Eventide H9000 User manual

Eventide H9000 User’s Manual
Software Version 1.0
Part No: 141242
©2017 Eventide Inc., One Alsan Way, Little Ferry, NJ, 07643 USA

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................4
ANOTE ON THE USER INTERFACE ........................................................................................................................4
WHAT’S IN THE BOX ...............................................................................................................................................4
H9000 FEATURES...................................................................................................................................................5
TERMINOLOGY..........................................................................................................................................................6
PRESETS......................................................................................................................................................8
H9000 HARDWARE.............................................................................................................................. 10
STANDARD FRONT PANEL ...................................................................................................................................10
REAR PANEL ..........................................................................................................................................................14
OPERATING THE H9000..................................................................................................................... 18
ANOTE ON “LATCHING”SOFT KEYS:................................................................................................................18
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT SIGNAL ROUTING....................................................................................................19
SESSIONS.................................................................................................................................................................20
FX CHAINS..............................................................................................................................................................23
Direct I/O .................................................................................................................................................................26
The FX Chain Preset Browser..........................................................................................................................27
Mix...............................................................................................................................................................................28
Levels..........................................................................................................................................................................29
ALGORITHMS..........................................................................................................................................................30
Algorithms Overview ..........................................................................................................................................30
Algorithm Selection Screen..............................................................................................................................35
PARAMETERS .........................................................................................................................................................39
Editing Parameters in an Algorithm...........................................................................................................40
Functions..................................................................................................................................................................44
METERS...................................................................................................................................................................47
SAVING AND IMPORTING DATA...........................................................................................................................50
Saving.........................................................................................................................................................................50
Importing Data......................................................................................................................................................52
SCENES....................................................................................................................................................................53
Overview...................................................................................................................................................................53
Trigger Source Options......................................................................................................................................54
Working with Scenes ..........................................................................................................................................55
SETUP........................................................................................................................................................ 59
INFO.........................................................................................................................................................................60
NAME.......................................................................................................................................................................61
CLOCK......................................................................................................................................................................62
TEMPO.....................................................................................................................................................................64
PREFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................................66
PEDALS....................................................................................................................................................................68
ANALOG REFS ........................................................................................................................................................70
NETWORK...............................................................................................................................................................71
Ethernet Setup.......................................................................................................................................................71
Wireless Setup........................................................................................................................................................72
Creating a Local Access Point.........................................................................................................................73
SOFTWARE UPDATE..............................................................................................................................................74

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USING THE H9000 AS A COMPUTER AUDIO INTERFACE ........................................................ 76
USING THE H9000 WITH OS X ..........................................................................................................................76
Using the H9000 With Your Existing Computer Audio Interface...................................................76
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................................... 78
APPENDIX A: SIGNAL FLOW................................................................................................................................78
APPENDIX B: STARTUP SEQUENCES ..................................................................................................................80
APPENDIX C: WORD CLOCK TERMINATION IN THE H9000..........................................................................81
APPENDIX D: H9000 MIDI FUNCTIONALITY..................................................................................................82
APPENDIX E: H9000 PRESETS...........................................................................................................................83
APPENDIX F: H9000 ALGORITHMS................................................................................................................ 103
SAFETY INFORMATION.....................................................................................................................139
LIMITED WARRANTY ........................................................................................................................140

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Introduction
Congratulations on your purchase of the Eventide H9000, the new flagship
processor in the Eventide product line.
The H9000 is designed to be an incredibly versatile tool, allowing you to process a
large number of channels using the latest digital and networked audio formats, and
offering the great sounding effects you have always loved from Eventide.
The H9000 is available in two basic models:
The H9000 Standard: Full set of front panel controls and a color display.
The H9000R: Blank front panel. Requires Emote remote control software.
Both versions of the H9000 accept a range of expansion boards that support
industry standard protocols for digital and networked audio I/O.
A Note on the User Interface
The standard H9000 comes with a front-panel color display and a large complement
of hardware controls, allowing you to navigate the device with ease. However, we
highly encourage you to download and use the full-featured control app/plug-in
“Emote”, available as a free download at www.eventideaudio.com/emote. Emote is
required to control the blank front panel model, H9000R.
Emote is available as a stand-alone program for Windows and OS X computers, as
well as a plug-in for VST, AU and Pro Tools. Emote gives you control of all features
and settings of your H9000, allowing you to craft your effects extremely quickly and
intuitively. Think of Emote as your artistic partner, letting you dig deeper into the
creative potential of the H9000.
What’s In The Box
Your H9000/H9000R comes with the following contents:
H9000/H9000R 2RU Rack Mount processor
Rack Mount Screws
User’s Manual
Registration/Warranty Card
Wireless Network (WIFI) Dongle
Power Cable
USB Cable

