WORLD OF MUSIC ; PORTABLE KEYBOARD - Latest Portable Music Keyboards, Synthesizers and Music News

Eventide Audio is on a mission to create immersive versions of its plugins, and is kicking off in style with 3D audio versions of Blackhole and MicroPitch.

They will be the first two plugins in Eventide’s new Immersive Series, where the capabilities of the plugins will be expanded so that their effects reach the three-dimensional space around the listener.

The whole 3D or Immersive Audio world is expanding – not least with the number of names it has. But think of Immersive Audio as the one where the effect happens in three dimensions, including both left/right and up/down movement, so is also named ‘3D’ and includes the popular Dolby Atmos standard. Eventide’s plugins also support Surround Sound which is a more horizontal 2D format where the effect happens around you, but only on the horizontal plain.

Let’s start with the new Blackhole Immersive as the original is one of our favourite plugins, and literally takes you out of this world with some stunning reverbs. Blackhole Immersive has Gravity, Size and Feedback parameters – and the size can be rather big, to say the least.

A Crossfeed control enables you blend the reverb between speakers so, Eventide says, “a mono source can become truly immersive with one simple gesture”.


The original MicroPitch is both a delay and pitch shifter, and with MicroPitch Immersive users can morph the effect pretty much everywhere. The plugin has up to 12 channels to play with for its detuned delays, modulation and EQ. You can also tilt how the effect works left/right, front/back and top/main so imagine a delay drunkenly moving up and down in pitch as it changes position front to back – very cool. Other easy additions are slapback and patterned loop delays.

This all makes MicroPitch Immersive sound the more dynamic of the two plugins – presumably because reverb is an effect that is harder to pinpoint and position.

One of the best features of both plugins is that front, top and rear speakers can be EQ’d separately, and you can even morph between those settings should you wish. We also like the sounds of the Kill Dry, Kill Wet and Freeze controls as they “allow the creation of drastic effects”, but could also be future Marvel/DC characters.

Both plugins are price at $499 each, but current stereo owners can get 20% off. More information about Eventide Blackhole Immersive here & MicroPitch Immersive here.

BOSS has a long and colorful history when it comes to preamps. In fact, the very first BOSS-branded product arrived in 1974 in the form of the B-100 Preamplifier, which was only available in the US market. Intended for acoustic guitar, this rarity featured Volume, Treble, and Bass controls. Developed in the early ’80s, the FA-1 FET Amplifier sported the same array of knobs along with a low-cut switch.

Preamps may not be the first thing to mind when discussing chorus, delay, and reverb. However, you’ll find two of the guitar world’s best in the BOSS CE-1 Chorus Ensemble and Roland RE-201 Space Echo. For decades, music makers in the know have been plugging into the hidden power of the CE-1 and RE-201 for their analog preamp circuits.

The vintage BOSS CE-1 Chorus Ensemble and RE-201 Space Echo are legendary for their inspiring and influential effect sounds. But they’re also loved for their variable analog preamp circuitry, which instantly infuses any guitar tone with character, body, and richness.

Now, for the first time, these classic sounds are available in tandem with a clean, powerful booster in the form of the BP-1W Booster/Preamp—2023’s addition to the esteemed Waza Craft range.

“From the clear and chimey preamp tone of a vintage BOSS CE-1 to the darker, vibe-filled richness of the Roland RE-201’s preamp section, the BP-1W captures some of the coveted sounds in the BOSS catalogue,” boasts the company.

The NAT mode seems like a very useful compliment to this duo in offering an ‘ultra-clean boost’ that doesn’t add the colour of the other two. The gain control delivers saturation tailored to each mode.

In addition, there are Standard/Vintage input buffer modes with ‘drastically different tonal responses’.  The Vintage mode offers a warmer and smoother response while the Standard buffer is always engaged, even when the pedal is bypassed.

Features:

• Waza Craft innovation for a premium analog tone experience
• Premium booster and preamp pedal with analog circuitry derived from legendary BOSS and Roland effects
• Versatile design with three selectable modes
• CE mode reproduces the bright, bell-like preamp sound of the BOSS CE-1 Chorus Ensemble
• RE mode reproduces the fat, warm preamp sound of the Roland RE-201 Space Echo
• NAT mode provides a natural clean boost with minimal sound coloration
• Gain knob controls the amount of saturation introduced into the signal
• Level knob for controlling the overall volume and driving the inputs of amps and other pedals
• Selectable standard or vintage input buffer with different tone and response characteristics
• Made in Japan
• BOSS five-year warranty.

The Boss BP-1W cost $169.99 / £155 / €179.99. Find out more on Boss website.

TC Electronic brings its classic ’80s rack unit to a pedal with the 2290 P Dynamic Delay.

TC Electronic is having a big year; six preamp pedals in the can and now it’s looking to its past success by bringing the 2290 rack delay back as a pedal. And TC has got a great demo video to prove it!

The 2290 was a favourite of U2’s The Edge in the studio and onstage, and delay is only part of the deal here.

Like the original 1985 rack unit, the 2290 P Dynamic Delay pedal offers chorus, flanger, tremolo, vibrato, phaser, panning, ducking and compression to take your delay soundscapes to new horizons. And TC has a 50-minute deep dive video to explore that potential.

TC successfully integrated 2290 tech into its excellent but now discontinued Nova range, but the new pedal goes deeper. It’s definitely one for the tweakers and deep editors, and with all the options available there’s definitely going to be a learning curve for most delay pedal users. But you can quickly get a taste of what’s on offer with the 128 presets.

“We carefully recreated the original 2290, but we also added modern features, improved bits and pieces and expanded selected effect parameter ranges particularly with the guitar-playing experience in mind,” says TC Electronic. “For example, the guitar-friendly Feedback Loop for inserting additional effects to the wet signal and the option to use sub-divisions to control the Modulation block.”

There’s also a 2290 P app to control the pedal, and players can connect an expression pedal to control any parameter – and up to three simultaneously.

The TC Electronic 2290 P Dynamic Delay pedal is price at $349 /£349.

Find out more on TC Electronic website.