GEAR REVIEW
EVENTIDE RIPTIDE | Doug Doppler
KEY FEATURES
• Vibe + Drive Double Pedal
• No Menu Diving
• Mono or Stereo
• Instrument or Line Level
• Full MIDI Implementation
The Eventide Riptide is a double pedal with fully independent Vibe and Drive sections . The Vibe is a lovely emulation of the Shin-Ei UniVibe pedal most famously used by Jimi Hendrix for the “ Star Spangled Banner ”. Flipping the mini toggle from Mono to Stereo enables you to add a world of stereo goodness not available on the original . The Drive is equally unique in that it is one of the few drive pedals ( without speaker emulation ) that I would actually use to run direct . Both sections feature dual voicings , for even more tonal bliss . Selecting the Swap LED Button enables you to toggle from Vibe > Drive ( the stock setting ) or Drive > Vibe , the latter of which was my favorite when running direct .
VIBE // The various Boss VB vibrato pedals are probably the best point of reference for worship guitar players who have not used a UniVibe style pedal . Depressing the LED Button just above the Vibe Footswitch enables you to toggle between a traditional UniVibe voicing to something a bit more ‘ phasey ’. To my ear the two voices are more alike than different , which is a plus when fine tuning your parts . Vibe controls the blend , Speed adjusts the rate of the modulation , and Intensity sets how extreme the modulation is . This effect sounds great in Mono Mode , but the real magic happens as it dances from left to right in Stereo Mode .
DRIVE // The Drive section features the traditional Drive , Tone , and Level controls . Toggling the LED Button above the Drive Footswitch enables you to choose the Crunch and Overdrive voicings . Both are touch sensitive and deliver a range of useful tones , but the Crunch is definitely my preference .
TOGETHER IS BETTER // The undulating nature of a Vibe pedal can get lost in a mix . The addition of an internal Drive section is a really smart way to fix this problem , with a ton of added benefits . In Stomp Mode you have the freedom of turning each side of the pedal on and off . As a reminder , pressing the Swap LED Button enables you to run Vibe > Drive or Drive > Vibe . Depressing and holding the Vibe Footswitch enables you to access Preset Mode . Once in Preset Mode , the Vibe Footswitch enables you to select one of the five on-board presets and depressing the Drive Footswitch loads the selected preset . Once a preset is loaded depressing the Drive Footswitch toggles the effect on and off . Once you get the hang of it , switching between Stomp and Preset Modes is pretty intuitive , as is loading presets .
ADDED FUNCTIONALITY // Connecting to the Eventide Device Manager app via the Mini USB jack enables you to create and edit up to
128 MIDI-accessible presets . The Expression Pedal Jack features three modes : traditional expression , aux switches , or TRS MIDI . The Guitar / Line Level Switch is valuable in case you want to run this unit through the effects loop of your amp .
THE WRAP // I was VERY excited when I heard about this pedal coming out and Doug Hanson ’ s demo video does a great job of showing how great this pedal sounds . The feature set and functionality were well thought out , and collectively make for a great experience . Every bit as good as my vintage UniVibe – maybe better !
$ 299.99 MAP EventideAudio . com 74 November 2023 Subscribe for Free ...