Eventide

Eventide is marking its 25th anniversary in the pro audio industry with a milestone event: The introduction of the groundbreaking Orville, the most powerful effects box ever produced.

We could describe Orville as delivering eight times the signal processing power of the legendary DSP4000, but that would be just scratching the surface. The fact is that Orville builds upon the same high sonic quality (96kHz/24-bit sampling) the industry expects from an Eventide Harmonizer® brand special effects processor, while redefining the state-of-the-art audio signal processing standard.

Please strap in as we take you on your first flight in the pro audio industry's "flagship of signal processing": Eventide's Orville

TREMENDOUS PROCESSING AND PROGRAMMING POWER - Right in the Box

Plug-ins and computers are nice for simple algorithms, but if you've ever had your whole session grind to a halt because of a sluggish outboard machine that can't handle the large algorithms, you know that it costs real money, and can be embarrassing if clients are in attendance.

With Orville, you'll never feel "under powered," and you'll no longer have to endure disastrous computer hangs or crashes. Why? Because whether you're dialing in a preset program or writing one of your own, processing one channel of audio or two sets of dual stereo signals, Orville is a self-contained, powerful, fully independent signal processing platform, unburdened by exterior hardware or software uncertainties. No need to find room for another computer monitor, no loading of software necessary, and most important, Orville won't let you down when the going gets processing-intensive.

ULTRASHIFTERTM - The Apex of Pitch Manipulation

Eventide has always made news with introductions such as the world's first digital audio pitch shifter, the first de-glitched pitch shifter, the first pitch shifter with stereo phase compatibility, and the first diatonic pitch shifter.

Orville incorporates Eventide's newest pitch-shifting technology, the UltraShifter. This formant-maintaining algorithm gives you the ability to produce natural sounding vocal harmonies in real-time. Conventional pitch-shifting technology simply cannot produce the natural and powerful vocal harmonies that the UltraShifter does throughout its full four-octave range. No longer are you limited to "thickening" vocals by shifting them up or down a few cents; try a fifth or an octave! And you don't have to bury it in the mix. The UltraShifter's real-time adaptive resynthesis technique allows for unmatched modification of vocal timbre. So, if you're changing gender or even trying to produce something that's totally bizarre, we've got you covered!

BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of STARS - The Eventide Factory Programs

Orville features hundreds of new presets along with many of the best from our DSP4000 Ultra-Harmonizer® line and is compatible with 99 percent of those available on DSP4000/4500 plug-in cards. But, there's more...

You want four-channel reverbs for 360-degree surround-sound ambiance? Orville has got 'em, not to mention an abundant array of reverbs, pitch shifters, distortion, dynamics, EQ, phasing, flanging, and other music and production effects: all front-panel selectable using either the Eventide knob or keypad.

All programs are grouped into banks. For example, reverbs are grouped into "Small," "Medium," Large," "Huge," etc. This makes it easy to choose the right preset by scrolling through similar types of effects until you hear exactly what you're after.

GETTIN' GUI WITH IT - Orville's Programming Interface

Need something you don't see in the program list? Want to create effects no one else has? New programs can be created with the on-board object-oriented algorithm construction kit. This kit is a "virtual patchbay" that includes over 150 distinct effects modules, all editable using the large LCD window on Orville's front panel.

There's also an algorithm construction kit interface that can be used with Eventide's VSIGFILE, a PC/Windows-based* freeware editing tool-of-choice for the hardcore preset developer. Communicating with Orville via the rear-panel MIDI or direct COM ports, VSIGFILE offers an object-oriented GUI (Graphical User Interface).

*VSIGFILE requires Windows 3.1 or higher (including Windows NT) and at least a 486 machine, 8MB RAM, or a Power Macintosh running a suitable Windows emulator.

SAMPLE THIS - You have about 3 minutes of recording time to play with

That's right - Orville gives you up to 174 seconds of recording/sampling, depending on the sampling rate you choose. We're not talking about your run-of-the-mill sampling, either - Orville's sampling features the fastest, most precise triggering, letting you execute your tricky drum fixes and vocal fly-ins faster and easier, and permits accurate, real-time triggering from another signal source.

