Eventide’s effects over the past four decades have had an enormous reputation – the marketing folks aren’t exaggerating with words like “mainstays” and “classics.” Now, imagine getting basically everything – past, present, and some new stuff – in a bundle of 17 plug-ins for an intro price of US$699. (That price drops to as little as $399 or $199 if you own some Eventide software.)
Eventide have done just that with today’s Anthology X. It’s just huge, it covers a lot, and just a fraction of it could make it worth the cost of admission.
It’s also more or less for everyone: VST, AU, and AAX Mac and Windows versions are there, 64-bit and 32-bit, and even Mac VSTs across the board. Oh, yeah, and crucially: no iLok dongle needed (just an online iLok account, which has none of the hassle of the hardware keys). That’s good, because I seem to have lost all my USB keys, as I lose more or less anything smaller than a breadbox. You can install on two computers, too – very nice for those of us who shuttle between a studio and a mobile rig. (You can’t split up the licenses, if you were thinking that, but given the low price, that makes sense.)
Let’s talk about what’s there. A quick overview:
Clockworks Legacy: Lots of handy classics here, but the big one is the legendary Eventide Harmonizer you know so well from some of — well, some of my favorite records of all time, anyway.
H3000: The H3000 Ultra-Harmonizer is here turned into a modular multi-effects laboratory and 8-voice Band Delay effects for creative use.
Heh, that was just one sentence, but that alone would keep you busy.
New multi-effects: Holy crap, there’s a lot of stuff in here. There’s a 9-algorithm reverb that does hall and room but also plate and ambience reverbs, and comes with its own tempo-synced delay, a compressor, and four EQs.
But there’s also Octavox, an 8-voice diatonic pitch shifter based on the H8000 effects processor, which has a friendly notation interface for harmonizing and retuning (plus a 4-channel variant).
Mixing and mastering tools: UltraChannel (with a lightweight EChannel counterpart) is one of the better all-in-one channel strips out there, as you may already know. You can drag the order of modules around to change routings, and you get extras not normally associated with channel strips like Micro Pitch Shift and a stereo delay, because… I don’t know, Eventide’s employees must not be allowed to take lunch breaks before they cram more DSP into everything.
But you also get circuit models of two really nice pieces of gear – Urei 545 parametric EQ, Urei 565 filter set.
Now, weirdly, the folks at Eventide are talking all about classic records and vocal effects, which I think misses the whole point. There’s so much creative power here, the release of this bundle could spawn new movements in the electronic music world – or any number of other genres.
I think the addition of UltraReverb and Octavox alone could be transformative. There have been a lot of bundles lately, but this is impressive – and at this price, might even convince independent creative producers who otherwise would have just stuck with built-in DAW effect suites.
But you can check it out yourself – request a demo and you get an evaluation license sent to your iLok account (which you can create for free if you don’t have one – again, no annoying USB key).
I’m definitely going to check out the demos. I… am a little scared for what that will mean to the editorial backlog. I feel like Octavox could wind up leading to a new album.
Let us know what you think, though – particularly if you’ve used the Eventide software before, or the hardware on which it’s based. We’d love to hear from you.
https://www.eventideaudio.com/products/plugins/multi-effect/anthology-x
Its not a new bundle as such and previously existed as the Anthology II bundle that has been around for at least 10 years but was only available for Pro Tools HD TDM hardware DSP based systems.
So this really is a port to native formats and a modernised update of the GUI’s.
Many TDM Anthology II owners including myself will be glad to have those plugins back again after ditching TDM hardware – This bundle is actually the reason i bought a TDM system in the first place, I later sold the system but missed the plugins so badly I bought another one!
Also worth noting that the H3000 (Factory and Band Delays plugins) are not all the algorithms from the H3000 hardware so there’s quite a lot of presets missing from the fully upgraded/maxed out “3500” unit.
I should also point out I own two H3000’s (one upgraded to 3500) and these plugins are still a must for me !
Its not a new bundle as such and previously existed as the Anthology II bundle that has been around for at least 10 years but was only available for Pro Tools HD TDM hardware DSP based systems.
So this really is a port to native formats and a modernised update of the GUI’s.
Many TDM Anthology II owners including myself will be glad to have those plugins back again after ditching TDM hardware – This bundle is actually the reason i bought a TDM system in the first place, I later sold the system but missed the plugins so badly I bought another one!
Also worth noting that the H3000 (Factory and Band Delays plugins) are not all the algorithms from the H3000 hardware so there’s quite a lot of presets missing from the fully upgraded/maxed out “3500” unit.
I should also point out I own two H3000’s (one upgraded to 3500) and these plugins are still a must for me !
Its not a new bundle as such and previously existed as the Anthology II bundle that has been around for at least 10 years but was only available for Pro Tools HD TDM hardware DSP based systems.
So this really is a port to native formats and a modernised update of the GUI’s.
Many TDM Anthology II owners including myself will be glad to have those plugins back again after ditching TDM hardware – This bundle is actually the reason i bought a TDM system in the first place, I later sold the system but missed the plugins so badly I bought another one!
Also worth noting that the H3000 (Factory and Band Delays plugins) are not all the algorithms from the H3000 hardware so there’s quite a lot of presets missing from the fully upgraded/maxed out “3500” unit.
I should also point out I own two H3000’s (one upgraded to 3500) and these plugins are still a must for me !
Did you just say Ultravox have a new album?
Did you just say Ultravox have a new album?
