reverb unit

[antispatula]

hey, anyone have any good suggestions for a reverb unit? I've had my eye on the Fostex 3180, but have no idea if it's decent or not. Thanks!

 

[Dr ZEE]

effects are effects. you can love an effect, hate it or give no crap about... all depending on what you do with it and what you want and what for.
"Spring reverb" units all sound somewhat different and way different from any digital reverb effect (including "digital spring reverb simulators"!) and way different from natural acoustic room reverb. They call it "reverb", but it's not, it's a spring actually
That Fostex 3180 is a decent two chnl "spring reverb" unit. Love it or hate it or give no crap about it ...you have to hear it yourself to make any judgement, really

 

[cjacek]

I would recommend a Lexicon LXP-1. It's an older, now discontinued digital reverb at its best, performance / price wise. Tim, if I recall correct, you do have a review of the LXP-1, don't you ?

 

[cjacek]

Actually, the Lexicon LXP series are all very good.

 

[Beck]

I would recommend a Lexicon LXP-1. It's an older, now discontinued digital reverb at its best, performance / price wise. Tim, if I recall correct, you do have a review of the LXP-1, don't you ?

Yep, and I still have an LXP-1. It still compares well to newer products. It actually beats many newer products to pieces.

I have two reviews, one in Electronic Musician and the other in Home & Studio Recording, both from 1988. The LXP-1 made a big splash back then and developed a good rep in use over the years. It’s a very simple device with real knobs for delay and decay. It doesn’t have hundreds of presets and submenus to navigate… very intuitive.

There are some things that were just made well, and never equaled even in later models from the same company. The price/performance point started sliding toward cost considerations in later years. I can’t really recommend any of the current Lexicon budget line. Eh, I suppose you could find a use for the MPX100/110/200, but if you want rich, warm rooms you have to reach back a few years. The Lexicon Reflex is also a nice unit, but there’s still something about the LXP-1.

http://www.gbaudio.co.uk/data/lxp1.htm

By the way, I'm not a fan of spring units, but if you must, I would go with a Furman RV-2 over the Fostex or Tascam.

 

[Dr ZEE]

By the way, I'm not a fan of spring units, ...

huh!
if the idea is to get an effect "sounding like" in the room, hall, cathedral, basement .. etc , then me neither. Then it has to be either actual room, hall, cathedral, basement.. etc (which are real things, not just words) either some digital "manipulation" provided by some digital effect processor (in which room, hall, cathedral, basement .. etc are just convenient words to be used for naming the programs ), .
But if the idea is to get a special effect, ala "that" guitar sound or deep-dead-well-drop-"boing-prrrrrr" on kick/rim-shot... then you gotta use a metal spring, not a "reverb"

... but if you must, I would go with a Furman RV-2 over the Fostex or Tascam.

As for which spring is better or what supporting electronics for that spring is better - I'd say: forget about it.... they are all just bunch of different things... non of them are better, non of them are worse.... all depend on what you expect from it and what you use it for. Another words, let me say this (as example) - let's say, Fender '65 Twin Reverb is a great amplifier, but you would not want to use it to enjoy Bethoven's 9th Symphony in D minor, Op. 125 ... because it's not so great for amplification of such material and in such situation
.... but, then again - you never know, what one may or may not enjoy.

 

[Beck]

A spring would be good if you wanted to get a certain vintage sound. Springs can sound great on guitar, but not so hot on vocals.

Reverberation is one thing digital does very well. I’m a regular digital guy when it comes to reverb… but not necessarily chorusing and echo in some cases.

 

[cjacek]

I've gone through a bunch of reverb units over the years including ones from the Lexicon MPX (100, 110, 200) family, the Alesis Nanoverb, Behringer Virtualizer and a couple of others and settled on the LXP-1. I thought it sounded the most realistic by far. It's really well built too and very intuitive, as Tim said.

 

[mustang]

I've had 3 fostex 3180 units. I even have an owners manual for one. I have been very satisfied with this unit. I think they were made in the early 80s originally to go with there 8 track reel to reels. They are very rugged units and most come with rack ears. They have a built in preamp to raise and lower the signal, also bass/treble controls. They have a nice "fenderish" tone to them that works well with guitars yet also sound good for vocals/mix down. Even though it is solid state it has a very "tubish" quality to the unit. I know because I have had a lot of fender tube units. After I foolishly sold off my first Fostex 3180 I tried a few others, considered furman and some other solid state ones. Concluded Fostex 3180 both for price, sound and quietness. I am very satisfied with the amount of reverb it has. 99% of the time you are not going to need cazillion millisecond reverb for normal recording applications/playing. It has more than enough reverb for playing out, tracking or mix down. The price is still very reasonable too on these. I regularly see mint condition ones going for around $50 on ebay. I have chosen fostex 3180s over all other reverb units out there-especially digital. I use these units recording with protools and analog units. Email or pm me if you have any questions. For years I kept two 3180s, one for a spare. But they never broke down so finally just decided I only needed one. There are some good reviews on harmony central for these. My best advice is try every reverb your interested then make your choice but this is what I had to say about the fostex 3180.

