RadTone Harmonic Converger

If you follow Hadley's instructions, the sound out of your GT 8 will be amazing. Hook it up per directions and let 'er rip. How much easier could it possibly be? You will indeed want to tweak your existing patches to suit your tastes. I simply hooked it up and went directly into the PA board.

Custom Player's Strat with noiseless PUPs. Charvel Model 6 with original Jackson PUPs.
HC does not introduce additional noise.
Truly enhances the sound from your processor (mine is the Boss GT 8)
Running directly into the PA mixer (Mackie 32)
I downloaded Paul Hansen's patches for the GT 8 from Roland's site and used my custom patches. Both sound GREAT.
The distortion used to have the FIZZ buzz that sucked. It is GONE.

Can't say on reliability. I have only had the box for a couple of weeks. Seems to be built like a tank. I don't see reason for having a backup unit.

Hadley is true gentleman and is as professional as you can possibly find. What a great guy!

Style: Rock, country, pop. Great enhancement for total control.
Time Playing: Approx 40 years
If stolen or lost: I would BY ALL MEANS get another one.
What I Love: I love the simplicity and the fact that IT DOES WHAT IT IS SUPPOSED TO DO.
What I Hate: The price. A bit of an ouch but how much it worth to get rid of tone frustration.
Wish it Had: Wish is was built in to the Boss GT.
Does it help: Does not get in the way. Helps to make better music through great tones.
Addtional share: If you want to get great NO FIZZ tones, get the HC.

Boy, I've been waiting to own the HC for a long time and finally I was able to get one from a fellow GT Central mate for a fair price. It is the latest version and was 2 months old. Mine included the wooden adjustment tools as well as the instructions Hadley originally included. There are no suprises to mention in terms of "ease of use" Mine is the loop version, insert into loop and twist the adjustment dial to taste.

Here is where the rubber meets the road. I played it (GT8/HC)initially, thru a Carvin FET 400 power amp, 2x12 Legacy cab and an old Ibanez RTS (?) with lame pick ups. But the neck and body are solid, ready to be Frankenstein-ed! Admittedly not the best test lab, but I figured it should sound good anyway it's the HC after all! This is what I liked and noticed about the HC besides the improved OD and fizz killing, much said about that here and elsewhere, no? My cheapy guit-box suddenly had pressence! The pickups actually attempted to show character and variety! Veddy nice! The HC also made the effects sound clearer and livelier. Once again playing thru the power amp, even though I was pleased, I knew that it wasn't the best for reproducing all the HC goodness. So my next experiment would involve my TCP set up, a Carvin Legacy half stack and my beloved Parker Guit-box. Thru this set up (after some minor adjustments) I was blown away at how much better my GT8/HC/BBE Sonic Stomp sounded. I don't use a crazy amount of Od/Dist. but enough to have the proper bite, smoothness and metal "attitude", with the HC engaged I improved my OD/Dist. patches 10 fold. Some Od sims weren't helped that much, but I don't hold it against the HC, trying to polish a turd and all of that. I should say at this point I also by-pass the pre-amps in favour of running the OD/Dist. models with the effects. The HC is not an instant cure all for those who cannot tone shape their MFX to begin with. The HC is a tonal enhancement that improves the sound and flexability of the GT's and other modellers. The better you are at tone shaping the more the HC will benefit your efforts. On clean patches the HC emparts a nice clear chimey enhancing quality that I like, veddy nice. Verily I am quite pleased with how Hadley's Wonder box interacts, improves, sounds, rewards my tweaking efforts, makes me sexier and polishes my tennis game!

It is in my will to be buried with my HC. Can't afford a back up. No problems so far, news and sports next!

Hadley is the Devil, he is the worst man ever! Just kiddin' I didn't even buy it from Hadley, yet I felt compelled to shoot him an email and thank him for sharing his Wonder Box with the world. I've also communicated with him in the past via email and he couldn't have been nicer.

I play prog rock/improvisational psuedo fusion. The HC helps me to acheive all that I can from my GT8 TCP set up. I have way too much gear to list. If it were stolen? I can't bare to consider such a thing, how rude! In conclusion friends, the Harmonic Converger is the bees knees for modellers. It's not an instant cure all if you can't tweak, but if you know your modeller/equipment the HC makes tweaking fun and rewarding. As I've mentioned before I been wanting this thing for quite some time, read all the reviews, got it all hyped up in my brain and was not dissapointed. I have to give it a ten. Totally recommend it to MFX enthusiasts! Thanks Hadley!

Stereo Model. If you follow the simple instruction sheet of connection, nothing could be easier. I use a Boss GT 8 and come out of the Headphones jack. I run both outputs to the PA mixer and use a monitor foldback to hear myself. The trim pot on the side of the unit allows you do custom tweaking of the output timbre of the unit. Make sure you trim the input at the board to avoid clipping on peaks.

Absolutely amazing! To be honest, I tried a mono unit out with my GT8 about a couple of years ago and was not impressed. However, I was a know-it-all and simply connected and expected everything to be perfect. I did not come out of the phones jack and didn't really pay much attention to much. Sent it back. I have (hopefully) since wised up. I found a like-new stereo unit on eBay and connected it per Hadley's instructions. Voila`, AMAZING! I am going DIRECT and it REALLY sounds like I am running my Marshall. Stage volume control is a thing of the past. The tones are what I think Roland actually wanted but did not figure how to get. The Aliasing noise with the high-end annoying grit is gone. The clean is clean and the crunch is dandy. I use customized Fender Custom Player's Strat with Noiseless pickups, a custom made 12" radius neck with bound ebony fretboard built by Greg Reszel (amazing guitar tech and luthier). The guitar is equipped with Ghost Piezzo pickups and 13 pin output which goes to a Roland GR 33 directly into the board (separate signal not into the HC). Also use a Charvel 6 with original Jackson pickups with active midrange removed and replaced with EMG acitve boost circuit.

Built like a tank. Haven't had it long so I cannot express an honest opinion yet.

Hadley is a SUPER guy and provides excellent customer support. He refunded my money on the first unit I had with no questions. His exact statement was that he did not want for me have to keep it if I didn't like it. Businesses that say they have good customer service could learn a lot from Hadley. I highly recommend doing business with him.

