Electro-harmonix Cathedral stereo reverb User manual

CATHEDRAL

Stereo Reverb

Congratulations on your purchase of the Electro-Harmonix Cathedral Stereo Reverb. The

Cathedral is a digital reverb pedal with seven different types of reverb plus digital echo all

of which work in true stereo.

Special Features of the Cathedral Stereo Reverb:

•

Two SPRING modes including the Spring reverb taken from the Holy Grail and a

new Accutronics Spring tank emulation.

•

Top notch professional HALL ROOM PLATE and REVERSE reverb algorithms.

•

GRAIL FLERB mode is the Holy Grail Flerb with greater adjustability.

•

ECHO mode makes the Cathedral into a versatile two second digital delay.

•

Up to two Seconds of Pre-Delay with Feedback allow for reverberant echoes.

•

Tap Tempo Footswitch sets the pre-delay time with your foot.

•

Instantaneous infinite reverb by pressing and holding the TAP FSW.

•

Tone controls on the reverbs allow for further refinement of the sound.

•

True stereo in and out.

•

Ultra low noise and transparent signal path

•

Studio quality A/D and D/A converters.

•

Save and load up to 8 presets: 1 preset for each different mode.

Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B

digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide

reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This

equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and

used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio

communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a

particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or

television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user

is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver

is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Modifications not expressly approved by the manufacturer could void the user's authority to

operate the equipment under FCC rules.

WARNING:

Use only the

US96DC-200BI

adapter

the

Cathedral Stere

Reverb comes supplied with.

o not use any other AC adapters. Using other

AC adapters, even those made by Electro-Harmonix, could cause harm to the

unit, the adapter or you. The Cathedral does not use batteries.

Quick Start Guide -

Basic Spring Reverb Setup

Connect the output plug from the AC Adapter into the 9V jack at the top of the

Cathedral. Plug the AC Adapter into a wall outlet.

Plug your instrument into the MONO/Left Input Jack.

Plug MONO/Left Output Jack into the input of your amp.

Press the BYPASS footswitch so the STATUS LED is on

Turn the MODE knob so that the top LED GRAIL SPRING is lit.

Turn the following knobs to 50% or 12 o’clock: BLEND REVERB TIME and

DAMPING/TONE.

Turn the FEEDBACK and PRE-DELAY knobs down to fully counter-clockwise.

This will give you a basic spring reverb sound.

Turn the BLEND knob to obtain your ideal reverb/dry signal mix.

Changing the tone o the reverb

10.

Now that you have your basic Spring reverb sound setup turn the

DAMPING/TONE knob up or down.

11.

As you turn the TONE knob up (clockwise) the sound of the reverb will get

brighter. As you turn the TONE knob down (counter-clockwise) the sound of the

reverb will get darker. This is true for every reverb mode and even the ECHO

mode.

Changing the reverb time

12.

Return the DAMPING/TONE knob to the 12 o’clock position.

13.

Turn the REVERB TIME knob clockwise past the 12 o’clock position. As you turn

it further up the reverb time gets longer and longer.

14.

When you turn the REVERB TIME knob clockwise as far as it will go the reverb

time will be infinite meaning the reverb will not decay.

15.

Now try turning the REVERB TIME knob down below 12 o’clock. This will yield

much shorter reverb times.

Basic Hall Reverb Setup and Pre-Delay Use

Use the same connections as in the steps above.

Turn the MODE knob so that the HALL LED is lit.

Set BLEND and REVERB TIME to 12 o’clock.

Set the DAMPING/TONE knob to the full clockwise position.

Turn the FEEDBACK and PRE-DELAY knobs down to fully counter-clockwise.

A basic HALL sound is now ready for use.

Adjust the BLEND control for your ideal wet/dry mix.

FCC COMPLIANCE

Note:

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a

Class B digital device pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are

designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a

residential installation. This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio

frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the

instructions may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However

there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation.

If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television

reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the

user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the

following measures:

•

Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

•

Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

•

Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to

which the receiver is connected.

