One word of advice/warning. The H9’s power input is center pin positive! Very recently, although aware of this fact, I made the mistake of plugging in a regular pedal power plug (center pin negative) and the H9 died instantly. As I have quite a good electronics lab available to me I could safely open up the pedal and concluded the common mode choke (a surface mounted device) was blown. This is used as an AC suppression filter right after the input barrel. To desolder it, you need to have the correct desoldering and soldering equipment. Furthermore you have to desolder the EXP connector (through hole) from the lower mainboard to get the room needed to desolder the broken part. The part itself costs €1... Replacing it has fixed my H9. Eventide has used a slightly different barrel (2.5 x 5.5 mm vs 2.1 x 5.5 mm) in order to mitigate this problem, however that clearly didn’t help me. For a pedal in this price range I would have expected reverse polarity protection would have been way better, especially in an environment where negative center pins are the norm. Other than that I love the pedal, though some reverbs of my GFI Specular Tempus are nicer imho. Thanks for the compare! I chose the H9 instead of the BigSky because I found it more flexible and very easy to work with patches using the iOS app. But at that time I already had the Specular Tempus, so reverb bliss was already available. In an ideal world I would get them all! ;)

@TranceElevation

4 жыл бұрын

Hi, I'm between the H9 and the System Specular Tempus. Which one would you advice if I intend to use them mainly with my daw in the studio?

@skullhqx

4 жыл бұрын

@@TranceElevation Essentially the H9 is extremely versatile with convenient editors. It's much more versatile than the Specular Tempus. However the Tempus has a couple of extremely lush and three dimensional reverbs (like Spatium and Anti-Shimmer) that sound fantastic. It's also more hands-on due to the more limited controls. However, if you intend to mainly use them in your daw, why not get VST's, like Valhalla Shimmer and other offerings? It will be quite a bit cheaper and very capable. If you do want a hardware unit, both H9 and Tempus will serve you well. If I had to choose one I even might choose the Tempus over the H9. It can do less, but what it can do is very, very good.

@TranceElevation

4 жыл бұрын

@@skullhqx Thank you for the advice, much appreciated. It's not just a matter of a reverb, I'm leaning towards the H9 because it is a multi-effect unit, in the long run the H9 might be more convenient.

@Jason75913

2 жыл бұрын

@Stephen Anthony keyboards and keyboard controllers normally use center-positive, quite unlike pedals, so Arturia going center-negative is asking for trouble just like a pedal having center-positive input

@kirkanos771

2 жыл бұрын

@Stephen Anthony The Keystep doesnt produce any sound. It has CV/Gates though and the subject is debatable. But it's conventional to have keyboard and synths using 5-9v center positive power units while pedals use 9-12v center negative. There are a few pedals and effect boxes using center positive for power reasons known to the manufacturer. It gets even more of a headache when the signal polarity is also in reverse as you cant mix the pedals because of phase cancellations. There are four possible combinations and only one is working.

The Eventide algorithms sounded more believable and convincing to my ears. It was the ending part where all of the algorithms were played back to back on each pedal that really revealed it, though the rest of the video was quite useful as well. Great testing done! The Eventide presets seemed more usable or practical. There was a noticeable difference in quality of the effects signal between the two pedals. There was higher fidelity in the Eventide effects signal processing, the clarity was noticeable! The Eventide certainly had much less tonal coloration. The Strymon algorithms had a digital/processed sound, and the lower signal quality containing audible artifacts makes it sound dated in my opinion. I personally didn't enjoy the added coloration that came from the Big Sky. There is a lot to be learned from this video! Really great ideas for testing. I really liked the part starting at 6:00, the shorter synth sounds make the tails on the effects much more perceivable, it allows for ultra close examination into what is going on in the algorithms without the input getting in the way or distracting. I wish more people did tests like this! Very thorough and well thought out. Well done! I will leave a thumbs up for the time and effort.

Every single time im about to buy something new, be it gear, effects, etc. I search for product y vs lroduct b,and you have already made a pervect video! You are the KING of x vs y. you seem to buy all the same kit as myself ☺ u have great taste in gear. Lol Thank you so much for doing these comparison videos. You definitely help my decision before buying. Appreciate it. I always watch your videos through, as I like as much info as possible, and I like learning new things. 👍🏻 So, with these 2, I think I prefer the eventide, so im going to get one tomorrow, hopefully I get to try both in person.

