the Eventide H90 leak reminds us of how good we have it with FM3

The new pitch shifting algorithms on the H90 (Polyphony, Prism Shift) can't be matched (yet) on Fractal products. I don't know much about their touted new "SIFT" technology, but the pitch shifting sounds great and has no noticeable latency.
 
There’s a place for all this lovely gear. I’ve owned most of the above mentioned non-Fractal gear. I’ve lusted for the H9000 since it was released. Don’t need it. Probably wouldn’t really use it much in the studio. But me wants it! The precious!

I had 5 H9s at one point: a Max and 4 Cores. I used them in the studio in separate outboard signal paths. That’s when I was Fractaling without Fractal, or trying (again). I sold them all after I got the AFX3m2, along with most of the pedals I was using in those separate signal paths.

I use non-Fractal stuff in other signal paths. REVV amp with a built-in stereo Captor X arrived a couple days ago. For that path I do XLR outs to Reamps, into Meris LVX into Keeley Halo into UAFX Golden Reverberator into DIs into x8p. I mixed that with a dreamy clean patch I cooked up in the AFX3 (a patch inspired by the Halo). Guitar signal split to different paths using a a couple Radial Shotguns. I went to bed at 4:30am! Crazy delicious. Couldn’t stop.

I may yet grab an H90. I’d be more interested in what’s new, since I’m so familiar with the old H9 algorithms. Though, I believe most of tried-and-true H9 algorithms have been overhauled in the H90, to take advantage of the serious upgrade in DSP power, similar to how algorithms in AFX have been overhauled to take advantage of new DSP power. The H90 appears be a lot more than just a married couple if H9s. If I got an H90, I’d use it on the studio desk in the UAFX Woodrow signal path.

Yeah, I guess I’m the audience! A studio rat. I’m the sucker. :p Sigh. I didn’t start typing this to admit I’m one of the idiots who buys these things, but that’s where I landed.
 
The H90 looks great to me. Biggest complaint with the H9 was the interface and single preset. This seems to fix those and adds some new and upgraded algos. i want to be able to control it quickly from the front panel easily (and i never got comfortable with the H9 like that). I sold mine a few years ago, didn’t regret it, but this does get me interested in that again. Maybe if it goes on sale in a year.
 
After being spoiled by my III and FM9, my gear lust continues and I’ve been buying pedals to have a completely separate pedal/amp rig, I’m not onto figuring out the time based/modulation effects I want on it and it looks like this could cover a lot of ground I want to cover.

In the pre-internet days of my teens I used to stare at Musician’s Friend catalogs and guitar mags learning about every pedal that was available, I can’t even think of keeping up these days. There was a point where I could tell you the model name of every Boss/DOD pedal and what it did because they were the big dogs of pedals in the early-mid 90’s and it’s like an infinite well of gear at this point in time. That’s AWESOME.
 
I see a lot of people talking about how bad is the H90 compared with the FM3. Why all the hate?
Come on guys. I'm a FM3 owner and i'm always trying to reduce its CPU usage by turning down caba resolution, by turning off one cab, by turning down the reverb's density, and a bunch of things i hate.
Don't get me wrong, i love my FM3 but it is not possible to get all that the h90 can give you without crashing the CPU.
I preordered a H90 and will get it in a few more weeks & i'm pretty happy about that.
I would do that even if i had a FM9.
It's just a tool buddies. An expensive tool, but at the end, if some people don't care to pay 900 for it, then they will get it. The H90 is coming home to make my workflow easier than ever. Live & Studio.
 
