Harmonic Converger

[emperor_black]

Anybody tried this unit before? I searched for it and only one JCF member 'delt' has talked about it. At the Boss gt-8 forum, almost everyone's using it it in their setups. Its a device which works with all modellers and removes the fizzyness usually associated with the digitized sound. Seems interesting. But the price is not.

here's a LOT of info...

http://bossgtcentral.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7574&highlight=harmonic+converger

[yabba]

pretty controversial, some people say it works, some people say it's bunk.

[emperor_black]

seems that its doing what the 'Hi-Cut' filter in the gt-8 is doing. However, he claims that it works best with the gt-8 because the gt-8 already sounds natural to begin with.

[yard dawg]

If it kills 2.5k to 3.2k then it will help out the modellers. Thats my experience when mixing a line 6 amp.

[GryphonGuitar]

Same thing with the Line 6 forum - people there swear by it. I'm a little interested as to what this magic box really does...

[Twisteramps]

I always get hinky when someone has their magic circuit potted in epoxy. Makes me think it's incredibly simple and they are doing that so you don't find out it's an inductor or some sort of device like a $99 EbTech line level shifter.

Not making any judgements on the sound... just the packaging.

Pete

[yard dawg]

I always get hinky when someone has their magic circuit potted in epoxy. Makes me think it's incredibly simple and they are doing that so you don't find out it's an inductor or some sort of device like a $99 EbTech line level shifter.

Not making any judgements on the sound... just the packaging.

Pete

Kinda like Dumble amps??

Im sure its just some filters.

[hippietim]

you should go to the axe-fx forum - cliff pretty thoroughly demonstrated that the HC is a filter

[Twisteramps]

Kinda like Dumble amps??

Im sure its just some filters.

It's hard to enclose an ENTIRE amp in epoxy, and not all Dumbles are gooped. Even when components are covered in with something, you can typically figure it out, since a tube amp has standard architecture it must follow.

Pete

[Twisteramps]

Im sure its just some filters.

I said it could be an inductor, which is.... a type of filter.

Stole this from wikipedia, as they state things better than I can, it's mentioned that inductors are passive elsewhere in the article:

Inductors are used extensively in analog circuits and signal processing. Inductors in conjunction with capacitors and other components form tuned circuits which can emphasize or filter out specific signal frequencies.

Pete

[delt]

No idea -HOW- it's made, but Hadley (guitarist for Neil Diamond's band) is obviously a genius in electronics. He invested a -lot- of time and effort in creating this circuit, then even more when he noticed other users were interested in it.

I got mine about 2 months ago, using it with my gt-pro + gx-700 + modulizer pro setup. My main machine is a gt-pro (basically the rackmount version of the gt-8) and i have a gx-700, which is an older BOSS modeler/multi-fx unit, in the loop going mono and returning stereo - with the HC (mono version) in the gx-700's (mono) loop. So stereo imaging takes place anywhere beyond the LOOP point in the gx's chain, and is carried out in stereo back to the gt. This setup takes up a whole bunch of cables and 1/4" jacks, but the versatility is beyond amazing. The first thing i have to say is, my sound just wouldn't be "complete" without the HC. Bypassing the HC kind of reminds me of drinking a warm flat beer or soda that's been lying there for hours. Yes, it does boost the high-mids (3-4 KHz) but it's just a side effect - undescribable what it does more than just an EQ.

The question "buy it or not" really depends on your setup, and how you're satisfied with your tone. Oh, and how much distortion you use. Remember, this device was originally intended to kill the artificial sounding "fizz" in distortion tones. If you're using a flat-response, fullrange setup (like i am) my advice is to hesitate no longer, before he stops making them (don't forget, each one is hand made, takes a lot of time to build, and is tested rigorously for effectiveness and quality) ...or shipping becomes too expesive by the day.Otoh, if you're using a "real" tube amp setup, you might not notice anything else than the hi-mid EQ effect, or you might love the results. I've never tried it, but have heard/read different opinions which vary a lot.

There are lots of reviews on the net about this little black box thingy... most of them claim one thing: it does what it promises, and does it damn well. Personally, i add my backup to that claim, because it does. A bit expensive (over $200 for a single-channel/mono unit) but well worth it if you're in any way serious about your guitar playing.

[horns666]

what if you base your entire life around Fizz??

Fizz ain't so bad..what's so bad about fizz?