Did you just say Ultravox have a new album?
I already own 3 plugins, but it looks like the price drop will start from $399.00
Linux port would be welcomed.
As would an iPad version. @dan, maybe you could talk to a colleague at Sugar Butes to get a sense of available scale?
Hi Will,
Thanks for the request. I will bring it up, but unfortunately, an iPad version will require a GUI redesign for these products since they’re designed for mouse interaction. Blackhole might be a better prospect. I still don’t know if we’d get to it, though. A lot of things going on.
Linux port would be welcomed.
As would an iPad version. @dan, maybe you could talk to a colleague at Sugar Butes to get a sense of available scale?
Hi Will,
Thanks for the request. I will bring it up, but unfortunately, an iPad version will require a GUI redesign for these products since they’re designed for mouse interaction. Blackhole might be a better prospect. I still don’t know if we’d get to it, though. A lot of things going on.
Linux port would be welcomed.
As would an iPad version. @dan, maybe you could talk to a colleague at Sugar Butes to get a sense of available scale?
Hi Will,
Thanks for the request. I will bring it up, but unfortunately, an iPad version will require a GUI redesign for these products since they’re designed for mouse interaction. Blackhole might be a better prospect. I still don’t know if we’d get to it, though. A lot of things going on.
I wonder what makes companies do this kind of thing? Do they need to get a larger market share? Is there anything new amongst those offerings? Did it not sell at all before? As much as thus is plain awesome for users/consumers, it would be interesting to know why?
I can’t speak for for any other companies, but I can give you my point of view as the main guy behind Anthology X. As you’ve noticed, the music industry has changed over the last 15 years. Fewer people are making a lot of money making music, but a lot more people are making and releasing music. There will probably always be someone who needs an H8000, but if we can afford to make a plug-in bundle that we can put in front of a lot more people we’re going to do it. If more people buy it, the cheaper it can be. Frankly, we’re proud of our work and we tend to price things such that as many people as possible get to use it and we can continue making new stuff.
I should say that I believe most of the other people I’ve met in this industry feel the same way. If you’re a skilled programmer you can make a lot more money making missiles than plug-ins. Pretty much everyone who does this does so because they love music and want to inspire their customers to make great music with their products.
I wish I could put upvotes in the Disqus Bank so that I’d be able to upvote this 20 times.
Such a cool “quaotable” statement Dan 😉
If only missiles needed iLoks…
I wonder what makes companies do this kind of thing? Do they need to get a larger market share? Is there anything new amongst those offerings? Did it not sell at all before? As much as thus is plain awesome for users/consumers, it would be interesting to know why?
I can’t speak for for any other companies, but I can give you my point of view as the main guy behind Anthology X. As you’ve noticed, the music industry has changed over the last 15 years. Fewer people are making a lot of money making music, but a lot more people are making and releasing music. There will probably always be someone who needs an H8000, but if we can afford to make a plug-in bundle that we can put in front of a lot more people we’re going to do it. If more people buy it, the cheaper it can be. Frankly, we’re proud of our work and we tend to price things such that as many people as possible get to use it and we can continue making new stuff.
I should say that I believe most of the other people I’ve met in this industry feel the same way. If you’re a skilled programmer you can make a lot more money making missiles than plug-ins. Pretty much everyone who does this does so because they love music and want to inspire their customers to make great music with their products.
I wish I could put upvotes in the Disqus Bank so that I’d be able to upvote this 20 times.
Such a cool “quaotable” statement Dan 😉
If only missiles needed iLoks…
I wonder what makes companies do this kind of thing? Do they need to get a larger market share? Is there anything new amongst those offerings? Did it not sell at all before? As much as thus is plain awesome for users/consumers, it would be interesting to know why?
I can’t speak for for any other companies, but I can give you my point of view as the main guy behind Anthology X. As you’ve noticed, the music industry has changed over the last 15 years. Fewer people are making a lot of money making music, but a lot more people are making and releasing music. There will probably always be someone who needs an H8000, but if we can afford to make a plug-in bundle that we can put in front of a lot more people we’re going to do it. If more people buy it, the cheaper it can be. Frankly, we’re proud of our work and we tend to price things such that as many people as possible get to use it and we can continue making new stuff.
I should say that I believe most of the other people I’ve met in this industry feel the same way. If you’re a skilled programmer you can make a lot more money making missiles than plug-ins. Pretty much everyone who does this does so because they love music and want to inspire their customers to make great music with their products.
I wish I could put upvotes in the Disqus Bank so that I’d be able to upvote this 20 times.
Such a cool “quaotable” statement Dan 😉
If only missiles needed iLoks…
How do these stack up to the boxes like the H9 sound-wise (leaving aside discussions of warmth via routing things through actual cables and whatnot, please)? Are these the exact same algorithms that one would get via the (modern) Eventide hardware boxes?
How do these stack up to the boxes like the H9 sound-wise (leaving aside discussions of warmth via routing things through actual cables and whatnot, please)? Are these the exact same algorithms that one would get via the (modern) Eventide hardware boxes?
How do these stack up to the boxes like the H9 sound-wise (leaving aside discussions of warmth via routing things through actual cables and whatnot, please)? Are these the exact same algorithms that one would get via the (modern) Eventide hardware boxes?
The quality of these plugs, simply astounding. Top shelf, all across the board. I’m a big fan of Ultrachannel too. Buy buy buy!
I like you man. Keep up the good work and the love for good music