P.S. I’ll point out that I’m not innocent of the older gear love. I have a real hardware maxed out with memory TC Electronics 2290 Delay that I will never part with. Edit: One other thing I see some people forgetting is the H9 is made for guitar and is amazing plugged directly into it and into an amp and/or FX loop. The impedance matching is perfect. I haven’t ever tried it in the loop of a DAW or mixing console. Something tells me there would be some differences between the rack stuff especially the H3000 and the H9 and maybe not actually get an “apples to apples” comparison. Just a thought.

[@glassGPT]

Nice playing! Cool comparison. Been loving these rack videos you and LT have been doing.

[@danthrax7407]

Hi there!! Firts I really love the tones you achieve man, and of course the way you play. About the devices, H9 is amazing for the price but I don´t know why the 3000 has something better to my wooden ears that beats the others. Fantastic video as always

[@mark245555]

Excellent video! This was exactly the comparison I have been waiting for. For Eventide's next successor to the H9, I would like to see a more fully featured user interface. I agree having to break out the Ipad can get a little clunky when you just want to tweak something on the fly.

[@krautdrive3673]

The H3000 has an analog crunchyness to it that‘s really cool and that the H9 has not. The algorithms may be comparable, but the H3000 totally has it‘s place.

[@mortonwilson795]

Nice comparison! Have considered the H9 (and now the H90) but I still have an H3000/SE that I bought back when it was released so it's fine for me in the studio. I can augment that with a few pedals if I need or a couple of other rack-mounts (Roland Dimension D / Bricasti Reverb / Lexicons etc.) . . . that said the H9/ H90 seem to be getting great reviews all over the place - I liked the clarity and slight edge it had in presence on a couple of your setting and would certainly consider for live use! 😀

[@vaughanmacegan4012]

Before you give the h3000 back to it's owner, can we please have a comparison between the h3000 and the h3000 Factory plug-in? Pretty please!

[@AdamGotheridge]

+1

[@infinitybrian]

No comparison in general..I owned both and H3000 definitely sounds better.. But of course, the plug in is very usable in production setting :P

[@AdamGotheridge]

@@infinitybrian Figures!. Seems like everything is like that when you really drill down. Thanks.

[@psycofdo]

@@infinitybrian I also heard a bit of less treble on the h3000 factory, but could be corrected maybe with eq and compression. Can the h3000 factory stands against today plugins? (fab filter, sound toys, whatever fashionable these days)

[@2204as]

Very interesting comparison! Thanks a lot. To my ears the H3000 sounds so much better (much more than I expected). Funnily I prefer the H9 to the eclipse. Next surprise... 👍

[@GonzaCordo]

You kill me with Eventide goodness man!!

[@davidcunetta4081]

I just got an H90, but I am ok with it. Some stuff is good. But that Eclipse sounds amazing. I liked the Eclipse better than all. I will get and Eclipse and a Lexicon PCM96 someday

[@jayboy6895]

Great Episode. Well. Guess you just pushed the price of the H3000 through the roof. Outstanding playing and sounding. H9 is really cool and the eclipse falls behind in my opinion. Your playing is so tight. Love it Brother

[@tonycarpenter-Makzimia]

I owned a DSP4000b+ which I found super complex. During lockdowns I bought 2 H9s both are Max because one was, plus a time factor. The ipad interface hooked up by bluetooth and USB (to timefactor) is what actually makes them great!. So easy to keep an iPad nearby on the desk or on a stand nearby. Can't beat that for instant tweaks seriously :).

[@CoreyJamesGuitars]

Awesome video. I have 2 H9‘s and I like that I could add additional CORE units if I choose to, since one is MAXed. These are idea generators, it’s hard not to write a new riff as you scroll through presets. Sometimes it feels like eventides official demos are not musical or that they are just repackaging their work from decades ago, but I love how they packaged this. If you want another algorithm bust out a 20, if you don’t want to buy it, then just don’t buy it! Well played marketing to repackage their preexisting offerings.

[@middle_pickup]

It's crazy how good the H9 sounds. I feel like I'm underusing it. I definitely need to start trying out that micropitch delay. Pete Thorn and Tim Peirce interviewed a guy on their old guitar show years ago. He showed off the micropitch as a longer delay, and that sound always blew me away. I haven't been able to replicate it though.

[@donlucas3984]

Michael Thompson?

[@lordstanley34]

I realize I’m way late to the party, BUUUUUT, that orange guitar at 4:47… what is it? Love that tone.