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H9000 Features
The H9000 is designed to be easy to use while still giving you a large amount of power,
control and versatility through the implementation of the following features:
Multiple Quad ARM Processors
The H9000 uses multiple cutting-edge effects processors, allowing it to process a large
number of I/O channels and up to 16 separate effects algorithms simultaneously.
Flexible and Adaptable Effects Structure
Your H9000 can utilize up to 4 separate FX Chains, with each chain containing up to 4
separate processing algorithms. The FX Chains can be routed in series, parallel, and
more.
Large Complement of Analog and Digital Input / Output
Multiple formats and connector types allow you to easily integrate the H9000 into a
variety of setups.
Expandable I/O
Three option card slots allow you to integrate your H9000 into the latest digital audio and
networked audio environments. We are always developing new option cards, ensuring
that your processor is as future-proof as possible in the always-evolving world of digital
and networked audio formats.
Full Front Panel Control
While we offer the extremely useful Emote control app, the standard H9000 also provides
intuitive front panel control using a large color display, context sensitive soft keys, and a
large complement of physical navigation controls.
Network Connectivity
Connect the H9000 to your Local Area Network for quick and easy software updates, as
well as full control through our Emote software.
Computer Audio Interfacing
USB 2.0 allows you to interface your H9000 with your audio software as a standard
audio interface with 16 channels of I/O. Send, process, and return 16 separate channels of
individual DAW tracks.
Easy Sharing of FX Chains and Sessions
The H9000 uses standard, “off-the-shelf” USB thumb drives to save and import your
custom effects settings, making it easy to back up, carry, and share your creative efforts.

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Terminology
In order to get the most out of your H9000, please familiarize yourself with the four
main terms below which represent the “hierarchy” used in the product:
Algorithm
Parameters
FX Chain
Session
Algorithm
Over many years, Eventide has created a vast library of audio processing routines,
which exist as effects processing “modules”. Some of these are simple, such as a low
pass filter, a limiter, a compressor, etc., while others are more complex, such as an
FFT or a reverb network.
An Algorithm in the H9000 is a combination of some of these modules, and of certain
variable values associated with the modules that make up that algorithm. The
designer of the algorithm might choose to set some variables of some modules to a
specific value that cannot be changed by the user, while at the same time allowing
that user to change the values of other variables.
Simply put, the algorithms are the H9000’s “secret sauce”, with specific effects
parameters that are adjustable by you, the user.
Parameters
Parameters are the individual adjustments you can make within an effects algorithm
which customize that effect. On the H9000, when you navigate to a specific
algorithm you are presented with that algorithm’s specific parameters, which you
can easily adjust.
A parameter might control one variable of one underlying processing module, or it
may control several variables of several modules. Some parameters may be
adjustable, whereas for others the designer may choose to set some of the
underlying variables to a fixed value and not “bring them out” to the user of the
effect.
For example, a reverb algorithm would present you with settings such as reverb
time, room size, decay time, etc. In contrast, a guitar amp emulator might offer
parameters such as gain amount, low/mid/high EQ, etc.

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FX Chain
The H9000 allows you to chain up to 4 separate algorithms together into a custom
FX Chain. The FX Chain is fed by an audio input, then the audio is routed through up
to 4 algorithms, and then finally to an audio output.
You are free to decide which algorithms are included in the FX Chain, the order they
process the audio in, and even determine aspects such as separate parallel and
series audio paths.
Sessions
A Session is the highest level on the H9000 hierarchy. It saves the entire state of the
product at any given moment, including:
The currently loaded FX Chains (up to all 4)
The current settings for the parameters within the FX Chains
The current input/output assignments to and from the FX Chains
The current state of the assorted global settings
The standard H9000’s front panel contains dedicated hardware buttons for all four
of the above modes, making it quick and easy to access any level of the hierarchy at
the touch of a button.

