I've had a lot of fun with this bundle! I think this may be the first time that I found a plug-in bundle to beat out the physical processor that it models, not only in versatility, but also in sound quality. The Eventide Anthology II bundle is an upgrade package that adds some cool new effects to the previous Anthology bundle. I loaded this bundle onto both a Pro Tools Mix system and a Pro Tools HD system, using my iLok for authorization. Be sure to check Eventide's website for compatibility notes as only some of the effects will load on older setups. If you know me or have read my other reviews, you know what I love about Eventide: micropitch shift, reverbs, and phaser/flangers. This bundle incorporates all those effects in many flavors amidst its fifteen total plug-ins.
To make a long list short, the bundle includes very unique equalizers and filters, the Omnipressor compressor, two H3000 modelers (complete with useable patchbay), Instant Phaser and Instant Flanger, several different harmonizers and pitch shifters, and even the reverb algorithms of the H8000. Several companies make channel strips that feature EQ, compression, and gating in one plug-in, but how about all that plus Eventide's micropitch shifter and a stereo delay? How about notch filters in the EQ section and a de-esser as well? Oh yeah, one of the two channel strips has the famous Omnipressor as its built-in compressor. Very cool.
In my mixes, I overuse flangers to a fault, but the hardware versions of the Instant Phaser and Instant Flanger always fall a little short of my craving for deep shifting. The plug-ins are all that I could ask for and way more. Nobody can touch these plugs for deep, dramatic effects, subtle shifting, and envelope following too. My acoustic guitars, hi- hats, cymbals, and background vocals will never sound the same. So far I may have saved a couple hundred presets for the Instant Flanger and Phaser. These plugs are also pretty efficient on DSP, so inserting a handful in a big mix didn't tax my system too much.
My next favorite processor is the Ultra-Channel, mostly because I love the built-in micropitch shifter. Also, since I'm a subtractive EQ type of guy, the notch filters make me very happy. Most of the time, the Ultra-Channel and its little brother, the E-Channel, handled all the processing I needed for any one channel. The parametric EQ45 could easily become one of my go-to equalizers, once I become more familiar with it.
For reverb, I'm very picky, and my all-time-favorite Pro Tools reverb is the original Lexiverb, which still runs on my OS 9 Mix system. The Eventide Reverb plug-in will certainly give me a great option on the HD system, especially since it allows you to apply EQ both before and after the reverb algorithm. The Ambience settings are as good as my favorite hardware box, the Eventide/Princeton Digital Reverb 2016, and the Hall settings sound better than almost any other plug-in I have used.
Check out Eventide's website for the Anthology II bundle and its various upgrade paths. The full version streets for $995. The reverb or channel strip alone is worth that price, and the Instant Phasers and Flangers will find themselves at the top of your list of favorite plug-ins. Eventide has quickly become a leader in quality and versatile plug-ins for Pro Tools systems. ($1195 MSRP; www.eventide.com)
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