I play Christian rock which runs all the way from metal to mellow. We will be playing in churches and trying not to blow the walls out but I can still get the right sound at reasonable volumes. For those who would like to stop hauling mountains of amps and cabinets and have been looking for a great sound from a processor like the Line 6 Pod or the Boss GT series, get one of these units and follow the simple hookup instructions. It seems pricey but like another post states, "How much value do you place on your time?" I would bet that you can tweak from now until the cows come home and will not be able to match the sound without using an HC in your setup.

This product could not be any easier to operate. Having said that, it took me a few days to figure out why I wasn't getting the "Wow" factor that others before me had. It turned out that I was getting too much gain from my own amp and I also was using a bit toomuch compressor as well. Once I made those adjustments, I "saw the light".

I am currently using a Boss GT-8 for a modeler and I have a 69' Strat, a Gibson ES-335 Crossraods, and a Peavey Wolfgang thru' a Mesa 5:50 Express. Once I made a few adjustments, I was left almost breathless by the sounds I was getting, and this was after about 10 minutes of tweaking some existing patches that I had made. Prior to getting the HC, I was using the GT-8 in the manual mode basically as a row of stomp boxes connected using the 4CM. After playing for about an hour (with the biggest grin on my face), I started to develop my own patches from scratch. I followed Hadley's reccommendations with respect to the proper effects chain order, and dialing in amazing sounds was a breeze

Not much really to say here except that it looks like it's built with love. It will last forever I'm sure.

Hadley is a great guy as others have said before me. Given that he's the guitarist for Niel Diamond, I'm sure he's super busy. He was there every time I needed him.

I play a bit of everything, from blues with one band to classic rock with another. When I played through it for some pals the other day, they were blown! The cool thing is that you can just press the loop on/off button on the GT-8 to instantly hear what the HC is doing. The best way I can describe it is like when you go to the paint store, and you see all the samples of colours on the wall. You may think there is only one shade of white, but there are tons of them. The HC brings out all those colours.

Plug it in, tweak your patches, and turn a potentiometer with a wooden dowel. So easy, a caveman could do it! =) The manual that comes with it is pretty easy to follow. Just follow the instructions and you should have no problem!

Ok, what would you say if I told you that I could almost hear and feel the air being driven from my tube amp with the harmonic converger installed into my X3Live amp modeller? Yeah, that's right, I'm using a P.A., not an amp. But for some reason, the HC makes my X3L feel as if I'm actually using the amps that it models.

I have my HC hooked up through my X3L's FX Loop. I can actually turn my HC on and off by just turning off the loop in each individual patch. Side by side comparisons made easy!

As it's been stated here before, I'm not sure what it would take to break the HC. It's a small aluminum box that's filled with some type of resin. It's heavy for it's size. I'm pretty sure that you could cause some major damage to someone/something if you hit them with it. I'm pretty sure that my HC will outlive me and possibly my kids.

As far as gigging without a backup, that is a 100% yes. The only thing I have to worry about is someone stealing it from my pedal board. And if that happens, God help them.

Mr. Hockensmith is aces in my book. He was extremely patient with me and my 1,000 questions. I received prompt replies to every one.

What style of music do you play? Is this a good match?:

I play all differnt styles of music from blues to heavy metal. The Harmonic Converger so far has found a way to fit in in every situation and improve my sound. Did you see that? *MY* sound. I have finally graduated from what Line6 believes what my sound should be and is now firmly in my hands.

How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?:

It'll be 28 years in April 2009. I mainly use my 1999 PRS McCarty but have been known to pull out my 1976 Gibson L6S or Gibson SG every once and a while. I've used several floor and rackmounted FX processors / amp modellers, but my favorites are my Digitech GSP-2120 and my Line6 X3 Live.

If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?:

If it were lost or stolen, I'd be rip-roaring pissed. Not just because it's an expensive piece of kit, but because my sound just left with it. Yes, I'd have to get another one whilst I hunted down the dead-man that took it.

what do you love about it? What do you hate? What is your favorite feature?:

Love - the sound I can get out of it and the fact that I can almost feel the tubes being driven and feel the air from the fictitious amp.

Hate - that I didn't buy one earlier than I did.

Favorite feature - It has to be the simplicity of the HC. Plug it in and good. Follow Hadley's instructions to the letter and you won't be disappointed.

Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?:

Compare it to other products? Sure, Hadley's other version of the HC. There is nothing like the HC on the market today. If there is, someone stole the plans from Hadley. I have absolutely no idea what else is in the HC other than some type of filter, but whatever it is, it works! To be honest, I don't care if Hadley left half his PB&J in there from when he put it together for me. Whatever he put in there works. Don't mess with a good thing you know?

Plug it in--play--cry sweet tears of joy because you do not have to throw your $500 multi effects unit in the garbage!! You will have to do a little adjusting to get the tone "just right" for you and your rig, but there is only one adjustment and you should be able to get that right in about 5 minutes if you follow Hadleys instructions. Now tweaking your effects unit and rebuilding your patches from scratch (which i highly recommend) may take some time but i cant count that against the HC because if the multi-FX units weren't so flawed to begin with we wouldnt be here now would we. I have the mono/loop model, one cable in one cable out. I have it hooked up in my GT-8 loop as Hadley suggests so i can still use my stereo outs.

Many people have written long reviews about what this unit does for your sound, i will not rehash all that. Read some of the other reviews if you want all that (except the 2 or 3 jackasses who decided to write reviews on something they dont even own). I will say that this unit works outstanding and on so many different levels. Like i said before, this unit kept my GT-8 from going in the garbage or out the window. My amp models are now very very usable, the overdrive and distortion functions now actually dont sound like computer generated garbage. The unit does have a little of its own signature (timbre)but its nothing to worry about, it sounds like the signature of a high quality tube amp and i think it has greatly enhanced the sound of my music. I put the HC in the GT-8 behind my Semour Duncan Twin Tube Mayhem distortion pedal(awesome pedal!!) in the loop and dialed up a Marshall stack amp model on the front end (before the loop) and WOW! The tube sound of the pedal combined with the HC's tube like timbre made my crappy little practice amp sound like a old Marshall head with a cascading gain mod (ala Randy Rhodes). But this is just one small example of how the HC just makes your pedalboard sound better. This device actually makes me want to play guitar more! Seriously, i was so dissapointed with the sounds i had been getting and the endless work i was having to do to make the GT-8 sound decent that i was reluctant to pick up my guitar, it was like going to work! Now my stuff sounds so good, i look forward to going home everyday and playing. Enough rambling, the unit does what it is supposed too and soooo much more. I am going to buy another one in case Hadley gets abducted by aliens or something, because i now will refuse to play without one!

