Eventide, one of the most important creators of musical effects, and the inventor of many crazy audio-mangling ideas, is now making effects apps for the iPhone and iPad. This is just about as big as news can get for musicians working on iOS. For those outside the world of music-creation, Eventide is roughly equivalent to Adobe, and the release of these apps is like Photoshop’s entry into mobile.
iOS musicians can now enjoy three effects from Eventide, all of which are Audio Units (plugins for other apps), and all of which run on both the iPhone and the iPad.
Eventide effects on iOS
The new effects apps are:
- Micropitch – two pitch-shifting delays, which can be interwoven for some crazy and/or subtle effects.
- Black Hole – a reverb that goes way, way beyond echoey church halls, and down into the wormholes of the universe.
- Ultratap — a “unique multi-tap effect capable of rhythmic delays, glitchy reverbs, huge pad-like volume swells and extraordinary modulation.”
I use an Eventide guitar pedal which has all of these effects built in, and all of them are top, top quality. Eventide also does something rare in music, especially in the guitar effect world. Instead of producing yet another take on the same old effects — reverb, delay, distortion — Eventide either comes up with entirely new takes on these effects, or it invents a whole new effect class.
For instance, you know the concept of musical glitches? Maybe an autotune that has been allowed to go wild, or a looper that stutters almost randomly? Glitching was invented by Eventide. Or rather, its iconic H910 Harmonizer, the first electronic pitch changer built in the 1970s, introduced glitching as a, well, as a glitch.
Eventide on iOS
These new Audio Units can be run inside host apps like Cubasis, AUM, AudioBus, and GarageBand. They come with presets, and are as easy to use as the versions in the Eventide H9 pedal, or the desktop plugins. They’re also way, way cheaper, running from $10-$20. If you already know about Eventide, then you probably already bought these plugins. If not, go take a look.
Blackhole Reverb
Price: $19.99
Download: Blackhole Reverb from the App Store (iOS)
UltraTap Delay
Price: $14.99
Download: UltraTap Delay from the App Store (iOS)
MicroPitch
Price: $9.99
Download: MicroPitch from the App Store (iOS)