Dan Steinhardt finds out if Electro-Harmonix have managed to bring true sitar sounds to the masses

We recently commented on the incredible innovative output of Electro-

Harmonix of late. Many will already be aware of such EH classics as the Memory Man analog delay, Electric Mistress flanger and, of course, the Big Muff fuzz pedals. Any manufacturer would be more than proud if the culmination of its life’s work had resulted in these three effects alone and the tones on some of the albums they have contributed to. Mike Matthews, founder of EH, strongly believes in innovation above all else. The rise of the digital age has opened up new creative doors for Mike and his team, which have in turn given rise to a new breed of EH classics such as the POG Polyphonic Octave Generator, the 2280

Electro-Harmonix Ravish Sitar

delay looper and the HOG guitar synthesizer – and now this, the Ravish Sitar

Construction and Features To appreciate just how much effort EH has put into the Ravish Sitar, you need to understand a couple of basics about the sitar itself. Apart from its unique attack, one of the defining characteristics of the sitar sound is its use of sympathetic strings which add a drone to the main melody. The Ravish Sitar actually takes these into consideration, so it not only mimics the attack of the sitar, but also these sympathetic strings. Just take a second and consider the accomplishment of this. As you play, the pedal automatically picks out the appropriate sympathetic tones

and plays them alongside your solo tone. You also have the option of ‘freezing’ the sympathetic strings so you can play over them indefinitely by holding down the PRESET footswitch. All the major and minor keys are pre-programmed and accessible in KEY mode, but you can input your own scales using up to 17 separate notes so that when you play this note in a phrase the sympathetic tone actually rings out over the top. It’s this feature that separates the Ravish from any other previous attempts at a sitar effects pedal. There are three level controls: dry, which is how much of your original signal is present at the output, lead sitar tone level, and the sympathetic strings level. A deeper editing function can be accessed in preset mode using the mode/preset encoder, the

£205 www.ehx.com

Advanced Use:Get deeper into what this pedal can do and you will be amazed by the sheer potential

OK Computer:The pedal hides some very clever and sophisticated effects processing!

big white button. This encoder is used to scroll through the presets, save a preset and scroll through the preset, key, decay, modulation, pitch bend and Q modes. Yes, there is a lot going on, and we’re not even close to describing all the functions, but time spent getting to grips with all of these is essential, and indeed key to getting the most out of the unit. As well as the standard in and out jack sockets you also have a sympathetic strings output, so you can send these to a separate amplifier. When a connection is made here there will be no sympathetic strings on the main output. You also have two expression pedal inputs, one to control the level of the sympathetic strings and the other for pitch-bending the lead tone. The unit has two footswitches, one to bypass the effect, and the other is the PRESET footswitch that also has multi-functions. It loads any of the 10 programmable presets; in KEY mode, holding down

Very clever processing here

Electro-HarmonixRavish Sitar £205OnTesT

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Electro-HarmonixRavish Sitar £205 OnTesT

the footswitches allows you to enter in the custom drone tones, and in any other mode apart from KEY mode, holding the preset footswitch engages the sympathetic strings freeze effect. The enclosure is the new small-footprint EH enclosure which is the same size as the new Memory Man with Hazarai and Stereo Talking Machine. The Ravish requires 9V DC at 160mA, but don’t attempt to daisy-chain this pedal – it will need its own isolated supply, which is included.

Sounds It’s unrealistic to expect to plug into the Ravish and sound like a traditional acoustic sitar, primarily because you’re using

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Once you understand the layout and what each of the controls actually does, getting good usable sounds out of the Ravish Sitar is surprisingly simple. The sympathetic strings have an almost synth pad quality to them as they ring out over the lead tone. Mixing different levels of the lead tone and the direct sound gives you those sympathetic tones over a blend of normal guitar tone and sitar, which sounds immense and has opened up new ideas and possibilities with this pedal. Anyone familiar with the polyphonic tones of the POG will recognise the tonality in the unit’s processor giving it at times an almost organ quality, but the Ravish still

react instantly to what you’re playing. Having the sympathetic strings going into a much more open-sounding amplifi er or even direct into the PA is something that anyone who auditions this pedal simply must try. Adding a couple of Roland EV-5 expression pedals takes this even further by giving you control over the level of the sympathetic strings, and pitch-bending the lead tone to a pre-determined interval up to one full octave. It doesn’t affect the sympathetic output, so the drones continue unaffected.

ConclusionThere’s no question that the work that has gone into this pedal has resulted in easily the best sitar emulator available today, and if you need to kick in some sitar tones in the middle of your set – and who doesn’t?! – then this is the pedal for you, but we’d hate you to miss out on everything else the Ravish Sitar is capable of. We have discovered through experimentation some genuinely practical applications beyond using this unit solely for sitar tones. Music has been made, and creative juices are fl owing. Mike would be proud. With the use of expression pedals you have some amazing whammy effects which, blended with your dry tone and used in conjunction with the ethereal sympathetic tones, result in a veritable feast of sonic texture and colour. We have only just scratched the surface of what is possible with the Ravish Sitar, but there’s no doubt that this is an effect for the artist lurking in you, a tool to unleash the avant-garde, or at the very least a pedal that will result in hours of self-indulgent fun.

Also Consider

Apart from an old Danelectro Swami, which isn’t in the same league as the Ravish Sitar, this is a market that EH has all to itself. There really is nothing out there that compares.

What We ThinkWhat did our test results reveal?

GB RatingRating out of fi ve stars

Ravish Sitar £xxxxBuildSoundValue Overall

Pros: The most unique and innovative eff ect we’ve seen in the last 12 months.

Cons: Sound may be a tad synthetic for some straight out of the box.

Ideal For: Experimental guitarists looking to add an Asian-inspired element to their sound.

The white button accesses the preset mode

It’s important to take the time to learn how to use this pedal properly

an electric instrument and plugging into an amplifi er. What the Ravish does give you is some amazing sitar-inspired tones, but don’t expect to just plug in and play. Without taking the time to set the unit up properly the result can sound synthetic and overly processed. Careful blending of the three elements – direct/dry tone, lead tone and sympathetic tones – is essential to get the best results. The timbre levels for the lead and sympathetic tones in particular have a huge impact on how prominent the effect sounds in the mix, but dial in too much and the zing can become overpowering. You do have the option here of reducing the ‘Q’ if you fi nd the texture still too synthetic by entering into the Mod mode and pressing the Mod/Preset encoder. There are four levels of ‘Q’ – the higher the level, the more synthetic the effect.

has a few surprises in store. Plugging the sympathetic strings output into an old Fender Pro Reverb and the main output into a Vox AC30, the result is simply spectacular, producing a soundscape which is truly remarkable. The drones sound like a separate accompaniment with an uncanny ability to

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Technical Specifi cationPrice: £205Built In: USAType: Sitar emulatorPower: 9V DC onlyDimensions: 20.3x8.9x17.8 cmE� ect: Sitar emulatorFeatures: Independent timbre controls for the lead and sympathetic string tones; play in all 12 chromatic keys in major, minor and exotic scales, even create your own custom sympathetic scales up to 17 notes, including microtones; freeze the sympathetic strings by holding down the PRESET footswitch; fade and freeze sympathetic strings with optional expression pedal; modulate the sympathetic notes; bend the pitch of the lead voice from one semitone up to one octave with an optional expression pedal; separate outputs for main mix and sympathetic strings; selectable Q control on lead voice allows variation from organic to synthetic; 10 fully programmable presets

Contact DetailsElectro-HarmonixTel: +1 (718) 937 8300www.ehx.com

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