The SMMH is my craziest pedal of all. It does a lot and is an altogether more complex toy than my other stompboxes, as the length of this post already suggests.
It's a digital delay with several modes (4 echo, 3 multi tap modes and the looper mode). 'Echo' is a traditional delay effect, while in 'multi tap' modes the pedal repeats your notes from 1 to 32 times. The most interesting modes are:
- '300ms echo + mod', where the pitch of the echoes is modulated. When you turn the delay time all the way down you can also get absolutely wild flanging, which is great fun to play with;
- 1sec (multi tap) + rev, where holding down on the 'tap/record' switch plays back the last six seconds of whatever you played into the pedal backwards. This is a really cool effect that gets a lot of mileage from me. I use it on long chords, and in solos a lot. It's brilliant;
- Reverse Echo is just that. The repeats play back in reverse and turning down the delay time produces an effect that's kind of like a ring modulator.
Six knobs control the effect. The white 'Hazarai' (Yiddish for 'all the bells and whistles') knob toggles between modes and calls up/stores presets. You can store one preset per mode, which is very useful. As the name suggests, the 'Blend' control adjusts the level of the effect. As with most delay pedals, you lose the volume of the dry signal as you turn it up, so you have to be careful with this one. I usually have it set low when I play with the band, as I rarely need a pronounced delay effect. The next knob, 'decay' adjust reverb in the first two and the reverse echo modes. The reverb is not exactly to my taste and I only use a touch of it. In the third 300ms echo + modulation mode, it sets the level of pitch modulation. In the 3 'multi tap' modes the 'decay' control actually does what it says: it adjust the decay of the repeats. The volume of each repeat decreases whit the knob up till noon. Beyond halfway, the volume of each repeat actually increases, so you can get a great swelling effect. In loop mode, 'decay' allows you to flip the recorded loop for backward playback. The 'filter' control is basically an EQ for the repeats/loop, twisting it anti-clockwise adds bass, turning it to the right accentuates the highs. 'Repeats' sets the amount of repeats, as you rightly guessed, and adjusts the level of subsequent layers as you record loops. 'Delay' sets the delay time and in looper mode, allows you to adjust the pitch of your loop from an octave down (half speed) to an octave up (double speed).
There are 2 switches on the pedal, one of which turns the effect on and off. The other one, 'tap/record' allows you to set the delay time by tapping your foot, which I find indispensable live. In loop mode, you can thus adjust the tempo of your loop without changing the pitch. A green LED blinks in time with the rhythm you set. If you hold down this same control, the pedal records a loop of what you play. You can record a loop in any mode except 1sec + Rev (see above) along with the desired effect. The loop turns around when you lift your foot off the switch. You can then edit your loop (flip it, slow it down, filter it etc.) in loop mode.
Now this pedal does an awful lot more than what I can use it for in my band. It does the simpler delay effects that I need in that situation well but it's also the main reason I pull out my pedalboard when I'm fooling around at home. With the looper, it's a great practice and songwriting tool. I love it to death.
