Not sure if this is the appropriate thread to post this but tubezipper reminded me in another thread about the Electro Harmonix drum machine that was available in the past – I know Andy Partridge of XTC has mentioned that he used one for laying down drum tracks at some point (they had no drummer from 1983 onwards, and i must say, a bad time to lose your drummer, with all these cheesey sounding 1980s synths around 😆 ), although i’m not sure if these recordings made it to any commercial recordings.
I have a vintage Instant Replay with the trigger pad, which I love immensely.
I would love to see something similar reissued, but with the ability to program the samples into rhythmic patterns, like the DRM series, and with MIDI compatibility so I can sync it to the 16 Second Digital Delay, or the HOG. And for fun, it would be great to throw in the Space Drum, Hand Clap, and Rolling Thunder samples from the vintage units.
In the demo, Stroud has it set to “continuous loop mode”. I’ve been using the “single loop mode” more often, but maybe that’s the problem.
Scott mentioned that using a midi drum machine might be the answer to recording in different time signatures. Unfortunately, I don’t have a midi drum machine to test it out with. I think EHX should reissue their DRM series with midi compatibility and sampling features :chinscratch:
an updated drm pedal in a Haz sized case would be awesome! they could call it the ‘stereo drm with midimojo’ or something.
If you’re turning down the input gain on the SP then you’re probably right, but I’ve got a Black Finger and a Soul Preacher and they’re completely different (before tweaking anything internally). The BF is a really warm, mellow compressor – the kind of thing I turned on and I instantly sounded better, but I always had a hard time placing why. It wasn’t a funky sound, it was just super smooth and totally rad. Mine’s in limbo right now because I’m an idiot and I was too rough with the ‘compress’ pot when I was trying to replace a cracked knob; I pulled the shaft right out of the pot and I’m not 100% sure where/how to get a replacement.
The Soul Preacher, on the other hand, is just what the name implies – a funky sonofagun, full of soul and spirit. It’s more like a Dynacomp than a studio compressor, and although it can do the ‘subtle + smooth’ thing really well, it seems all I can do when I dust mine off is turn the sustain way up and play the main riff to McCartney’s “Coming Up” over and over or pretend I know the first thing about country music. Not that I’m complaining, of course! I think the Soul Preacher has way more compressorial ‘range’ than the Fingers, but for me, it plays like an effect whereas the Black Finger played like a tonal upgrade.
lol, maybe you DO need another compressor then F&EHX;!!! 😆
John, EHX will repair your Black Finger I believe if you send it to them and pay a small fee (if it isn’t under warranty) Fender&EHX;will probably be able to PM you the details of how to do this. :thumb:
I agree, John, the BF is a mellow/subtle compressor that upgrades my tone. It still tops my list as the one effect that is absolutely indispensable to me. I play through 2 vintage Fender amps from the 60s with tube rectifiers, which are rich and warm to begin with, but the BF gives them that extra body and punch without making it obvious that I’m using a compressor.
I sent a malfunctioning Tube EQ to EHX a couple of months ago. They repaired it within a week for only $15, and did not require a warranty. Now THAT is what I call superior service! :thumb:
Just use the contact # in the About EHX link above. They’ll get you set up.
Title says it all. Because of finances, I can’t purchase everything when it comes out so I’d like to know when something is about to be discontinued. That way I can work on picking one up through my dealer account. I did this last year with the big box Pulsar. I literally got the last one at the factory.
In the demo, Stroud has it set to “continuous loop mode”. I’ve been using the “single loop mode” more often, but maybe that’s the problem.
Scott mentioned that using a midi drum machine might be the answer to recording in different time signatures. Unfortunately, I don’t have a midi drum machine to test it out with. I think EHX should reissue their DRM series with midi compatibility and sampling features :chinscratch:
Good question. I’ve wondered the same. I decided to go ahead and buy a 16sDD for the reason you mentioned – because I’m a sucker for discontinued EHX stuff.
I have some complaints with the 16sDD, but it might just be that I haven’t figured out how to do it yet.
I haven’t found a way to…
1. record loops in 3/4 , 6/8, or any peculiar time signature
2. listen to the click without engaging the record. I’d like to just hear the click in play mode so I can establish a tempo before I start recording. The 4 beat count in is not enough to figure out the right tempo before I start to play. This must be possible, and I’m just too dense to figure it out.
