New Software Review: Crystals by Eventide

Eventide furthers the expanding H9 Plugin Series with Crystals, a dual pitch shifter with reverse delay and reverb functionality.

Under the hood of each module in Eventide‘s growing H9 Plugin Series of effects is an algorithm brought over from their H9 Harmonizer pedal platform.

These effects—many of which originated primarily for use with guitar—have translated quite well to the production realm, in my experience.

Some algorithms in the H9 Plugin Series, before being ported from the pedal platform, were even before then ported from Eventide’s classic H3000 Harmonizer. If you haven’t heard of the H3000, this timeless effects processor is sure to be seen racked up in just about any pro studio worth its salt. Excitingly, Eventide’s newest offering, Crystals, is among the algorithms whose roots trace back to the H3000.

I regret to admit that I haven’t had extensive experience using an H3000. But with CrushStation, MicroPitch, and Rotary Mod each adding tasty new flavor and variety to my plugin arsenal, the H9 Plugin Series has been kind to me. And with Crystals up next in line, I was excited to see what this dual pitch shifter/reverse delay/reverb algorithm was made of. After all, its DNA is written into the fabric of a proven classic.

Features

Crystals’ design is based around dual pitch shifters that each feature independently adjustable controls for reverse delay, reverb, and feedback. All of these controls are clearly displayed on Crystals’ GUI, so off the bat you know this plugin is capable of spitting out all sorts of complex time-based effects and interesting echoes.

All of the plugins in the H9 Series operate between -60 and +12 dBFS, and Crystals is no exception. One great thing about the series as a whole is each module exhibits a near-identical user interface (barring their unique individual controls, of course), which makes it super intuitive to apply tweaks on-the-fly if you’re using various H9 modules in your session. Also shared are the large vertical in/out sliders on either side of the plugin interface, and the ten-point LED meters above each, which display the audio level before and after the algorithm.

Ten rotary knobs populate the main section of Crystals, the first of which is an overall wet/dry mix control in the upper-left. Next to the right is a dial to control the mix between your pitch voice A and pitch voice B settings; these both operate between 1 cent – 1/100th of a semitone.

Following that to the right are the reverse delay controls, offering independent dials for voices A and B, which operate in milliseconds or in note values depending on your Tempo settings found directly below. An important thing to note here is that the onboard delay type is non-adjustable and of the reverse variety only.

The aforementioned Tempo controls include manual, sync, and off. When set to manual, you can adjust the tempo by tapping it in via the Tap button found on the bottom-right of the GUI, or by dragging the displayed BPM value up or down. When set to sync, the reverse delay operates in note values, with the tempo synced to your session. And as mentioned, the reverse delay otherwise operates in milliseconds when set to off.

The second row of rotary dials begins with the two controls for the reverb: mix and decay. It’s important to note that the reverb is part of the “wet” signal path of Crystals, meaning that the global mix control will still affect the overall amount of reverb being heard. The reverb’s mix control operates at values of 0-100, and the decay control in seconds, from .1-100.

Lastly for the rotary knobs are the feedback controls; there are independent dials for voices A and B, each of which operate between values of 0-100.

Each of the aforementioned rotary controls can work directly in tandem with the Ribbon. The Ribbon, seen across many of Eventide’s plugin offerings, is an innovative feature which enables multiple parameters to be fluidly adjusted at once, as you could on a real piece of analog hardware. You simply drag the two points (found on the outer rim of any given knob) to define the range in which you want it function, and it will move in tandem with the Ribbon as it is dragged horizontally. Automate the Ribbon, and you have a sort of automation-inception. Super cool.

Along the bottom of the GUI are the final three controls of Crystals. From left to right, you’ll find buttons labeled Active (a simple bypass control), Flex (shifts both voices up one octave), and the aforementioned Tap. All three of these can be controlled via MIDI.

One last feature to note is “MixLock”, which simply locks your wet/dry setting as you scroll through presets. This is a thoughtful added touch by Eventide, and seen across the entire H9 Plugin Series.

Eventide touts that Crystals is capable of sparking inspiration, taking synths, guitars, and vocals to “huge and majestic” places. Phrases like “climbing and cascading”, and even “other-worldly” and ”sound design” can be found on the Crystals product page.

So what’s it all about?

In Use

Since Eventide outright mentions the use of Crystals on synths, guitars, and vocals, these were my first areas of interest.

Starting on a lead guitar track, I opened an instance of Crystals; before even pressing play, I set the mix to 100% wet and activated the MixLock. It was important for me to get a sense of its tonal quality at 100% wet before mixing it in with the dry signal.

To minimize variables (as Crystals is a mutil-effect), I turned the mix of the reverb block to 0% (fully dry), made sure the delay was off, and began messing around with the dual pitch shifters. Instant inspiration, as promised.

Being well-acquainted with many of Eventide’s plugins (many of which feature the Ribbon) this is naturally what I reached for next.

