Builder of the Year: Electro-Harmonix
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We don’t think there is any mistaking the banner year Mike and his crew at Electro-Harmonix had in 2009. The NYC-based pedal veterans unleashed a slew of high-quality, highly-sought-after effects boxes this year, led by the Memory Boy analog delay and the Cathedral stereo reverb. EHX made promises with these boxes, and they delivered. In addition, the company issued a new generation POG – the POG2 – an amp in a box stomp called the 22 Caliber, a pair of envelope filters, the Memory Toy delay, V256 Vocoder and so on! The volume of goodies and consistent excellence of both tools and tone makes EHX our Builder of the Year for 2009!
Electro-Harmonix is bringing a small box vocoder to market soon. Making an appearance in the most recent EHX catalog is the Iron Lung – a pedal built around the ‘finest aspects’ of the larger V256 Vocoder. The Iron Lung uses 256-band resolution to deliver defined vocoder performance while the pedal’s Gender Bender control lets you adjust a male to female emphasis that delivers numerous possibilities at the turn of a knob. The Iron Lung also sports an XLR mic input with three independent gain controls, and a tone control the integrates with the Gender Bender for further refinement. The stomp is expected to retail around $150. Check it out!
In their most recent catalog, Electro-Harmonix gives a peek at the new Deluxe Memory Boy pedal – the newest member of the iconic Memory Man family. According to the company, the new box carries on the family tradition with new performance aspects that give it unique power and metronomic definition. The pedal boasts quality IC’s that deliver warm and organic tones and a new Tap tempo function that allows you to sync with the groove. It also offers five note divisions for metronomic variance while staying in sync. The Deluxe Memory Boy will also sport an effects loop and expression pedal input. Sounds like a winner! More information when we have it!
And the hits keep coming from Electro-Harmonix. This time around it’s the 22 Caliber Power Amp. The pedal is basically a 22-watt amp in a Nano-sized pedal enclosure – a shrunken head, if you will. The beauty of the 22 is that it can push any cab and any speakers – 4 ohms, 8 ohms, 16 ohms – it doesn’t matter. Crank the volume knob on the 22 Caliber and send the pedal/amp into overdrive. Larry gave us a quick demo using his trusty G&L Legacy into the 22 Caliber and straight into a 2 x 12 cabinet. Check out the clip… and listen for when he cranks it to add distortion. 
Another Electro-Harmonix pedal that perked up a few ears when it was announced was the Memory Toy analog delay/chorus. This sub-$100 stomp sports Delay, Blend and Feedback knob controls and a Modulation mini-toggle that switches on a chorus effect, all in EHX’s Nano stomp enclosure. Using the same guitar/amp from previous clips, Larry gave us a brief tour of the pedal and played us a short clip to share with you. Whether the Memory Toy will be a Carbon Copy killer remains to be seen, but it sounds like it is aiming for a piece of that market. Take a listen and judge for yourself.
Back in the EHX private sound room at Summer NAMM, Larry showed off one of Electro-Harmonix most highly-anticipated new stomps – the Memory Boy analog delay. Featuring switchable dual-wave forms, expression pedal input and chorus/vibrato settings, the 550ms delay Memory Boy is sure to please analog delay ethusiasts across the globe. Knob controls include Delay, Depth, Blend and Feedback and enable to user to fine tune the echo options to suit. Listen to the clip below. Again using the G&L Legacy into the Traynor Custom Valve 50, Larry runs through several of the pedals nuances, including the chorus and vibrato options.
Included in the boat-load of new pedals Electro-Harmonix brought to the Summer NAMM show this week was the Cathedral stereo reverb unit. Like many EHX pedals, the Cathedral performs feats that go well behind a tradition reverb stomp, including a flange/reverb hybrid (called Flerb) and echo settings. We had a chance to talk with Larry at EHX and have him run us through most of the new pedal’s settings. Using a G&L Legacy into a Traynor Custom Valve 50, the clip below showcases the Cathedral’s room, spring and plate settings as well as its reverse reverb and Flerb offerings. Listen up!
Electro-Harmonix brought a ton of new pedals to Summer NAMM this week including the highly-anticipated sequel to its POG (Polyphonic Octave Generator) – the aptly-named POG2. New to the POG2 is the size… now in the XO-style housing and the two octaves up/two down ability. The POG was well-known for its ability to simulate organ tones. Best popular example that comes to mind is the intro to John Mayer’s ‘In Repair’. Larry with Electro-Harmonix gave us an awesome demo of many of the new EHX stomps, including the POG2’s organ-ic tendancies. Listen to the clip below created using a G&L Legacy into the POG2 back to a Traynor Custom Valve 50.
New York-based Electro-Harmonix will have a new batch of first look pedals on display in Nashville later this week, including the long-awaited Memory Boy analog delay. Joining the delay will be the Memory Toy, a Nano-boxed delay/chorus stomp, the V256 vocoder and the Catherdral programmable stereo reverb. The company will also have the recently announced Riddle and Enigma envelope filters, POG2, 22 Caliber power amp and Voice Box in tow. Looks like it’ll be busy around the EXH booth! We’ll bring you more info from the show, but for now enjoy the pics after the jump!
New York’s finest – Electro-Harmonix – has dropped a pair of videos highlighting a new pedal duo… the Riddle:Q-Balls and Enigma:Q-Balls envelope stomps for guitar and bass, respectively. The Riddle is a powerful and precise envelope filter fine-tuned for guitar frequency response. It will deliver tight and smooth control over the complete 80 Hz to 5 kHz range, with a consistent and even sweetness. If you need edge, engage the Riddle’s analog distortion and dial in anything from subtle bite to dominating crush. The Enigma is a similar beast, but delivers tight and smooth control over the complete 40 Hz to 3 kHz range. Demo videos after the jump!
New York effects giant Electro-Harmonix has released more info and a video of its new .22 Caliber amp stomp. According to the company, the new pedal is a versatile 22-watt guitar head that fits in the palm of your hand. Just plug it into any 4-, 8- or 16-ohm speaker, and you’ll get a big, sweet musical sound. Crank the 22 Caliber’s volume, and it’ll go into overdrive – like a vintage amp with a single volume control. Flip on the Bright switch and some bite and definition will be added to your signal. The new .22 Caliber stomp comes with an 18-volt 1.66A power supply and is available now! Want to hear it in action? Peep the demo video after the jump!
Dunno how I missed this one. New York’s effects heavyweight Electro-Harmonix has a new overdrive pedal for use with… the Rock Band brand video game. The overdrive, for use with Rock Band 2, works the same way tilting the guitar controller’s neck did in the previous versions of the game. Use the 10-foot cable included with the pedal to hook into the controller, hit the footswitch and rack up the points! The new ‘effect’ pedal is compatible with all licensed wireless Rock Band 2 guitars and basses. The pedal should be in stores this month and sports a retail price of $29.99. 
The Electro-Harmonix Micro POG is the baby brother to the company’s larger Polyphonic Octave Generator – otherwise known as the pedal that can make your guitar sound like an organ. While big brother can add one octave up, two octaves up, and one octave down from your original guitar signal and blend them all together, the more modest Micro POG moves one octave down and one octave up via a pair of knob controls. The Micro POG certainly has its own flavor, but many have also written it off as a gimmick pedal – something to use once or twice in studio, but likely never to earn a coveted position on your pedalboard. Maybe… and maybe not.