EHX Ravish Sitar

[Smoky Barnable]

This pedal looks really cool! I'm wondering if I could build a pedal that sounds like a sitar? I wouldn't know where to start...so I guess I'll just buy this one.

http://www.ehx.com/blog/ehx-ravish-sitar-demo

[DougH]

Okay, now that's pretty damn awesome...

I've considered getting one of those cheapie electric sitars for years but hesitated due to the poor quality. I think this is definitely a better value for the money. Very cool! Very smart how the sympathetic strings have their own output and there are expression pedal inputs and etc. Very well thought out.

[Mark Hammer]

Lust.  Covetting.  MUCH covetting....in a lustful way.

And I thought the sitar model on the Variax was fun.  This seems to take elements of the Freeze, HOH, POG, and bring them together wonderfully.

Look for bar bands beginning to play "Do It Again", "Cry Like Babay", "Monterey", and others again.

[Nasse]

One great benefit with these emulators vs real is that you can use your whammy bar. Not that Nokie needs a whammy bar. I saw him doing a  Ventures "sitar medley" some months ago. He played a borrowed (EP ?) electric sitar, symphatetic strings were removed.

Got a set of Göldö sitarizer saddles from Thomann, and got a perhaps suitable bridge from evilbay, which did spend some weeks at   Brixton for some weeks because my agent forgot to post it to me

[pinkjimiphoton]

ME WANTEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i think the time has come for me to buy a new pedal finally. wow,, that thing is hip!!!!!

[Puguglybonehead]

Wow!!  That demo actually sounds really good! Of course, this thing gets announced right after I manage to get my hands on a vintage Teisco electric sitar. (in dire need neck replacement) Of course, not only does the pedal sound great, it even costs less than my electric sitar did. 

[soggybag]

Wow neat, that goes beyond all of the DIY sitar/octave things. Seems you can pretty much make a guitar synth out those DSP chips.

[DougH]

EHX just keeps going over the top with their DSP implementations.  Well done, I say.  Well done.  Time to start saving my pennies. Must have this...

[Taylor]

I'm wondering if I could build a pedal that sounds like a sitar?

For me, it wouldn't be worth the work, but something like this is DIY-able, but of course you must go digital.

Sympathetic strings: very short delay lines tuned to particular notes, very high feedback.
Sitar tones: multi-octave up, but with each octave up staggered in time and with some attack smoothing on each. Do a short delay, shift up an octave, do another short delay and shift up a fifth, etc. Then, resonant filter, with a triggered down sweep.

Could be done in the Spin FV1. Some of my attempts to recreate the HOG in the FV1 came out not unlike this, because there was an accidental delay in the pitch shifting at each stage. But EHX has done a great job with it and you'd be unlikely to squeeze that much performance out of the FV1 due to program memory limitations.

[markeebee]

Uh oh, here comes Mr Pooper....

There are a few multi-fx that do an approximation of a sitar sound. The EHX box is lovely, but it also provides an approximation of a sitar sound, albeit a less approximate one.

My point is that $240 is a lot to pay for a slightly more accurate sound on the one time in every set that you can get away with a sitar solo.

If you play in a bhangra band, the above need not apply. And I still love EHX.

[The Tone God]

There is a feature that I haven't seen demoed yet that would help me to decided if I would by this. You are supposed to be able to pick the droning strings by playing a note on the guitar and hitting the footswitch. You can then sample then a bunch of notes to go with your key as opposed to sticking with the stock tunings. That would really open things up for me. Who knows it may not be implemented yet as I heard the exotic tunings weren't done either.

There some other modes like the expression modes used more, the symp output, minor tunings, modulation, decay of the lead, that weren't demoed yet that I would like to see but we'll have to wait till its out I guess. I would also like to hear it with more then just electric clean guitar. How about acoustic and distorted guitar. Maybe a chorus.

I'm holding off till I hear more.

Andrew

[frequencycentral]

What was it Robert Fripp said about guitar synths? Something like "Why would a first rate guitarist want to sound like a third rate saxophonist ?".

[DougH]

OTOH I always loved the sound of a mellotron on its own terms, even though it was originally intended to be a home parlor organ fake orchestra.

[Mark Hammer]

Andrew is probably quite correct here.  Since a closer listen does suggest that the same "engine" underlying many of the recent digital EHX pedals is also in use here, I suspect there are probably a number of features not amply demonstrated in that video, and some counterintuitive uses that move into HOG and POG territory.

Between this thing and the Microsynth, why the hell is there not a lifetime achievement award for Dave %^&*erell?

[frequencycentral]

Between this thing and the Microsynth, why the hell is there not a lifetime achievement award for Dave %^&*erell?

and this....

and this........

and THIS.

[DougH]

Uh oh, here comes Mr Pooper....

[Mark Hammer]

Lest he remain too anonymous by virtue of the smut filters, we're talking about David C.o.c.k.e.rell

[markeebee]

@DougH

5000th post!

**Applause and cheering**

[DougH]

Omigod- *that* was my 5000th post?!? HAHAHAHAHAHA! I had no idea!  I haven't been counting, obviously...

[Smoky Barnable]

What was it Robert Fripp said about guitar synths? Something like "Why would a first rate guitarist want to sound like a third rate saxophonist ?".

Yeah I've been thinking about this, perhaps I should just buy a real sitar and learn how to play it. Also, I always wondered what the difference was between these boxes and vst plug ins....as it relates to recording.