•

Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Modifications not expressly approved by the manufacturer could void the user's

authority to operate the equipment under FCC rules.

Using Pre-Delay and Feedback

Now that we have the basic HALL sound setup we can make the reverb sound

larger just by increasing the Pre-Delay time: the time it takes for the reverb wash

to begin after you have a played a note.

Turn the Pre-Delay time clockwise to increase the delay time. You will hear as

you increase the Pre-Delay time after playing a note it takes longer for the

reverb wash to kick in. Having a longer pre-delay time can give the listener the

impression of a larger space.

10.

As you turn the PRE-DELAY knob past 12 o’clock you will notice that the pre-

delay time gets quite long up to 2 seconds at the maximum setting. Leave pre-

delay set to a longish delay time maybe 2 o’clock.

11.

Now turn the FEEDBACK knob up to about 12 o’clock you will hear the reverb

wash repeat numerous times. In this case the same note is being repeated

through the delay block many times each time being fed into the reverb block.

12.

Try turning the REVERB TIME knob down to full counter-clockwise with this

setting you can hear discrete reverb echoes.

13.

In addition to using the PRE-DELAY knob to set delay time you can tap in a

delay time using your feet. Tap the TAP/INFINITE Footswitch two or more times

and the delay time will be set to the average time between taps.

Accessing In inite Reverb Instantly

14.

Now turn down both the FEEDBACK PRE-DELAY knobs back to full counter-

clockwise.

15.

Set the REVERB TIME knob to 12 o’clock.

16.

Play a note the reverb should decay after a couple of seconds.

17.

Now a play another note. While sustaining the note press and hold down the

TAP/INFINITE footswitch. You should hear the reverb wash does not decay.

18.

At this point you can play new notes over the reverb wash without adding to the

reverb.

19.

Release the TAP/INFINITE footswitch to allow the reverb to decay.

Basic Echo with Tap Tempo Use

Use the same connections as in the steps above.

Turn the MODE knob so that the ECHO LED is lit.

Turn the following knobs to 12 o’clock: BLEND DAMPING/TONE FEEDBACK and

PRE-DELAY.

Turn the REVERB TIME knob down to full counter-clockwise.

At this point if you play a note you should hear discrete echoes follow your note

instead of reverb.

You can set the delay time by turning the PRE-DELAY knob clockwise for longer

delay times counter-clockwise for shorter delay times. The maximum delay time

is 2 Seconds.

If you prefer you can tap in the delay time. To do so tap the TAP/INFINITE

Footswitch two or more times. The delay time will be set to the average time

between taps.

Filtering the ECHO Repeats

Set the delay time for a long delay.

Turn the FEEDBACK knob up to 3 o’clock so that you hear numerous echoes

from one note.

10.

Now turn DAMPING/TONE counter-clockwise to approximately 9 o’clock.

11.

When you play a note you will hear that the echoes sound filtered and each

echo is more filtered than the previous one. The filtering is reducing the high

frequencies in your notes filtering out the treble.

12.

Turn the DAMPING/TONE knob clockwise to 2 o’clock.

13.

Now when you play a note each echo will again sound filtered but this time the

low frequencies will be filtered. Each echo repeat will have less bass than the

previous echo.

Saving a PRESET

When you create a reverb space that you like you can save the effect as a

preset.

To save a preset press and hold down the MODE knob. You will need to hold

down MODE for at least 3 seconds.

After holding down the MODE knob for 2 seconds all of the MODE LEDs will blink

for 1 second. After they stop blinking the preset is saved and you can release

the MODE knob.

Upon releasing the MODE knob the PRESET LED will light up to indicate that a

preset is currently loaded.

Loading a Preset

Turn the MODE knob to the mode LED where you saved the preset.

Press and release the MODE knob. The PRESET LED will light. Your preset is now

loaded.

The knob positions no longer represent the effect you hear.

