Electro-Harmonix Oceans 11 User Manual

OCEANS 11

Multifunction Digital Reverb

Congratulations on your purchase of the Electro-Harmonix OCEANS 11
Reverb, the compact digital reverb pedal that does it all. Splash your tone
with subtle ambience using classic Hall and Plate, or drench your guitar in
surreal soundscapes with Shimmer and Modulation. A newly developed

Spring algorithm faithfully emulates the iconic drip of vintage Fender®

reverb units. Unique and powerful polyphonic, dynamic, and auto­triggering reverbs inspire radical experimentation. Instantaneous control
of infinite reverb unleashes a torrent of sonic possibilities for a truly
unparalleled reverb experience.

- TABLE OF CONTENTS -

Getting started with OCEANS 11 2
Connections 2
Controls 2

Descriptions of Reverb Types 4
Mode Button Functionality 5
Footswitch Functionality 7
Summary Chart 8
Secondary Knob Functionality 10
Infinite Reverb Functionality 14

Warranty Information and FCC Compliance 16

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- GETTING STARTED WITH OCEANS 11 -

1. Plug the supplied EHX9.6DC AC Adapter into the jack at the top of the

OCEANS 11.

2. Plug your guitar into the INPUT jack and plug the OUTPUT jack into

your amplifier.

3. Turn the 11-position Reverb Type knob to the HALL setting for a

classic warm reverb.

4. Set the decay time using the TIME knob, the reverb tone with the

TONE knob, and the reverb volume with the FX LVL knob.

- CONNECTIONS -

INPUT Jack – This ¼” jack is the audio input of the OCEANS 11. The

input impedance is 1M.

OUTPUT Jack – This ¼” jack is the audio output of the OCEANS 11. The
output impedance is 680.

INFINITE Jack – Connect an external momentary footswitch to this ¼”
jack. Press and hold the external switch to activate infinite reverb. The
infinite reverb wash will continue as long as the external switch is pressed.

The external switch should be normally open. Upon engaging the switch,
it should create a short circuit between the Tip and Sleeve of the plug.
See “Infinite Reverb Functionality” on page 14 for details on using infinite
reverb.

9V Power Jack – Plug the output of the OCEANS 11’s supplied EHX9.6DC
200mA AC adapter in the 9V power jack located at the top of the pedal.
The OCEANS 11 requires 150mA at 9VDC with a center-negative plug.

- CONTROLS -

FX LVL Knob – Controls the output volume of the reverb effect. When

this knob is at the minimum position, the output is only your dry signal.
As the knob is turned up, the reverb output increases in volume. As the

knob is turned past 2 o’clock, the dry signal decreases in volume. When

the knob is at the maximum position, only the effect is output.

TIME Knob – Usually controls the decay time of the OCEANS 11 reverb.
As this knob is turned clockwise, the reverb time gets longer and longer,
reaching infinite when the knob is as far as it will go.

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TONE Knob – Usually controls the tone or EQ of the reverb signal. As this
knob is turned clockwise, the sound of the reverb gets brighter. As you
turn TONE counter-clockwise, the sound of the reverb gets darker.

Reverb Type Knob – This knob is an 11-position rotary switch that
selects which of the OCEANS 11's reverb types is active. See “Descriptions
of Reverb Types” on page 4 for details on the reverb types.

MODE Button – This button cycles through the available modes of the
active reverb type. Each reverb type has a certain number of modes which
modify the behavior of the active reverb type. See “Mode Button
Functionality on page 5 for more details.

LED – The LED lights when the OCEANS 11 effect is active and shuts off
when in bypass mode. Its color and blinking pattern also indicate
information about the reverb mode, tap tempo delay, and infinite status.

See “Mode Button Functionality” on page 6, “Footswitch Functionality” on
page 8, and “Infinite Reverb Functionality” on page 14 for more details.

Footswitch – Press the footswitch to toggle the pedal between buffered
bypass and effect modes. When the pedal is in effect mode, the LED will
be lit. In most reverbs, the footswitch can also engage Infinite by pressing
and holding it down. Moreover, the footswitch can be used for tap tempo
in ECHO reverb. For more details see “Footswitch Functionality” on page
7 and “Infinite Reverb Functionality” on page 14.