@StarskyCarr

2 жыл бұрын

Haha.. thanks... looks like we've both got goos taste :)

I actually really like the Big Sky...can't wait to have one in my set up! 😜👍

Thanks saved me the money to dig deeper into my H9 max..

@jmd12331

3 жыл бұрын

Meaning you liked the h9 better?

Great demo thank you!

BigSky always sounds kind of "sweet", maybe too much sweetness for me... And Eventide Space just got that sci-fi/cinematics kind of aesthetics, which I appreciate a lot. I think I've made up my mind...

The chorale on the BigSky would go very nicely with my Behringer VC-340. Looks like I'll have to get both.

great job. thanks

Eventide has been King 👑, since long before Strymon was even born ... 👶

@StarskyCarr

4 жыл бұрын

I’ve been an Eventider for many years now... just a couple of weeks in with Strymon so far.

@sndrcve

4 жыл бұрын

I’m here because I’m not getting the sound I want out of the Eventide and on the verge of selling. Hoping this vid will swing me into keeping. Ideally I would have a Roland space echo but the original is too big. Maybe I should look towards the newer one.

@rickyricardo2006

3 жыл бұрын

@@StarskyCarr how are you liking the strymon stuff up to now.. Do you even still use them?

@realtruenorth

6 ай бұрын

​@@sndrcveget an Eventide H90,, its a lot better.

Great Comparison Video! Any chance you do an equal one with TimeFactor and Timeline?

Great video, I would love to see it with also the OTO Bam in there

Hola amigos,excelente video. Necesito ayuda, estoy buscando el pedal BigSky virtual para un estudio musical en casa, ¿donde lo puedo comprar? ayuda por favor. Gracias

have both but the eventide is my fav pedal of all times. love this tool so fucking much!!!!

I'm an Eventide guy all the way. Space and Modfactor never leave my board--for synth or guitar. The Strymon stuff does sound good, though. I'm considering a Dig or Deco.

I love these two. While I most often connect Space to my mixer send and killdy it on, I prefer to use strymon on a single instrument. However stuff like mangledverb definitely go in series...

Back again to re-compare / reconsider … Eventide. For sure. The sounds are better and more diverse, to my ears. Strymon basic reverb sounds are actually all very, very similar 😏. The one Strymon trick I would miss would be Chorale, which is pretty cool … but like Shimmer, you wouldn’t want to overdo it …

Спасибо!++++ Понравилось!!!

The Eventide's shimmer in your video sounds like an orchestra tuning to 440 before playing!

@mellepasveer6173

3 жыл бұрын

Yes but the bigsky make the low end more clearer also nice

Excellent comparison! Which would you say more easily fits into a daw setup with synths as a send effect when it comes to controlling the effects with Ableton.

@futurebeats898

2 жыл бұрын

h9 do receive midi and is really tweakable it's realy good

I have the BigSky and the TimeLine. Curious how people are using them with synths. Do you record with them on? I’ve got them as a send/return and usually record the wet signal so I retain a dry version just in case!

@andy24vo

2 жыл бұрын

On point, period

Hello friends, excellent video. I need help, I'm looking for the virtual BigSky pedal for a home music studio, where can I buy it? please help. Thank you

@StarskyCarr

4 жыл бұрын

It’s not a virtual pedal, it’s the controller software for the pedal. Glad you liked the video :)

Thanks for another great video. Slightly off-topic but as you mentioned it : how are you linking the H9 to a Virus? I find controlling the H9 fiddly - I have it set up as a send effect in Live running on a pc, but control the thing through an iPad, so no recording automation etc. A bit naff.

@StarskyCarr

4 жыл бұрын

Cheers, I use the remote control function on the virus as the MIDI input and H9 as the destination using MIDI patchbay on the Mac. Then just like with any soft synth you can assign MIdI cc to each control in the H9 app. So twist and learn each control with the knobs in the virus. Really simple to set up and very effective.

Conclusion 22:08

Hi Starsky, do you have a link for the Strymon app. Thanks, liking this vid, using both at the moment but I need to integrate them further into my DAW setup. Would be great to see how you midi your Virus to the Strymon. I had a go but I can't work out how to appoint the controls on Virus even in remote mode or front panel. Great vid, nothing like it on the planet pal!

@RufusRoss

4 жыл бұрын

Tez Mack www.strymon.net/support/nixie/

@terrymacklin5935

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Fernando, how silly of me, I was mis-hearing the name of the app from Strymon. I am so happy that this exists. Only had my Big Sky a few weeks and I have been very busy. So thanks again.

