Eddy

Eddy is the classic swirl: a chain of allpass stages swept by an LFO and mixed with the dry sound, so notches move through it. Four stages is the gentle, vocal sound; twelve is deep and dramatic. Feedback sharpens the notches, and Spread offsets the two sides for a wide, swirling image.

The controls

Stages

4, 6, 8 or 12: more stages, more notches, a deeper sweep.

Rate, Sync

How fast it sweeps, free or locked to the song.

Depth

How far the notches travel.

Centre

The middle of the sweep: lower is darker, higher is brighter.

Feedback

Sharpens the notches. Negative feedback gives a hollower sound.

Spread

Offsets the left and right sweeps: 90 to 180 degrees is wide and swirling.

Mix

50% gives the deepest notches; other settings are subtler.

Best for

• Electric piano and clav: the classic 70s swirl
• Guitars: slow, liquid movement
• Pads: gentle motion that keeps them alive
• Drums and loops: a synced, rhythmic phase

Starting points

Load Eddy, set these, then adjust by ear. In the plugin, Level match helps you judge the sound, not the loudness.

Hints and tips

• Slow rates sound most musical; fast rates sound like a special effect.
• Sync to a bar or two on loops, so the sweep follows the song.
• Feedback near the extremes gets resonant: great on synths, much on guitars.

Chains it works best in

Every Original works in a chain with the others and with members' hardware. These are good places to start.

• Brazier then Eddy: driven guitar into a phaser
• Eddy then Rebound: a swirl with echoes
• Eddy then Platen: electric piano with a phaser and plate

Watch out for

• Mix at 100%: you lose the notches (it's the dry and phased sound together that makes them).
• Phasing the bass: the low end moves in and out. Use Lathe to high-pass what goes into Eddy.