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Are EHX pedals "good"?

#21
I'm a big fan of EH pedals, but bongomania is spot on re: vintage EH stuff (which I've owned quite a few examples of). Yet even those were great, as I've always found Dave Mathews thought of pedals as creative instruments in their own right, rather than just colouration or add-ons.

The new EH stuff I've got recently is fab. I love the little big muff, and I'm using the Black Finger as my main compressor. I know some users have complained of noise, and I can see the argument, but for me, its warmth and character are brilliant, and it's a behemoth when used in combination with fuzz pedals.
 
#22
cameric said:
I'm a big fan of EH pedals, but bongomania is spot on re: vintage EH stuff (which I've owned quite a few examples of). Yet even those were great, as I've always found Dave Mathews thought of pedals as creative instruments in their own right, rather than just colouration or add-ons.

The new EH stuff I've got recently is fab. I love the little big muff, and I'm using the Black Finger as my main compressor. I know some users have complained of noise, and I can see the argument, but for me, its warmth and character are brilliant, and it's a behemoth when used in combination with fuzz pedals.
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Wasn't EHX founded by Mike Matthews?
 
#24
Well isn't the black Russian Muff a buffered bypass or something? I don't know much about it, but just throwing that out there.

While I have never gigged with my NYC Muff, I do love it. I wouldn't say EHX pedals suck based around facts, however you might not like the sound. I'm aware EHX makes more pedals than the Muff line, but the biggest complaint I hear about EHX is what they do to your tone -- I never hear anything about reliability issues (for the most part at least) and the things I do hear don't turn me off from the company one bit.

I currently only own a NYC Bug Muff Pi, but I am going to add a Russian Muff quite soon and probably whatever other EHX pedal grabs my attention. Point is, I love the company and don't think you can go wrong with them. If you like the tone and sound you'll get, then go for it.
 
#25
GeneralElectric said:
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?
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i've first hand experienced everything that the guy at the music store told you. ive owned 3 EHX pedals, all of them died fairly quickly on me. my bass micro synth lasted litterally only a few hours! they are bettery eating machines, but you should use adaptors..

BUT the other side is that they do really make some nice things. the bass micro synth sounds absolutley amazing..same with the small stone, and the POG, ext ext..but they do infact die easily, and the bypass is a joke in most cases..
 
#26
The bypass is hit and miss on their pedals. My Bass Micro Synth sucks tone horribly when bypassed, but my Q-Tron isn't noticable, nor is my Bassballs, or my Muff reissue. Go figure.

I'm a real sucker for their effects though. They have a bit of a wild side to them that really appeals to me, but they're still very musical. Try them for yourself and see what you think.
 
#28
I wonder if their old pedals' reliability issues stemmed from design or workmanship...

There is definitely that rep with the old ones (+1 Bongo et al), but when they did work they were hit or miss as well. As for the new ones... I don't think they've been out long enough that we can say how reliable they'll be in the long run. Sure, the '90s reissue stuff was better built than their earlier equipment, but not that much better build -- I had a few issues here and there with an American Reissue BMP and a Pulsar, but nothing too bad yet. The new ones look sturdier and waste less space, but who's to say but us five or ten years down the line.
 
#30
EH pedals are very very good as far as sound, in fact the Memory Man Deluxe is about as close to tape echo as you'll get in a pedal. I think they're reliable enough, but you really can't "stomp" on them like a Boss unit, they're not made for that. Their customer service is really sucky though. I asked where I could find an A/C adaptor with the correct voltage for their Frequency Analyzer, and they said "We don't know, ask Sam Ash." :rolleyes:

On a side note; why on Earth would a clerk getting paid on comission try to NOT sell a person an EH pedal??? They're so expensive, the Memory Man is around $300 new!
 
#31
My experience is limited to one EHX pedal, the Holy Grail reverb, that I bought from GC about 3 months ago. Unfortunately, after about 6 weeks (after the return policy), it started acting a little funny. It's only been used at my home, and not very heavily at that. Sometimes the gain just cuts out entirely. Seems that it's on some strange bypass except nothing comes out. Sometimes re-engaging the pedal flips it back over, and sometimes plugging it in/out again seems to flip it back, but I must say that I never know if I'm going to have a working reverb when I step on it. That's probably the ultimate criticism for a pedal. When it's working, it sounds decent, and is certainly not overly noisy. I have read that the Holy Grail, more than others, has been susceptible to breakdown. I know nothing about the HG Plus.
 
#32
His comments are at the very least unfair generalizations. Most of them don't have batteries and most have true bypass switches. Saying their true bypass units are a 'joke' is not accurate as they use the same 3PDT switch as every other true bypass unit. True bypass means the output and input are directly connected- usually using exactly the same schematic.
 
#33
ive had such a bad experience as i mentioned earlier, but i'm really trying to find a bass synth pedal and the EHX one is the best sounding one, most synth like one. is it worth giving them another try? hmmm..more input here please! specifically on the BMSynth..
 