I would say indestructable as many others have. Very solid build, would probably survive a nuclear blast along with all the ants and cockroaches!

Hadley is awesome, he was on tour in Europe somewhere and i am miltary stationed in Korea so i had to have him ship it to an alternate address to be shipped to me. Even with his busy schedule he answered all my questions on a daily basis and we had all arrangements made before he got home to build the unit. I have no doubt he would stand behind his product and i fully respect and admire him for his refusal to sell out to someone else or reveal the inner workings of his unit. It is a cutthroat business world and if you dont protect yourself somebody will backstab you in a heartbeat. If you dont like the price dont buy one, that just helps to ensure that i sound better than you, your choice.

Overall rating-Awesome! Enough said. If it was lost of stolen i would get another within the week, then i would find the guy who stole it and beat him to death with a fork!

As simple as it gets. There is a recessed metal potentiometer that can be adjusted (you can use a flathead screwdriver to turn it, but use the wooden dowels instead to prevent accidental damage). From far counter clockwise to full clockwise it goes from bypass to full "convergance"

This is EXACTLY what I've been looking for in my 15+ years of playing!

To start off, let me preface by saying that I own a POD XT Live but that I don't actually use ANY of it's amp or cab modeling, as I now have a Rivera K-Tre head that has some f'n CRUSHING gain >:) Obviously, I'm a metalhead! My patches consist of amp bypasses with effects and EQ/volume tweaks for solo/lead work. I then run the output into a rackmounted Behringer UltraGraph 15 band 2 channel EQ (which, for 80 bucks, is a pretty darn good piece of gear...I'll never go back to my GE-7), then into a BBE 362 Maximizer (another "gotta-have" tone shaping tool) and finally into a Rocktron Hush Super C before going back into the amp's Return.

Even though the HC is designed to remove "fizz" from Hi-Gain Amp/Cab sims on the POD and other modelers, I find that even heavy use of EQ adds in harsh fizz and hiss. That's where the HC comes into play. The effect this unit has on your sound is very hard to describe. Basically, when you start turning the adjustment knob, you'll hear an effect that sounds almost like natural harmonics as you would hear them if you started playing them from the 2nd or 3rd fret and started going up the neck...its a very subtle effect. These seem to be harmonic "overtones" that synchronize with whatever note you're playing. The more you turn the knob, the more the overtones seem to drop in octaves (after cycling through the 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd, and unisons). Eventually you can dial in a setting that reduces the fizz enough octaves to where it is in harmony with the note you're playing. As a pleasant side effect, this also seems to prevent destructive dissonance. I can now squeal away on the pinch and natural harmonics with ease. I could be dead wrong on the HC's working principle, but this is the theory that I've come up with after using it for a few days.

As far as tone and clarity go, you will still need to use your preamp stage/EQ to shape your tone first. If you use the amp/cab sims or pedal distortions, set up a new patch with all EQ settings at 5 (flat across the board) and turn off all effects, then start tweaking. Set up a solid "base" distortion tone first. Once you've come up with a sound you like, start tweaking the HC. Remember, this little contraption is not an EQ in and of itself. But, it will allow you to raise up your highs to add more bite and cut through your lows (esp. if you've got 'em "dimed" or at 10) while eliminating the shrill hiss and ear-piercing noise usually resulting from cranking up the treble. This is ESPECIALLY apparent for solo/lead settings. I used to have to dial back the highs for my lead patches to the point of muddiness at stage volume to prevent noise and feedback, but now I can wail away without worrying about giving the audience permanent hearing loss from uncontrolled highs. One other note, as mentioned before, due to the elimination of destructive dissonance (or interference), notes will sustain longer and harmonics sing out more freely, esp. during chording/arpeggiating. This is my impression, at least.

"Built like a tank" or a hockey puck (in Hadley's own words :) comes to mind. It's a passive device, only 1 moving part (the potentiometer dial), solid metal casing, has a good weight to it. It's like the proverbial "little black box". Would probably last longer than I'll live.

Hadley Hockensmith is very accomplished musician himself, yet very pleasant and personable to communicate with. I had several email correspondences with him before I purchased my unit and he was very specific and to-the-point in answering my many (dumb) questions. I feel very confident in dealing with him and would trust him for any future purchases I might make. One other thing...I ordered my unit on a Sunday night and got it the next Monday afternoon, so within 8 days I was loving life and my tone with my new HC. Excellent all the way around here!

I found out about this device on the Line6 forums one fateful day when I did a search for "fizz". I did some research online (including reading reviews here) before laying down my $300 for the HC. Let me tell you, I do not regret this purchase at all! Sure, it's a rather steep price to pay for such a seemingly small and simple device, but you have to remember - this is one guy making these things by hand, not some sweatshop in Asia using cheap parts/materials. No matter the industry, if you want "custom" parts, devices, etc, you pay a premium. There is NOTHING on the market like it. You really have to hear it with your own ears to appreciate it. Look around the web for A/B sound comparisons. If you ask nicely, I may be able to provide some myself. Bottom line...if you intend to use a modeler or lots of EQ to shape your tone, this is a MUST-HAVE!

I use the stereo model with a Boss GT-8. GT-8 Headphones Out goes into the HC input, and each HC output runs into a DI box, and into the board. Pretty straightforward.

One side effect of using the HC, is that the ease of use of my GT-8 has been greatly improved. Getting really good tones out of the GT-8 used to be quite the tweakfest, but with the HC engaged I get to where I want to be sonically much more quickly. The HC radically increase productivity of tweaking time, so more time playing, less time tweaking.

With the HC engaged, the GT-8 patches are more present and real and urgent, there is a roundness and dimension to the tone that didn't exist before. I didn't realize how sterile and flat they sounded pre-HC, they really pop and come to life when the HC kicks in.

Built like a tank. I bought it in October of 2006, still works great. I have no doubt this thing will be working for years more.

It was a pleasure dealing with Hadley, he was very patient and answered my many questions in detail.

The only downside of the HC is the high price, but this is only high in relation to the typical mass manufactured stomp box. The unit is hand-made by the guy who invented it, and to my knowledge the HC is completely unique in what it does for tone.

Others have made this comment, and it bears repeating: the HC does one thing only, but it does it exceedingly well. And what the HC does is make my GT-8 sound like it has got tube amps inside instead of software simulations. When considered from that perspective, the HC is a bargain.

I bought the unit and connected it to my GT-8 loop as advised on the Rad Tone website. I set the HC on 50% and chose a simple Twin patch that I use with an oldies R&B group I play with. The difference was immediately apparent.

I have several different amplifier sets, but I tried this with a Roland KC-500 full range keyboard amp and a Godin LGX guitar equipped with a Creation Audio Labs Redeemer. My tone was exactly what I wanted and sounded better than my Twins ever did. I found I had a lot of depth and control with my picking dynamics and that inspired me to play with more feeling and precision.

The unit appears well constructed - I have been playing pro and semi-pro for over 40 years and would trust this to be on par with my BOSS gear which has never failed.

I emailed Hadley and set up a meeting in Anaheim at the Namm show. He showed up on time and I bought the HC from him directly. All emails previous to this meeting were answered quickly.

In my work, I get the chance to play with all the toys. I prefer products that are simple, quiet and effective no brains, just ears product. This works for me.In 46 years of playing, I have used lots of pedals - I always default to BOSS and am using their GT-8 with a pair of Tech-21 power stations, a 100 watt Cube, a Roland AC-60 acoustic amplifier or directly to mixer, depending on the situation. My guitars are Godins and Morgan acoustics.I would buy this again if stolen. I bought this after reading recommendations on Harmony Central from players that seemed to be like me - I trust experience.If it makes me feel like playing and I am having more fun in the limited time I have left to play, it is well worth it. I invest in very few products and am pleased I made a wise decision with the HC.

As a guitar player for 30 years plus, and having lots of tube amps, which I still have but don't want to risk them at some gigs, damage...so on. I have a GT 8 which had the "Fizz" sound even through tube amps...not as bad there none the less. My JC 120 showed the "Fizz", very much with allot of other garbage in the sound. As a solid state amp I would exspect that. The GT 8 sounds very good throught the JC 120 except for the "Fizz" and other garbage. I bought the latest HC. This was as easy to operate as you can get with great results. With in minuets, I was able to find where to start with new sounds. With a small adjustment pot on the side, very well protected, you start to dial one control...that's it.

What the HC did for all the settings in my gt 8 and a couple of others that I tried it on, through my friends GT 8's, was amazing. It does exactly what it say's it does. As a sound engineer, studio's for 6 years and then on the road for 8 years, and the past 20 years, head sound tech for 5 show rooms and still doing outside big events, I know what I am hearing. Not bragging about me, just giving facts. The HC took out the "FIZZ", and cleaned up the garbage as you can dial it up to the level you want out. Then you can continue dialing up hearing other tones in your sound. The HC never took away any of the tones I wanted to keep, it made them better, clearer, more tube like.

I will go with a nine here just cause I don't what it would take to break it, and or if a componet will die in it at some time. Only time will tell that. I do know this, it is very light, and built very strong. So I would exspect that dropping it will do nothing to it. I'll guess to say that even throwing it at the ground, which I would not recogmend...duh, would not hurt it either. In either case, I am sure if it fails Hadley will fix it.

I e-mailed Hadley first asking some questions. He returned my e-mails very quickly. Then I called him as I wanted to speak to him, as that is a bit easier for me at times to get questions answered. I left a message for him. He called me back even though I know he must have a very busy schedule. E-mail return...very fast...
Phone call return...very fast.

This is a great product for modlers. I would get another in a heart beat if this one was stolen. The HC truly does a great job to improve the sound of my guitar throught the GT 8. Even the OD's that sounded almost un-uasable before, are now very useable. No power supply, no batteries. It is not just an EQ by a long shot. I tried to mimck the sound of what the HC was doing with a couple of great sounding EQ's and along with my years of sound knowledge, could not truly replicate what the HC does. So it is not just an EQ thing as some have claimed. Great Job Hadley.

This unit does not perform any magic on your existing patches. The creator of the Harmonic Converger specifically states this, and he's absolutely correct to do so; you have to work with it, preferably creating patches from the ground up. Once you've done this (and not connected the thing backward as I first did - duh! :), you start to get a feel for what it can do. It takes time and effort, like any decent piece of equipment, and will reward your efforts. So, although my rating is lower for this category, please do not take this as a negative.

This is where the HC shines. Although it's not designed to replicate the sound of any particular artist, it enables the Multi-FX user to emulate more closely the sound of modeled tube amps. Yes, it kills fizz, but that's not the only or greatest thing it does. The response of the amp/speaker combination, and the feel of a good tube amp as it starts to work hard are the areas in which the HC comes into its own. How it does it, I do not care - the fact of the matter is that when you've plugged it in and spent some time working with it, you find you've been playing for a long time rather than tweaking the presets. It raised my BOSS GT-8/Tech 21 Power Engine from a good setup to one that even my ultra-picky band-mates called "superb". Sag, dynamics, presence and clarity. Everything you could want.

Built like a brick outhouse - you'd have to run it over with a road-roller to kill it. I'd absolutely use it without a backup.

Hadley is very approachable, professional and courteous. He answers questions quickly and honestly, and obviously has a wealth of knowledge in the field. All this and he's Neil Diamond's guitarist too. Draw your own conclusions from that.

I play everything from hard/progressive rock through to blues. I've been playing for 32 years now, and have made my living from it. I use the GT-8/Power Engine/HC to cover more styles than I could with my old Marshall/Vox/Fender gear (which I still love), and without spending vast sums on more "vintage" amps. I love the fact that the HC does exactly what it's supposed to do, and I'm glad that Hadley has made it available. Yes, it costs a fair amount, but it's been worth every penny. I've had it for 3 1/2 months now, and it proves itself every time I use it.

If it were lost/stolen, I'd get another immediately. I don't care that I don't know what it is or how it works, but then I'm not an idiot. If it works properly, use it. So, to quote Frank Zappa, shut up and play yer guitar.