3. undo a layer without erasing the previous loop
Does the 2880 address these issues?
in the demo it sounds like you can play the click? maybe? I’m not sure how it works…
If you’re turning down the input gain on the SP then you’re probably right, but I’ve got a Black Finger and a Soul Preacher and they’re completely different (before tweaking anything internally). The BF is a really warm, mellow compressor – the kind of thing I turned on and I instantly sounded better, but I always had a hard time placing why. It wasn’t a funky sound, it was just super smooth and totally rad. Mine’s in limbo right now because I’m an idiot and I was too rough with the ‘compress’ pot when I was trying to replace a cracked knob; I pulled the shaft right out of the pot and I’m not 100% sure where/how to get a replacement.
The Soul Preacher, on the other hand, is just what the name implies – a funky sonofagun, full of soul and spirit. It’s more like a Dynacomp than a studio compressor, and although it can do the ‘subtle + smooth’ thing really well, it seems all I can do when I dust mine off is turn the sustain way up and play the main riff to McCartney’s “Coming Up” over and over or pretend I know the first thing about country music. Not that I’m complaining, of course! I think the Soul Preacher has way more compressorial ‘range’ than the Fingers, but for me, it plays like an effect whereas the Black Finger played like a tonal upgrade.
lol, maybe you DO need another compressor then F&EHX;!!! 😆
John, EHX will repair your Black Finger I believe if you send it to them and pay a small fee (if it isn’t under warranty) Fender&EHX;will probably be able to PM you the details of how to do this. :thumb:
There’s one of these at Long & Mcquade new (well, unused) in wooden box, but it’s not selling for much less than a 2880 would go for. It’s been in the store for a while now, but I’m just starting to have some extra money again after tuition and textbooks, plus I didn’t work much while I was settling back into university. I’ve heard the praises of these things sung to no end, and I’m looking for something a LITTLE more powerful than the Hazarai (mostly something with MIDI sync to a drum machine, the ability to store at least one loop, modulation, and foot control of more parameters than just overdubbing) which the 16sDD has, but in your expert opinions, is it worth skipping the ‘cool’ factor of the 16sDD for the added features of the 2880? Based off the facts that the 2880 is more expensive and I’m a sucker for anything discontinued, would you pull the trigger on the 16sDD or is the added power of the 2880 worthwhile? As of now, I can see the faders on the 2880 being too complicated to use properly on the fly but I’ve heard these things are way easier to use than they seem.
I like my soul preacher, but I doubt it can do anything that you can’t do with the ‘fingers’ to be honest.
If you’re turning down the input gain on the SP then you’re probably right, but I’ve got a Black Finger and a Soul Preacher and they’re completely different (before tweaking anything internally). The BF is a really warm, mellow compressor – the kind of thing I turned on and I instantly sounded better, but I always had a hard time placing why. It wasn’t a funky sound, it was just super smooth and totally rad. Mine’s in limbo right now because I’m an idiot and I was too rough with the ‘compress’ pot when I was trying to replace a cracked knob; I pulled the shaft right out of the pot and I’m not 100% sure where/how to get a replacement.
The Soul Preacher, on the other hand, is just what the name implies – a funky sonofagun, full of soul and spirit. It’s more like a Dynacomp than a studio compressor, and although it can do the ‘subtle + smooth’ thing really well, it seems all I can do when I dust mine off is turn the sustain way up and play the main riff to McCartney’s “Coming Up” over and over or pretend I know the first thing about country music. Not that I’m complaining, of course! I think the Soul Preacher has way more compressorial ‘range’ than the Fingers, but for me, it plays like an effect whereas the Black Finger played like a tonal upgrade.
I completely understand why EHX has reissued their back catalog in the diecast enclosures, but I’m still a huge fan of the oversized bent steel enclosures.
As much as I love the XO line, I’ll always have a soft spot for those big ol’ boxes of love. If you guys have the factory space, you should try to keep a few of the big ones around (ie Graphic Fuzz, Frequency Analyzer, Q-Tron, etc) and re-release them periodically like what you recently did with the Hot Tubes. Geeks like me would eat that up…
