As great as most of the big box, super-duper pedals on the current market can be, there’s always room for improvement in one category: functionality. Today’s review is for a pedal that assists in making it easier to navigate around one of my favorite big-time stompboxes, the Eventide H9 Max Harmonizer® Effects Processor. Adding a couple external switches to help control this mammoth beast, the Barn3 OX9 attaches right to the H9, making for a convenient and stylish addition to an already rad pedal.
I gotta tell you, I really dig the way the OX9 attaches directly to the H9, fitting perfectly snug and flush with the bottom. The 1/4″ plug fits directly into the Expression jack on the back, making both parts coalesce to form one strong and impressive-looking unit. Installation is a cinch as well: just remove a few screws, place the OX9 onto the bottom of the H9, screw ’em back in and you’re ready to go. There are even pre-drilled holes on the bottom to accommodate the H9’s rubber feet, and a piece of velcro will secure the whole thing to your pedalboard in seconds.
For this particular demo, I set up the OX9 to control the scrolling of the presets on the H9, the left switch scrolling up and the right one scrolling down. Another great feature of the OX9 is the addition of an external jack, which lets you add in a 3rd switch, for even more control over all the functions the H9 has to offer. Make sure you use a TRS cable here, as you need to assign the function switches using Tip, Ring or Tip+Ring, all assignable in the back end section of the Eventide pedal. I used this extra external jack to access the Tuner function of the H9, but like I said, you can assign all 3 of the external switches to a multitude of functions, so the layout is totally up to you.
Check out the video below to see how it works, and then get over to the Barn3 website to pick one up for yourself! They make another great switch for the 4 specific big stompbox processors they make as well (PitchFactor, ModFactor, TimeFactor and Space), which is just called the OX Switch System, if you haven’t taken the plunge and upgraded to the H9 just yet, so check that out if you use one of those 4 incredible machines. Thanks to everyone at Barn3 for sending this over for us to test out, I can’t see any reason why it would ever need to be separated from my H9 at all! Cheers!
Submitted by Mike B, Website
Demo Rock pedalboard by West Coast Pedalboard