I dialed in an inverse movement effect for pitch shifters A and B; this means as the Ribbon moves from left to right, voice A is decreasing in pitch, while simultaneously voice B is increasing in pitch—and vice versa when the Ribbon moves from right to left.

This instantaneously takes your source material to a completely different place—and it’s easy to create sounds that literally do not resemble the original signal whatsoever. This is made possible by shifting either voice to atypical and “non-musical” values—all while the overall mix of the plugin is at 100% wet. Being set to two simultaneous new pitches, your original signal, as far as your brain can perceive it, is now gone. And further, by use of the Ribbon, you create a perpetual and moving atonality that instantly conjures dream-like and yes indeed, other-worldly, feelings.

From applying this treatment to an overdriven electric lead guitar, I was transported to The Mars Volta’s Deloused In The Comatorium psych-interlude territory, a prevalent and immersive place visited often on that record.

So, first impressions of Crystals? I’m in. And this is just the pitch shifter section.

Reverb functionality here is simple enough—set your mix value, and crank the decay until you get the sense of space you want. The quality of the reverb fared well enough for general use, though there are no filters here, which is a must-have in my reverb workflow (more on that later). I would say that if it wasn’t a feature part that I was treating with Crystals, there’s probably a 50% chance I would venture outside of this plugin for reverb treatment.

Similarly to the reverb, I would describe the the quality of the delay in Crystals as utilitarian, and definitely useful if you don’t need tons of flexibility and perhaps are not working on a feature part of a song. And again, you’re committed to a reverse delay here, which could be cool if that’s the flavor you need… but that’s a pretty specific flavor. And, as with reverbs, I apply filtering to delays just about 100% of the time, so a filter section here would be welcome.

My experience with putting synths through Crystals was very similar to that of the guitar. And it was here that it dawned on me: how many cents are there in an octave? A quick Google search revealed 1200 (should I have known that off-hand?). This means that Crystals can be used to conjure more than just the aforementioned trippy and atonal soundscape-type effects, but also to apply a massive sense of size to things like synths or guitars when used “in tune”, so to speak.

And last in line of Eventide’s specifically-mentioned source material, I would say vocals naturally benefitted most from the “even pitch shifting” treatment rather than the atonal. And of course, the reverse delays are weird and cool here, if heavy-handed effect is what you’re going for. I could definitely see this set up on an aux return, with something pretty weird dialed in, and using it as a “wildcard” vocal effect heard on occasion in a song. I can’t say I see the effect that Crystals brings as a mainstay part of a vocal treatment, but rather a very tasty flavor to keep at your disposal for effect.

And for fun, I put some drums and percussion through Crystals. Pretty wild! I would suggest pitching one voice down, the other up, and tweaking the delays via the Ribbon. You can dial in some pretty wild and interestingly-offset patterns here, depending on your settings.

To Be Critical

To reiterate, I wish there were filter sections for the reverb and delay. I found that when getting towards higher values of feedback on source material that I was applying higher-octave treatment, the high frequency content was becoming distractive. With a filter, this can be tamed.

That said, a quick EQ on the next insert point, with some high end filtered out or shelved off, isn’t the tallest of orders. But this would affect the sound of Crystals on the whole, altering the quality of the pitch shifting effect, too—not just the reverb and delay blocks.

And again, with Crystals you’ve got one reverb and one delay type to work with, so if they’re not the appropriate flavors, you may find yourself reaching elsewhere. But I’ve learned that this plugin, if anything, is what I may turn to for inexplicably weird effects and evolving climbs and falls; not to dial in the world’s best reverb and delay. So stacking plugins is fine by me if the onboard effects won’t do.

Let us not forget that Eventide are purveyors of some of the world’s most renowned reverbs and delays ever made, so when you find yourself reaching elsewhere, it could do you some good to look in their direction.

My last critique is that if you’re using Crystals to treat vocals with a steady, octave-like pitch effect, I would urge you to beware of a “pulsating”-type artifact. It is most heard in the lower octaves, which would make me inclined to turn to another tool for this task.

Summing it Up

Crystals is definitely a cool flavor to have at your disposal. I could see it mostly used as a special effect, rather than something that makes up the inherent essence of a sound.

For example, it excels at throwing sounds into a completely different and unrecognizable space, especially if you tweak the pitch values opposite each other and in tandem with the Ribbon—all while using the onboard reverb and reverse delay. Doing this, you can create some pretty crazy dives and climbs; sounds that would probably require 2-3 dedicated plugins to build otherwise.

There’s strong competition in the market for plugins that do similar things as Crystals, for example Soundtoys’ Crystalizer (no pun intended), along with their EchoBoy delay module. On sale for $39 currently (reg. $99), I would consider Eventide’s Crystals definitely worth the sale price, though the $99 price point may be a stretch for me personally, having no shortage of this type of effect in my arsenal.

You can see for yourself whether or not Crystals would be a valuable addition to your toolset by requesting a free demo from Eventide here.

Dan Gluszak is a producer, mixer, and engineer based in Los Angeles, California. He also doubles as a touring and session drummer.

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