Members selfinflikted Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 What multi-effects unit do you guys use? I'm thinking of getting myself a Christmas present this year to the tune of a new rack unit for reverbs, chorus, flanger, tremolo, etc etc. What do you guys use and recommend? I also may be in the market for a vocal effects processor too, just as an aside. So, gimme recommendations please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Lots of good stuff from the 90s is cheap now. My personal favorite is the Digitech TSR-24, in which you can program the effects in a very modular way. Plus the chorus is just divine, the gigaverb is really good, etc. Plus you can easily get it for like 75 bucks so you'll have room for another effects unit to add to it Other favorites from the 90s include:. Roland SRV330 (I have the SRV3030 which is excellent and a steal, but the SRV330 is the one the collectors go for). Ensoniq DP4+. Kurzweil Rumour (this one I think is from the 2000s but is equally an excellent deal). Yamaha and Lexicon have a ton of good stuff, and Boss too, though I think the Boss stuff is a bit overpriced for what it is - a budget version of the Roland units that sell for cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members plaid_emu Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Not sure what your budget is but the Eventide Eclipse is awesomely versatile. It's great with instruments and vocals. Have it all in a convenient 1U rack space. I think you might be able to find a used one for $1,200 +/-. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ElectricPuppy Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 I have a Kurzweil KSP8. It's total overkill for my needs. It'll handle 4 independent stereo channels and you can spread the DSP love however you want over those, or concentrate it all on one channel, or whatever. All manner of DSP effects available, you can chain them together however you like, and it even allows you to perform some modular-like processing via FUNS and such. Effects parameters are tweakable via MIDI.I've got mine loaded with the ADAT I/O board and linked to my Fireface... I can setup 4 effects buses in Sonar, route them to KSP8 and back and have world-class effects without ever putting a dent in my CPU.Total overkill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bruto Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 I've had a Sony DPS-V55 for several years and really like it. Very clear sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members selfinflikted Posted October 18, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Oh! Lots of lovely suggestions! I did forget to mention that my budget is going to be around $500.00. So that probably rules out the Eventide (man, don't those things have GREAT verbs?!). I was REALLY thinking about getting the newest POD HD, because I have an older POD and I just bet the new one kicks ass. Aside from that, there are a couple of Lexicon "MX" series racks I've been pondering. Anyone have any experience with those? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ElectricPuppy Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Aaaaand I have the MX200. Now it's used exclusively to process my Chroma Polaris. REALLY easy to use, has a pair of processors you can chain together or run parallel, effects have very simple controls. Nice effects for cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members selfinflikted Posted October 18, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Originally Posted by ElectricPuppy Aaaaand I have the MX200. Now it's used exclusively to process my Chroma Polaris. REALLY easy to use, has a pair of processors you can chain together or run parallel, effects have very simple controls. Nice effects for cheap. But does it SOUND cheap? I ask because I'm getting really sick of my software effects that came built in to Cubase 5. EVERY single reverb sounds like an echo inside a very large tin can. I'm really trying to get away from such metallic-sounding 'verbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Before spending money on hardware, try Valhalla reverbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members U&I Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Originally Posted by selfinflikted But does it SOUND cheap? I ask because I'm getting really sick of my software effects that came built in to Cubase 5. EVERY single reverb sounds like an echo inside a very large tin can. I'm really trying to get away from such metallic-sounding 'verbs. Do yourself a favour and demo Valhalla Shimmer, Valhalla Room and Valhalla Uber Mod and test them out is Cubase - to give you and idea of how Shimmer and Room Sound they are the only two reverbs I used in this remix I did for Stereospread last month.Really great sound reverb tools I must say.http://soundcloud.com/venndiagram/st...ad-all-my-lifeExcuse the soundcloud MP3 codec but it still gives you a good idea of the reverb quality IMHO. I used to use a DP2, SE70, SE50 & Behringer V-Verb Pro (now discontinued but stupidly good hardware reverb for the money) until getting these 3 VST/AU's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members selfinflikted Posted October 18, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Originally Posted by ChristianRock Before spending money on hardware, try Valhalla reverbs. Well, you KNOW I'm a hardware kinda guy. But I'll check into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members selfinflikted Posted October 18, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Originally Posted by U&I Do yourself a favour and demo Valhalla Shimmer, Valhalla Room and Valhalla Uber Mod and test them out is Cubase - to give you and idea of how Shimmer and Room Sound they are the only two reverbs I used in this remix I did for Stereospread last month.Really great sound reverb tools I must say.http://soundcloud.com/venndiagram/st...ad-all-my-lifeExcuse the soundcloud MP3 codec but it still gives you a good idea of the reverb quality IMHO. I used to use a DP2, SE70, SE50 & Behringer V-Verb Pro (now discontinued but stupidly good hardware reverb for the money) until getting these 3 VST/AU's. Two votes for Valhalla now. Hm. There must be something to it...