Considering a delay/reverb.
I know Collider is great, I know H9 is great, and H9 Max are becoming more affordable.
Which would you pick, and do you think the extra cost of the H9 is worthwhile for this purpose?
Another option would be a Neunaber Web + my existing Carbon Coby.
@GMC I know you use both the Collider and the H9, I'm curious about your thoughts.
Hi Kesslari, this is a huge subject and it's need one of my famous expositions!
They are two very different pedals with entirely different approaches.
If you are going Eventide h9, then you really will need 2 (a max and a core). But like you said there are a lot going cheap at the moment.
The H9 is one algorthm at a time, some have delay and verbs, some delay and mod...there's a lot to choose from. It's a vastly more versatile pedal than you coud possibly imagine. It covers most types of modulation, pitch shifting, synth, delays...the array of options are vast and generally the algorthms are some of the best there is.
Specific call outs for the verbs - hall, blackhole, carnegie (a hall patch). Delays, one of my most used delays is in the H910 algorthm and it's just a great warm sounding easy dial in delay. Then there's all the mod delay and pitch delays like Shimmer. In the pitches, Crystals are legendary. I love the undulator and rotary algorythms too. It has way more cool effects than any one could possibly use. However it can only really do one at a time, that's why you will need two. The editor is excellent and the features are of a similar depth to the Ventris / Nemesis level of controls. What do I really like about ithe h9 effects? It has a clarity, subtley and a depth. Seriously, it is the standard to judge all others by...it's THAT good.
The H9 ofthen gets called a swiss army knife of effects and that's very true. It can literally do anything really really well...but just one thing at a time.
One of the irretaitng things about the h9 is that for some effects there are better algothms buried in other areas, like the forementioned H910 delay...it's way better than the vintage delay.
Where as Source Audio pedals (generally) just do one thing exceptionally well. They generally offer the best available for a lot of their pedals. For example, the Spectrum is easily the best filter on the market by some margin. The H9 offers wah, auto wahs and filters that all sound good, they just aren't quite as good as SA's.
The H9's EQ, looper and compression algorythms are a bit of a joke to honest. Where as SA's Atlas and EQ2 are the best in their genre, but no looper or pitch options.
The Collider is an amazing little unit, offering dual DSP with either verb & delay, dual delay or dual verbs. It's got a smaller subset of models but most of what anyone will need is there. The controls are more basic and then desktop editor is a lot more simple than either the Nemesis or Ventris. I like the Collider a lot, but for me it's a place holder until i can get a Ventris (I already have a Nemesis). The Collider offers the ability to series and parallel too, which you can't do on a H9 (or dual DSP).
So what's as good? The Hall and Shimmer go toe to toe with the H9. But the hall is less controllable on the Collider. However, the other verbs more than make up for it. The Source Audio True Spring is legendary for good reason and E-dome and Plate are great too.
Source Audio don't really have an answer for the 910 Eventide patch, but their Analog Delay is the best sounding analogue delay I've heard and sounds pretty close to a Moog MF104 to my ears. The H9 doesn't have anything like this, the vintage delay algorythm has modulation but it just doesn't sound authentic. The SA analog delay patch is worth the price of entry on it's own. Tape and oil can are great too. That's the difference, SA tend to model classic gear far better and re-create them breath takingly well but with broader controls and midi. Where as the H9 doesn't do that. It's warm sounding (and not digital sounding) but has a brightness and clarity that sounds like a very high end rack mount unit (which it is based on).
So musicall, the H9 and SA pedals are an even match but different. Both react differently too.
The Collider is smaller, lighter and easier to power. It has a lot to offer and covers a lot of Verb & Delay ground.
The H9 is a tiny bit bigger and harder to make control dial changes. BUT it covers a vastly wider pallet than is reasonable for such a small thing. Compare it to a Strymon Mobius (Which the H9 kills) it's half the size and it also includes comparable Big sky & Time line options. My fav Dimension C patch is on my H9, it's got a great sounding digital octaver. It's got some great trem and trem delay options too. It's just massively versatile.
I'm not sure I would want to be without my Collider (ventris / nemesis) or H9 to be honest, they are both part of my sound. There is quite a large over lap with some of their sounds, but both offer a lot of unique and great sounding patches / engines / algorthms that the other doesn't so they compliment really well. One of my trepidations about buying a H90 is the fact that I'll need to let go of my H9's.
The only effect that neither the H9 or Source Audio can nudge is the EHX Hog 2...but that's a different topic entirely!
