electro-harmonix 1071-798B1 Superego+ Synth Engine/Multi Effect User Manual
- June 6, 2024
- electro-harmonix
Table of Contents
SUPEREGO+
SYNTH ENGINE/MULTI-EFFECT
Congratulations on your purchase of the Electro-Harmonix Superego+ synth
engine and multi-effect. Just like the original award-winning Superego, the
Superego+ excels at creating synth effects, ethereal layers, fluid glissandos,
infinite sustain and more. But wait, kids, there’s more! The Superego+ adds
new mind-blowing features such as: a Threshold control that reacts to your
picking dynamics; separate Attack and Decay controls; expression pedal input;
and the optional ability to control the pedal via an external footswitch. And
to really extend the range of the Superego, we’ve included 11 unique effects
to help you explore even more otherworldly soundscapes. Add additional effects
through the effects loop for even more craziness. Or, just use the effects
alone as you would with any standard multi-effect device. Whether on stage or
in the studio, if you’re an ambient/drone specialist or just looking for
something a little new or different, relax your mind, set the controls for the
heart of the sun, and start crafting some unique and special sounds.
WARNING: Your SUPEREGO+ comes equipped with an Electro-Harmonix 9.6DC-
200BI power supply (same as used by Boss® & Ibanez®: 9.6 Volts DC 200mA). The
Superego+ requires 140mA at 9VDC with a center-negative plug. Use of the wrong
adapter or a plug with the wrong polarity may damage your SUPEREGO+ and void
the warranty.
GETTING STARTED: MODES
Let’s begin our exploration of the Superego+ by learning about the five major
functions you can select with the MODE footswitch. Each press and release of
the MODE footswitch cycles through the following modes:
MOMENT
When set to MOMENT mode, the Superego+ freezes your signal at the moment
you press and hold the BYPASS footswitch and continues to produce the frozen
effect as long you hold down the footswitch. When you release BYPASS the
frozen signal fades out. With a mix of dry signal, you can play over the
frozen sound. Release and press and hold the BYPASS footswitch as you play a
new chord/note to create a new freeze.
SUSTAIN (MOMENT+AUTO)
In SUSTAIN mode, the Superego+ works similarly to a piano sustain pedal. The
Superego+ continues to automatically freeze notes as you play and while the
BYPASS footswitch is held down. Use the THRESHOLD knob to set trigger
sensitivity to your playing and instrument. Release BYPASS to fade out the
frozen sound and disable the effect.
AUTO
In AUTO mode, the Superego+ automatically freezes the notes you play while the
pedal is on. Press and release BYPASS once to enable AUTO mode. Doubletap
BYPASS to go into bypass mode. Press and hold BYPASS while a frozen signal is
sounding to momentarily stop accepting new signals; when you release BYPASS,
the AUTO mode returns to freezing your notes. Use the THRESHOLD knob to set
trigger sensitivity to your playing and instrument.
LATCH
In LATCH mode, the Superego+ freezes your signal at the moment you press the
BYPASS footswitch and continues to produce the frozen effect even after you
release BYPASS. To freeze a new sound press and release BYPASS again. Double-
tap BYPASS to enter bypass mode and fade out the frozen signal.
LIVE EFFECTS (MOMENT+AUTO+LATCH)
In LIVE EFFECTS mode, the dry signal is routed through the built-in effects of
the Superego+ and the internal synth engine is disabled. You cannot freeze
sound while in this mode. Use either the EFFECT or BYPASS footswitch to toggle
an effect on or off in this mode. The effect signal is routed through the
external effects loop after it goes through the Superego+ internal effects.
STARTER SETTINGS 3
CONTROLS
DRY Knob
Controls the volume level of the dry signal. As you turn DRY clockwise the
volume of the DRY signal increases to a maximum of +3dB.
EFFECT Knob
Controls the volume of the affected signal. Fully CCW removes the effect
signal entirely. Fully CW presents the maximum effect signal. The effect
volume control operates before the SEND output jack in the signal chain.
ATTACK Knob
Controls the fade-in speed of the frozen signal. When set fully CCW, the
frozen signal starts immediately. As the knob is turned CW the frozen signal
fades in more slowly. Adjust the ATTACK knob to create swell and pad effects.
