orville vs. eclipse

[jimfowler]

how do the two compare?  i know the orville is a dual-dsp machine
while the eclipse has a single processor.  basically i am not satisfied
with the eclipse for a number of reasons…main one being the dodgy
diatonic shifters.  if i feed the eclipse a single note it shifts no
problem.  more than one note at the time (or heaven forbid a triad) it
basically freaks out and glitches and sends out all kinds of wrong
notes.  out of key, out of time, etc.  so let's say you have a
synthesizer melody that is being shifted diatonically by the eclipse. 
the sustain of the synth notes cause all kinds of hell to break loose. 
if you set the synth to monophonic the problem goes away.  so…all
signs point to the machine not being able to process the audio
successfully. 

back to the point.  i want more power.  i don't
mind "side-grading" to the orville but i don't want to flip the eclipse
and pick up an orville only to find that this problem still exists. 

i am, however, tempted by the independent processors.  it's like having two eventides in one box.

i can't afford an h8k, so that's not an option.

– jim

[DGillespie]

Hi jimfowler,

I know the issue you're talking about regarding a polyphonic synth with a long release.  The problem is a function of the pitch tracker detecting both pitches correctly, but then there is no single shift amount that will harmonize both those pitches in key.  In other words, say you set the key to C Major and the shift amount to a 3rd, then you play a C and an E.  The harmonizer is going to want to shift the C up to an E which is a +400 cent shift, while it's going to want to shift the E up to a G which is a +300 cent shift.  Because of this discrepancy, it sometimes gets confused and can't make up it's mind, especially in situations like a synth where one note is fading out and the other is fading in.  The best thing to do in this situation is switch to a nondiatonic shifter and just set the shift amount in cents.  For instance, use +400 cents for a Major 3rd or +300 cents for a minor 3rd.  Unfortunately, the Eclipse will actually do better than the Orville in this regard and it has slightly newer pitch tracking technology in the latest version, which the Orville does not.

Dan

[jimfowler]

dan –

thanks for the reply and the concise explanation of what exactly is going down.  knowing what to expect can have a huge impact on the (perceived) results.  i've owned eventide boxes for nearly a decade and have never been informed that eventide's diatonic shifters (which are 90% of what i use) are basically designed with monophonic input in mind.  this information is not in the manual.  all this time i thought it was just crappy.

since i have your attention – just how much does the orville lack compared to the eclipse (specifically regarding pitch shifting)?  there are several mitigating factors at work here…one being external modulation and clock issues, which were never addressed or resolved by tech support.  the other being orville's pair of stereo i/o.  the only problem with owning an eventide is that once you know what it can do and how well it does everything that you end up wanting to run everything through it. 

so…i'm still on the fence.  if i can pick up an orville for the right price i might still go for it…unless you can talk me out of it.

thank again.

– jim

[Doug Wellington]

Used to be that you could upgrade an Orville to an H8000.  I took a quick look, but couldn't find the upgrade page.  (Was at: http://www.eventide.com/profaud/orville-to-h8k.htm before.)  If you got an Orville for the right price…

[Author]

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