New reverb unit, will it be worth it for under $300.

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endserenading81

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Hello everyone, I am tired of cheap plug-in reverbs.
I am looking into getting a unit to handle all of my reverbs for everything: guitars, vocals, drums, synths. I am really into shoegazer and slow moving indie music, like Sigur Ros, M83, and Mogwai. I also love the sexy reverb during much of the 80's. Just the smoothness on such songs as "This Woman's Work" from Kate Bush, or "Coming Around Again" from Carly Simon, or everything from the Jesus and Mary Chain (which is more gritty I know).
So my question is: will buying a $300 reverb unit from Lexicon, Kurzweil, or TC make a huge improvement over cheap plug-ins, or is it not worth it until you get into the $1000 price range with these brands?
Thank you,
Rob
 
I'm gonna predict that most folks will say you're better off with your plugs and waiting til you can afford a top dollar unit.

My take is a bit different. I've got a couple rack units in the cheaper price range you're talking about--in fact, I have both a TC and a Lexicon. And maybe it's just because I'm old enough to appreciate spinning a real knob now and then, but I often find more usable reverbs from my rack units faster than I do with my plugs.

Now I've done some experimentation, and proven to myself that I can get the same decent results out of my plugs, but I get there faster with my rack units. And for what it's worth--I like the rack unit presets better. Yeah I know they're goofy, but they're varied and offer some real interesting starting points for some sounds.

So my advice is that if it won't break your bank, a reverb/multi-fx unit in the rack can be a decent use of your dollars. Don't expect it to do everything you're hearing in other songs, but it might just open some possibilities...

Good luck!
 
guess i'm one of the others strat alluded to...

IMO... the only good reason to go to hardware in this day and age is IF it relieves cpu overhead appreciably for you...
 
Look for a used Kurzweil Rumour. Top notch reverbs. IMHO better than any cheap plugins. Same basic reverbs as Kurzweil's KSP-8, but two channels. You should be able to find one for @ $400.
 
I agree about the Kurzweil Rumour. A real good quality unit for a low price.
 
In addition to those listed I can highly recommend the Lexicon LXP-15 II and the Lexicon Reflex. There hasn't been a budget Lexicon unit that can hold a candle to these older units in at least 10 years, and certainly no plugs.

I generally recommend outboard units built for a specific function over using plug-ins.

If you're mixing ITB (which I don't really advocate either) and need a unit with a digital interface take a look at the Alesis Q2 (Quadraverb 2 v2.0) or Q20. They can be found on eBay for less than $200 and give you a lot of bang for the buck. The Quadraverb 2 version 2.0 contains some very sweet verbs.

:)
 
I owned the Lexicon MX200 for about a weak.

I personally did not like it, and found the "control it with a USB connection and a VST plug" option to be pretty lame.

I mean.... the unit was sitting 2 feet away from my hand, in the rack, why remote control it with a vst ? (I had to have an extra Track open in my DAW just to "hold" the control vst. That's stupid.)

The sounds, I didn't find bad, but I wasn't blown away either.

I don't know what to suggest as an alternative, but, to me, the MX200 (so I'm sure this would also go for the MX300 nad MX400) seemed like an over-complicated "toy".


Myself, I am going to grab up a UAD-1 card, and buy the plate plug-in.

Many producers, mixers, engineers prefer UAD-1's Plate plug, to the real thing.

I believe you could put all that together for around $450. (Card + plug )
 
endserenading81 said:
Hello everyone, I am tired of cheap plug-in reverbs.
I am looking into getting a unit to handle all of my reverbs for everything: guitars, vocals, drums, synths. I am really into shoegazer and slow moving indie music, like Sigur Ros, M83, and Mogwai. I also love the sexy reverb during much of the 80's. Just the smoothness on such songs as "This Woman's Work" from Kate Bush, or "Coming Around Again" from Carly Simon, or everything from the Jesus and Mary Chain (which is more gritty I know).
So my question is: will buying a $300 reverb unit from Lexicon, Kurzweil, or TC make a huge improvement over cheap plug-ins, or is it not worth it until you get into the $1000 price range with these brands?
Thank you,
Rob
Click to expand...

Try a different approach,

Use delay
 
FWIW, have you tried any GOOD reverb plugs? you mentioned that you're sick of the cheap ones, but there are some really VST reverbs out there...
 
isfahani said:
Yamaha REV500 used...
Click to expand...

+1...I've got one and I love it. The long reverbs are okay (a little grainy/lo-fi), but the short room 'verbs and the delays are fanstastic. I don't think anything even touches it in this price range (about $200 or so on ebay).

Frank
 
Not to hijack the thread or anything, but any advice on how to try out or hear a "good" reverb. The only reverb I use are the Logic Pro 8 built-in plugins. They seem okay to me, but then again, I've never used anything else. Anybody have any clips comparing good reverbs to bad ones? What makes a particular unit better than the other?
 
Most reverb plug ins suck unless you bought them. and thats teh truth. You can buy a good reverb rack unit or buy a good reverb plug in im sure you can get similar results on both.
 
If you like 80's reverb then get an old Lexicon, Eventide or SPX 90. Those were the main reverbs used at the time.
 
Thanks

I would rather use a hardware unit than a plug-in, if the good quality plug-in is gonna cost a lot anyways. I like the feel and control of actual knobs and switches. It is true that maybe I should look into the old Lexicon or Yamaha units, if they were from the time I like. So basically the PCM models of Lexicon would be good, right?
The Rage: I do use delays, to an obscene amount. I'm into shoegazer, remember? For delays I use my Line 6 DL-4 pedal.
Rob
 
All you guys that think a computer can't do nice reverb need to think about it. The best reverbs back in the 80's had, by modern standards, slow processors and poor digital converters. Modern PC's have way more horsepower, and even mid range converters are probably better than the best of the 80's and even early 90's hardware at this point.

Get the Sir1010 plugin and try something like the TC Electronic's System 6000 impulses for it. It smokes anything under a grand, and it is FREE. You better have some CPU power though, like someone said before that is the limiting factor. You can even use a second PC as a dedicated effects box. Modern CPU's have tons of processing power, enough to do top notch effects. You just have to know how to make it work for you.
 
i too am looking to add a hardware reverb in the future.

i bought into the Berry v-verb pro a while back when it was on sale at musicians friend. while it did sound pretty good the display went out on it the second day that i had it and i had to return it, although it made me realize how enjoyable it can be to work out of the box for such things.

i'll be moving that way sooner or later with something a little nicer than the behringer.
 
Beck said:
In addition to those listed I can highly recommend the Lexicon LXP-15 II and the Lexicon Reflex.
Click to expand...

Haven't heard the ReFlex, but I will certainly recommend the LXP-15 or LXP-15II(the II version has a couple of newer, nice presets but many of the same as the LXP-15, but the "II" version scrolls presets MUCH faster in the Preview mode, and loads them faster once they're up on the screen. I have a post from a few weeks back if you search it, giving a couple of raw clips using the LXP-15II(given, I got the Audio Upgrades modification to it) and my PCM90. Both are fantastic sounding units, I think, and the LXP-15 is selling on ebay for under $200 in many cases.

Heard great things about Mangler and Rumour from the same folks recommending them here, but I've never heard one so I can't tell you anything that hasn't already been said, but with one of those or an LXP-15, I'm sure you will have a great reverb/effects unit.
 
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