I am Hadley Hockensmith, designer of the RadTone Harmonic Converger. As clearly stated in the documentation provided to every owner, the HC is designed to become an integral part of your rig - this means that some parameters of your setup will need to be "tweaked" for optimum performance (it's kinda like adding a new preamp or amplifier). That is why it's important that one actually uses an HC for a reasonable amount of time to find the best settings for their personal tonal preferences. This area of Harmony Central is called "User Reviews" after all, and the reviews are much more articulate and accurate when submitted by those who actually own & have had ample time to know the equipment being reviewed. I am aware that some folks are offended by the possibility that their favorite modeler can be improved upon, but it is never right to submit a disingenuous review to promote personal agendas, no? I also understand that some may be upset that they can't take an HC apart with the goal of illegally copying the design, but is that really their prerogative from legal & ethical standards? As for claims of what the HC does sonically, I believe the description provided on the HC website is quite accurate, and the vast majority of reviewers here and elsewhere seem to concur with it.

May you all find the tone of your dreams! ;o)

~Hadley~

Easy to use.

It removes fizz as billed.

Epoxy-sealed, passive unit. More or less indestructible

The manufacturer is a nice guy, but his product claims are "out there".

How does it work? Check out the link below:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar06/articles/line6.htm?print=yes

Ignore all of the other nonsense you've heard about what it supposedly does. It is a passive high shelf eq filter. For $275.

If that is what you want, great. It solves a lot of problems, simply and quickly. It should work forever and survive a nuclear holocaust. But not likely to win any "bang for the buck" awards.

Then again, what's your time worth? If you want immediately useable tones out of a fizzy MFX unit, this'll do it, fast and easy.

There isn't much to this box to make it hard to use. I tried 2 units which belong to friends who swear that this thing is "dah real". One had a toggle switch and RCA (?) jacks and the other one was a black metal box with a knob on top and 1/4" jacks. It also had a wood dowel thing used to adjust some other control through a hole in the side. The RCA model was irritating to use, I mean who in his right mind would design a guitar stompbox with RCA jacks? The black metal box made sense with standard 1/4" jacks. I'm giving an overall "6" because both the RCA jacks and wooden dowel hole in the side thing is just plain idiotic.

These things are supposed to be used with effects pedals and modeling processors like a Pod, Tonelab or Digitech RP. The idea is that those devices create all kind of awful unnatural frequencies that aren't like a real tube amp, and that this RadTone gadget fixes all that up for you while making your tones sound more lifelike. It _sorta_ does what its advertised to do, but I'm told these things cost like $250 each. That's hecka money for a one trick device! I didn't like the fact that when I adjusted it up for my Strat, my Ibanez didn't really benefit so much, and the other way around as well. What are you supposed to do, get out the lame wooden screwdriver thing in the middle of a set? Both my friends have LPs, so maybe its more for that kind of guitar, go figure. I can get similar or better results from my programmable parametric EQ in the rack with my Pod XT Pro, and that thing has 64 memory slots so I can store setups for differnt guitars or songs. It cost only a little more than one of these things, so I think thats a no brainer. Both of the 2 different RadTones sounds pretty different from each other, so I don't know about build quality. Maybe its been improved over time, but I clearly thought the silver one worked better! It gets a "5" because it sounds good, but only a 5 because it too expensive compared to other things that can do the same thing and more for about the same price.

It pretty much feels like you could run over this thing in a tank and it would take it. Even so, the guts are completely packed in there with some kind of hard clay or plastic. Regardless of how well its made, this really stinks. No matter what you think some drunk guy is gonna step on the end of your cable and break the 1/4" or RCA input sooner or later, and there is no way you can open this puppy up and make a quick repair. "8" because its built solid, no more because you can't even make simple repairs on your own.

All I heard about the guy who makes these is that he is really cool as long as you don't ask too many questions. Kinda weird, but whatever.

I play in a cover band and do weddings, parties and stuff like that. I've been playing for about 7 years off and on. I don't think I'm going to buy one because its way overated and far too expensive for what it does. I wish it was programmable, that would help a lot.

This is the easiest device to use. It has an input, and output, and a (recessed) knob.

Plug it in, twist the knob (with the provided tool) till it sounds good, you're done.

It doesn't get easier than that.

It also comes with pretty good instructions for making it work with the GT-8.

It's actually non-trivial to get the loop patch in the right place, so this is something to be aware of: you have to have the HC in the loop effect _after_ sources of distortion but before stereo effects.

However, that's not too hard to achieve, and once you know how you're going to get good at it because you'll be wanting the HC in every distorted patch. You press FX-chain once, "parameter right" 6-8 times (to get past the OD effect), "loop" twice, "exit", "write", "write". That's the routine :)

It also has multiple outputs, which are great. I plug the mono out into my amp for foldback, and run the phones out into the PA, so the sound man has complete control of me in the mix.

So let's be clear: it doesn't utterly reproduce a valve sound.

But is soooo transforms what is already an good sound into a really excellent sound.

It is so good that I simply can't imagine using the GT-8 without it.

I _think_ you might get the same effect if you played with global EQ, trimmed out highs etc. But I haven't achieved that, and how much easier to pay a bucks, have a set-and-forget and not worry with that anymore.

Every now and then I switch the device out, just to remind myself. I switch it back in pronto, I can tell you that.

Build like a tank. Hard to imagine how to damage it!

Rapid friendly email response, made sure I had everything I needed in the package to meet my needs.

I would get another if it got stolen. It's a must-have with the GT-8 for me. Boss should license the darn thing and just include it in the GT-8.

Someone commented, in a forum somewhere, that they think it's just a low-pass filter. I'm an electronic engineer, and I agree that it's hard to imagine that it can be much more. However, someone went to all the trouble of figuring out the _right_ low pass filter, and putting it in a bullet-proof box. That makes it worth the dollars for me. You could spend time fritzing around with a soldering iron or an EQ. Or you could buy this.

It's simple. Like everyone has said. Plug it in, twist the knob till it sounds good.

It's really amazing.

I bought this on a total impulse, having read the other reviews and thinking "well, if I've thrown my money away so be it".

But it just makes an amazing difference.

I can't use my GT-8 without it now!

Rock solid. You'd have to try hard to break this thing.

Very fast friendly email support. Excellent.

Got everything I asked for, questions answered, went the extra mile to make sure I had what I needed for my setup.

I'm really saying the same thing everyone else has said. It's hard to understand why, but this thing makes the difference.