Well now this settles it. Best and most telling comparison I've run across. The Big Sky "shines" in the room-plate-reverb comparison @ 23:06 with A fuller and more baked in reverb over the H9 Space reverbs @ 29:25. But the H9 has its advantages in that it is a multi effects unit in one. Neither is a replacement of the other so it seems. For better reverbs I'd choose the Big Sky, for better multi effects unit, I'd pick the H9. The computer apps, and ios and android blue tooth app in the case of the H9, for saving and programming both the Big Sky and the H9 make these two units convenient for studio use for both keyboardists and guitarists. Very helpful review.

Being honest, which pedal would you recommend more?

@Subtronik

8 ай бұрын

I love my BigSky for its lush, organic and sweet sound. I’ll be getting an H9 Max for my other synths even though it sounds a bit more digitally cold than the BigSky, but the H9 Max has access to all Eventide algorithms including any future ones they release.

To my ear the H9 sounds consistently more clear and interesting in almost every way

cheers

Nice review! The strymon does sound really good ... I almost bought one and then pickup a used PCM 90 instead because as a keyboard player that doesn't gig out the foot switches and pedal format is less than ideal. Although my soldering iron has seen the PCM 90 twice in the last 3 months so there is that... :-|

An (good one) effect pedal with some delay and reverb AND a headphone connection would be great. Do you know anyone?

@skullhqx

4 жыл бұрын

Nick S If you use an iOS device you could get a simple audio interface for it and run your signal into one of the many ‘guitar pedal’ apps available on that platform. Eventide even has a couple of their pedals available as an app, especially the Blackhole Reverb for €22. But there are quite a few others available. Run a headphone from your iOS device or the audio interface and you’re good.

@NS-qi1ub

4 жыл бұрын

@@skullhqx Ok, thanks. I have a ventris dual reverb. And an android phone. Will check out for some solutions, incase you don't want to connect to audio interface and stuff.

@skullhqx

4 жыл бұрын

Nick S There are specific solutions for mono use (many pedals are used by guitarists with mono instruments) so regrettable not stereo. But why not use a small cheap mixer? For example a Behringer XENYX 502? Your setup would look like this: Synth > Ventris > Mixer > Headphones. Done!

How to download the sir?

Nice comparison. For plates, Little Plate by Soundtoys beats both IMHO...

literrally just wanted to do this lol. Space vs Big sky.

Please make a comparison with OTO BAM some day

@StarskyCarr

4 жыл бұрын

Would love too.. I've been keeping my eye out for one.

Are you talking about gear or vst?.. to my knowledge H9 is software and Strymon is Hardware but I am confused after seeing your video.

@StarskyCarr

4 жыл бұрын

They are both hardware units. The H9 has limited controls on the unit itself so is best programmed via the editor. The Strymon also has a librarian editor, which you don't often see as it's got pretty much full access from the pedal. The only way you can show what's happening on the H9 is via the software, so I used the Strymon software controller for convenience, and to keep the visuals neater.

@Amatteus

4 жыл бұрын

@@StarskyCarr Ahhhhhh.. Now i understand.... The sounds come both from the real machines, in hardware.... so confusing because you do not show the gear. you show images in a computer screen.. .. Listen.. you are talking about the librarian editor for Strymon.. What is that ?... I have Strymon for 1 year and never heard of that... What it is ? And what is it for?.. Thanks.

@Tidewater500

3 жыл бұрын

@@Amatteus Answer: Here is the editor for the Big Sky (Mac and PC) www.strymon.net/nixie-public-beta/

Thanks for this comparison as it’s exactly the two I’m choosing between. Unfortunately as a keyboardist I totally hate the pedal form factor....I been waiting in vain for a few years for one of these companies to release a rack version but guess that’s never going to happen....

@TurnerXei

4 жыл бұрын

Eventide does have the H9000 rack, it's just 10x the price of the H9. It does have 8 channels of analog IO plus another 16 over USB. But, yeah.

@pizzagogo6151

4 жыл бұрын

@@TurnerXei did you actually think about that before you wrote it? Or did you think I'd forgotten I'm actually a millionaire and can afford something thats 10x more expensive!

@TurnerXei

4 жыл бұрын

@@pizzagogo6151 never know 🤑 haha! I actually use rack offset and blanking panels and then attach pedals to them with zip ties. Works pretty well for me.

