The last of the recognisable parameters is Chop, a pre-delay "chopping" tremolo with triangle, saw, ramp, square and sample-and-hold LFO options. The Width control lets you dial in ping-pong panning and the Tone knob works exactly how you think it would. Some of the UltraTap's other features are more familiar but no less useful. Beyond 12 o'clock, the so-called slurming (and a fair amount of lowpass filtering) becomes more pronounced and begins to function as a reverb. In practice, it seemed that turning Slurm clockwise created subtle but shimmering chorus. Eventide describes Slurm as combining "slowly varying (random) multi-voice detuning (micro-pitching) modulation AND smearing/slurring via a very small-reverb-like diffusion." I can't say I picked up on all that when using the effect, but it certainly sounded a lot richer than many other tape distortion effects I've used. It's an initially confusing parameter until you figure out it's a portmanteau for tape slur and smear. But things get even stranger when you start playing with the Slurm control. Having these two controls independent of each other makes it easy to quickly construct some pretty out-there delays. Taper, meanwhile, controls the volume fade of the taps. Spread controls the temporal spacing of the taps: turning the knob to the left will group taps towards the beginning while turning the knob to the right groups taps towards the end for a speeding-up sound. ![]() An array of knobs and switches (not to mention a virtual ribbon controller) offer a wide range of manipulation options, with up to 64 delay taps that can be compressed or scattered any which way over the delay time. The UltraTap is a highly flexible tape-style delay with both straightforward and unique controls. But if the €400 price for the H9 is too steep for you, the UltraTap plug-in is particularly appealing-it's available at a fraction of the cost. So the UltraTap is redundant for musicians and producers who already have access to an H9 pedal. The new plug-in is more or less identical to the UltraTap effect found in the H9 multi-effects unit, right down to the graphical interface. UltraTap, the company's latest delay plug-in, doesn't fall squarely into either camp. ![]() In recent years, Eventide has been adapting its classic algorithms to plug-in form and has repackaged some of its greatest hits into compact, cheaper products. The H910's successor, the H3000, and the DDL series went on to become studio staples, with fans including everyone from Brian Eno and Throbbing Gristle to Eddie Van Halen. It's a quirky origin story but far from unusual in the history of electronic music, which was founded on repurposing technology for artistic purposes. Even the now-classic Harmonizer series, starting with the H910, found its first use in television broadcasting, where it was used to re-pitch reruns that were sped up to fit in more commercials. The BD955 Broadcast Delay was built for catching obscenities on air, while the 1745 DDL provided a practical alternative to tape delays and their operators for recording studios. The company began life as an OEM and made delay boxes for functional rather than artistic purposes.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |