Agreed. I think the Hazarai is about as loaded up as it can get, though; even though the circuit board is made of primarily SMD (SMALL!) components, the case is still loaded up good. There would probably have been room for a MIDI sync if it was placed on the top and they reshaped the PCB, but the expression pedal seems a tad iffy in the smaller casing. I seriously adore the XO boxes, but I would still maybe like to see a Hazarai v2.0 in the HOG/Flanger Hoax casing. I know it will never happen because the process thusfar has gone big box -> XO and not the other way around, but I’ll still suggest it. Just because.

I seriously miss the DD-6’s interval tap tempo whenever I take it off the board in favor of another delay, it’s a great idea but I can’t think of a way that EHX could have integrated it. Perhaps a tiny 3-way switch next to the Tap/Record? 1/4, 1/16 and 1/8 triplet would be pretty neat but how would that affect the recording functions, etc…

You know I think the assumption is that a lot of guitarists just want something simple in a guitar pedal and don’t really want to deal with synthesis or MIDI. I think that may be starting to change as the guitar world gets nerdier due to the internet.

Good point Julian! EHX always developed stomp boxes which delivered straight off the mark and which started going crazy when you pushed the envelope. A guitar player’s dream. Instant Karma. I take the point that we are now in the 21ST Century and most everyone expects high-tech with all the bells and whistles. EHX has built its great (cult) success on the intuitive musician playing intuitive music. This is why EHX never seem to provide incremental step pots on delay controls so the knobs are always set at around 2 o’clock etc but can never be put precisely in the same position. Midi control eliminates these variances but again EHX puts as much sound and inspiration as possible in a pedal such as the SMMH and is not so set on total (midi) control. A weakness or a strength?

Yes, I had two EHX pedals customised with LFO controls however the result was not brilliant at the time, it simply added a certain complication to live performance. Mea culpa, though, since I asked the technician to provide a whole list of extra functions, which he did, and I ended up buying two more pedals to use on stage and keeping the custom version for the studio. Bad planning on my part. The midi foot controller sounds excellent.

I’ve not long got the Stereo Memory Man and I can only add to the rave reviews it gets. Being able to start a loop in any mode (nearly) is great, as is adding other delays during overdub. But this leads me to a couple of niggles/suggested improvements

When the Blend knob is set at 12 o’clock to give equal volume to the loop and direct signal this is noticeably quieter than the bypassed signal. I think it would be much better if it operated like the balance control on a hi-fi, 8 o’clock to 12 o’clock the direct signal remains the same (100%) but the effect get louder, 12 o’clock to 4 o’clock the delay level remains the same (100%) and the direct signal gets quieter. Does this make sense to anybody else?

Also to do with the blend knob, when in any mode except Loop, could adjusting it not cause the level of the loop to change? So you can fine tune a delay sound for the next overdub

With these couple of software changes this pedal would be perfect in my eyes, any chance of a software upgrade EHX? I’d willingly pay for these improvements

Jon

I love the sounds I can get with the SMMH, but the volume drop is too noticeable for me. Just a slight boost in the overall volume would make it so much better. Yeah, I’ve read not to set the blend above a certain setting, but it’s more than just that. Even with the blend fully counterclockwise, there is difference in volume & tone compared to the bypassed signal. I can live with the tone change, but the volume difference is annoying.

Also, it would be nice to be able to stop a loop without having to bypass & delete it.

Lastly, a separate volume contol for the loop would be the icing on the cake if the other 2 things would be addressed.

Thanks,
Steve