TAILS Switch – The OCEANS 11 allows you to choose whether reverb
continues to play or stop immediately after the pedal is switched to
bypass. To control this, remove the OCEANS 11's bottom cover and locate

the small slide switch on the bottom of the board labeled “TAILS.” When

TAILS is set to ON, the reverb will continue to play after the pedal switched
to bypass, with the decay time set by the TIME knob. Anything you play
after entering bypass will not reverberate. If the pedal is set for infinite
decay time (i.e. TIME is set to maximum) the reverb will continue until
you turn TIME down or switch to a different mode.

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- DESCRIPTIONS OF REVERB TYPES -

HALL – a warm and versatile reverb algorithm modeled after a spacious

performance hall.

SPRING – a newly developed reverb capturing the iconic drip of a vintage

1962 Fender® 6G15 reverb unit. TIME behaves like DWELL on the
Fender® unit, so infinite reverberation is unavailable.

PLATE – an emulation of a smooth, bright metal plate reverb commonly
found in high-end recording studios during the 1960’s and 70’s.

REVRS – Reverse reverb – a rendition of the reverse reverb trick
commonly performed in studios. TIME controls the length of time between
playing a note and hearing its reverse reverb fade in.

ECHO – Reverb plus delay – a simple digital delay which feeds into a plate
reverb. Both TIME and the footswitch can control the time between
echoes, and TONE controls the feedback of the echoes.

TREM – Reverb plus tremolo – a classic, periodic volume envelope applied
to both the dry and wet mix of a hall reverb. TIME controls the LFO rate,
and TONE controls the LFO depth.

MOD – Modulated reverb – a lush combo of various modulations for
creamy rich reverb tails. TIME and TONE behave differently in each mode.
See “Mode Button Functionality” on page 5.

DYNA – Dynamic reverb – a dynamic trio of experimental reverb
algorithms: swell, gate, and duck. TIME behaves differently depending on
the mode. See “Mode Button Functionality” on page 5.

AUTO-INF – Auto infinite reverb – an inventive reverb that listens to your
playing and crossfades to a new reverb wash upon detection of newly­struck notes and chords. Works best with long decay times.

SHIM – Shimmer – a rich octave-shifted wash of harmony in a
reverberant cloud. TONE controls the frequency content of both the reverb
tail and octave-shifts.

POLY – Polyphonic reverb – two configurable bidirectional pitch-shifts
that add startling dimensionality to the reverb tail.

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- MODE BUTTON FUNCTIONALITY -

Each reverb type on the OCEANS 11 has up to three unique modes of
operation. Pressing the MODE button cycles through these available
modes. The LED color – green, red, or orange – shows the current mode.
If the LED does not change color when pressing this button, the active
reverb type has only one mode. When you switch reverb types, the
OCEANS 11 will recall the last mode you were using in that reverb type.
Below is a description of the available modes in each reverb type. See the
chart on page 8 for a summary of these descriptions.

HALL – 1 mode available.

SPRING – 1 mode available.

PLATE – 1 mode available.

REVRS – 1 mode available.

ECHO – The mode button cycles through three subdivisions of your

tapped echo time. See “Footswitch Functionality” on page 7 for details on
using tap-tempo with ECHO reverb. In Green mode, the subdivision is ½
of your tapped echo time for an eighth-note rhythm. In Red mode, the
echo rhythm is your tapped quarter-note time. In Orange mode, the
subdivision is ¾ of your tapped echo time for a dotted-eighth note rhythm.
The LED blinks at the current tapped delay time. If the delay is set by the
TIME knob, the LED stops blinking and the mode button has no effect.

TREM – The mode button cycles through three LFO wave shapes. In
Green mode, the shape is a triangle. In Red mode, the shape is a square.
In Orange mode, the shape is a sine.

MOD – The mode button cycles through three different modulations. In
Green mode, a chorus and subtle vibrato are applied to the reverb. TIME
and TONE control chorus rate and depth, respectively. In Red mode,
flanging is applied to achieve a classic EHX flerb. TIME and TONE control
flerb rate and feedback, respectively. In Orange mode, the chorus and
flerb are combined. Orange mode remembers and applies the last-used
parameters of the individual chorus and flerb effects. TIME controls the
mix balance: fully counter-clockwise is only chorus, and fully clockwise is
only flerb. TONE is unused.

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