I'm an electronic engineer, so I have a fair idea what can be in this thing. Someone else said "it's _just_ a low pass filter". Maybe it is, maybe it has some reasonance or something else... there's not much it can be. It might be two resistors and a capacitor in that box for all we know.

But you know what: who cares? Who cares if it has a flux capacitor or a cleverly bent piece of wire. It does the job!

This guy found the right low pass filter, or whatever it is, and that's what I'm happy to have paid for.

Every now and then I switch it out, just to remind myself why it's there. I switch it back in promptly, I can tell you that.

Fellow musicians,

I am Hadley Hockensmith, designer of the Harmonic Converger. For all interested, I am happy to annouce that the Official HC website is now online at HarmonicConverger.com

See you there ;o)

~Hadley~

I have the loop version for the GT-8 and i must say its the most simplistic devise I have, you shouldnt even be playing guitar if u can't figure it out lol.

Ibanez RG 1570 > GT-8 > Loop HC > Marshall 150 watt valvestate

I thought my tone was good before my Hc arrived.. but oone the hc is plugged in ready the sound is 100% better, altho minor tweaking is needed of your patches ect. Me pseronally I just tweaked the global EQ on my gt-8 highs and high mids down a couple. and a little more bass turned the hc at bout 40% and all my patches sound alot more realistic and completley illiminated fizz. it doesnt just get rid of that fiz it also adds more "colour" to your tone.

Hadley was really responsive to my emails.. I sent the payment on a friday and i recieved the item the next friday. and i live in australia..

I play most metal 80's rock/metal.. but even though i do love clean and acoustic tones, the hc will not do much effect for non distorted sounds. but i found with the gt-8 the clean tones are great anyway.

I purchased the Mono/Loop model on July 28, 2007. This device really couldn't be any simpler to use than it is: one input, one output, and a drive control. The drive control is basically a recessed screw that can be turned from 0% to 100%, and a tool for turning it was included with purchase. The Harmonic Converger (HC) is also a "set it and forget it" device - once I found the "sweet spot" for my rig by turning the drive control, I was done. And because the drive control is recessed (and quite recessed, at that), it would be virtually impossible for the setting to be changed other than intentionally. Also included with purchase was some documentation on how to get the most out of the device, which was very helpful.

I am using my HC with a Boss GT-8 Guitar Multi Effects Processor and a Mesa/Boogie F-50 Combo Amp, in the 4-Cable Method (4CM) configuration. This configuration allows me to either engage or bypass the F-50's preamp on a patch-by-patch basis in the GT-8. I'm an "analog guy" at heart, and if I had enough money, I would probably go with an all-analog rig. When I upgraded my equipment a couple of years ago, however, I found that all of the multi-effects units were digital modeling devices, and none of the stand-alone effects were programmable (e.g. stomp boxes, etc.). I wanted to be able to get a lot of different sounds and effects with an easy-to-operate rig, and buying a modeler was my only realistic choice. I chose the GT-8 as my modeler, and intended to use the preamp of my F-50 as a "base" for my distortion/overdrive sounds.

Because I'm using the 4CM, I didn't really have a "fizz" problem to speak of, and I was able to get a nice, full sound via the F-50 alone. It needed some added "punch", however, and I began experimenting with the various GT-8 distortions and preamps in order to add it. What I found was that as soon as I added any of the GT-8's distortions or preamps, it resulted in a "dead" sound - kind of lifeless and dull. And when I say "experimented", I'm talking about over 1000 hours of tweaking!

After much angst and frustration, I finally caved and bought my HC. Within 15 minutes of inserting it into my rig, I had already created a tone better than I was able to create in over 1000 hours of tweaking. I AM NOT EXAGGERATING. To my ears, the HC takes a "dead" tone and makes it sound "alive". It's hard to describe in words what it does to the sound, but in my rig, it seems almost as if the HC is doubling the number of frequencies heard - this results in a full, round sound that I was unable to achieve without it. I've seen the HC described in some reviews as a low-pass filter, which I think is ludicrous - once you've heard it, it's clear that it's not only cutting undesirable "fizz", but adding desirable frequencies, as well.

It also changed the "feel" of my guitar and rig, something that can't be experienced by listening to sound clips. My prior rig was all-analog, and with the HC in place, my new rig feels just as natural. My only regret is that I didn't buy it a long, long time ago...

I should also add that the HC did not improve my clean sounds - in fact, in many cases it made them sound worse. This does not affect the HC's rating in this category, however, because I only bought it to improve my saturated sounds - I already loved my clean sounds, and because the GT-8's loop is bypassed in my clean patches, the HC is bypassed, as well. The best of both worlds. I'm sure it could have a positive impact on clean sounds in other rigs, but it didn't in mine.

I honestly can't imagine having a problem with this device. It only has one moving part (the drive control), and my understanding is that the innards are frozen in place by epoxy. All of the external parts appear to be of very high quality.

I asked A LOT of questions, on more than one occasion, before I decided to purchase my HC. All of my questions were answered quickly, well, and completely. I'd say the average response time was around four hours. In addition, there were several times when I was unaware of additional information that was relevant to my purchase decision, and on those occasions, this information was provided along with the answers.

The inventor has a very straightforward communication style, and since this is my preference, it worked great for me. I know that there are others, however, who prefer a few "warm fuzzies" when they are communicating, and adding this element is the only possible thing I can think of that would improve this aspect. But from a "questions asked/questions answered" perspective, it's all good.

I really couldn't be happier with my purchase of the HC - it has filled a need for me in an "exactly the missing piece" kind of way. I can't say that I tried any other similar effects, because I did extensive research and determined that the HC was the only device that did what I needed.

If there's any room for overall improvement on this purchase, it would be the price - at $238.00 US, for a device so small and simple, it was a "psychologically" difficult purchase decision for me, which led to my procrastination in purchasing it. I understand that the creator builds each HC by hand, and doesn't want to compromise on quality, so I'd say it's unlikely that it will ever be offered at a lower price. I don't think this makes it any less than a "10" from a value perspective, however - it has basically transformed my digital rig into an analog rig (for real - the HC is an analog device), and that puts its value in the tens of thousands of dollars. When viewed this way, it's the consummate bargain.

I have the loop version. Even a drummer could figure this out. Plug and play. Patch in and out through the send and receive jacks and program all presets to use the loop. You must be sure that the loop is placed after the preamp, but before any stereo effects.