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Presets
The term “preset” is perhaps overused in our industry, so we would like to clarify
how this term is used by the H9000. The H9000 supports 3 types of presets, each
corresponding to the top 3 levels of the hierarchy. You can save and load:
Algorithm Presets
An algorithm preset contains:
Algorithm-related parameter values
General parameter values related to the algorithm container (mix,
mute/bypass, input/output gains)
Mappings of parameters to external controllers and Functions (can be
excluded at load time)
Assorted metadata (Name and ID are the most relevant to the user)
FX Chain Presets
An FX Chain presets contains:
Everything contained within an algorithm preset, for all the algorithms
present in the FX chain
General parameter values related to the entire FX chain container (mix,
mute/bypass, input/output gains)
Additional mappings of these general FX Chain parameters to MIDI
controllers
All routing information internal to the FX Chain (from the FX chain inputs,
to/between algorithm containers, to the FX chain outputs). No Physical I/O
information is included.
Function values, as well as mappings of the actual Function knobs to external
controllers
Metadata (Name and ID are the most relevant to the user)

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Sessions
Sessions contain:
Everything contained within an FX chain preset, for all the FX chains present
on the device
Routing information external to each FX chain, including:
oPhysical I/O in and out of each FX chain container
oDirect I/O connections made between Physical I/O
Additional input/output gain settings for each I/O channel routed to/from
the FX chain
All the settings found in the Setup mode (these can be excluded by category
when loading)
All the Scene Maps found in Scenes mode, along with current active map
index
LED meter mappings
The state of Global Mute/Bypass
Metadata (Name and ID are the most relevant to the user)

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H9000 Hardware
Standard Front Panel
The H9000 has a full set of front panel controls, allowing for quick and easy control
of all of its features.
Note that the color display on the front panel is not a touchscreen. However, eight
dedicated “soft keys” are available, with their specific function always tied to a
specific, context sensitive adjustment located adjacent to them on the screen.
By using the soft keys in conjunction with the large cursor diamond and jog wheel,
all adjustments to the H9000 are readily available.
If you prefer to install the H9000 in a location where working with the front panel is
not practical or convenient, note that all adjustments can also be made using our
Emote software.
The H9000 front panel contains the following controls; please refer to the relevant
sections of the user’s manual for further details on each function.
Setup
Press the Setup button to enter the setup menu, where you can configure assorted
preferences for your device.
Save/Import
Press the Save/Import button to save the different types of presets to internal
memory, as well as optionally saving to an attached USB drive.
Long-press the Save/Import button to import saved presets into the H9000. See the
section “Saving and Importing” for more details.
Tap/Scenes
Press the Tap button multiple times to set a tempo (measured in beats per minute,
or “BPM”). This tempo setting will be used as a sync reference for time based effects
such as digital delay.

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The Tap button’s inset LED illuminates in time with the tempo you have set, giving a
visual indication of the tempo itself. Note that if you’re not a fan of constant
flashing, this can be disabled in the Setup menu.)
Long-press the tap/scenes button in order to create a scene; a naming screen will
come up to allow you to create a name for the scene.
See the section “Creating Scenes” for more details.
Mute/Bypass
Press the Mute/Bypass button in order to mute the audio output of the H9000.
Long-press the Mute/Bypass button in order to bypass any and all processing while
still preserving the flow of audio through the I/O connectors and FX chains.
When either Global Mute or Global Bypass is activated, an indicator will show in the
upper right hand corner until deactivated.
Meters
Press the Meters button to switch the display to a full-fledged meter bridge. A wide
variety of metering choices are available.
Soft Keys
These 8 unlabeled buttons (four on either side of the display) allow you to quickly
navigate the H9000’s front panel user interface. The soft keys correspond to
different functions that are displayed adjacently, and are always context sensitive to
the currently displayed screen.
Color Display
The H9000’s large color display allows you to both view and control all aspects of
the product while working with its front panel controls.
8-Channel Meters
These 3-segment hardware meters display metering information for the H9000 and
are active at all times.
Cursor Diamond