(I can't listen to the track at work, they have most of the intarwebz blocked because, basically, they hate me) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Valhalla is cheap enough that it's worth having in addition to hardware. Valhalla Room is the standard versatile reverb, Valhalla Shimmer is the "super ambient, evolving" reverb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members selfinflikted Posted October 18, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Will definitely look into it. I just hate the notion of having to fire up the PC when I want to noodle. Besides that, I'm not even sure it's an issue any more with how powerful 'puters have become, but I remember back in the early days of DAWs most people saved as much processing power as possible by using outboard effects and such so as not to eat up the CPU. Does that even factor in nowadays? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Originally Posted by selfinflikted Does that even factor in nowadays? It depends on your computer Nowadays, I'd say most people use hardware for its flavor, unless you have a really old computer. Freezing tracks usually saves you enough processing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members selfinflikted Posted October 18, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Originally Posted by ChristianRock It depends on your computer Nowadays, I'd say most people use hardware for its flavor, unless you have a really old computer. Freezing tracks usually saves you enough processing. Not a particularly old computer, it's a 3gHz dual with 4gb ram plus a crappy EMU soundcard. I've never run into any processing issues though, even with lots and lots of tracks all running various software effects. Keep in mind it's just a project studio that I use to write and record stuff just for my own pleasure, so none of the components have to be top of the line, or anywhere close really. I'm just getting tired of all my recordings sounding like they were recorded in a culvert somewhere. Hell, it could just be the crappy soundcard, I dunno. But I do know I want something new, and I don't have a hardware multi-effects processor except for my guitar POD. So, I want one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members selfinflikted Posted October 18, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Ed. Double PostAlso, this website has MAJOR issues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 It is. It's a pain to post here, I can see while lots of people are leaving.Anywy. I got me a fantastic sounding Steinberg MR816x 8 in/8 out interface for 390 dollars on Ebay. Great converters, lovely preamps... and it also has a very nice Yamaha reverb built-in. Just saying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members selfinflikted Posted October 18, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Fancy! I do like Steinberg (always a Cubase fan, never ProTools). Really, I should be concentrating on getting a new interface, but I REALLY like PCI interfaces rather than something outboard. What kind is the one you just bought? USB? Firewire? INTERNAL?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 It was firewire. PCI interfaces are a dying breed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ElectricPuppy Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Firewire is also a dying breed, it seems. There's no such thing as "future-proof".In the meantime, I shall firewire until it dies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ElectricPuppy Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Firewire is also a dying breed, it seems. There's no such thing as "future-proof".In the meantime, I shall firewire until it dies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members selfinflikted Posted October 18, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Originally Posted by ChristianRock It was firewire.PCI interfaces are a dying breed... I know. I hate that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 After PCI, Firewire is the next best thing with the lowest latency.I expect thunderbolt interfaces or interfaces with thunderbolt option like the UA Apollo to become more and more common. It's the firewire substitute. Originally Posted by ElectricPuppy Firewire is also a dying breed, it seems. There's no such thing as "future-proof".In the meantime, I shall firewire until it dies. Hear, hear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members selfinflikted Posted October 18, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Originally Posted by ElectricPuppy In the meantime, I shall firewire until it dies. And I shall PCI Express until IT dies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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