Re: eventide general question

["Dennis Leas" <dennis@mdbs.com>]

> It's the most powerful hardware FX processor on the market today.

[  :) I fear we trend on sacred ground here.  At the danger of discussing
religious issues, I'll continue carefully...  ]

I suppose it depends on what "most powerful hardware FX processor" means.
Let's look at the Eventide Orville, the Symbolic Sound Kyma, and the Sony
DRE-S777. In raw processor power, clearly a Kyma system is tops with 28 
DSPs
versus 2 on the Orville.  On the other hand, the Eventide units can 
function
standalone while Kyma requires an attached computer.  And Eventide's
pitch-shifting algorithms are highly optimized.  The same pitch-shifting
functions on Kyma consume more processor power, due somewhat to the more
general architecture.

Then there's the DRE-S777.  It does reverb modelling based on near realtime
convolution.  This feat is unequaled by *any* other device that I know of.
Perhaps that makes it "most powerful hardware FX processor"?

Some ways, it's like discussing what's the most powerful fastest car or
biggest truck,etc.  While it's a interesting question, I'm not sure how
useful it is.  After all, the artist needs the tool that works best for him
or her.  If I really need a bicycle (perhaps a really good bicycle), the
fastest car won't do at all.

Dennis Leas
-------------------
dennis@mdbs.com