The big Sky has switchable dB for I/o. Great for keyboard.

@graviton9282

4 жыл бұрын

Dara M actually so does the h9. Switchable settings for optimization of the algorithms based on guitar or bass guitar or synth lead or synth bass. Then also a input gain setting with level metering. Using the app.

@davegraham716

3 жыл бұрын

So do all the older Eventide pedals (Timefactor/ Modfactor/ Pitchfactor/Space)

Do a Valhalla V Strymon BigSky Comp.

@StarskyCarr

4 жыл бұрын

I have already.

@StarskyCarr

4 жыл бұрын

Bigsky vs Valhalla Shimmer: Getting Similar Results kzread.info/dash/bejne/h3mkxs-lm7GafNY.html

Well, didn't expect this. As i see it BlueSky does 'one' thing, and does it like an expert... very well. H9 on other hand does much more in many fields, but hence of wide range of application, maybe it's not master in any. Question is how much will one hear the difference in mix. Does anyone hear BS shimmer as more stringy and h9 as more organ sounding, or is it just my brain having short circut?

@davegraham716

3 жыл бұрын

No that's an inacurate assessment (well the first part anyway). Eventide has been honing its fx algorithms for decades and for decades has been considered one of if not the very best fx company in the world and I'm talking studio quality. There H9000 fx rack is like 7-8K$ !!! And all there pedals have (some) of those exact same algorithms. The H9 is actually a newer update to their original pedal line from about a decade or so ago (well there last and best one actually came out around 2014, the space). This included a delay (Timefactor)/ modulation(Modfactor ( I've owned this and the strymon movies and hands down the Modfactor killed the mobius)/ (Pitchfactor)/ and Space (Reverb). Each of these 4 pedals has 10-12 algorithms, actual midi ins and outs/ expression pedal input/ stereo in and out/ usb/ 3× foot switches and 11x Knobs!!!!! Far more hands on control than the newer H9, but the H9 Max does have all the algorithms from all 4 of these pedals plus a few more bonus ones like a really nice Tri-Chorus effect, but you can still only have 1 algorithm at a time! And the H9 Max is like 650 new, there's a cheaper H9core but it only comes with like 12 Algorithms and you have to buy each additional one you want individually I believe. You can snag the older pedals for Round 200-275 for the Timefactor a.d Modfactor, and 325-450 for the Pitchfactor and Space so for a little over a grand you could get all 4 and have 4 different algorithms going at once where as you could only have 1 from the H9 Max, and they do sound Heavenly when all 4 are together, check out the band Blonde Redhead to hear all 4 in action together, there guitarist use them and it's incredible sounding.

@Jason75913

2 жыл бұрын

it is subtle, but the difference in shimmer is just as you say to my ears, too, and that Eventude shimmer is also kind of harsh and aggressive, but dialing it down should help

I love to hear pedals that I can't afford

I'm confused. Are these VSTs available without the pedals? What's happening here?

@StarskyCarr

4 жыл бұрын

These are just the controller apps.. ie you need the pedal. It's a better way of showing what each off the pedals is doing than live video (especially the H9!)

@LukeWatts85

4 жыл бұрын

@@StarskyCarr ah...I see. Damn I was hoping they had vst version that might be cheaper

@skullhqx

4 жыл бұрын

@@LukeWatts85 Eventide sells some of the algorithms from the H9 as VST's. With Black Friday looming I wouldn't be surprised if they would offer discounts on the various online shops. You can find information here: www.eventideaudio.com/products/plugins . Especially Blackhole is worth it. I bought one for $29 in April when it was discounted. That's a lot better than the 'regular' $200. :)

@StarskyCarr

4 жыл бұрын

Luke Watts I don’t know why Strymon don’t make them apps... they are after all DSP based so it’s just be a case of putting the algorithms into vat code... (I say ‘just’ as if I know anything about it!).

Both very close and nice. I nasically liked all, except for the spring, in my opinion both are far from real. Maybe I say that because my real analogue spring from Anasound just arrived. Breathtaking, but you pay more for only one type of reverb. In the other hand adding to clavinet, and a new world opened...

The Eventide remains more "organic" ... Not sure if its the right word. The BS sounds grandiose but somehow the essence of sounds get lost in the process.

I own both a Bigsky and an H9 Max and to my ears Strymon sounds better.