The device has a recessed rotary pot that controls the degree of effect. It was quite simple for me to find my sweet spot. My HC is connected to a GT-8 and I use a pair of Twins or DeVilles. What it does has been stated endlessly in the reviews before me. Let me simply say that I couldn't imagine playing without it. Sounds I used to think were pretty good seem watery and pale now.

Built like a tank. You probably couldn't break it if you tried.

Hadley is quite responsive to questions. This is especially impressive as he doesn't have a big company with sales reps. He responded to all my inquiries quickly, and with excellent info.

I have been a touring and recording pro since 1975. I have played with many well known artists in very diverse genres of music. I have also been a Roland/Boss effects user, specifically the modeling devices, since the beginning. What the HC does answers a need that I have always had. The convenience and 'one stop shopping' that all-in-one modeling processors afford the user has always been somewhat offset by the problems the HC was designed to address. If I were to caution someone in any regard, it is not related to the HC, but to the reality that you must spend a great deal of time programming your device, and slowly fine-tuning beyond that. That is generally understood by multi-effects users, I think. Hadley has created the final piece of the puzzle in this regard. I am very happy to own an HC. The first night I used it, other musicians in the band noticed the difference without my having said anything about a new device. This was on a huge soundstage. Need I say more?

I am using a BOSS GT8. When I decided to order an HC, I followed Hadley's recommendation by purchasing the Loop variation. Very simple to hook up to the GT8's effects loop. 2 1/4" patch cables, 1 in, 1 out. As for ease of use, I would say it is a "plug and play" sort of thing, but with the exception that you will need to spend a few minutes setting up your patches by configuring the LOOP in your FX chain. This is easily and quickly done once you get the hang of it. I placed the HC in the chain where it is after the COSM pre-amp as well as after any overdrive/distortion, compression, wah pedal, etc. Basically, you want to place the HC after any gain staging type effect AND after the amp model's front end. I left the post-EQ and all digital effects after the LOOP. This seems to work well.

Hadley provided excellent instructions with the HC, including a sheet on "interfacing the harmonic converger with your GT8". Just follow his instructions and you should not have any problems.

I want to qualify my remarks here by stating I am a very reluctant "amp modeler" user. I have been playing guitar for well over 30 years and have earned a part-time living playing music for most of that time as well. I play or have played most styles of music including blues, pop, rock, blues, mainstream jazz, contemporary jazz, blues, country, fingerstle acoustic, and...did I mention blues? I am a live player. I have a beautiful collection of vintage Fender amps including a 'near-mint' 1964 Deluxe Reverb (stamped NG) as well as many fine guitars and "boutique" pedals that I love and use. However, playing praise and worship music at church in an age of in-ear monitors and less-than-adequate sound systems has demanded a shift from onstage amplification to a direct-to-FoH arrangement. After searching and listening for quite a while, I settled with the GT8. It served it's purpose well enough and I found the amp sounds to be...acceptable. Not great. Adequate. Could be better, but it will work.

Well, not any more! Here comes the HC!

After hooking up the HC in the effects loop and then properly configuring the loop in the fx chain and adjusting the HC's "drive control" effect level, I fired everything up. I am honestly amazed at the difference the HC makes to the overall sound. It behaves exactly as Hadley advertised. It removed the high-end "fizz", tightened up the low-end and removed the bottom mush, and also sharpened the overall presence. There is more "depth" and 3D to the tone. It sort of reminds me of the effect of a BBE sonic maximizer or some such thing. It brings out more of what you want and gets rid of what you don't want. Clean tones especially have more 3D character and sharpness. Overdrive is very nicely smoothed out. An excellent result in every way.

Here is what I told Hadley about his HC:

"I am extremely pleased with the effect of the HC. It is a dramatic difference in a very good way. The amp sounds are much more realistic. What I had thought sounded pretty good beforehand now sounds like dirt if I take out the HC.

Excellent product! You are a brilliant man. I really appreciate it."

One more thing: I read some criticism claiming the HC adds it's own color. Yes, the HC ABSOLUTELY DOES add it's own color to whatever device you hook it up to. Hadley tells you this. The coloration is exactly as I described above. It is a good thing, unless you like the mush and fizz. If you like mush and fizz and want to keep it in your tone, then don't spend your money on the HC. ; )

The HC is housed in a small, rugged and sturdy box. It looks like it could take some abuse. I have only owned it for one week but I don't expect to have any problems.

Hadley seems like a good guy. He responded to all of my emails very quickly and thoroughly. I suspect that if I have any problems at all he will stand behind his product.

Hadley is a quite excellent guitar player himself. The HC was obviously developed when he set out to improve the sound of amp modelers for his own professional use. I appreciate his efforts to share the results.

I am extremely pleased with this purchase. The HC has helped improve the GT8's performance in a major way and I am now much happier with it. I can't imagine going back to using the GT8 without it.

Unit is about as plug and play at they come. I use it in the external loop of my Boss GT8. The output of the GT8 goes into the effects return of a Marshall DSL50 half stack. Guitar goes into a Morley bad horsie 2, into the input of the GT8. Very simple setup. I run the HC at about 11 o'clock.

All I can say is NO MORE FIZZ!!!! I rely on the most demanding of tests for a product and that is my own ears. Certainly I read reviews to make an informed decision but when I hear the difference the HC makes in my sound, well I'm sold. The preamps and distortions in the GT8 are now not only usable but dynamic and full.

It sits comfortably velcro'd to my pedalboard and is built to last. It has a casing much sturdier than most pedals and will never be stepped on. It's non-moving components are sealed in epoxy. It would have to be physically destroyed to get it to fail.

Hadley answered every one of my questions promptly. He knows music as he is a musician himself and like many of us, has been through his share of MFX's. I trust his knowledge and his product.

I have been playing for over 35 years. I have seen my share of products that fail to deliver what they claim to do. The HC does what it's creator claims---it removes the fizz!! Isn't that what we all want out of our MFX's? My opinions are mine only. I do not comment on others for I only know how I feel about the product. It works.

This is a product that is a "no brainer" to use. I have the stereo model that is used with my Vox Tonelab SE.

Headphones out -> Harmonic Converger -> Samson Stereo Direct Box -> Yamaha AW1600 recorder.