[@doctorpresident5681]

Anyone know where I could find/buy that orange guitar in the video?

[@chandlerclement1365]

I think he made that one custom from Warmouth or a similar vendor. He has a video where he shows how he made it.

[@doctorpresident5681]

@@chandlerclement1365 Excellent! Thanks so much for the info, I really appreciate it!

[@sixstringswl]

You can hear miniature digital robot sounds in the H9 if you listen. Mine does it too on some presets. It's more noticeable to me if I run it mono.

[@earworm]

I remember reading in the liner notes of Petra albums “Album mixed using the Eventide H3000 Pakaderm custom”. Not sure what was custom about it but I always wanted one.

[@george.kollaros]

The H9 sounds more "new" or fresh while the H3000 sounds more "old" or used, if that makes sense.

[@PRWilson88]

It's odd, I prefer the H9 to my ears it just sounded really clear. Perhaps an eclipse should be in my future but, happy with my H9 for now.

[@TechMetalRules]

Killing it with that Amsterdam riff!

[@Dejoblue]

Can't wait to see you on ToneTalk :) When are you going to blow our minds with the H9000?

[@BigHairyGuitars]

When they send me one for free! Hahaha. *probably not happening soon* 😭

[@Dejoblue]

@@BigHairyGuitars Doesn't Michael Torren have one laying around he could lend you? 🤣 For science!

[@BigHairyGuitars]

@@Dejoblue haha. Not YET!

[@blcouch]

I had an H3000 back in 2000-01. I had an H9 Max in 2016-17. The same 3 patches I used in the H3000 (EVH pitch/chorus, Trevor Rabin/Steve Vai 5th harmonizer and Andy Summers chorus) I could get in the H9 Max with less trouble and more portability. I don’t have either anymore but I would get another H9 Max before I’d get an H3000 due to ease of use and portability. The H3000 was definitely a head-turner, though.

[@keithburnt6073]

Thanks for the vid. Approves to me that the H0 will do best in reheasal / gigs / or garage studios. Which is great :D

[@rockzilla5150]

I have two H9's and when set to identical settings, I can still hear a slight difference. Maybe a mixer or eq may be the answer.

[@kevinburger1008]

In short: The H9 is close enough for me not to justify the extra 2k for the H3000

[@jimspectre]

@@rodneyarcher4690 hack confirmed HL3

[@amonster8mymother]

Yea me too.

[@Yourbrotherfranio]

Today H9 max is unbeatable.. But if u are working in a +4db professional audio standard, that means u most often use hard wired to patch bay and/or balanced XLR type connection which can run +4db the unbalanced 1/4 connectors on all guitar 1/4 devices is -10 db..so yes H9 sounds very close and u can adjust higher than +4. However, some studios need the 3000 for the +4 connection which matches all their other +4 machines. It's about signal to noise ratio

[@bobayersquebec]

Hi, imo, in Steve Vai sound the H3000 sound wayyyyy better that the h9 or eclipse, maybe is a setting need to be adjust but a we hear the h 3000 its a monster and yes we easily recognize Vai sound like you got the exact right setting. at 3500 $ I can understand that price because of the audio quality. I I would be a studio guy or producer that machine would be in a rack. Tanks for that video dude, rock on !

[@xguitar123]

Great Video. Thanks for posting

[@coalfacechris1336]

Hi Michael, interesting that you weren't so enamored with the H-8000.

[@alexanderpanarin1033]

What about the eventide dsp 4000? There’s a black hole and it costs $1500

[@burger659]

this one is the best seriously ! because it has the large screen and the sound of the older units.. amazing one !

[@joolm4976]

Difference comes from the connectivity, H9 isn't designed for line levels, only instrument level.

[@bmf5150]

I have the h3000dsx and I love it .from your video clip here ,I really like the eclipse .

[@Peter_Stoops]

I loves me some H3000... and some Eclipse....and the h9. Yep I dig all 3, for different applications, and situations. Really I just dig the company’s algorithms.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Bingo!!!

[@ajporter7487]

I love the H9, favorite pedal

[@Yourbrotherfranio]

Thanks bro i appreciate it..u shd note that it is pronounced as even tide... Like no waves... Get it?

[@DaveDurango]

Man, that Hagar-era VH sound is something I've been looking for. Do you have any Kemper packs with that sound?