DECAY Knob
Controls the fade-out speed of the frozen signal. When fully CCW, the frozen
signal fades out quickly. As the knob is turned CW, the fade-out time
increases. When set fully CW, the frozen signal plays indefinitely until a new
freeze function is triggered. If the DECAY knob is set very high at the time
the Superego+ goes into bypass, the bypass LED flashes as the effect signal
fades out. This bypass fade-out time is determined by the DECAY setting and
provides a maximum fade-out time of up to 2 seconds. Once the bypass fadeout
is complete the LED turns off as the Superego+ enters bypass.
THRESHOLD Knob
Controls how sensitive the Superego+ is to the input signal. THRESHOLD is
least sensitive when set fully CCW. In this setting, the input signal has to
be very strong to trigger the effect. As the knob is turned CW, the Superego+
becomes more sensitive and the effect becomes increasingly easier to trigger.
When set fully CW, even light playing will trigger the effect.
LAYER Knob
In SUSTAIN, AUTO, and LATCH modes, use the LAYER knob to set the level of the
previously frozen signal when it is mixed with a newly frozen signal. When set
fully CCW, the previously frozen signal is not present in a new freeze. At a
setting of fully CW, 100% of the previously frozen signal is present. The
LAYER knob works in a similar fashion to the feedback knob on a delay or the
overdub amount on a looper. Adjust to taste!
GLISS Knob
Controls the speed of the glissando effect. The glissando/portamento feature
glides the pitch of one frozen sound into the next. This function is great for
smooth transitions with lots of texture.
Effects Selector
Knob Selects which of the 11 effects will be applied to the frozen or effected
signal when the EFFECT footswitch is engaged. See p. 8 for detailed
descriptions of each effect.
RATE Knob
Controls the rate/speed of the selected effect. For effects that do not
utilize a rate control, the RATE knob will have an alternate function. This
alternate function is printed (in purple) below the effect name on the Effects
Selector knob.
DEPTH Knob
Controls the depth/amount of the selected effect. For effects that do not need
a depth control, the DEPTH knob will have the alternate function printed in
green below the effect on the Effects Selector knob.
BYPASS Footswitch
Enables or disables the Superego+ pedal. Depending on what mode the Superego+
is in, this footswitch can function as a freeze trigger, or an auto-trigger
enable/disable (See MODES for more information).
EFFECT Footswitch
Turns the internal effect section of the Superego+ on and off. In LIVE
EFFECTS MODE the EFFECT footswitch, as well as the BYPASS footswitch, turn the
Superego+ on and off.
MODE Footswitch
Cycles through the five modes are indicated by the mode LEDs.
POWER/INPUT/OUTPUT
POWER
Connect the output plug of the supplied AC Adaptor into the 9V power jack
at the top of the Superego+. The polarity at the power jack is center-negative
only, the Superego+ draws 140mA. Do not exceed 10VDC at the power jack.
INPUT Jack
Plug the output of another effects pedal or an instrument such as guitar,
bass, or keyboard into this ¼” input jack. This jack is the main input to the
Superego+.
OUTPUT Jack
Use this jack for the main output of the Superego+. Connect a ¼” cable from
the OUTPUT jack to your amplifier, another effects pedal, a mixer, or an audio
recorder. Experiment with placing other effects after the Superego+ to create
rich soundscapes.
SEND Jack
If you would like the freeze signal to go through an external effects chain
while keeping your dry signal out of this chain, use the Superego+ built-in
effects loop. Connect SEND to the input of the external effect. Alternately,
you can use the SEND jack as a “wet-only” output; when you do so, the freeze
signal is muted at the OUTPUT jack. The EFFECT knob always controls the volume
at the SEND jack.
RETURN Jack
If using the external effects loop, plug the output of the external effect(s)
into the RETURN jack. The signal present at the RETURN jack is mixed with the
dry signal and sent to the OUTPUT jack.
EXP (Expression) Jack
Connect a standard TRS expression pedal or control voltage (CV) between 0
to 5V to the EXP input to allow external control over the ATTACK, DECAY, RATE,
DEPTH, THRESHOLD, LAYER and GLISS parameters. An EXP preset can be saved for
each effect setting. The SUPEREGO+ will take a “snapshot” of all 7 knob
parameters at the heel-down position and a snapshot of all 7 knob parameters
at the toe-down position, allowing the expression pedal to sweep between the
two settings. NOTE: Refer to the SETTING EXPRESSION PEDAL PRESETS section on
p. 9 of this manual.