Eventide's Timesqueeze® algorithm, tested and proven in the demanding arena of broadcast production, ensures real-time, high-quality pitch change and time-compression/expansion on playback. Record your material into the sampler and apply this feature when, for example, you need to "Timesqueeze" a 35-second piece of audio into 30 seconds or stretch it to fit a music cue. It's fast, it's simple, and it sounds great.

Need additional proof that this is NOT your father's sampler? Try this on for size: Orville's integral sampler can be programmed to interact with ALL of the unit's effects. nbsp; nbsp;

FINE, FINE, FRAME - Orville's Construction

Large, easy-to-read screen graphics and simple controls are mounted on a brushed stainless steel front panel on a rigid steel rack-mount enclosure. It's an ideal package designed for professional working studios, as well as front-of-house and on-stage performance use.

Of course, Orville wouldn't be a traditional Eventide design without the familiar keypad, knob, and soft key controls. Menu and parameter selection are accomplished with expanded up/down/left/right keys. An all-new 4x9 LED array permits monitoring of any input, output, or preset entrance/exit. It also features sample rate indicators for 96, 88.2, 48, and 44.1 kHz rates. An 'EXT' digital stability indication LED completes the monitoring array.

A standard PCMCIA card loaded into the front panel adds portability and additional storage of your processing and routing programs. Future software enhancements will be available on PCMCIA cards (and over the Internet) for uploading into Orville.

CONTROL FREAK? - You've Got the Remote

So, you're a performer and you want hands-off control of almost every Orville parameter, running the gamut from preset changes to individual wet/dry mixes.

Eventide has listened to your requests, and we've placed the power squarely at your feet. Orville offers 7-pin (remotely powered) full MIDI control, and two external foot pedals or six external foot switches.

A LITTLE UPLIFT, PLEASE - Eventide Support

Eventide's software packages can be upgraded via the Internet at www.eventide.com. If you are an Orville owner be sure to check this!

SETTING THE NEW STANDARD - Orville continues the Legacy of the Eventide Harmonizer

With its exquisitely engineered DSP power plant, 96kHz/24-bit sampling, "anything-to-anything" multi-channel routing facilities, and vast programming and control capability, Orville will let you master any signal-processing task that comes your way.

To find out how easy it can be to negotiate the complexities of audio signal processing, including demanding applications such as DVD and surround-sound production, take Orville for a test flight at your local audiodrome.

"ANYTHING-TO-ANYTHING" - Expanded I/O Routing

Put away your routing box - Orville can handle routing tasks from here on in. It simultaneously supports up to four digital AND four analog inputs and outputs. Orville's flexible routing programmability and its A/B set of four DSP effects provide true multi-channel operation.

The heart of Orville's DSP "power plant" is its two-machine system. While each four-channel processor, A & B, can be loaded/programmed independently, Orville also lets you configure the A amp; B processing relationship to permit signal processing in parallel, in series, or in almost any combination of the two!

Digital inputs and outputs can be operated as 4 AES/EBU or 2 AES/EBU and 2 SPDIF at 96, 88.2, 48, or 44.1kHz or external, all with optional sample rate conversion/synchronization. Meanwhile, the 24-bit conversion analog inputs can be used with any combination of 4 XLR (10k bridging) or (guitar-friendly 150k) mono jacks.

Start with the unprecedented quality and power of the Eventide Orville(TM) Harmonizer® Brand Multichannel effects processor. Then subtract all the front panel controls, and a take a hefty discount off the price. Now you've got the Eventide Orville/R model. The blank-front-panel Orville/R is designed for use with Eventide's innovative Eve/Net remote control system. Eve/Net controllers handle any combination of standard Orville and Orville/R multichannel units, as well as Eventide's DSP7000 line of stereo effects processors, to provide as many digital and/or analog effects channels as desired. The flexible Eve/Net system is thus ideal for multi-studio and multichannel surround sound facilities.

