Newest addition to the dot9 series promises a "multiverse of tone" via delays, reverbs, volume swells, modulations and more
Eventide hit it out of the park with the first two pedals in its new dot9 family, the BlackHole Reverb and the MicroPitch Delay, and now the legendary company has cracked another home run with the newest addition to the dot9 range, the super-versatile UltraTap.
The result of over 40 years of research that began with the effects giant's Digiplex and Multitap delay algorithms, the UltraTap delivers a "multiverse of tone" courtesy of numerous delay sounds.
Just ask recording and touring guitar whiz Jay Leonard J, who puts the UltraTap through its paces in a new demo video – and as you can see, there are many, many paces for the pedal to be put through.
“It is a pretty fully featured multi-tap delay,” Jay says. “You can get those traditional delay tones, plus the rhythmic multi-tap stuff, plus the super atmospheric tones, a couple modulation sounds and a lot of hidden extra things.”
(Image credit: Eventide)
What’s more, he continues, there are “five presets onboard. Tap tempo. You can expand it via MIDI, there’s an expression pedal out, you can go stereo, just…everything.”
As Jay rightly assumes, “a lot of you, especially those that are used to three-knob delays, might be a little intimidated by this. So I’m going to break down what this thing does. Let’s plug it in and have some fun.”
And have some fun he does, running through the UltraTap delay’s many, many, many functions.
And what are those functions? For starters, the pedalboard-friendly unit offers the various delays, reverbs and modulation effects Jay outlines in the demo, and also builds on the legacy of Eventide's original H3000 UltraTap by offering the ability to add as many virtual tape heads as desired, enabling "new and unprecedented effects."
The pedal itself is anchored by six knobs, which control the parameters of Mix, Tap, Length, Feedback, Spread and Taper. Other secondary controls include Tone, Predelay, Shop, Spd/Rise/Rel and Out Lvl, all of which work together to achieve "unusual and expressive amplitude modulations" and provide a hands-on delay-sculpting experience.
Furthermore, the UltraTap can be used to curate simple repeat effects, with an added "Slurm" control responsible for slurring taps together for unique reverb and chorus effects.
The UltraTap also boasts five readily-accessible presets accessed via Active and Tap footswitches, with users able to store up to 127 in total using MIDI or the Eventide Device Manager app.
Functional appointments include an external aux switch for easy preset changes, multiple bypass options, including Buffered, Relay, DSP+FX or Kill Dry, and, as Jay stated, a multi-functional jack for expression pedal connection.
Additionally, a Guitar/Line level switch allows the UltraTap to be level-matched with guitars, as well as synths, FX loops and DAW interfaces.
And it’s all at your fingertips – or, to be accurate, your toes – for just $279.
For more information on the UltraTap, head to Eventide.
Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.
