Vocal Effects Processor

  • Thread starter Thread starter El Barto
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El Barto

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Alright, I'm personally not for effects (I'd rather play straight guitar and amp without effects) but I've always enjoyed vocal effects. I'm looking for a really good processor at a relatively lower price. I want one that's very versitile allowing me to add a lot of different effects. If I got a vocal processor, should I get a preamp too, or does the processor have a good preamp to it?
 
Well, the one I was looking at was the DOD, but it seems kinda not as good as others may be, and that one is $100. I'm willing to spend up to about $200 or so...if spending more would be change the world, I just might, but I really don't want to spend an assload.
 
Yo El Barto & El Capitan:

A mic pre is something that a studio should have. The best on the market is made by Martinsound; the most popular at the moment is the ART dual channel and the ART tube. I have the dual channel and it is a nice piece of gear.

Now, for the FX processors: well, if you have a limited budget, the Alesis
Company has the mini-verb, midi-verb, micro-verb and the verbal-verb.

I have an Alesis verb of some sort and it is nice programmable box with dual channels in/out. I'd like to get a Lexicon but, at the moment I have another reverb, namely an Esnonique DP-4 which has more stuff on it than you can imagine. And, you know, most home studio people find two/three reverb rooms and use them most of the time; I have gone into programming and saving patches but most of the time I'm using 025 on the Alesis.

In summary, I'd say you can rent a box for a few months and see if you like it. It is nice for my clients when they put on the headset and hear this great reverberated voice in the phones....they love the ambience. I always add reverb later in the mixing process; I don't record the reverb on the original take.

Well, keep shopping and reverberating,

Green Hornet
 
The green one is right, you should have both. What kind of price range are you talking? I just went through this myself around Christmas. I ended up with a Lexicon MPX-1, but I tried a whole bunch of 'em. My conclusion was that you pretty much get what you pay for.
If you tell us how much you're willing to spend, you'll probably get lots of good suggestions.
 
You can usethe MPX100 for some guitar effects, but it doesn't have any distortion or overdrive effects. You could use it for reverb, delay, chorus, pitch shift, etc.
 
Yeah, that's what I was gonna use it for. But mainly for vocals. I just don't know if I want to invest $250 in something like that just yet...
 
El Barto,

At your price range, you really should give the Lexicon MPX100 a listen...there are better units (I also own an MPX1 and an MPX500) but at this $ amount, it would probably serve your purpose very well, and later on it makes an excellent additional extra box in the studio if you upgrade...probably the best advice I can give is, when purchasing gear, ask yourself "will I want to sell this (whatever) when I decide on a better/different product in the future, or would it still be useful next to (new, latest, more expensive,etc.) product I just bought." The MPX100 fits into this category; while I use it primarily as a 3rd or 4th processor, sometimes it's a #1! Okay,maybe not that often, but you get my drift! (g)
Just as an additional note, I a-b'ed the MPX100 with a Yamaha Rev500, which is a little more money, kept the Lexicon!

As always, your ears may vary!

BWindsor
 
Hi El Barto,

A good effects unit is a worthy investment for ANY home recordist. Whether you do guitars or vocals or anything else. Once you have it you will find that you want to use it more than you expect. Most rack chorus effects beat a pedal any day of the week. And for vocals and final mixdown, it will become invaluable even if the effect is very subtle. So spending $200+ will be an investment you will be glad you made. And if you don't have a compressor... Well, just another thing you will need. Yeah, spending money sucks, but each step closer you get to getting the "sound" you've been looking for, the more fun you will have recording. Without the right equipment (which really shouldn't be confused with having the most expensive), you will be frustrated too often. Buy a nice, decent unit and have yourself a good time (boy, does that sound raunchy).

Peace, Jim
 
Hmmm...good points. I just have me 4 track (Tascam 424MKIII) and an AKG D790 and an SM57 (and Sony MDR7506 headphones)...I plan on getting an ATM25 or a D112 as well as an Oktava MC012. That's about $500 right there. I suppose in the future I'm gonna need a mixer and a compressor...monitors maybe...how does that sound? What else might I need?

Also, does this Lexicon MPX100 come with a foot pedal or anything to turn the effects on and off?
 
Have you checked out E-bay? You can find alot of equipment there thats been barely used. I got a Boss DR550 for $87.00 last year!
 
That MPX100 does look really nice, even Rec Eng said it's a great choice...but to me, it doesn't seem very versitile. It doesn't have a whole lot of different effects to it in my opinion. One thing it's lacking that I was really looking for was distortion. Since I'm using it for vocals, I'd like a little distortion to some vocals on some songs...is there any other unit in this price range with a wide array of effects for mainly vocals, but also guitar?
 
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