| I’ve owned all of these. Each offers unique pleasures, to be sure, but the serious contenders for max mangling are only the Eventide and the FireworX, and I'd go for the Eventide without hesitating. My takes on each: PCM-81...a big disappointment as a mangler, even with all the add-on preset cards; opaque (but admittedly deep) interface, and really not a multi-effector; it’s a multi-delay--get the PSP software version and forget this one. G-Force...routing and modulation heaven with a great interface, always have 8 types of effect available in any possible order/config, but effects quite conventional; pitch-shifting nowhere near as cool as the Eventide. With clever, patient programming, it can do some wild morphing stuff because of the deep mod options and many simultaneous fx, not because of having unusual effects. FireworX...should have been a G-Force on steroids, since it’s packed with odd effects for sonic mayhem, but it's seriously crippled by low horsepower; even tho its got lots of modules to pick from, it’s impossible to load more than 2 or 3 without maxing the thing out. Same mod power and great interface as the G-F, but what's the point of infinite routing options if you've only got 2-3 effects going?? I sold my G-Force to get one and regretted it immediately. I hated pretty much all the presets and never found anything in it I loved exploring. I'm sure it would repay deep, committed investigation because of the weird effects available, esp. in concert with other devices. Too bad neither tc device will send its ultra mod power to external devices via MIDI control... The Eclipse will only disappoint if you’re expecting or used to the kind of endless programmability you’d get with a tc, or DSP-Eventide; it’s a two slot device with fixed algorithms, but these are rich and complex, covering all the basics in deluxe style, and filtered multi-delays exceptionally well...plus it’s got that multi-pitch-shifting thing that nothing else can quite duplicate. It sounds so magnificent you’d never regret having one, unless it only makes you yearn for an H8000. You’ve already got really cool ring-mod-ing and some rudimentary "synth-fx" with your VF-1s; actually, it seems that low-end hardware is where you’re most likely to find the richest collection of unique-if-cheesy fx, all of which would benefit enormously from an Eventide fairy-dusting down-stream. You already know my opinion of Reaktor as the weirdest and most endlessly re-thinkable multi-fx to beat, right? Too bad that's not working yet with the Receptor..... Have fun! dc On Jun 24, 2006, at 8:07 PM, Krispen Hartung wrote:
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