Once an EXP preset has been saved the LED between RATE and DEPTH lights red,
otherwise this LED lights green.
You can also use an expression pedal or other CV source without programming a
preset. Each internal effect has a default expression control range that is
active by default from the factory or after erasing the expression pedal
preset.
EXT (External Control) Jack
Use a TRS three-button external/auxiliary switch (such as the DigiTech® FS3X)
to remotely control the Superego+ footswitches. To connect the external
switch, unplug the power from Superego+, connect the external switch to the
EXT jack and then apply power. If you’re handy at DIY, you could build your
own footswitch based on the following circuit diagram:
The switch connected to the TIP+RING of the external footswitch behaves like
the BYPASS footswitch. Use this control to remotely switch the Superego+ on
and off. This switch will also control triggers in LATCH mode.
The switch connected to the RING controls the EFFECT footswitch. This switch
can be used to remotely turn on and off the Superego+ internal effects. The
switch connected to TIP works as a MODE selector and an EFFECT off switch. A
single press is the equivalent of double-tapping the BYPASS footswitch to
enter bypass when the Superego+ is in SUSTAIN, AUTO, or LATCH mode. To change
modes, press and hold the TIP+RING switch; the Superego+ will slowly cycle
through the 5 modes. Release the footswitch to select the currently lit mode.
USING A SINGLE EXTERNAL SWITCH WITH A ¼” TS CABLE
When using a single external switch with a ¼” TS cable (standard guitar
cable), the switch will have the same functionality as the onboard BYPASS
footswitch.
USING EXTERNAL CLOCK TRIGGER WITH A ¼” TS CABLE
You can also use a clock signal to trigger the Superego+ BYPASS function.
Connect the clock signal to the TIP of the EXT Jack. Each negative-going clock
signal present at the TIP connection is equivalent to pressing the BYPASS
footswitch. The nominal amplitude for the clock signal is 0V to 5V. The
Superego+ is triggered by the falling edge of the clock signal.
EFFECTS
FLANGE, PHASE, MOD and ROTARY use the RATE and DEPTH knobs as indicated. Other
effects assign different functions to the RATE and DEPTH knobs. These
alternate functions are indicated by the purple and green text next to the
relevant effect name on the Effect Selector knob. The purple text indicates
the parameter that is controlled by the RATE knob. The green text indicates
the parameter that is controlled by the DEPTH knob. Note: The LED above the
Effect Selector knob lights green to indicate that the effects section is
active. With an EXP pedal attached, a red LED indicates that you have
programmed an EXP pedal preset for the effect selected.
DETUNE: Subtle and shimmery pitch detune. EXP pedal controls pitch.
ECHO: Pristine repeats. Feedback is preset. EXP pedal controls delay
time.
DELAY: Warm, analog-sounding repeats with modulation. Feedback is preset.
EXP pedal controls delay time.
FLANGE: Electric Mistress-style flanger with filter matrix, rate, and
feedback control. DEPTH controls the feedback amount. The RATE knob controls
both the filter matrix and the flange rate. With the RATE knob fully CCW, the
filter matrix is at a minimum. The filter range increases to its maximum
setting at about 11 o’clock on the RATE knob. As you turn RATE past 11 o’clock
the flange will begin to oscillate very slowly; modulation speed increases to
maximum when RATE is set fully CW. EXP pedal controls rate.
PHASE: Small Stone style phase shifting. EXP pedal controls rate.
MOD: Pitch-based vibrato or chorus. RATE controls speed. Depth is 0 at
noon. Noon to CCW is pitch vibrato depth. Noon to CW is chorus depth. EXP sets
rate.
ROTARY: Rich rotary sound. Use the DEPTH knob to control tweeter/horn
balance. Turning the DEPTH knob CCW adds more horn and reduces the tweeter.
Turning the DEPTH Knob CW adds more tweeter and reduces the horn. Expression
pedal controls rate.
TREM 1: Sine wave tremolo. EXP pedal controls rate.
