SOS reviewed this bundle back in September 2003 ( sep03/articles/clockworks.htm) so I am going to skip past these processors other than to reaffirm that Instant Flanger is still one of the best flanging effects around. Eventide have resisted the temptation to 'update' them, other than to add some MIDI control and automation of course, preferring to reproduce them warts and all as software plug-ins. This bundle consists of precise software models of the Eventide hardware favourites from the 1970s - the Instant Phaser, Instant Flanger, Omnipressor, H910 and H949 Harmonizers. The result is a suite of processors and effects that brings together 'retro' and contemporary sounds not only within one bundle, but also in some cases within individual plug-ins. Since they launched the Clockworks Legacy bundle three years ago, Eventide have been adding to their range of TDM plug-ins, and the new Anthology II package combines that original suite of effects with the more recent Anthology and several even newer products. This time, let’s get into two more voice-altering methods: the talk box and vocal pitch correction.Eventide's range of high-quality Pro Tools plug-ins continues to grow, and the new Anthology II bundle collects together no fewer than 15 separate effects and processors. In part one of this series, we looked at the history of speech synthesis and the vocoder. If there’s a way to change the timbre or character of our voices, we’re going to try it. As soon as early recording engineers figured out how to trick out the human voice, they did, affecting it with everything from reverb and echo to flange, phase, and even rotating organ speakers. This being said, we’re not above slathering our voices in effects or changing it to sound like a machine. And if there’s any frequency masking happening, you can bet any EQ carving is going to happen to the non-vocal sounds.

You can pan the other instruments all you want but the voice needs to be front and centre.

When using it in music, it’s almost always the main focus of a song. Communication would be very limited without it, after all.

As biological beings, it’s one of our most important assets. If there’s one thing people love, it’s the sound of the human voice. In this second part of a two-part series, we further explore the history of vocal synthesis, this time looking at the talk box and vocal pitch correction.

Eventide h910 harmonizer usage