 

[Herm]

I kinda like my 3180 also but have never found a Bass or treble control anywhere on it

And here is a short bit of a song we did with the 3180 on vocals

 

[Dr ZEE]

And here is a short bit of a song we did with the 3180 on vocals

that bit can make me cry ... heh heh

.... ... the grass was greener.

 

[Bigsnake00]

i would just go with a Lexicon digital multi effects unit if i were you. Its a cheap way to get tons of sounds, and most sound pretty damn good if you use them right. The key is using the right sound at the right time...

 

[Dr ZEE]

Reverberation is one thing digital does very well.

When I need to "put" something into a virtual room or hall I use DigiTech TSR-6... 'stone age' digital reverb (also has some delays which are not bad... )... works perfect for me. It has three knobs predelay/decay/level ..which can be turned into freq/Q/gain eq by the push of the button and there is another button called 'store' ... push it and you've saved the program ... and it does not asks you : "Are You sure about re-writing the program?" lol , - perfect!
What sucks about digital units is that they don't like to be abused. And it sucks. ... or did I say it already?

 

[cjacek]

I kinda like my 3180 also but have never found a Bass or treble control anywhere on it

And here is a short bit of a song we did with the 3180 on vocals

That sounded like an echo chamber. Pretty impressive sound of the 3180 for sure. I really dig the song btw.

 

[EDAN]

If you can find a SONY DPS-V55, I would HIGHLY recommend it over any mid priced all in one effects units today. They haven't made it in a few years but it still out specs most mid priced units today and it's true surround sound capabilities were way ahead of it's time. 52 bit, two effects units in one, same engines and chip as the $2,000 SONY DPS-V77 that's still a part of many pro studios. The verbs are fantastic imo, 10 voice chourus', all kinds of delays, authentic rooms, endless tweakability. You can get them for a little over $100 bucks on ebay these days.

Also, believe it or not for about $150 or so the Behringer Rev2496 is an awesome deal! Sound on Sound gave it a great review and highly recommended it, saying it can 'certainly' hold it's own against any mid priced unit. Music Tech mag also gave it a glowing review. I haven't had mine long but so far my impression is it sounds "Serious".

 

[antispatula]

So everyone seems to be into the lexicon. The only problem is, I have a terribly unhealthy prejudice against digital recording units altogether......I can't help it! I think it's a mixture between being a White Stripes fan(atic ) and just spending so much time on my recorders that I don't want to use digital at all.....Yes, I know it's unhealthy, I can't help myself though!

I kinda like my 3180 also but have never found a Bass or treble control anywhere on it

And here is a short bit of a song we did with the 3180 on vocals

Hey thanks for that Herm, I love the sound. I'm also a Billy Joel fanatic, and it sounds very similar to whatever they always used on his vocals. Besides Nylon Curtain, the natural reverb in that record ruined half the album.

 

[mustang]

apologies there *smiles* not sure why I had that in my mind. Just has two channels, three controls for each-an input knob, then on the output-dry and reverb.

 

[Beck]

The only problem is, I have a terribly unhealthy prejudice against digital recording units altogether......I can't help it! I think it's a mixture between being a White Stripes fan(atic ) and just spending so much time on my recorders that I don't want to use digital at all.....Yes, I know it's unhealthy, I can't help myself though!

Let’s nip that. Trust me when I say, the debate swirling around digital vs. analog, as a recording medium doesn’t necessarily spill over into digital reverb for most people. I’m sure I’m on the short list to be voted most likely to be the last standing against the Digital Reich when it comes to recording.

But creating ambience with digital reverb and delay is a separate issue. My penchant for digital processing does not however include software plug-ins or any virtual devices, which IMO are just a way for a vendor to sell you “nothing” and still get paid. It is limited to certain hardware devices that did/do the job better than others.

Digital was made to do reverb. For one, it’s creating acoustic spaces that are secondary to the direct signal – much easier to do than represent the direct signal itself. Reverberation is made up of tightly spaced reflections, which is perfect for a process that’s made up of tightly spaced samples. They both chop up sound into little pieces.

Just do what I did – buy more effect units than you have space for, including a spring or two for good measure.

 

[jpmorris]

In case anyone's interested, I've just done a side-by-side comparison of my Zoom RFX2000 digital reverb and Vesta Fire RV3 spring reverb.

Solo:

Mix:

 

[SteveMac]

The best digital reverb I've had I think, is on my POD. Though, I have one of the lower line Lexicons I just haven't used it enough. I've had an Alesis and a Digitech both had decent reverbs but choruses were not so good. I use a Tsunami, analog chorus pedal. I also have traynor 8 channel spring reverb/mixer that sounds great to me. You just need to watch your levels and for hum because it can get noisy. I find that if you set the spring reverb just right so you don't get the "plinking" it's sounds really good.