To simulate the sound onstage that he gets on record, Scholz runs the guitar signal and the signal from the doubler in stereo, which duplicates, he says, "the old recording trick of using two rhythm guitars panned to the outside." The device, however, can be used in mono, and Tom describes that result as "sounding sort of flanged."Īside from the doubler, which Tom states is used judiciously throughout the album."Īside from the doubler, which Tom states is used judiciously throughout the album. "Anything more than that would get too messy," Tom explains. The sound can be shaped with a filter (Damping), by adding an offset to the comb filters (Detune), or by adding a noise component (Crackle). The harmonic spectrum of this sound is based on one of six selectable waveforms and a set of two spectrum filters. Because the doubler gives Scholz such a rich, heavy sound, Tom is the only one of Boston's three guitarists to use the device onstage. The sound source is an impulse sound based on physical modeling technology. Since we were broke at the time, and since the technology wasn't very complicated, we built our own. You would need a regular delay unit, a harmonizer, and an oscillator-nothing very complicated. You can build the same type of unit with commercially available devices, but I think that unless you were filthy rich, it wouldn't justify the cost. We designed it to approximate the same sound as when you dub over a guitar part twice: it adds a pitch change to the time delay. The H910 sounded like no other piece of outboard, and it went on to achieve legendary status, adding its juicy signature girth and grit to countless groundbreaking recordings by artists as diverse as David Bowie, Frank Zappa, and AC/DC.
![eventide h910 sound on sound eventide h910 sound on sound](https://dt7v1i9vyp3mf.cloudfront.net/styles/news_large/s3/imagelibrary/h/h910-dual-2Bq.ygJ4bkimzOenfF5nPBFeeZi02E_o.jpg)
It does more than, say, an Echoplex or a tape delay that just gives you a repeat. The Glitch Is Back In 1975, studio engineers were introduced to the world's first digital effects processor - the Eventide H910 Harmonizer. "That's what we call it," explains Tom, "though doubler is kind of a misnomer.
![eventide h910 sound on sound eventide h910 sound on sound](https://cdn.eventideaudio.com/uploads/2021/07/49f1266b-bc11-4135-b410-5cc7c6772608-1024x683.jpeg)
"Probably the most obvious departure in the Boston sound from your run-of-the-mill heavy metal sludge is Scholz' thick, yet clear lead guitar lines, partially accomplished with the aid of a device called a doubler, designed by Scholz and a friend. Funny, how this old GP article echos my original