We’ve all seen the pictures and heard the stories of world-changing brilliance being born from suburban garages. An archetypical twenty-first century tale of technology, the Apples and Microsofts of the world have certainly made this narrative known. These classic stories of ingenuity and tireless effort to advance the state of technology are legendary. Among these legends is the one of Eventide Audio.
A trailblazer in the field of audio technology, Eventide’s tale begins in 1971. Founded by a team consisting of recording engineer Stephen Katz, inventor Richard Factor, and patent attorney Orville Greene, Eventide began operation on West 54th Street in New York City. The team quickly found success with their DDL 1745, one of the earliest examples of a rackmount digital effects system – a unit unique not only for its live sound application, but also for its status as the first studio digital delay.
Following this innovation, Eventide built up its line of rackmount effects with groundbreaking releases such as 1972’s Instant Phaser PS 101 and 1974’s Black Meter Omnipressor. Eventide’s rackmount effects quickly made appearances with studio pioneers of the time. Alongside their rackmount effects, Eventide also specialized in innovative broadcast technology with their BD955 Broadcast Audio Delay from 1975. This groundbreaking unit allowed live talk shows to have edited audio tracks produced in real time, “cutting out” unwanted sounds or obscenities. In addition to their rackmount effects, broadcasting innovations like these put Eventide on the map.
Throughout the decades, Eventide continually produced advanced rackmount effects for world-class studio use. Eventide’s specialties in their evolving medium involving analog and digital rackmount effects carried with them into the new millennium. Along with advancing versions of their rackmount effects, Eventide’s first foray into the world of effect pedals began. By the end of the 2010s, Eventide’s place among effect pedal titans had been established.
2020’s Eventide dot9 Family line of effects broke new ground for the name with compact and powerful pedals. These pedals, in addition to the popular H9 Harmonizer Effects Processor, bridged gaps between the world of Eventide’s rackmount units and effect pedals. Today, players get distinct tones inspired by authentic studio effects in compact, easy to use pedals.
In the case of finding colorful modulation, the TriceraChorus with its mixable three-mode chorus effect lets players in on a wide spectrum of modulated voices. For players seeking out different modes of delay, the MicroPitch and UltraTap produce excellent and varied delay effects that transform, sustain, and echo in an assortment of ways. Adventurous players heading out into their own unknown territories can use the Blackhole to delve into the deepest reaches of reverberated space. To top all of this off, Eventide’s H9 multi-effects processor and its additional dual footswitch controller, the OX9, brings an entire Eventide experience together in one perfect pair. Massively powerful effect processing puts the H9 in a distinguished place among multi-effects units. With it, the decades of work Eventide put in to advance the state of play for audio production everywhere is tangible.
Today, Eventide Audio operates out of Little Ferry, New Jersey. To see Eventide Audio’s years of work in recording and production come to fruition in their modern-day effect pedals is something special. From their earliest years working out of a New York basement to their status today as one of the greats, Eventide’s influence can be felt and heard across musical history. Quite a bit of game changing audio technology would not exist without the minds at Eventide, so take part in history in the making with their newest developments!