#34
climb said:
My experience is limited to one EHX pedal, the Holy Grail reverb, that I bought from GC about 3 months ago. Unfortunately, after about 6 weeks (after the return policy), it started acting a little funny. It's only been used at my home, and not very heavily at that. Sometimes the gain just cuts out entirely. Seems that it's on some strange bypass except nothing comes out. Sometimes re-engaging the pedal flips it back over, and sometimes plugging it in/out again seems to flip it back, but I must say that I never know if I'm going to have a working reverb when I step on it. That's probably the ultimate criticism for a pedal. When it's working, it sounds decent, and is certainly not overly noisy. I have read that the Holy Grail, more than others, has been susceptible to breakdown. I know nothing about the HG Plus.
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If you bought that new you should have sent in the warranty card. Just like with any company. Sometimes you can even get them to cover it outside warranty. That's what warranties are for.

I once had to send a DOA Black Finger in because I bought it from a lameass store that wouldn't replace DOA stuff - they forced me to handle it through ehx. I made a minor fuss about paying return shipping for a DOA item and they waived the charge without any hassle. Of course I had to send it to them, but that's not their fault. Turnaround time was 2 weeks from coast to coast. Make of that what you will. I think they handled it fine. (though I didnt enjoy the wait).

I LOVE ehx pedals and own 8 or 9 of them. You can easily get "classic" sounds out of them, but they have far more potential for experimentation than a run-of-the-mill stompbox.

I do find that many of their "classic" effects are unjustifiably large, which is why I unloaded my deluxe electric mistress and deluxe memory man, for example. But the XO and Nano series obviously deal with that issue.

I don't think ehx pedals are overpriced. They offer high-end quality, so you really have to compare the prices to boutique pedals. ehx wins.

As for bypass issues and noise, I think far too much is made of that issue. Buffers can be quite useful if you know where to place them in your chain. Also, anybody who owns more than four pedals needs some kind of bypass looper, which makes "true bypass" a non-issue and just as importantly, cuts the length of your chain WAY down. So if a pedal sounds good, get it. ehx pedals sound REAL good. end of minirant.

ehx also makes certain effects for which there isn't really an equivalent. There are all kinds of envelope effects but I've never heard anything that sounded even remotely like a Bassballs, for instance.
 
#35
Ok I'll speak for the ones I have
LBM: great pedal, you can expand your options using the EQ of your amp, has plenty gain if you need to get really harsh, is not a noisy pedal, some settings take you out of the mix (band situation) so an option would be using some sort of wet/dry blend pedal.
SMM with H: pretty amazing you can get an analog delay sound with no problems can go up to 3 secs and thats a lot, a little noisy, can't work with batteries.

I have kind of abused both pedals and they are still alive, never had an issue with them, not exactly a good paint job in them (at least the ones I use) but come one they do what they are meant to do
 
#36
howdy all, there seems to be some misconceptions here.

The dude telling me about how EHX stuff sucks is an old fellow who is the owner of a local music store. He didn't have any in stock, even though he has tons of old cool equipment. (He has a trio of Ampeg Geminis!) When I asked if he had any (new or used) I got the rant.

I guess his stereotyping is a carry over from the old EHX days.

He wasn't trying to sell me boss or digitech (I believe he sells both) and he told me flat out that he thinks both of those brands suck as well for the most part, but they sell a lot.


His recommendation for pedals was to try out everything in the store and see what I liked. If nothing spoke to me, go to some other places, or order it online. He's a very nice guy who doesn't have profits as his bottom line. :)
 
#37
From my experience I haven't had a single problem with my SMMw/H or my Micro POG, my only complaint is that the micro pog isn't true bypass. Other than that, the pedals are built like bricks, the switches and pots are mounted on nicely although a couple of the pots on the POG aren't lined up exactly on. Overall they are great pedals, far from sucking IMO.
 
#38
My experiences with EHX have been very positive, but definitely unusual. Their older effects - especially anything pre-90's, will be riddled with variable quality. Their old stuff can be noisy and "fragile" in comparison to what they make now. But at the same time, there's a huge market for those vintage EHX monsters... it's odd to me, but hey, if someone really thinks that an old 1970's Big Muff is the best Big Muff ever made, and they're willing to pay top dollar for it, who am I to stop them (especially if I'm the one selling it)? :D

Their latest lines of effects are the best-built and quietest stuff they've ever issued, IME. Their new digital pedals (such as the HOG, Stereo Electric Mistress, Micro POG, Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai, etc.) are especially impressive.

EHX is definitely making up for their weird history. :D

Speaking of weird... EHX tends to make very quirky effects. Not everyone will like their spins on classic effects, but they're worth trying out. For example, the Electric Mistress pedals sound nothing like the your typical Boss or MXR flanger. But it's that quirkiness which makes EHX stand out from the others. :)
 
#40
IMO they're much better now than they used to be. I had an array of them back in the 90s and ran into a number of the problems he mentioned-- lousy bypasses, fragile, powering difficulties, unreliability, and so on. Repeatability was always an issue too... you could get three of the same type of pedal and they'd all sound different, and new batteries sound different from half-used ones.

This was before things like bypass loopers and universal power supplies became common, so you were generally stuck with running on batteries and trusting the pedal's bypass.

IMO, most of the EHX pedals made in the last five years are much better than the 80s or 90s ones, especially the nano and other new series.
 

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