Orville/R offers all the highly acclaimed effects capabilities of the standard Orville model, including UltraShifter(TM), the world's best pitch shifter, and reverb programs that won Studio Sound Magazine's Best Outboard Reverb award, plus hundreds of others. "With Orville, Orville/R and the Eve/Net remote control system, Eventide now offers the most flexible, most economical and highest performance multichannel effects system in the industry," commented Eventide audio sales manager Gerry Griffin.

Ever since the digital effects revolution began, Eventide engineering has provided the power to inspire creativity and break new ground. Now, the Eventide DSP4000 Ultra-Harmonizer brand effects processor takes digital effects processing to a whole new level. The DSP4000 represents a major leap in sheer processing power. It has digital as well as analog I/O, preset storage on removable memory cards, the largest LCD display and easiest to use operator controls in the industry. But most important, Eventide has rethought the entire process of how effects are created within a processor, and created a whole new kind of architecture that's years ahead of anything else. Not only can you create new sounds and effects using the widest range of factory programs available, but with the DSP4000's algorithm "building blocks" approach, you can design unique, completely customized effects that, quite literally, have never been heard before.

BUILD YOUR OWN ALGORITHMS No other effects processor gives you as many choices as the DSP4000. Virtually every other effects processor on the market contains a limited number of fixed digital processing algorithms. In these units, all programs and user presets - no matter how many or few - are simply variations of these fixed algorithms. The DSP4000 sweeps away this old notion. Its factory programs draw on over 90 internal effects modules to create a wider variety of truly distinct programs than ever before possible. What's more, the unit's object-oriented Algorithm Construction Kit function lets users (and third-party developers) build totally new effects algorithms by linking modular effects "building blocks" which are presented on the large, graphics-based LCD screen.

To use the Algorithm Construction Kit function, you create new effects from the front panel, using the DSP4000's Patch Editor- essentially a virtual patch bay. You can choose from over 90 effects modules and connect up to 40 in one preset, in whatever combination and configuration you choose, much the way you'd use patch cables when working with a modular synthesizer. Put pitch shift after a reverb, or string together effects and put EQ on only the ones you want - you decide which blocks "talk" to which. The unit's internal digital mixing function seamlessly combines these building blocks to create a virtually unlimited number of programs (6x1025 at last count) for limitless creativity.

EXPANDING THE EFFECTS UNIVERSE The unparalleled processing power of this unit is just one half of the DSP4000 equation. The other half? All the innovative ways our software designers have harnessed this power.

For starters, there's a Pitch Shifter that stands in a class by itself. The new DSP4000 features the first and only fully digital real-time pitch transposer. The DSP4000 is the only effects processor that will generate up to eight simultaneous voices of pitch shifting, or four pitch shift voices plus simultaneous stereo reverb. It features the world's first and only user-programmable multi-diatonic pitch transposer and the world's best multi-voice reverse shifter with delay. The DSP4000's pitch change capabilities include a previously unheard of eight-octave pitch shift range.

Everything you need in a reverb, from small and ambient reverb to large rooms and halls, you'll find among the DSP4000's world class digital reverb programs, including more power and flexibility of parameter control than any other reverb at any price. Unlike other high-end reverbs that provide only static, straight-ahead room simulations, the DSP4000 includes expressive, creative reverbs that musically inspire producers, engineers and artists and allow them to design their own signature reverbs.

Only the DSP4000 can build reverb presets with up to four pitch shifts, allowing a very subtle chorusing for lush vocals and string instruments. And only the DSP4000 allows for sequenced reverb segues from lead vocal to chorus and back--a powerful time saver for busy and expensive SSL and Neve rooms.

The multiple pitch shifters, combined with delays and band pass filters, have enabled Eventide to write the smoothest, prettiest, lushest Chorus programs in the universe. And these choruses can be combined with reverbs or flanges for even more versatility.

The DSP4000 also provides a mastering quality EQ and compressor, with up to 12 bands of EQ, all on the digital I/O bus. No other effects processor comes close. It lets you put compression on the equalizers and mix them with other modules. Plus, you have dynamics processing, envelope generators, both transistor and tube-simulation distortion, LFOs and more to work with... the DSP 4000's capabilities are almost endless.