- WARRANTY INFORMATION -

Please register online at http://www.ehx.com/product-registration or complete

and return the enclosed warranty card within 10 days of purchase. Electro-

Harmonix will repair or replace at its discretion a product that fails to operate

due to defects in materials or workmanship for a period of one year from date of

purchase. This applies only to original purchasers who have bought their product

from an authorized Electro-Harmonix retailer. Repaired or replaced units will then

be warranted for the unexpired portion of the original warranty term.

If you should need to return your unit for service within the warranty period

please contact the appropriate office listed below. Customers outside the regions

listed below please contact EHX Customer Service for information on warranty

repairs at info@ehx.com or +1-718-937-8300. USA and Canadian customers:

please obtain a Return Authorization Number (RA#) from EHX Customer

Service before returning your product. Include with your returned unit: a written

description of the problem as well as your name address telephone number e-

mail address and RA#; and a copy of your receipt clearly showing the purchase

date.

United States & Canada

EHX CUSTOMER SERVICE

ELECTRO-HARMONIX

c/o NEW SENSOR CORP.

55-01 2ND STREET

LONG ISLAND CITY NY 11101

Tel: 718-937-8300

Email: info@ehx.com

Europe

JOHN WILLIAMS

ELECTRO-HARMONIX UK

13 CWMDONKIN TERRACE

SWANSEA SA2 0RQ

UNITED KINGDOM

Tel: +44 179 247 3258

Email: electroharmonixuk@virginmedia.com

This warranty gives a purchaser specific legal rights. A purchaser may have even

greater rights depending upon the laws of the jurisdiction within which the

product was purchased.

To hear demos on all EHX pedals visit us on the web at www.ehx.com

Email us at in o@ehx.com

You will need to hold down the MODE for 3 seconds. Nothing will occur for 2

seconds then all of the mode LEDs will blink for 1 second.

After the LEDs stop blinking let go of the MODE knob. The Preset LED will light

up solid.

Your preset has been saved in the mode that is currently lit.

PRESET LOAD PROCEDURE:

To Load a preset you previously saved: turn the MODE knob to the mode where

the preset was saved.

Press and release the MODE knob. The PRESET LED will light up to indicate that

the Preset has loaded.

Please Note:

The current knob positions are no longer

valid.

After loading a preset if you move a knob the knob’s new location will supersede the

preset’s stored value for that knob. At this point the PRESET LED will blink rapidly to

indicate that a knob has been moved.

PRESET UNLOAD PROCEDURE:

A preset can be unloaded to restore the current knob positions so they represent what you

hear. There are two ways to unload a preset press and release the MODE knob or turn the

MODE knob to another mode.

- MODES -

The Cathedral Stereo Reverb has 8 modes to choose from. Each mode gives the musician a

different sonic palette to work with. In addition each mode changes the function of some

of the Cathedral’s knobs. In this section we will describe each mode and the functionality

of the knobs that change with the mode.

Use the MODE knob to cycle through the modes. Turning the MODE knob Clockwise goes

up the LED ladder. Turning the MODE knob Counter-Clockwise goes down the LED ladder.

Below is a table displaying the function of each knob as it relates to the selected mode.

Arrows indicate the function that occurs as the knob is turned to or towards the extreme

knob position in that direction. You will notice some knobs such as BLEND do not change

with the different modes while others such as DAMPING/TONE have a different function

for nearly every different mode.

MODE DESCRIPTIONS

GRAIL SPRING –

This mode is the Spring setting taken directly from the Holy Grail. The

Cathedral gives you additional control over the Reverb Time and the Tone of the spring

sound; both of these parameters are preset on the Holy Grail. If you would like to set up

your Cathedral’s GRAIL SPRING mode to sound exactly like a Holy Grail spring turn the

REVERB TIME and DAMPING/TONE knobs to 12 o’clock and the FEEDBACK and PRE-DELAY

knobs down to zero (full counter-clockwise). Set the BLEND knob wherever you like for

your ideal wet/dry mix.

