2002 Alesis Nanoverb and Alesis Nanocompressor still good in 2025?

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Ally-007

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Hi all, I've been offered an old Alesis Nanoverb and an old Alesis Nanocompressor for a very low price indeed, by someone who is no longer involved with audio engineering. I don't normally use rack gear, because for my music production, I use mostly analog guitar pedals and DAW plugins, which I record in 24 bit. I don't know much about the Nano compressor per se, but the Nanoreverb is of particiuar interest to me, because I've heard what it can do on YouTube videos, and it sounds wonderful to my ears, (even if it is only 16-bit). But my question is: if I use these old devices in my pre-interface effects chain, will my guitar tracks then be effectvely reduced to 16 bit, instead of 24 bit? Thank you for any clarifications or insights. PS.. my budget is tight, so I cannot just go out and by the best equipment out there, however, I do want to optimize the quality of my recordings, within reason.
 
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If you like the sound then they are good - and no your Guitar won’t resolve to 16 bit - the units will have a 16 bit response - but if you are in 24bits it will be 24 bits - you might hear the tails though.
 
Papanate said:
If you like the sound then they are good - and no your Guitar won’t resolve to 16 bit - the units will have a 16 bit response - but if you are in 24bits it will be 24 bits - you might hear the tails though.
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Thanks for your input, Papanate. I'm not terribly erudite when it comes to digital audio technology. For example, I'm not familiar with the term 'bit response' which you used. While the Nanoverb sounded very nice to my ears (as fars I could tell, listening via YouTube), I don't fully trust my own ears; I figure there are always going to be people with sharper or better-trained hearing than mine, who will notice if the quality of my recordings sounds technically behind the times.
 
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Bit depth (word length) mostly sets the digital noise floor. I would bet the guitar has enough noise that 16 bit audio won't be the weak link, as long as your gain structure is decent (don't go into the reverb with very low levels).
 
This is a 2 year old video, but ironically it showed up in my YouTube feed at the perfect time time for your thread. :D

 
As to the 16 bit aspect I wouldn’t worry. If it sounds good it’s good. And remember, CDs are 16 bit. They sound good :D
 
Nanoverbs were (search sound on sounds’s archive) rather well though of, and as a small reverb did a good job 30 years ago. The ONLY thing that matters, by the way, are your ears. People use horrible keyboards and pedals because the sound is good, and they forgive all sorts of problems, mainly hiss and odd noises. The nanoverb is quiet and has nice reverbs. The bit thing is all to do with resolution and accuracy, and 16bit rather than modern 24 or 32 is unlikely to be noticed.
 
Thank you kindly for the helpful replies, folks. It now turns out that I'll be getting these two Alesis units as a gift, so I'll soon be able to judge their suitability for myself. I expect they will be fine, based on what some of you said. If not, I will probably revert to using DAW plugins for reverb and compression.
 
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TalismanRich said:
I've settled on the Bricasti M7 IRs that Samplicity put out. I use them with Reaper's ReaVerb. There are a ton of options, but I tend to stick to a few that I like.

Oh yeah, they're free. https://samplicity.com/bricasti-m7-impulse-response-files/
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Thanks, Rich. I must look into that.

Meanwhile, can anyone advise me on power adapter requirements for the Nanoverb and the Nanocompressor? Alesis recommends using their "P3" power adapter for both units, which I gather has an output of AC 9V, 1Amp. I already have a couple of adapters, one having an output of AC 9V, 0.6A and another that's AC 9V, 0.3A. They have the correct plugs and polarity. Do you think they will suffice?

UPDATE: I just purchased a 1A adaptor. So I now have a 1A and a 0.6A, which I'm guessing will be fine. I haven't noticed any issues.
 
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