We all experience a time lag when changing between two presets, don't we?
Why?
A small amount of time is always needed to change presets! That's a true law of technology. We have experienced it with any signal processing device, from any brand, in any price range. There are many good reasons for this. In Eventide's case, we tend to prize quality over quantity! It simply means that a really good sounding algorithm needs to be unloaded and the new one reloaded when a preset change is desired. Why? Because this is the only way you'll have a DSP chip that is fully dedicated to the desired effect(s). Some other processors actually run algorithms that are *always alive*, meaning that you may not see or hear some parts of the effect, but they still run and use processing power. While this speeds up "loading" time (it is only necessary to switch sections in and out, rather than load a new preset), it seriously limits the quality of the effect as DSP resources are "on hold", being used up by currently inactive effects. Our algorithms are designed to deliver full DSP power all the time, dedicated to the effect you want to use and run at that time.
Our fastest ever unit at switching presets is Eclipse. From Operating System V2.5 and newer versions, we have been able to optimize this function to a great performance level. Eclipse does change presets at very high speed.. Nevertheless, we feel that some suggestions will help you live with a small latency you might experience anyway:
When was last time you saw a keyboard player holding a chord and change preset on his/her synth at the same time? This is to say that one way around switching delay is to not play while switching presets. In the years we have personally assisted many touring pro-musicians all over the world and never, ever, we had a problem with switching time as they know that one way to avoid switching latency is not playing over the change. Wait for the next drummer cymbal hit in the song....
Clever midi real-time control! This is a true life-saver. Let's considerate a typical guitarist fx array, made of a compressor, e.g., pitch shifter, chorus, delay and reverb....think pedals! Now, he would just stomp on each single FX pedal switch to individually turn each on or off. He doesn't need to switch to a different pedalboard! Digital FX processors actually offer the same instant on/off capability PLUS the great advantage of being able to switch to different algorithms, stored with personal tweaks. So, by using MIDI realtime CC messages, patched to currently loaded preset's parameters, you'll be able to turn your single FX on and off and to even adjust them (chorus speed, delay feedback, reverb decay, etc.); you won't need to change the preset as long as you are using the same effects types and routing. Change presets when you really need a totally different effect type and/or routing.
Use multi-DSP processors! Our H8000 and Orville units offer two powerful DSPs, running two separate different, similar or identical presets. You can use one DSP to process your sound and simply move audio input to the other DSP, running a different preset, avoiding any latency. Again MIDI or hardware controllers (pedals) can be useful to achieve this. You'll be able then to load the next preset in the first DSP, while using the second one... and keep changing in this way.
Use more FX processors in your rack! Many pros favor this method. This is usually achieved by using switching/routing/mixing automation units. MIDI allows to control your signal routing between any source and destination in your rack Using two Eventides and any of these ancillary units, you'll be able to re-direct your audio signal to any of the two (or more) processors, letting MIDI load a new preset in the currently bypassed unit. A more professional choice that offers the great advantage of back up units in your rack.
Thank you, Italo, for providing this info.
This page created 29 November 2004