Are EHX pedals "good"?

[GeneralElectric]

So I've been gassing for a lot of ElectoHarmonix stuff lately. So I talk to my local music store guy (the fellow who gets all my monies and business) and he tells me to steer clear.

He says, and I quote, "They suck. They break down a lot, are battery hogs, and they alter and weaken your signal even if the pedal is off. This is even worse when you have a bunch of them!"

Now the only time I've played EHX pedals in person was at a GC through a tiny combo and I couldn't really hear myself. (Wail of music all around and a dead squire jazz bass)

Is this true, or is he pulling this out of his ass?

[Valerus]

"he pulling this out of his ass"

[SirNose]

Yeah, I'd say. I have mostly EHX pedals and I haven't had any of these issues.

[Fnord Explorer]

Yeah, I'm not sure I'd take the word of a GC guy for anything. Their motivation is purely monetary so any advice proffered by them is filtered through their desire to make commission.

I have two EHX pedals in my board and have tried (and fallen in love with) several others. They do have some annoying qualities like some of them needing a 24v power supply with no battery option or (in the case of my XO Q-Tron+ and my Bass Microsynth) taking up significant real estate in your pedalboard, but are otherwise nothing short of wonderful.

Quite a few of them have true bypass, others do not but don't "suck tone" in the off position any more than any other non-true-bypass pedal. Besides, if you have a lot of them, having a true bypass loop switching system like the Radial Bigshot is a necessity anyway.

[D.Don]

Originally Posted by GeneralElectric

So I've been gassing for a lot of ElectoHarmonix stuff lately. So I talk to my local music store guy (the fellow who gets all my monies and business) and he tells me to steer clear.

He says, and I quote, "They suck. They break down a lot, are battery hogs, and they alter and weaken your signal even if the pedal is off. This is even worse when you have a bunch of them!"

Now the only time I've played EHX pedals in person was at a GC through a tiny combo and I couldn't really hear myself. (Wail of music all around and a dead squire jazz bass)

Is this true, or is he pulling this out of his ass?

I have a Bass Balls (USA version), and has had no problems so far, went for buying a nano muff this weekend, but there was some annoying humming and noise when I connected it to the rest of my signal chain (tried two of them), so I ended up buying an MXR Distortion+ instead.

Dunno what caused it really, but it was completely unbearable.

In general, EHX seems to have quite good quality on their units, I have ordered a micro pog and a soul preacher and have great confidence in EHX that they will work just fine.

D.Don

[69nites]

the only real complaint that isn't a matter of opinion is they are a little noisy.

I don't know where he's getting the breaks down a lot thing from. They're kinda built like tanks.

[FronTowardEnemy]

I own the Double Muff and Small Clone. Both are good reliable pedals and they look super cool. The Small Clone is the best bass chorus out there IMEO. I have them powered through a board with no noise, on or off.

[derelicte]

i tried pretty much every EHX pedal under the sun except the #1 echo and i gotta admit, they're a phenomenal pedal company. there's so many awesome pedals that ARE indeed true bypass and sturdy!

[KarateKid25]

While I love EHX pedals, Id still have to say that they are not the most reliable things in the world. Most of the time its just the switches that die, but with my micro synth, its currently in the cupboard for the third time with some fault (I havn't had it looked at yet).

I own / have owned: Black russian muff, green russian muff, mini Q-tron, bassballs, bass micro synth, memory man with hazarai.

The Q-tron, black muff, bassballs and synth have all required new switches and the BMS has had to be sent off twice so far for more involved fixups. I stillbuy EHX tough, as they sound great and switches are no real biggie.

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Originally Posted by 69nites

the only real complaint that isn't a matter of opinion is they are a little noisy.

It must be a matter of opinion, as the few I've owned weren't noisy at all. I'm not an EHX fanboy at all so I'd be the first to sell them if they were, but the three I own just aren't. Like most other things, it probably depends on the models you've tried.

My Boss pedals- now that's another story

[KarateKid25]

Yeah, I can't say I find mine noisy either

[Happynoj]

Originally Posted by GeneralElectric

So I've been gassing for a lot of ElectoHarmonix stuff lately. So I talk to my local music store guy (the fellow who gets all my monies and business) and he tells me to steer clear.

He says, and I quote, "They suck. They break down a lot, are battery hogs, and they alter and weaken your signal even if the pedal is off. This is even worse when you have a bunch of them!"

Now the only time I've played EHX pedals in person was at a GC through a tiny combo and I couldn't really hear myself. (Wail of music all around and a dead squire jazz bass)

Is this true, or is he pulling this out of his ass?

Ha! He obviously knows nothing about effects...

What was he trying to sell you instead?

[KarateKid25]

Behringer

[rustynuts]

Sounds to me like your little local music shop isn't an EHX dealer and that's his supposed reasoning why he's not. Personally, I love my two EHX pedals and will be buying a couple more in the not so distant future.

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by GeneralElectric

He says, and I quote, "They suck. They break down a lot, are battery hogs, and they alter and weaken your signal even if the pedal is off. This is even worse when you have a bunch of them!"

I have to say I'm a little surprised by the response you've gotten here so far. EHX's newer pedals don't fit his description (at least not any more than many other brands); but their older pedals do (did) have a reputation for unreliable quality control and being very prone to breakage. They were more complex effects than the average distortion, so they did hog batteries- but not any worse than similarly-complex effects from other brands. And many of them were not "true bypass", which can sometimes account for the tone-suck in bypass he described; but again, not any worse than many other popular brands.

Their newer pedals are not known for breaking down much, or having battery issues, and the majority of them are true bypass. So at this point in time that salesperson was being an ignorant ass.

[keb]

My Small Clone and to a lesser degree, my Deluxe Electric Mistress, are a bit noisy (hiss when kicked in), but for me it's worth it... they're my favorite chorus and flanger sounds. The hiss usually just tends to get buried under everything anyway. My Small Stone phaser is pretty quiet on the other hand.

[RickenBoogie]

Another satisfied customer here. I've had many, and only a few had problems, and those were minor.

[andvari7]

Except for my Russian Bassballs, and it appears mine is the only one that had this problem, all of my EHX pedals work fantastically. The BMS doesn't have true bypass, but that's a quick fix.

Anyway, oddly enough, my local Guitar Center employees are really cool - they all know me. They all recommend the good gear - Music Man and Warwick basses, Acoustic amps, DR strings (which I use anyway), and - get this - EHX effects.

[DanGouge]

The Q-Tron is a massive tone-sucker (need a loop box for it), but the US Big Muff, Double Muff, and Russian Small Stone that I have owned have all been acceptable.

Their pedals are quirky and often quite cheap, what's not to like?

[69nites]

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

It must be a matter of opinion, as the few I've owned weren't noisy at all. I'm not an EHX fanboy at all so I'd be the first to sell them if they were, but the three I own just aren't. Like most other things, it probably depends on the models you've tried.

My Boss pedals- now that's another story

the newer pedals are a lot better about the noise.

IME with electro harmonics the bigger the pedal the more noise is coming out of it.