ArthurFM3 said:
I see a lot of people talking about how bad is the H90 compared with the FM3. Why all the hate?
Come on guys. I'm a FM3 owner and i'm always trying to reduce its CPU usage by turning down caba resolution, by turning off one cab, by turning down the reverb's density, and a bunch of things i hate.
Don't get me wrong, i love my FM3 but it is not possible to get all that the h90 can give you without crashing the CPU.
I preordered a H90 and will get it in a few more weeks & i'm pretty happy about that.
I would do that even if i had a FM9.
It's just a tool buddies. An expensive tool, but at the end, if some people don't care to pay 900 for it, then they will get it. The H90 is coming home to make my workflow easier than ever. Live & Studio.
Click to expand...
Or you could have bought almost another FM3 for the price of the H90.

I can see benefits to the H90 for pedalboard users:
  • Parallel routing of effects without buying a parallel mixer (good ones are expensive, even more so if you want it all in stereo).
  • Maybe it does enough for your modulation/reverb/delay needs without having to go too deep into editing.
  • It's easier to use than the H9 so it's a natural upgrade for people who used one or more H9 units.
But let's not forget that as far as user interfaces go, it isn't exactly a trailblazer. Similar UI to the Line6 HX Stomp - namely shows few parameters on screen and requires plenty of paging to get to everything.

In terms of caveats, the limitation to two algorithms and having things a bit all over the place has its problems. Fractal lets you build your own fx with blackjack and hookers, with basically any routing setup but at the expense of more complication in getting them just right as there are so many controls and less "we built all this readymade for you" things like Eventide offers, even if many Fractal preset fx types sound great out of the box.

After looking at the H90 effects, I felt that a good chunk of them are possibly to build with the FM3 alone, with the caveat that they won't be instantly switchable to something completely different for fx that rely on multiple blocks or particular routing.

I can't help but feel the H90 is something that should have come out a few years ago.
 
laxu said:
Or you could have bought almost another FM3 for the price of the H90.

I can see benefits to the H90 for pedalboard users:
  • Parallel routing of effects without buying a parallel mixer (good ones are expensive, even more so if you want it all in stereo).
  • Maybe it does enough for your modulation/reverb/delay needs without having to go too deep into editing.
  • It's easier to use than the H9 so it's a natural upgrade for people who used one or more H9 units.
But let's not forget that as far as user interfaces go, it isn't exactly a trailblazer. Similar UI to the Line6 HX Stomp - namely shows few parameters on screen and requires plenty of paging to get to everything.

In terms of caveats, the limitation to two algorithms and having things a bit all over the place has its problems. Fractal lets you build your own fx with blackjack and hookers, with basically any routing setup but at the expense of more complication in getting them just right as there are so many controls and less "we built all this readymade for you" things like Eventide offers, even if many Fractal preset fx types sound great out of the box.

After looking at the H90 effects, I felt that a good chunk of them are possibly to build with the FM3 alone, with the caveat that they won't be instantly switchable to something completely different for fx that rely on multiple blocks or particular routing.

I can't help but feel the H90 is something that should have come out a few years ago.
Click to expand...
Yes and nope.
1.I don't need two fm3 because that is a lot of space inside my travelbag.
2. I don't know how to recreate a lot of the Eventide algorithms i and don't have time to spent over my FM3 trying to do that just because.
3. It's a good idea for me as an "eventide first time user" to know all the h90 offers. I can't recreate something without knowing about it deeply first.
4. I still can create my own effects on my FM3 and combine it with the h90's.

Even if you or a lot of people believe the unit is too old for 2022. Users like me could take advantage of those almost "ready to go" fx instead of spending a lot of time learning how to do the same with Fractal.

Yeah, it is EXPENSIVE. But... man.. time is money also.
 
laxu said:
Or you could have bought almost another FM3 for the price of the H90.

I can see benefits to the H90 for pedalboard users:
  • Parallel routing of effects without buying a parallel mixer (good ones are expensive, even more so if you want it all in stereo).
  • Maybe it does enough for your modulation/reverb/delay needs without having to go too deep into editing.
  • It's easier to use than the H9 so it's a natural upgrade for people who used one or more H9 units.
But let's not forget that as far as user interfaces go, it isn't exactly a trailblazer. Similar UI to the Line6 HX Stomp - namely shows few parameters on screen and requires plenty of paging to get to everything.