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Use the 4 keys of the cursor diamond to navigate up, down, left and right. The color
display will always highlight the object that you have navigated to with the cursor
diamond.
Enter (√)
Press the Enter (check mark) button to confirm or complete an action that you are
currently performing; for example, if you have used the cursor diamond to highlight
an object, pressing the Enter button will select that object. The color display offers a
pop-up window to let you know when the Enter button can be used.
Cancel (X)
Press the Cancel (X) button to “cancel out of” an action. As with the Enter button, the
color display offers a pop-up window to let you know when the Cancel button can be
used.
Jog Wheel
The large, heavily weighted jog wheel is used to both navigate around the display, as
well as adjust a currently highlighted setting. For example, if adjusting a room size
parameter in a reverb algorithm, you can spin the wheel to comfortably adjust the
specific parameter value.
Mode Buttons
The H9000 has 4 dedicated Mode buttons that let you switch to any of the editing
modes with a single touch:
Sessions
FX Chains
Algorithms
Parameters
The mode button illuminates to remind you which mode you are currently in, at any
given time.
Power
Press the latching power button to turn the H9000 on or off.

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USB Ports
The front panel USB ports provide three separate functions:
Connect a standard USB thumb drive or hard drive to either of the front/rear
panel USB ports to save or import any H9000 presets you have created.
Attach the included USB Wi-Fi dongle to connect the H9000 to a local area
network
Connect a class-compliant USB MIDI controller for real-time adjustment of
assorted H9000 functions
Number Pad
Use the buttons on the number pad to type in a custom name, for any naming screen
you are presented with.
The number buttons operate “vintage mobile phone” style, where each button cycles
through multiple letters and also offers special characters such as “.”and “-“.
Up/Down Arrows
The up/down arrows act as modifier keys for the number pad when naming an
object, allowing you to switch between upper and lower case characters as well as
enter in different symbols.
You can also use the arrow keys to fine-tune parameter values, as well as scroll
through list items.
Cancel (CXL)
Press the CXL button to cancel (delete) a character you have typed when creating a
custom name.
Long press the CXL button to clear the entire text field.
Back
Press the back arrow to move the cursor backwards within a naming field, allowing
you to make corrections to an existing name you are typing.

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Rear Panel
The H9000’s rear panel offers a wide variety of audio and data connections,
allowing it to be used in many different environments and workflows.
Power Connector
Connect your H9000 to your power source using a standard IEC power cable. The
H9000’s power supply is designed to work with a wide variety of international
voltages; your unit will ship with a power cable designed to work in your territory.
Pedal (x2)
The H9000 allows you to connect 2 separate foot pedals, which you can then assign
to different functions of the processor. This ability is useful in a live performance
situation.
Relay (x2)
The dual ¼” relay connectors allow H9000 actions to be completed using standard
relay signals.
Note: In the current 1.0 Firmware, the relay connectors on the H9000 are not yet
operational. Please check back at www.eventideaudio.com for details of a future
software update that will enable their operation.
Ethernet Connector
The H9000’standard RJ-45 connector allows you to connect it to your Local Area
Network (LAN).
Once connected, you can view and control the H9000’s operations using Emote.
Additionally, if your LAN has Internet access, your H9000 can connect to Eventide’s
servers to install software/firmware updates.

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USB A Connector
The rear panel USB ports provide the exact same functions as the front panel ports:
Connect a standard USB thumb drive or hard drive to either of the rear panel
USB ports to save or import any H9000 presets you have created.
Attach the included USB Wi-Fi dongle to connect the H9000 to a local area
network
Connect a class-compliant USB MIDI controller
USB B Connector
Connect the H9000 to your Mac or PC, allowing you to use it as a 16-input, 16-
output computer audio interface.
AES/EBU Connector
This connector allows you to feed the H9000 with 8 channels of AES-EBU digital
audio, and also allows the unit to output 8 channels, all on the same single DSUB
connector.
AES/EBU 2-channel Input
This XLR input accepts a standard 2-channel AES/EBU digital audio signal.
AES/EBU 2-channel Output
This connector outputs 2 channels of audio in the AES/EBU digital audio format at
whatever sample rate the system is currently set to.
S/PDIF Input
This input accepts a standard 2-channel S/P DIF digital audio signal.
S/PDIF Output
This connector outputs 2 channels of audio in the S/P DIF digital audio format at
whatever sample rate the system is currently set to.
Note: The H9000’s digital audio connectors support the following sample rates:
44.1kHz
48kHz
88.2kHz
96kHz

