Microverb substitute?

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Sir_Matthew

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I've been doing a lot of online shows on Second Life & Ustream, and thus far have been doing them dry. But I heard someone using a touch of Alesis Microverb the other day, and it added enough depth that I'd like to try it.

However, used Microverbs (and Midiverbs) appear to be selling for at least $100 on eBay, and I wonder if there is a workable substitute that might be had for cheaper.

Thoughts?

(P.S: I would use my Roland VS880 as a reverb unit, but it's bulky and I'd like something smaller that would fit easier on my desktop. Same reason I'm not plugging the mix into ProTools during shows.)
 
Gee - if $100 is too much.... I guess recommeding a Lexicon PCM96 would be overkill :D
 
Aye, indeed. ;)

I've got good reverb plugins for my recording rig, but Ustream & SL take up all the memory, so I can't really run ProTools on top of it. I just need something cheap & decent to give a bit of roominess to the audio.
 
I've seen cheaper Lexicon units like the MPX100 go for between $40 and $75 on eBay.

It's a 1U rack unit...not sure if that's too bulky?

EDIT: Also, have you heard of the Alesis Picoverb? Not sure how good it is, but it seems to sell for around $40 used.
 
Used Alesis Nanoverbs go for $50 all the time.

I have an ART FXR for sale for $50 if you want to pop up to Colorado to pick it up.
 
It's funny, I bought a microverb new when they first came out and a microverb 2 when they come out. They are both still sitting in the rack. They are great sounding reverbs and the gated gated reverb on the microverb 1 is great for that old big snare sound (phil Collins). Amazing that they still sell for $100, I actually took the rack with the microverbs out to a live gig (it's my portable rack that originally was on my large PA system) and mixed a show with it. The show had plenty of great female breathy vocals and the little microverbs worked a treat.

However as suggested if you can't find a microverb try a nanoverb.

By the ay I also bought a Microgate, and a Microlimiter and they work a treat as well. A great line of product at the time and the advantage was the 1/3 rack size so 3 units fitted in 1 rack space.

Alan.
 
witzendoz said:
A great line of product at the time and the advantage was the 1/3 rack size so 3 units fitted in 1 rack space.

Alan.
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I concur... check out the Nano collection for the same quality.

I've never forgiven myself for selling my Nanobass... I really miss the bass tones this unit provided...
 
Nanoverb is the Alesis reverb for under $100. It has a small sweet spot, but if you can keep it right where it is happy it sounds decent.
 
witzendoz said:
I bought a microverb new when they first came out and a microverb 2 when they come out. They are both still sitting in the rack.

Alan.
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Hi Alan,

Have you noticed either version as being better or more natural sounding than the other or.. are they both about the same? Also, do you recall when both of these units came out originally and what you paid? Sorry it's just that you have both and I can't help but be curious. Thanks!
 
Hi,

I can't remember what I paid, I did buy them both new and at the time they were great value for money, the only other options were things like Yamaha SPX90's (which I also have in my collection) and Lexicons, and they were a lot more money.

They both sound good, they only have factory settings and are not programable but have a good selection of verbs. I liked then because you could find a suitable verb quickly and they were in my live PA rack at first and finding something quick was good. When I had a large in-house PA, sound guys that come in with bands had no complaints about the reverbs and actually quite liked them coz they were easy to use.

The Microveb 1 & 2 have different very usable factory sounds. As a rule I used the 1 on my drums and the 2 on the vocals, I think this was because I loved the gated reverb program on the micro1. Remembering this was the 1990's. Basically I would get either one if you can find them for sale.

Another good thing about them was they were stereo, you could send a left and right signal to the verb and you had a left and right out. However where they really worked well was if you feed them a mono send you got a spacious stereo effect from the left and right out, this was how I used them.
 
I have an SPX90 I would part with for $75+shipping. I also have an ART Multiverb around here somewhere that I would sell for $40, but I can't seem to find it at this moment.
 