[@keithmoran8004]

How does one patch in a pedal through the daw? Thanks

[@MrBombhouserec]

H9 app for the Mac works great to edit presets on the H9. Works better then the app imo. Great vid!

[@AWay2]

Great content as always, thanks 😊 👍🏻

[@mattcamacho5570]

Really good question I have, maybe you could answer it. i have an Eventide H3000 se that i run through a W/D/W rig. it goes through an rjm mixer and into a solid state power amp and into 2 cabs stereo. i notice that when im in the micropitch preset, it doesnt sound as flangy or waver alot like it does here on your vid. Is that because you are running the H3K direct that ya get that flangy, wavering effect? does the H3K just sound better direct then through 2 wet guitar 4x12s? just need to knkw so i can put this to rest. i basically have the EVH balance rig and i cant get my eventide to sound like this vid here. Thanks

[@renaudschwab]

i've the feeling that h9 sound is a little bit less good than the old eventide unit i can mistake.... why haven't you tested the harmonizer which are a big part of eventide products??

[@dirkpehrke9909]

i get your point with the iphone. but: if you have an ipad on a k&m stand in front of you, it is as convenient as it gets. i love the h9 since i bought it shortly after it was available and it is my most used effects unit, ever! the large screen makes it much more comfortable to dig into the effects and understand what you’re doing.

[@wakjob961]

Don't sleep on the 'PitchFactor' pedal either...I love mine for that stereo pitch detune thing. Know what else does that really well too?... the Keeley 30ms pedal. Hey Michael, what year is your gold es335? I really like that guitar!

[@SUNKINGME]

Great comparison! If a friend had an H3000 I would borrow it to mix/record. If I were BUYING however: the H9!

[@burger659]

Nice ! i am in the same boat with h8000... still have it but don't use all those functions and power.. and i heard older units like h3000 or dsp 4000 ,which is amazing because of the large screen, sound better in a mix. but im affraid about if something breaks in those old units ! are they still repairable ? im not sure..or it will cost a fortune and take long time.. so will an eclipse sound as good ? i don't think so... their plugins don't sound as good as their hardware also.. and i heard you can't combine different algorythms in the h9....so it's difficult to decide really !

[@jaricklosey4607]

3000 had a bigger wider soundstage on the pitch shift but I liked the h9 more for ambient reverbs

[@realtruenorth]

How about H90 vs H3000?

[@psycofdo]

How the eventide H3000 factory stands against the studio plugins today? since the plugin version simplifies and makes the H3000 more flexible, is it nostalgia or worth having for mixing and mastering? (against soundtoys, fabfilter, tc plugins)

[@FC-xc3zy]

The H3000 is still king. I have it in plugin form and Blackhole. It's all I use

[@desmondtutu7916]

Thanks for another excellent video. EvenMidi made a good physical controller for the H9 and they are about to release a new H9 controller that is even better. YT prevents me from posting a link but you'll find it by searching for EvenMidi.

[@olsza6969]

good to compare with new eventide pedal micro pitch

[@allmetaliswelcome]

What's the Les Paul song?

[@johnpierson8398]

Eventide effects presets are really wet and usually too much for my liking. But once you dial the mix down to 20 to 30% or so, they sound fantastic! I think the H9 has some good presets. But I don't like the iPhone/iPad interface. The H9 omission of true analog bypass is a big issue. Having said that, I love Eventide!

[@amonster8mymother]

Is the H9 24 bit???

[@cap217cap217]

So you are going guitar - ps100 (silent/line out) - interface - wall of sound to record? Then post you are sending a mono track out to the H9 and returning in stereo? Then bouncing that out for the audio? If we were to do this live would a wet/dry be the same? Or are you processing both Left and Right? Or is one side dry?

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Correct. Mono in, stereo out. To do it live you would need either 2 amps or a stereo power amp and 2 speaker cabs.

[@CedricMonnierFlameFy]

it's an almost 9 years old hardware (or did they upgrade over years?), so how it does compare with modern multi FX like HX ones? Maybe a new versions is coming, considering how many pedals have been issued recently by eventide

[@pangea2003]

it would be sooo cool to hear the difference between eventide algo's from hardware vs eventide plug ins.. :)

[@andrewpiercy4949]

Sincere question: is it pronounced "Evan tide" or "Eee ven tide"? I have always said it as "even" tide (as in opposite of "odd"). However it is pronounced, the H3000 sounds great.

[@AudioAtmos]

I believe the people who own it and work there and as I do pronounce it Eee ven tide. Eventide.