In terms of caveats, the limitation to two algorithms and having things a bit all over the place has its problems. Fractal lets you build your own fx with blackjack and hookers, with basically any routing setup but at the expense of more complication in getting them just right as there are so many controls and less "we built all this readymade for you" things like Eventide offers, even if many Fractal preset fx types sound great out of the box.

After looking at the H90 effects, I felt that a good chunk of them are possibly to build with the FM3 alone, with the caveat that they won't be instantly switchable to something completely different for fx that rely on multiple blocks or particular routing.

I can't help but feel the H90 is something that should have come out a few years ago.
Click to expand...
My apologizes if my grammar is not as good as i expected.

The h90/FM3 topic is a matter of needs.
I'll be studying, playing & recording whit my H90 & FM3 during the next year... and just until that point i probably could give you the reason, or maybe not.

So, the most important thing here is to never stop playing and to use all the tech available to our convenience.
 
Interesting topic! Does anyone know the size of the footprint of the H90? It looks like it a tad smaller than the FM3?

After reading through the thread I can understand how some find it attractive! The ready made algos being one them! having an amp and pedalboard or a modular rig can be a plus as well.

When I had my FM3/FC6 and H9 I found it somewhat cumbersome to deal with but did see CPU benefits! In the end after firmware updates for me the benefits didn't seem like they were worth the price so I sold it.

If one is just coupling the H90 with an FM3 seems like you could just move to an FM9 unless its the Algos or maybe a space thing which doesn't make much sense either. Once you pair up the two units your almost at the same footprint and just over the price point of an FM9.
 
fcs101 said:
Funny, my impression in the thread is one of general interest and intrigue. I think there has been an honest questioning of the price point though.
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There's a few people that are being a bit dismissive about the H90. Personally, I'm looking forward to getting one. I think it will be quite complimentary to Fractal (and other) gear.

Sure, it's expensive. But when compared to other devices in that class, the price is not surprising. If you buy a couple of the large Strymon pedals you're at about the same price and have far less capability. Heck, the H90 can do most of the things that 2/3 of the pedals that Strymon sells. Plus pitch shifting.
 
You're totally right.
Will be perfect if (soon) someone opened a thread with some FM3/H90 owners so we could share some ideas about that match.
 
fractalz said:
The new pitch shifting algorithms on the H90 (Polyphony, Prism Shift) can't be matched (yet) on Fractal products. I don't know much about their touted new "SIFT" technology, but the pitch shifting sounds great and has no noticeable latency.
Click to expand...

@fractalz I'd love to see the precise difference in latency for various amounts of pitch shifting down (Axe Pitch Block vs H90's basic Pitch Shifter). The H9/Pitchfactor couldn't do proper polyphonic shifting so i'm very interested to hear this as the Axe III's Pitch Block is excellent.
 
hippietim said:
There's a few people that are being a bit dismissive about the H90. Personally, I'm looking forward to getting one. I think it will be quite complimentary to Fractal (and other) gear.

Sure, it's expensive. But when compared to other devices in that class, the price is not surprising. If you buy a couple of the large Strymon pedals you're at about the same price and have far less capability. Heck, the H90 can do most of the things that 2/3 of the pedals that Strymon sells. Plus pitch shifting.
Click to expand...
I was considering if I wanted to get the H90 to replace a Strymon Nightsky and Volante, but then figured that I would just run into the same problem I have replacing them with the FM3: I would lose the immediate "almost everything has a dedicated knob to it" functionality that a more narrow focus pedal allows. Instead it would be navigation to do stuff which quickly takes me away from creation and discovery mode to having to configure a lot of stuff to get where I want.

Instead I will hope that Strymon or someone else puts out a great multi-modulation pedal next year. Every one on the market has some major caveats.
 
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