About This Item
Description
Riptide puts a Shin-ei style Uni-Vibe and a pair of overdrive voices in one stereo box and then lets you decide which one hits first, so the same chord can bloom through a swirling vibe into crunch or be driven hard and then thrown across the stereo field.
Which Eventide drive or vibe pedal is this?
Riptide is the only pedal in the .9 series that combines gain and modulation: two distinct drive voices, Green for dynamic mid-range crunch and Red for a smoother boosted overdrive, alongside two Uni-Vibe voices including the traditional Shin-ei emulation. Order swapping is the feature that sets it apart from stacking two pedals. If you want modulation without gain, TriceraChorus is the chorus specialist and ModFactor is the multi-algorithm modulation box. If you want fuzz and synth rather than overdrive, that is Knife Drop.
Why guitarists choose the Riptide
- Two drive voices cover different jobs: Green is a dynamic mid-range crunch that cleans up with the volume knob, Red is a smoother boosted overdrive for leads.
- Two Uni-Vibe voices include the traditional Shin-ei style emulation, so the classic throbbing swirl is there rather than approximated by a chorus.
- Order swapping between Drive and Vibe changes the character completely, which is the one thing two separate pedals cannot do without repatching.
- Everything runs in stereo, so the vibe spreads across two amps or a stereo interface instead of collapsing to one side.
- Five onboard presets recall complete drive-and-vibe combinations at your feet, with more available over MIDI.
- Expression control can sweep vibe speed and drive amount together, turning a treadle into a performance control rather than just a volume pedal.
Controls and switches
- DRIVE section Sets gain and level for the Green and Red overdrive voices.
- VIBE section Sets speed, depth and intensity for the two Uni-Vibe voices.
- Voice selectors Choose between the two drive voices and the two vibe voices.
- Order swap Places the Drive before the Vibe or the Vibe before the Drive.
- Active footswitch Engages the effect; dual-action, so it works latching or momentary.
- Guitar/Line switch Rear-panel level matching for guitar, synth, an effects loop or an audio interface.
- Mono/Stereo switch Tells the TRS input whether to read a mono tip signal or a true stereo tip-and-ring pair.
Power and pedalboard compatibility
Runs on a 9V DC center-negative supply through a 5.5 mm / 2.1 mm barrel plug and draws up to 300 mA, so it needs an isolated 300 mA (or higher) output rather than a shared daisy chain. Eventide includes a universal power supply with US, EU, UK, JP and AU adapters. Power comes from the DC jack only; Eventide does not publish battery operation for this pedal. Bypass is selectable between Buffered, Relay, DSP+FX and Kill dry, so you can run relay (true) bypass at the front of a board or keep the buffer and effect tails alive inside an amp loop. A rear Guitar/Line level switch matches the pedal to a guitar, a synth, an effects loop or an audio interface, and a Mono/Stereo switch sets how the TRS input is read.
Technical specifications
| Type | Stereo overdrive and Uni-Vibe |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 10.8 x 10.2 x 4.3 cm (L x W x H) |
| Algorithms and presets | Two drive voices and two Uni-Vibe voices with order swapping; five onboard presets, more over MIDI |
| Audio I/O | Input: 1/4" TRS (mono on tip, stereo on tip and ring). Out 1 and Out 2: 1/4" TS. |
| Control connections | EXP: 1/4" TRS for an expression pedal, an aux switch or MIDI I/O. Mini USB for software updates and MIDI. No 5-pin DIN MIDI and no Bluetooth on this model. |
| Maximum input level | +8 dBu (Guitar) / +14 dBu (Line) |
| Recommended load impedance | 10 kOhm |
| Weight | 480 g |
| Input impedance | 700 kOhm |
| Output impedance | 220 Ohm |
| Current draw | Up to 300 mA |
| Power | 9V DC center negative, 5.5 mm / 2.1 mm barrel, up to 300 mA; supply included |
| Signal path | Digital |
| Bypass | Selectable; relay (true) bypass available |
| Warranty | One year |
Reference: the official Eventide Riptide page and the official manual.
FAQ
Can I use the drive and the vibe separately? Yes. Each section has its own controls, so you can run drive alone, vibe alone, or both together in either order.
What is the difference between the Green and Red drives? Green is a dynamic mid-range crunch and Red is a smoother boosted overdrive. Green responds more to picking dynamics, Red pushes the front of an amp harder.
Is the Uni-Vibe emulation authentic? Eventide describes the Green vibe voice as the traditional Shin-ei Uni-Vibe emulation, with a second voice offering an alternative character.
Does Riptide have tap tempo? Yes, through an aux switch connected to the EXP jack and assigned to Tap Tempo. There is no dedicated tap footswitch on the pedal itself.
Does it work in stereo? Yes. The TRS input reads a stereo pair when the rear switch is set to Stereo, and there are two outputs.
Will a daisy chain power it? Not reliably. It draws up to 300 mA at 9V center negative, so use an isolated output rated 300 mA or more.