[@resonantnoise8957]

Ee ven tide. Like even number.

[@magicizaproblem]

i always say even - tide but evantide sounds classier imo lol

[@louderthangod]

The app is both great and a pain in the ass. I have 3xH9’s so I often just have my iPad open when I’m using them and it’s much better than the phone. I wish I could use the Mac app on my computer without a cable.

[@amonster8mymother]

I just bought an H9 I was looking at H3000 and holy crap. So I think it's ok?? I also have a Lexicon M300. And a few other boxes.

[@brownsfan7753]

Thanks for this!

[@Husabuse]

Hi Michael! Have you tried the Micropitch pedal - I'm tempted, for the 5150 vibe, and a bit of Zakks NRFTW-chunk....cannot really justify the cost of an H9 for that sound alone. Cheers!

[@raysmetaltracks6782]

I could find use for all, but think that 3000 may sound a bit smoother.

[@matthewjezerinac6060]

i hear a difference in the impedance but i think they both sound great!

[@GRAFHC]

Not related to this excellent video, but I'd love to see you snag an old Eleven Rack and run it through it's paces, I feel like it remains one of the more underrated processors on the market today. (at least if you go by resale value heh)

[@psycofdo]

same for the Digitech GSP1101.

[@JPTyler]

Any chance of you demoing the Yamaha UD Stomp or Magic stomp sometime in the future?

[@ShredSixx80s]

The H9 series also controlling the VST series right? Like the eventide micropitch, blackhole and soo on?

[@GearBoy]

Is that Porcupine Tree on the ES-335?

[@MrVinylistic]

Great video! Compared to the Eclipse the H9 has less 3D feeling. Especially the Blackhole preset shows that very much. Nevertheless the H9 does a great job for the money.

[@pokohalen2]

Damn I thought the Eventide H9 was the pedal I needed but the H3000 clearly sounds better

[@gregparker1012]

I'm hearing a something special in the 3000. It's kinda like the diff between a modelling amp and a vintage amp.

[@Widdy5150]

Are your IRs available as wav files? 👍🏼👍🏼

[@johnsharpe734]

I wanted this for vocals

[@jima5150]

What was your mix level especially for the Micropitchshift? The eclipse sounded killer for Amsterdam!! I own both the H9 max for the earlier 910/949 and the Eclipse for the Micropitchshift.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Not sure. Just ear balling. It was pretty heavy.

[@rodrigobelinchon2982]

my bet is that if you put a lo pass filter after the H9 it would sound like the H3000, because the H9 has better DA converters .

[@geoffk777]

Where I live, the Eclipse is $2000-3000, which isn't much of a discount (if any) on an H3000. I thought that some of the delays sounded a little better than the Eclipse (especially on Angelic Voices), but the H9 was pretty good and the Eclipse definitely wasn't 3-4x better. I'm very happy with my H9.

[@Widdy5150]

Where can I get me some of the hairy irs? 😜

[@javierjanaid]

Thanks for that. IMHO H9 have a plugin sound I don´t like. But I must say I´m a H3000 fanatic :-)

[@Yupppi]

Eclipse was much thinner than H3000 or H9, surprised to hear that big of a difference. Although H9 was specifically H3000 preset, I suppose Eclipse was just evolution. In general it feels like H3000 is just that much fatter in every aspect. In a pleasant way. Maybe it preserves more of the dry sound in the front. And less top end. H9 is in some way more refined and perhaps more cooperative with other stuff? But H3000 is just neck and head above them even if it's a small thing. It's a thing that matters. The others are very nice effects, but H3000 has magic. To me that is, I liked what it did. I wonder if in the review you talk about when you played or watching the video? It feels like a lot of the time on youtube playthroughs the youtube video has more difference than the maker of the video perceived. It kinda bothers me because to me there's a noticeable difference, sometimes critical where I really lean towards one of them like in here towards the 3000, and it makes me wonder when the maker of the video says "pretty much identical", if what I hear is an illusion.

[@Andyanddiana467]

Eclipse sounds too "effecty" and synthetic when doing micropitch, compared to the other two.

[@vonholland64]

I have an h3000 and have had it for around 25 years, have 2 h9’s. I tend to simplify live and not use either anymore.

[@ShreddingFinn]

I really don’t know what to do or say when a piece of digital gear from 86 allegedly outperforms everything released today, you’d think even last gen multi effects could do everything and then some that the h3000 did