ACCU SPRING –

Is a new spring reverb model designed specifically for the Cathedral. For

ACCU SPRING mode we emulated a medium decay 17” Accutronics spring tank with 6

springs. You can adjust both the Tone of the ACCU SPRING and the Reverb Time to suit

your exact needs.

HALL –

uses a smooth and lush sounding reverb algorithm. You can set the Reverb Time

to obtain the exact decay rate that works perfectly for your music. The DAMPING/TONE

knob works as a damping control in HALL mode allowing you to control the sound of the

reverb from both a tonal and spatial perspective.

ROOM –

is medium sized room algorithm similar to HALL mode except meant to produce

a smaller sounding space. The DAMPING knob again will allow you to control the sound of

the reverb from a tonal and spatial perspective.

PLATE –

is an emulation of a metal plate reverb commonly found in high end recording

studios during the 1960’s and 70’s. The Cathedral’s Plate reverb is a very smooth tonally

balanced sounding reverb. Works great on many different instruments and is wonderful on

vocals. The DAMPING knob will again allow you to control the sound of the reverb from a

tonal and spatial perspective.

REVERSE –

Reverse Reverb is an emulation of the reverse reverb trick commonly

performed in studios where a note’s reverb fades-in in reverse of course before the note

is actually struck. The Cathedral works in real time and cannot create backwards reverb for

a note before it is actually played so the REVERSE reverb in the Cathedral will create

reverse reverb after a note is played. The length of time between playing a note and

hearing the reverse reverb completely fade in is set by the REVERB TIME knob (in addition

to PRE-DELAY). The further you turn REVERB TIME clockwise the longer the note will take

to fade-in. In REVERSE mode the DAMPING/TONE knob works as a tone control allowing

you to increase or decrease the high frequency response of your reverb.

GRAIL FLERB –

This mode is the Flerb setting taken directly from the Holy Grail. On the

Holy Grail the rate of modulation and resonance of the flanger block is fixed but the

Cathedral brings out these parameters onto their own knobs. The REVERB TIME knob

MONO/L and R OUTPUT Jacks

The Cathedral has true stereo output. The output jacks are labeled: MONO/L and R. If

using the Cathedral as a mono effect we suggest you use the MONO/L input and output.

The Cathedral can also be used with Mono in and Stereo out. Plug your input into the

MONO/L jack and then connect the MONO/L and R Outputs to two separate amps or inputs

on a mixing board.

When you connect the Cathedral in a Mono to Stereo configuration in ECHO mode the

delays will bounce or ping-pong between the two outputs. The first repeat will go out the

MONO/L Output; the second repeat will go out the R Output the third repeat out the

MONO/L Output and so on. When you connect a plug to the R Input the Cathedral will

stop the ping-pong effect: whatever goes into the Right Input will go out the Right Output;

whatever goes in the Left Input will go out the Left Output.

9V Power Jack

Plug the output of the Cathedral’s supplied AC Adapter into the 9V power jack located at

the top of the Cathedral. The Cathedral requires 9 - 9.6VDC at 200mA with a center

negative plug. The Cathedral accepts Boss style AC Adapters.

Technical Speci ications

Sample Rate = 46.88 kHz

A/D and D/A Conversion Bit Resolution = 24 bits

Processed Audio Bit Resolution = 32 bits

- Presets -

PRESETS

The Cathedral can save one preset for each of its 8 modes. Each saved preset will pertain

directly to the mode you have saved it in. For example the sound you save in Grail Spring

mode will always be a Grail Spring setting. Once a preset is saved the Cathedral will

remember the preset after power has been disconnected.

Saving a preset will save the setting of all 5 of black knobs. It will also save a tapped in

delay time if that is the current delay time at the moment of saving the preset.

PRESET SAVE PROCEDURE:

To save the sound you are currently hearing press and hold down the MODE

knob.

INFINITE Reverb Function:

For all modes except ECHO pressing and holding

the TAP/INFINITE footswitch for more than 350 mS will

switch on the infinite reverb function. Infinite reverb is a

reverb wash that does not decay; it remains at a constant

volume indefinitely. While holding down the TAP/INFINITE

FSW the input signal is disconnected from the input of the

reverb block allowing the musician to play over the infinite

reverb wash without adding new notes to the reverb.

