If you have all 3 Eventide pedals...

Discussion in 'Effects [BG]' started by jazzercountry, Jul 23, 2009.

  1. jazzercountry

    jazzercountry Supporting Member

    Apr 12, 2000
    Texas
    Endorsing Artist: Lakland Basses
    Rather than buy a dedicated expression pedal for each of the factors, you can make a box that splits the signal 3 ways. On mine there is an on/off stomp switch for each output, with corresponding Red, Green, & Blue LED's to show where the signal is going. Boxed it up yesterday, and it works! At first I was worried that all 3 outs on at once would degrade the strength of the signal - but it tracks just the same with all 3 as with only one. I'm using an Ernie Ball 6181 (Jr 25K). Anyhow, just wanted to let everyone know that this is a relatively easy way to control these 3 pedals.
     
  2. sweet my last one ( timefactor is on its way) I will have to try this or get that Moog exp pedal
     
  3. Bryan R. Tyler

    Bryan R. Tyler TalkBass: Usurping My Practice Time Since 2002 Staff Member Administrator Supporting Member

    May 3, 2002
    Connecticut
    Reviewer: Bass Player Magazine
    That's the benefit of the Factors taking either mono or stereo inputs. If they required true expression pedals (stereo/TRS ins), such a box would be far more difficult to make (according to the pedal builders I've spoken to).

    On a side note, I noticed today the Eventide apparently put out an update for the Eclipse a couple months ago that gave it the same features that are on the Pitchfactor and Timefactor, so now I want one even more :D
     
  4. TheMutt

    TheMutt Guest

    Apr 28, 2007
    I don't have the TimeFactor, but I have done the same (or rather will be doing the same when my EBVP comes in... been waiting three weeks now...) for my PitchFactor and ModFactor by use of an A/B/Y box with green/red LED's for the A/B so I know which is being controlled, and the Y is for fun stuff where I might want to control both at the same time. ;)
     
  5. SactoBass

    SactoBass A retired civil engineer who likes all-tube amps! Supporting Member

    Jul 8, 2009
    Lake Havasu City, AZ
    Bryan, I noticed you had an Eclipse and then later sold it. Do you recommend the Factor pedals over the Eclipse for bass?
     
  6. Bryan R. Tyler

    Bryan R. Tyler TalkBass: Usurping My Practice Time Since 2002 Staff Member Administrator Supporting Member

    May 3, 2002
    Connecticut
    Reviewer: Bass Player Magazine
    Depends on what you're looking for. It turned out that the original press release for the Eclipse update was incorrect- they added all the Timefactor and Modfactor algos to it, but not the Pitchfactor. If you're looking at wanting the Pitchfactor effects, then the pedal is the way to go. The pedals are much easier to program- the Eclipse is a bit of a pain (and I'm used to programing complex effects/controllers), but it does have some features and effects that the pedals do not have. You'll probably get bigger, lusher huge effects out of the Eclipse that you won't get with a combination of the pedals. Whether you need huge spacey effects or not is another story :D I actually preferred my el cheapo Boss VF-1 rack effect to the Eclipse; the sound quality and effect variety certainly isn't as good, but it's much easier to get good, saturated effects dialed in on the VF-1 (for me at least), so I sold the Eclipse and bought a Pitchfactor and went back to the VF-1. Eventide is NOT great about updating their products, so if the Eclipse isn't exactly what you want, you're a little better off with the pedals as the hardware/software in them is more current and seems to be updated more often.
     
  7. SactoBass

    SactoBass A retired civil engineer who likes all-tube amps! Supporting Member

    Jul 8, 2009
    Lake Havasu City, AZ
    Thanks Bryan. Regarding sound quality, how would you compare the sound quality of the modulation effects (chorus, flanger, envelope filters, etc) in the Factor pedals with the ones in the Eclipse, and how would you compare those to separate [high quality] analog pedals?
     
  8. Bryan R. Tyler

    Bryan R. Tyler TalkBass: Usurping My Practice Time Since 2002 Staff Member Administrator Supporting Member

    May 3, 2002
    Connecticut
    Reviewer: Bass Player Magazine
    I haven't used the other Factor pedals, so I can't really say. The algorithms are the same, so they should sound about the same. I'd say the weak point for the Factors and the Eclipse were the modulations- many of them don't have a frequency parameter, so I (and apparently others) had a hard time getting a lot of them to sound really rich with bass. The delays, reverbs, and pitch shifting was fantastic though.
     
  9. SpankyPants

    SpankyPants That's Mr. SpankyPants to you.

    Aug 24, 2006
    Brooklyn, NY
    this1smyne.com

    They have one like you're asking for... and they can build one to your specs.
     
  10. rjohns1

    rjohns1

    Sep 27, 2009
    Pretty neat idea, but it is not necessary. If you connect all three pedals, or just two with a midi cable, you can send the expression pedal information to all of the pedals, and then in your presets, you can decide which on gets the expression pedal info. Including all of them at the same time. There is now videos on the Eventide website showing you how to do it. The one thing that your box does better though, is gives you instant selection of where that info goes, realtime, and can change during a song without switching to different presets mid song. You would need a midi controller to replicate that part of the equation. I like ideas like this, creative ways to make **** do what we want, and not what the designers intended.;)