All About the Harmonic Converger

The HC is a special circuit I have worked on for many years, which is designed to restore a certain tube-amp essence of tone to modelers and preamps, with the goal of making the modeler sound more believable and amplike than it actually is. The HC not only improves the tone, but makes the overall "feel" & "playability" of the modeler better, while greatly reducing the amount of time required to program pro-sounding patches. It also makes many more of the Amp, Cab & OD models in your modeler usable (maybe for the first time!) The name "Harmonic Converger" was not pulled out of thin air - it's actually very descriptive of what the unit does *sonically*.
Have you ever noticed that many distortion tones have a bogus-sounding, "mosquito-esk" hi end, that is seemingly imported from another universe, and sounds totally foreign to the main body of the tone? Well, the HC sonically "converges" (homogenizes) the sound back into a cohesive/satisfying/expressive tone, which sounds very organic to the human ear. Part of this process eliminates unnatural "fizz", but more importantly, it adds the liveliness & timbre of a good tube amp, imparting a special tube-esk "urgency" and "snarl" to the otherwise boring midrange frequencies. Because of these improvements, the low end also sounds tighter, and can be boosted substantially without muddiness. Even great tube amps don't reach their fizz-free, growling sweet spot until the level is painful, but the HC does it at *any* level.
NOTE: The terms used here to describe the HC's effect are obviously not literal in the electronic sense - they are merely the most descriptive terms I could find to depict what's happening *sonically* with the HC.
And for those who prefer a more "concise" description:
"The HC is a device designed to help every modeler I have heard to date sound more authentic, tubey, and defined. And this is accomplished with a bare minimum of hassle - a super small footprint, no batteries or wall-warts, and 'set-it-and-forget-it' simplicity."
With the HC, I do not strive for the tone that comes from a naked amp, warts and all (that sound is rarely ever used on Pro recordings without major outboard help) - instead, I go for the sound you typically hear on major studio recordings *after* all the extra tone shaping & de-fizzing have been accomplished, which is what I've always felt the ideal modeler should be doing anyway. By doing this "heavy lifting", the HC frees up the modeler's EQ to be used for overall tone shaping (instead of eliminating fizz or a loose, brittle hi end), and greatly enlarges the sonic "sweet spot" when programming your sounds - in other words, it makes your job a lot easier & faster. Also, the HC is very compact and requires *no* power source or batteries. Because of this, internal heat is virtually eliminated, greatly prolonging the life of all the electronic components.

“I am committed to the concept that your modeler + the HC are all you need for *truly* convincing tone, either direct or through an amp”
The "4 cable method" with some units is no longer needed (along with it's complexity and hassle), and I don't specifically build HCs for this purpose because there are too many variables that could effect performance. While it is quite possible your HC will work with other gear/setups, they are only guaranteed to work directly with your modeler as described.
The HC is a continual "work in progress" because I tend to be a perfectionist who feels there is always room for improvement. This means I spend a lot of time experimenting with new circuits & components in an ongoing effort to make it better. Don't forget to check out the USER REVIEWS on the last page.User_Reviews.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0
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