Just plug it in, and turn the "Drive Control" to a sweet spot (about 11-12 o'clock on my unit), and go!

The manual is a couple of pages, absolutely easy-to-follow fool-proof instructions.

I use a Vox Tonelab SE, and I formerly plugged it directly in to the Yamaha AW1600 recorder for my guitar sounds. I thought my guitar tones were great. I was totally satisfied with my Vox Tonelab.

That is, until I got the Harmonic Converger! I now hear on my pre-Harmonic Converger recordings how my tone was not up-to-par. There were fuzzy highs and wreckless lows. The HC fixed all that immediately with the twist of one knob. Honestly, I was getting a decent tone before, but compared to what I get now through the HC, I hate my old sound. I didn't really hear the problems with my tone until I heard the difference the Harmonic Converger made on my tone. Now, my tone sounds more professional,tighter, smoother, better sounding, and the tone is fantastic. This unit has made my tone go from OK to Fantastic! I have been re-recording my old guitar tracks, and the difference is nothing short of amazing.

As a parenthetical note, I also want to say that I have owned and used all the modeling processors out there, and the Vox Tonelab was the very best I have found. This Harmonic Converger greatly improves the Tonelab (which to me, is a better unit than Line 6, Boss, or any other modeling processor on the market).

Vox Tonelab + Radtone Harmonic Converger = Holy Grail of Tone! :-)

The Radtone Harmonic Converger is one black metal box. It is very solidly built.

I have not used it for long, but it seems very solid, sturdy, well built.

During the ordering process, I spoke to the owner of Radtone, Hadley Hockensmith, and he was very accomodating to me. He was very helpful with my questions, even though some of them were probably "dumb" questions. He explained everything very well and in a very friendly manner. He handbuilt my unit and had it in the mail very quickly. A+ in customer service.

I play fusion and rock music. This one unit has improved my tone immeasurably.

I am usually a very critical person in my reviews, but I literally have nothing negative to say about this unit. The only problem I had was that I had a bit of trouble finding out where I could buy one. After about an hour on the internet, I finally found out how to contact Radtone. The Harmonic Converger is not available at the local mega-music center. You have to order it directly from Radtone. The website address is:

http://bossgtcentral.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7574

If it were stolen, I would pray for the person who stole it, and then order a new one.

My parting advice for guitarists is this: If you are using a modeling processor such as Line 6 Pod, Boss GT or GT-Pro, Yamaha DG Stomp, Vox Tonelab or Tonelab SE, you are probably getting good tone. This unit will give you GREAT TONE. Run, don't walk, to your phone, and order one of these. You will not be sorry.

I purchased the hc loop mono version, It has an input and a ouput, can't get much easier than that:) I use mine with the gt-8, in the loop.

It has improved the quality of my tones clean and distortion, i use it with a bbe 362, and i wouldn't use my gt-8 without either now.

This thing is built like a tank, so i see no issue with it not being dependable.

Hadley, was a nice guy through the process, i did end up getting my input and outputs moved to one end, instead of the default version where you have the output on 1 end and the input on the other end.

He was decent about changing that for me and didn't charge me extra for it so i'm pleased.

I play nu-metal and alternative rock, it was a good match for that style. I've been playing for many years now, and for the price, this unit has made my gt-8 worth alot more than it was without the addon.

I bought the LOOP HC. One input. One output. Simple pot to turn to increase/decrease the effect. You can't go wrong in hooking it up or adjusting it. It came with some documentation (couple of pages).

The only problems I had were because I had never really spent time getting to know my Boss GT-8, so I wasn't all that certain about how to get the effects loop to work. Radley (the HC's creator) actually explained that to me ... and once I knew how to move the loop within the effects chain and turn it ON and OFF, I was up and running.

The claims made about the HC are basically that it takes the awful digital "fizz" out of the distortion sounds. Being a bit of an audio newbie, I didn't really know much about this UNTIL someone posted on the web some BEFORE and AFTER examples of using the HC. Once I knew what to listen for, I discovered that this fizz afflicted many of the sounds I was wanting to use. So for me, this was an education process. Pre HC I had problems with my sound/tone, but I wasn't aware of them. Post HC I have problems with my sound/tone, but I am aware of them, and I now have a tool that is going to help me fix it.

I've been using my GT-8 through the effects loop of a Marshall AVT100 combo amp. I've not been happy with the sound. Now that I have the HC deployed, I'm getting a much better sound through the headphones, but not through the amp. So I am planning to ditch the amp now and perhaps try a keyboard amp instead.

Its a black box. One input. One output. I can't imagine it would be easy to break it.

Radley was very helpful. He answered my questions very promptly, built and shipped the HC promptly, then helped me get it working with my rig. Very happy with the service level from my end of things.

I'm not a connoisseur of sounds/tones ... but I know what I like. About 6 months ago, because I am financially constrained, I decided to head down the modeller path because I simply cannot afford to buy $5000 amps and cabs. Having played on a Marshall AVT100 combo amp for several years, combined with a plethora of pedals (comp/sustainer, turbo o/d, phaser, hi-band flanger, chorus and delay), I decided to switch completely to a Boss GT-8.

For the first couple of weeks I was intrigued by the masses of patches, bought myself a midi/usb cable and started loading it up with other people's patches. That kept me happy for a little while. But in the midst of this, I realised that I had lost "my sound", my tone, that almost indefinable something that made me who I was as a muso. I was simply channelling other people's sounds/tones.

How to get back to being me again? I start to feel very negative about the GT-8 and got the impression that I might need to get rid of it and start all over again.

Until this week. I decided, after reading many reviews, to try one of Radley's HCs. Here's the bottom line for me. It does what it says it does. For less than $300.

I don't have enough loot to go spending thousands on tube amps, nor on the "next big thing" modeller, although I don't doubt that this would bring improvements too. But I now have the confidence to invest some more time and energy into the GT-8 to start building my own patches from scratch, with the HC in the loop, because I really do think I'm going to be able to get a tone that I like now. Before getting the HC, I would not have had the confidence in getting a good outcome.

I'll now invest a month or so in getting to know my GT-8 better. I'll probably sell my Marshall AVT100 and get a keyboard amp instead (the tone differences between GT8-->headphones and GT8-->MarshallEffectsLoop are quite substantial). Whether I can recapture "my sound" is an open question, but I'm now more confident that it is possible.