Ugly Guitar Truth: EHX Blurst Moddulated Filter

EHX has once again put a new and rather innovative product to market. They call it the Blurst and describe it as a Moddulated Filter. While that sounds like it makes sense, I don't recall anyone really talking about the limitations or features of their prized modulated filter. It seems like a oddity or niche type of effect. I decided to take a closer look at what this pedal does and see if there is any reason to get excited about this pedal.


You Don't Need(?) It

Yeah, this thing makes some weird noises. These noises are not what you typically think of when you imagine guitar noises. But that could be fun, right? Sure. There isn't a lot of information or demonstration out there right now. But, from what we can hear on the EHX demo video, it sounds like a synth filter. However, the interesting part of this filter is that it is time based rather that controlled by your guitar input. You can choose your wave form, tempo, and mix. I feel like there is a lot of versatility with this pedal, but the video only gives us a glimps at what it can do.


Its Strengths Are Its Subtleties

If you watch the demo then you hear a whole lot of 'bwwaaaahhhh' types sounds. To be honest, I don't see much use for these noises. I understand that there are types of players that can make some great sounds with filters, but typically don't use them or just use them in a very limited capacity. However, at the end of EHX's demo, they stick the Blurst in the effects loop of a Deluxe Memory Man and it's actually pretty epic. Plus, I have to give honorable mention to the sounds in the video made with help of EHX's 8-Step Program (stepping expression controller) which give you a step filter/seek wah/FM4 type sound. These two pedal can create lots of combinations, but seems like a lot hardware to create an effect done by a single pedal (just my 2 cents).


Conclusion

Look, I want to like this pedal. It looks... interesting. It has lots of knobs and buttons. It makes weird sounds, but maybe I'm just thinking to much like a guitar player. I want to be able to riff and jam, and this things seems like a noise maker. So let me completely contradict myself. The couple of sounds that I did like, were actually pretty cool. Plus the one thing that make this pedal different is what really makes this pedal. The tap feature allows you to sync up with the tempo of the music being played. I'm not the biggest fan of filters, but I'm not aware of many that let you do this. Can you make to sounds in the demo with other pedals? probably, but is a rather versatile pedal with expressive features.

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