INFINITE Repeat Function:

In ECHO mode pressing and holding the

TAP/INFINITE footswitch for more than 350 mS will switch

on the infinite repeat function. The infinite repeat function

recycles the audio that is in the delay loop at the time

pressing the TAP/INFINITE footswitch and loops it

continuously for as long as you hold down the footswitch.

Additionally the input signal is disconnected from the delay

block allowing you to play new notes over the repeated loop

without adding to the loop.

BEAT LED

The BEAT LED blinks at the same rate as the current pre-delay time setting. If the pre-

delay time is below 50 mS the BEAT LED will blink so fast it will look like the LED is lit

solid this is normal.

BYPASS Footswitch / STATUS LED

The Bypass footswitch toggles the Cathedral between effect mode and bypass mode. If the

STATUS LED is lit then the Cathedral is in effect mode. If the STATUS LED is off then the

Cathedral is in bypass mode.

In Bypass mode the MONO/Left Input Jack is connected directly to the MONO/Left Output

Jack. The Right Input Jack is connected directly to the Right Output Jack. If no plug is

inserted into the Right Input Jack then the MONO/Left Input Jack will also connect to the

Right Output Jack.

MONO/L and R INPUT Jacks

The Cathedral allows for full stereo input. The input jacks are labeled: Mono / L and R.

When using the Cathedral with only one input we suggest you use the MONO/L input. The

input impedance presented at each input jack is 2 M

Ω

controls the flanger’s modulation rate. The DAMPING/TONE knob controls the flanger’s

resonance.

ECHO –

turns your Cathedral into a digital echo. You can tap in the delay time using the

TAP/INIFINITE footswitch or dial it in using the PRE-DELAY knob. Set the number of echo

repeats by using the FEEDBACK knob. The DAMPING/TONE control can be used to either

low pass or high pass filter the echo repeats. The REVERB TIME knob can be used to

smear the repeats so that it sounds more like a reverb than an echo effect.

- CONTROLS, INDICATORS and I/O -

MODE KNOB

This is the white knob located in the upper right corner of your Cathedral. The MODE knob

is a rotary encoder enabling the user to scroll through the 8 Modes of the Cathedral. Turn

the knob clockwise to progress up through the modes: from ECHO to GRAIL SPRING mode.

Turn the knob counter-clockwise to progress down through the modes: from GRAIL

SPRING to ECHO mode.

The MODE knob also has a push switch to save and load presets. To load a preset turn the

MODE knob to select the desired mode and then give the MODE knob a quick tap: push it

down then release it. To save a preset push down and hold the MODE knob for 3 seconds.

You will then see all of the mode LEDs blink rapidly. Continue to hold down the MODE knob

until the LEDs stop blinking. At this point the preset is saved and you can release the knob.

Only one preset is saved per mode and the preset you save is based on the current mode.

PRE-DELAY KNOB

In all modes except ECHO mode the PRE-DELAY knob sets the pre-delay time for the

reverb block. Pre-Delay allows the musician to put a time delay between playing a note and

hearing the onset of reverb for that note. In ECHO mode the PRE-DELAY knob sets the

delay time for the echoes. The total range pre-delay and delay is from 0 to 2 Seconds. As

you turn the knob clockwise the delay time will increase.

Please Note:

the pre-delay time for all modes can also be set by the TAP/INFINTE

footswitch. The control that takes precedence is the one that is last touched. If you tap in a

delay time then turn the PRE-DELAY knob the tap time will be erased and the new delay

time will be determined by where the PRE-DELAY knob is set.

FEEDBACK KNOB

The FEEDBACK knob controls the amount of signal that is sent from the output of the delay

block back to the input of the delay block. With a delay time long enough to hear discrete

echoes turning the FEEDBACK knob clockwise will cause the delay block to produce

multiple echoes from one note. Each echo then goes into the reverb block producing

multiple reverb washes from one note.