I have every SPX up to but not including the 2000. Great units through out the years.
 
witzendoz said:
Hi,

I can't remember what I paid, I did buy them both new and at the time they were great value for money, the only other options were things like Yamaha SPX90's (which I also have in my collection) and Lexicons, and they were a lot more money.

They both sound good, they only have factory settings and are not programable but have a good selection of verbs. I liked then because you could find a suitable verb quickly and they were in my live PA rack at first and finding something quick was good. When I had a large in-house PA, sound guys that come in with bands had no complaints about the reverbs and actually quite liked them coz they were easy to use.

The Microveb 1 & 2 have different very usable factory sounds. As a rule I used the 1 on my drums and the 2 on the vocals, I think this was because I loved the gated reverb program on the micro1. Remembering this was the 1990's. Basically I would get either one if you can find them for sale.

Another good thing about them was they were stereo, you could send a left and right signal to the verb and you had a left and right out. However where they really worked well was if you feed them a mono send you got a spacious stereo effect from the left and right out, this was how I used them.
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Thanks very much for your reply Alan. :)
 
buy a behringer guitar reverb pedal 2nd hand - that'll do. OR any old effects unit you'll just need to tweak it a bit. I have a Microverb and used to play with it when I did tape recordings rather than digital/in the box stuff. It's very easy to overdo the amount of reverb on those things.
 
rayc said:
buy a behringer guitar reverb pedal 2nd hand - that'll do. OR any old effects unit you'll just need to tweak it a bit. I have a Microverb and used to play with it when I did tape recordings rather than digital/in the box stuff. It's very easy to overdo the amount of reverb on those things.
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You know I have read your reply 6 times and I still don't get what you are saying? Behringer Guitar Reverb Pedal:laughings: any old effect :confused: It's easy to over do the amount of reverb with those things, :facepalm:
 
He said "it doesn't matter what you use as long as you don't over use it"... and I couldn't agree with him less
 
KenHR said:
EDIT: Also, have you heard of the Alesis Picoverb? Not sure how good it is, but it seems to sell for around $40 used.
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horrible ..... I have one sitting in the next room and though I like most 'verbs, that one is a POS.
 
In essence I said: "Buy what is affordable, learn it, tweak the settings to get the best out of it and be careful because reverb is easy to overdo (particularly with a Microverb)."
Almost any guitar processor unit from the last 30 years will have a couple of reverbs in it. Simple pedals like Behri are VERY cheap esp 2nd hand, (this isn't about Behringer bashing as the OP referred to a small budget). There's cheap stuff out there, not much of it is high end but one ought to use what one has or can get to the best of one's/its ability. It is HOME recording after all and for a online (presume streamed) audio at that.
 
rayc said:
In essence I said: "Buy what is affordable, learn it, tweak the settings to get the best out of it and be careful because reverb is easy to overdo (particularly with a Microverb)."
Almost any guitar processor unit from the last 30 years will have a couple of reverbs in it. Simple pedals like Behri are VERY cheap esp 2nd hand, (this isn't about Behringer bashing as the OP referred to a small budget). There's cheap stuff out there, not much of it is high end but one ought to use what one has or can get to the best of one's/its ability. It is HOME recording after all and for a online (presume streamed) audio at that.
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The line I don't understand is "particularly with a Microverb" why would you think it's any different to any other brand of reverb?

Also the guy wanted to know about a microverb, and you are talking about effects pedals? The microverb is not a guitar processor? It's a 1/3rd rack unit designed for line in and out.

Alan.
 
witzendoz said:
The line I don't understand is "particularly with a Microverb" why would you think it's any different to any other brand of reverb?

Also the guy wanted to know about a microverb, and you are talking about effects pedals? The microverb is not a guitar processor? It's a 1/3rd rack unit designed for line in and out.

Alan.
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I'm not sure exactly why he said that, but the Microverb was a 18-bit processor that did sound quite 'assy'. The SPX's sound way better.
 
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