TREM 2: Square wave tremolo. EXP pedal controls rate.
PITCH: Pitch shifting effect. The RATE knob at noon is unity. CW steps up
the major scale (also including minor 3rd and minor 7th) to +1 octave. CCW
steps down the major down to -1 octave. EXP pedal controls +1 octave whammy-
style effect over the unity effected signal.
FILTER: Resonant Low-Pass filter. RATE controls frequency and DEPTH
controls resonance. EXP pedal controls the frequency.
SETTING EXPRESSION PEDAL PRESETS
Program and save EXP pedal presets by executing the following steps:
- Insert an expression pedal into the EXP jack.
- Tap the EFFECT footswitch, if necessary, to ensure that the effects are off.
- Press and hold the EFFECT footswitch for more than one second. The green Effects LED will start to blink.
- Release the EFFECT footswitch.
- Set the expression pedal to heel-down and set the 7 controllable knobs (ATTACK, DECAY, RATE, DEPTH, THRESHOLD, LAYER and GLISS) to the desired heel-down setting.
- Put the expression pedal in the toe-down position and set the same 7 knobs to the desired toe-down setting. If you do not want a knob to change with the expression pedal then do not turn it during this step.
- NOTE: The expression pedal must be placed into the heel-down and toe-down positions at least once during preset acquisition.
- Press and hold the EFFECT footswitch.
- The Effects LED will flash red to confirm that a preset has been saved. The Red LED will only light with an expression pedal plugged into the EXP jack.
- Release the EFFECT footswitch, the red LED goes solid. The solid red LED indicates that an expression pedal preset has been saved and is active.
MORE ABOUT EXPRESSION PEDAL PRESETS
- To exit programming an expression pedal preset without saving changes, press and release the EFFECT footswitch at any time before step 8 in the above procedure.
- When a preset is active, turning any of the 7 control knobs will save that knob’s new setting as both the heel-down and toe-down setting. The EFFECTS LED will flash red for half a second and then remain lit solid.
- To erase a preset, make sure the EFFECTS are off. Press and hold the EFFECTS footswitch for 5 seconds. After one second the green LED will begin flashing. After 5 seconds the green LED will flash quickly. Release the EFFECTS footswitch and the preset will be cleared. The EFFECTS LED will light green
NOTES AND SPECIFICATIONS
- Buffered bypass
- Input impedance: 2.2M ohms (INPUT and RETURN jacks)
- Output impedance: 500 ohms (OUTPUT and SEND jacks)
- See p. 10 for a blank user template you can photocopy or use directly to record your favorite personal settings.
- Go to www.ehx.com/products/superego-plus to download a blank template you can print and fill out to keep track of your favorite settings.
WARRANTY INFORMATION
Please register online at http://www.ehx.com/product-registration or
complete and return the enclosed warranty card within 10 days of purchase.
Electro-Harmonix will repair or replace, at its discretion, a product that
fails to operate due to defects in materials or workmanship for a period of
one year from the date of purchase. This applies only to original purchasers
who have bought their product from an authorized Electro-Harmonix retailer.
Repaired or replaced units will then be warranted for the unexpired portion of
the original warranty term.
If you should need to return your unit for service within the warranty period,
please contact the appropriate office listed below. Customers outside the
regions listed below, please contact EHX Customer Service for information on
warranty repairs at info@ehx.com or +1-718-9378300. USA
and Canadian customers: please obtain a Return Authorization Number (RA#) from
EHX Customer Service before returning your product. Include with your returned
unit a written description of the problem as well as your name, address,
telephone number, e-mail address, RA#, and a copy of your receipt clearly
showing the purchase date.
United States & Canada
EHX CUSTOMER SERVICE
ELECTRO-HARMONIX
c/o NEW SENSOR CORP.
47-50 33RD STREET
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11101
Tel: 718-937-8300 Email:
info@ehx.com
Europe
JOHN WILLIAMS
ELECTRO-HARMONIX UK
13 CWMDONKIN TERRACE
SWANSEA SA2 0RQ
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44 179 247 3258
Email:
electroharmonixuk@virginmedia.com
FCC COMPLIANCE
Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
- Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
- Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
- Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
- Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
Modifications not expressly approved by the manufacturer could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment under FCC rules.
References
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