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Analog Input 8-channel
This connector feeds the H9000 with 8 channels of balanced analog audio input.
Analog Output 8-channel
This connector outputs 8 channels of balanced analog audio.
Note: You can adjust the operating level of the 8-channel analog inputs and outputs
in the Setup menu, between +4dBu and -10dBv. Levels can be set independently for
each stereo pair of analog inputs and outputs.
Analog Input 2-Channel
These dual balanced XLR connectors accept two channels of balanced analog audio.
Analog Output 2-Channel
These balanced XLR connectors output two channels of balanced analog audio.
MIDI Input
The MIDI input allows you to control various H9000 parameters with incoming
MIDI messages, using MIDI controller hardware or MIDI software of your choosing.
The MIDI input also allows you to synchronize the H9000’s time-based effects to an
incoming MIDI clock signal.
MIDI Output
The MIDI Out connector outputs a MIDI clock signal, allowing you to synchronize
other equipment with the internal tempo set for your unit.
MIDI THRU
The MIDI THRU connector accepts any incoming MIDI signals and outputs a
mirrored duplicate of those signals. This allows you to daisy chain multiple MIDI
devices when you do not have enough MIDI ports on your standalone MIDI
interface.
Word Clock Input
This connector allows the H9000 to slave its digital system clock to an incoming
word clock signal. It is compatible with word clock signals ranging in sample rate
from 44.1kHz to 96kHz.

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Work Clock Output
This connector outputs the H9000’s digital clock signal at the unit’s currently
configured sample rate.
Optical Input
The H9000’s optical input accepts an 8-channel ADAT signal.
Optical Output
The optical output sends 8 channels of ADAT format digital audio.
Note: The ADAT optical connectors only support sample rates of 44.1kHz and
48kHz; they are not operational when the H9000 is set to run at higher sample rates
of 88.2kHz or 96kHz.

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Operating the H9000
In this next section, we will show you how to navigate around the H9000 front
panel, perform common operations, and operate the unit in general.
This section is divided into the following areas:
Sessions
FX Chains
Algorithms
Parameters
Meters
A Note on “Latching” Soft Keys:
The H9000 UI has context-sensitive “soft keys” on the left and right sides of the
display.
There are two different types of soft keys on the H9000:
“Normal” soft keys: These execute their labeled action when pressed
“Latching” soft keys: When pressed, they change the front panel display to a
different state. Think of the latching soft keys as a quick and easy way to
access “sub-menus” or alternate screens on the H9000
Latching soft keys are visually distinguished by a small triangular “flag” in the top
corner of the key.
In this user’s manual, any time you are presented with a list of soft key functions,
latching soft keys will be distinguished with an underline.

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Things to Know About Signal Routing
There are a few general “rules” about signal routing in the H9000 which are useful
to keep in mind.
●You can only use one of the following digital audio protocols at any given
time:
○AES3 (aka AES/EBU) over the DB25 connector
○AES3 (aka AES/EBU) over the XLR connector
○S/PDIF over the optical connector
○S/PDIF over the RCA connector
○ADAT over the optical connector
●When using S/PDIF over the optical ADAT connectors, you can only work at
sample rates of 44.1kHz and 48kHz. 88.2kHz and 96kHz are not supported.
●FX Chains support 8 inputs and 8 outputs. However, the eight outputs of an
FX Chain can be “multed” to an arbitrary number of physical Input/Output
channels, computer audio interface channels, etc.

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Sessions
A Session is the “big picture” for the H9000, a snapshot of the current state of all settings
on the unit.
To load a session, press the front panel Sessions button; the button will illuminate as a
reminder you are currently working with the sessions screen.
The screen will switch to the Sessions view, presenting you with a numbered list of
sessions available for loading. The presently loaded session is displayed in the title bar at
the top of the screen.
There are several different ways to navigate through the list of sessions:
Press the cursor up/down buttons or rotate the wheel to scroll through the list one
entry at a time;
Press the cursor left/right buttons to navigate through the Sessions list one page at
a time.
The session you have currently navigated will highlight in green.
Press the Enter button to load the highlighted session.
The chosen session will load and you will automatically be taken to the FX
CHAINS screen where you can edit the session’s FX Chains.