DAMPING/TONE KNOB

The DAMPING/TONE knob controls frequency shaping in all modes except GRAIL FLERB

giving the musician the ability to fine tune the sound of their reverb or echoes. The knob

acts as a damping control for HALL ROOM and PLATE modes a standard tone control for

GRAIL SPRING ACCU SPRING and REVERSE modes a low pass or high pass filter in ECHO

mode and a resonance control in FLERB mode.

DAMPING

– In HALL ROOM and PLATE modes this knob will increase or

decrease the amount of the damping applied to the reverb. Increased damping

reduces high frequency content as well as changing the reverb’s special

characteristic. As you turn this knob clockwise the damping factor applied to the

reverb is reduced.

TONE

– In GRAIL SPRING ACCU SPRING and REVERSE modes this knob will

increase or decrease the treble response of the reverb. As you turn the knob

clockwise the sound of reverb will get brighter. Turning the knob fully counter-

clockwise will yield a very dark reverb. Set to 12 o’clock and no filtering is applied

to the reverb.

RESONANCE

– In GRAIL FLERB mode this knob is a resonance control for the

flanger portion of the effect. It will control the amount of feedback from the

output of the flanger to its input. As you turn this knob clockwise the resonance

will increase giving you a sharper sounding flanger effect.

LOWPASS/HIGHPASS FILTER

– In the ECHO mode this knob works as both

a low pass filter or a high pass filter. The left-hand or counter-clockwise side of

the knob controls the amount of Low Pass filtering. The further you turn the

Filter knob down to its minimum counter-clockwise position the lower the cutoff

frequency of the low pass filter. This means less high frequency response or a

large reduction in treble. The right-hand or clockwise side of the knob controls

the amount of High Pass filtering. The more you turn the Filter knob up to its

maximum clockwise position the higher the cutoff frequency of the high pass

filter. This means less low frequency response or a greater reduction in bass.

Each time the echoes repeat more filtering is applied to the echo.

REVERB KNOB

In all modes except GRAIL FLERB and ECHO the function of the REVERB KNOB is to

control the length of the reverb decay. As you turn the REVERB knob clockwise the reverb

time will increase from a very short decay to an infinite decay at the full clockwise setting.

When the REVERB knob is set to infinite the reverb will not decay; adding new notes will

make the reverb sound more complex.

PLEASE NOTE:

you can enter switch on infinite reverb at any time by pressing and

holding the TAP/INFINITE FSW.

In GRAIL FLERB mode the REVERB knob sets the rate of modulation for the flanger block.

The REVERB knob will actually have two different sets of ranges. From full counter-

clockwise to approximately 11 o’clock the knob works in Filter Matrix mode: the LFO is

disconnected from the flanger and the musician has manual control over the flanger’s

sweep. You can hold the flanger in one spot indefinitely or modulate by turning the knob.

From 11 o’clock to full clockwise the REVERB knob controls the flanger’s rate of

modulation. Turning the clockwise will increase the modulation rate.

In ECHO mode the REVERB knob sweeps between discrete echoes (full counter-clockwise

position) and reverberant ones (full clockwise position).

BLEND KNOB

The BLEND knob is a wet/dry control for the effect outputs. Turning the BLEND knob to its

minimum counter-clockwise position will yield 100% dry signal with no wet. Turning the

BLEND knob to its maximum clockwise position will give you 100% wet signal with no dry.

A mix of wet and dry signals will occur when BLEND is set anywhere in between the

extreme settings.

TAP / INFINITE Footswitch

The TAP/INFINITE footswitch performs two functions: tapping in pre-delay time or

switching on infinite reverb by holding the footswitch.

TAP Tempo Function:

In all modes pressing and releasing the TAP/INFINTE

footswitch briefly two or more times sets the pre-delay time

or delay time (in ECHO mode). If the TAP/INFINTE

footswitch is pressed more than two times the Cathedral

will average out the time between taps.