Eventide H90

The Eventide H90 Harmonizer is Eventide's next-generation multi-effects pedal, a stereo unit that packs the company's studio effect designs into a stompbox format¹. It carries 62 effect algorithms, covering reverb, delay, modulation and pitch shifting, with hundreds of program combinations curated for different instruments and genres². Under the hood it uses a modern ARM-based digital architecture derived from Eventide's flagship H9000 rack processor, which allows much more DSP math than the older H9 and makes new algorithm types possible, including polyphonic pitch shifting¹³.

Guitar World's reviewer summed up its scope: the H90 "covers all the 'bread-and-butter' stuff" with ease while also excelling at more unusual effect combinations⁴.

What the H90 does

The H90 is a multi-effects pedal in the full sense: it holds 62 effect algorithms, made up of enhanced versions of all 52 algorithms from the H9 Max plus 10 new ones⁴. Eventide positions it as much as a writing tool as an effects unit. MusicRadar noted that "Eventide rightly calls the H90 an 'inspiration engine'"⁹, and Premier Guitar's reviewer found it "generates rich textures and tone colors that can transform the germ of an idea into a foundation for composition"¹⁰.

The most distinctive feature is Dual mode. Switch the unit into Dual mode and it processes two independent stereo signals at once, which MusicRadar described as "perfect for adding two insert effects" in a DAW, and which also suits pre/post amplifier routing⁹¹¹. In normal single mode you can still load two algorithms into one program and blend them.

Free firmware updates have expanded the pedal since launch:

• Firmware v1.11: added the Vocal algorithms to the H90; the firmware must be updated to v1.11 to use them⁸¹²
• H9000 connection: the same firmware line also brought the new granular effects to Eventide's H9000 rack unit, keeping the pedal and the rack unit on shared algorithm ground¹³

A limited Dark edition, with the same feature set in a different finish, was listed at $885 in December 2025⁸. See the Eventide H90 Dark Harmonizer page for that version.

The controls

The H90 is larger than the H9 it replaces, with a revised control layout⁵. The front panel has five push knobs, seven LEDs and a non-touchscreen OLED display¹¹, and MusicRadar describes five rotary dials for direct control, with three smaller contextual dials below the screen for tweaking parameters⁹.

The three footswitches are assignable, with two pages of assignments, giving six assignments in total¹. Bass Musician Magazine's reviewer found two control shortcuts worth knowing:

• Holding the Select button for two seconds turns the stomp switches into bank up and down switches, with both held together acting as a tuner, plus active/bypass¹⁴
• The Perform button gives access to six user-determined commands, such as tap tempo, hot switches, momentary effect engagement, or turning inserts on and off¹⁴

Compared with the H9's simple one-knob interface, the H90 offers far more control from the panel itself: five knobs versus one, and three assignable footswitches where the H9 had none¹.

Connections, expression and MIDI

The rear panel carries a full set of connections⁴:

The two expression inputs accept expression pedals, up to 3-button auxiliary switches, and CV signals¹. Third-party options exist, such as American Loopers' aux switches for the H90. MIDI is deep: the H90 receives and transmits on any channel from 1 to 16, set by holding the Programs and Routing buttons simultaneously, and a Receive Omni mode lets it listen on all channels at once¹⁵. MIDI Global Control lets you assign a CC number to a parameter that always works regardless of which program is loaded, for example mapping CC #5 to Quick Knob 1¹⁵. Software control is also possible via Bluetooth, with Eventide's updated software allowing in-depth editing¹.

For vocal effects, Eventide notes you need to connect a microphone through a mic preamp such as the MixingLink or an audio interface, with firmware updated to v1.11¹².

History: a pedal descended from the H3000 and H9000

Eventide's Harmonizer line goes back decades, and the H90 sits at the end of a chain running from the studio H3000 rack processor to the H8000 and H9000, and then down into pedal form⁸¹⁶. Premier Guitar describes the H90 as a "pedal-form descendant" of that lineage¹⁶, and its architecture is rooted, to some extent, in the H9000 Harmonizer¹⁰. The H9 brought the line to the pedalboard in 2013 with a one-knob interface and Bluetooth editing from iOS devices¹⁷; the H90, announced in November 2022, is its successor, taking inspiration from the H8000 and H9000 in stompbox form⁸.

The line continues in both directions: the H9000 received a 2024 firmware update adding vocal processors and H90 algorithms¹³, and in June 2026 Eventide released the H9 Gen 2, which carries the H90's algorithms on updated ARM processing¹³.

What reviewers said

Reviews were consistently positive:

• Guitar World: "The sounds here are excellent and the new ones complement the original 52 algorithms perfectly." Software editing was listed among the pros⁴.
• MusicRadar: "The H90 succeeds in bringing the H9's brilliance into the modern effects era, while retaining the accessibility and pedalboard friendly implementation"⁹.
• Premier Guitar: "The excellent factory presets make intuitive voyaging a lot of fun"¹⁰.
• Bass Musician Magazine: reviewer Jonathan Moody titled his review "How I cut my pedalboard in half," and singled out the Weedwacker algorithm¹⁴.

Who uses it

Pete Thorn has kept the line on his pedalboard for years: on his YouTube channel he noted that "either two H9s or one H90 have been on my pedalboard for the better part of, well, over 10 years now"¹⁸. In his demo of the H9 Gen 2 he walks through the H90's algorithm set on the newer hardware¹⁸.

!Pete Thorn demos the Eventide H9 Gen 2, which carries the H90's algorithms¹⁸

Videos

Click to load

Click to load

Click to load

News

Questions