Eventide describes their new sound design plug-in Crystals as having twin reverse pitch changers with independently adjustable reverse delays, feedback, and added reverb.
I describe it more simply. Crystals is, plain and simple, a little bit of magic, and that is something we can all use more of these days. It channels the excitement of my inner five-year-old with a brand new colouring book. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun playing with a new plug-in.
I can attempt to describe, with varying degrees of accuracy, what the controls on the front panel are, what they do, and how they affect the sound. But I'm not going to do that. That is not what this plug-in is about. It is about playing. It is about fun. It is about serendipity. It is about aleatoric composition. It is about granular synthesis. It is about experimentation. It is about freedom from expectations. It is about having a fresh pack of chalk with an empty sidewalk in front of you. Every single sound is a new universe of sonic manipulation.
A lot is going on under the hood of Crystals, which, thankfully, Eventide hasn't attempted to define in the 11-page manual. I say thankfully because it is unnecessary. It would kill the magic.
The first thing I did when I got this plug-in was to put it on a piano track, play a single note, and turn the knobs. The second thing I did was put it on a click track playing quarter notes. I didn't get to bed until midnight.
I know I've been deliberately descriptive yet vague in my description thus far. And that's because it is hard to describe with words what you will quickly discover by turning just one knob, any knob, of this plug-in on one of your DAW channels.
I strongly urge everyone to download a demo and give it a try. I strongly suggest everyone buy it and keep it in their plug-in folder, even if it is not a plug-in you will turn to all the time for bread and butter use. It's for a rainy day when you are feeling down, unsure about life, or about making music, or facing some creative block. Crystals is a therapy session. It is meditation. It is a spa. It is rejuvenation.
Too much? Well, maybe. But seriously, try it for yourself. You will never hear sound the same way ever again. Still too much? I don't think so.
To learn more about Crystals, visit the Eventide website.