As if all this wasn't enough, the DSP4000 includes practically every wonderful and classic effect Eventide has ever created, all in a single box! These include the best Phaser, Flanger, Pitch Shifter, Reverb, Delay, Diatonic Shifter, Dual Mono Shifter, Chorus and Dynamic Processor available, just to name a few.

PACKED WITH POWER The DSP4000 lets you use more than one program at a time; in fact several programs can run in various combinations. While some other professional processors can split their power into two using A/B Machine Mode, the DSP4000 goes well beyond that. Its enormous processing power can be split into up to dozens of virtual processing "machines." In addition, the DSP4000's ability to run multiple programs simultaneously gives it crossfade capability where desired. A unique Effects Segue feature provides the smoothest transition between presets, with fade-in/fade-out times adjustable from instantaneous to 60 seconds. With the DSP4000, you can fade or segue gracefully from one program into another. It's the equivalent of having an entirely new category of effects from which to choose.

EASIER THAN EVER Eventide Ultra-Harmonizer brand effects processors have long been regarded as tops in user-friendly operational control. The DSP4000 is our best yet, with an extra-large, graphical LCD screen which presents you with more information at a single glance. The DSP4000's factory programs are organized into 18 separate banks. You can scroll through the banks, which are arranged by type of effect, and through the programs within each bank by rotating the famous Eventide Knob or by using the cursor keys.

The Eventide DSP4000 is the first Ultra-Harmonizer brand effects processor to feature a front-panel removable memory storage card. In addition to storing user presets in RAM, a user can create and save presets on a memory card and transport them to DSP4000s in other studios, or just save them as a safeguard against the prying eyes and ears of other users. The memory card can also be used to update one machine with information from another.

QUALITY LIKE NO OTHER The DSP4000 provides full 24-bit AES/EBU and S/PDIF digital I/O for an all-digital signal path as well as standard XLR-type analog inputs and outputs. Optimal audio quality is assured via 18-bit A/D and D/A converters and 56-bit internal processing for >96 dB dynamic range and .005% THD. With available sample rates of 32 kHz, 44.056 kHz, 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz, audio bandwidth at the analog connectors is up to 22 kHz. The DSP4000's flexible remote control interfaces include MIDI In/Out/Thru jacks and PA422 serial port data. The rear panel sports a foot pedal input and two foot switch inputs, plus two relay-closure outputs for controlling guitar amplifier channel switching. The configurable "Kill" switch can function either as a relay bypass and an electronic bypass, or as a mute on the analog input; and either as an electronic bypass, or as a mute on the digital I/O.

To protect our users' investments, Eventide has always maintained a policy of making upgrades available for units in the field. With its building block architecture, the DSP4000 is even more flexible. New effects programs will also be available from third-party suppliers. The DSP4000 is designed to accept a variety of future enhancements and upgrades (including a versatile internal sampler). And it offers all the reliability and quality the industry has come to expect from Eventide.

The Eventide DSP4000 Ultra-Harmonizer brand effects processor advances the state of the art in unparalleled power, programmability and creative sonic potential. It's more than just a great reverb, a great pitch shifter or a great effects processor. This unit actually gives every producer, engineer and artist the extra edge to extend their creativity beyond all previous limits. One session with the DSP4000, and nothing will ever sound the same again.

Eventide has introduced a versatile and economical remote control system for its newest effects processor. The EVE/NET system is a local network which links from one to four or more EVE/NET remote control units with one to four or more Eventide Orville Harmonizer brand effect processors. The EVE/NET box is a compact, full capability remote unit, which provides total control of the Orville processor. It allows simultaneous control of up to eight program parameters utilizing innovative rotary encoders with integral LED circular bar displays which indicate current settings.

The flexibility of the EVE/NET system makes it an ideal choice for multi-room recording, post production and broadcast facilities, as well as live sound venues.

"Eventide Orville users have been asking for a remote control and EVE/NET was developed with their input and assistance." commented Eventide audio sales manager Gerry Griffin. "EVE/NET is flexible, inexpensive, and best of all, there's no learning curve. If you know how to operate an Orville or DSP series Eventide Harmonizer effects processor, you'll instinctively know how to operate the EVE/NET remote."