NAMM 2019: Eventide’s Instant Phaser Mk II plugin emulates the ‘perfect imprecision’ of the original hardware
John Bonham’s drums wouldn’t have sounded the same without it
NAMM 2019: Eventide’s Instant Phaser broke new ground in 1972 - in fact, Eventide says that it was the first rackmount electronic studio effects unit ever. You’ll know it from countless recordings - think of John Bonham’s drum sound in Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir - and now a Mk II version has been released as a plugin.
This retains the look and feel of the original, but adds various features that make it suitable for today’s producer. You can adjust the sonic characteristics with the Age knob, and you get plenty of control options.
“A true recreation of the Instant Phaser had to satisfy not only our ears but also the ears of the studio owners and the pro audio community who still own and use the original hardware,” says Eventide Managing Director Anthony Agnello. “A strict digital simulation of an analog component is precise. Components in the real world are not. A 0.1 uF capacitor in cold precise code will be exact while a real world 0.1 uF cap’s actual value will fall within some range close to, but never exactly, 0.1 uF. We discovered that the imprecision of the values of the analog components are key to the Instant Phaser’s sonic character. The challenge was to write code that captured that imprecision.”
“This isn’t your typical phaser plug-in, this is owning a piece of history. We’re pleased to release an authentic recreation of the world’s first and cherished rackmount electronic effects processor.”
Find out more on the Eventide website. Instant Phaser Mk II is available now at the introductory price of $37 (this will rise to $129 in March) and in VST/AU/AAX formats. You can request a demo, too.
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I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.
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