Hardware FX units

[Fragle]

i wonder if anyone has some experience with hardware fx units? i'm not talking about the 1k+ stuff, more along the lines of these:

http://www.thomann.de/de/tc_electronic_m350.htm
http://www.thomann.de/de/lexicon_mx200.htm
http://www.thomann.de/de/lexicon_mx_300.htm

the thing is, i haven't found a software fx plugin that really gets those pro sounding reverbs and delays. so far freeverb 2 is the best one i've found for reverbs, but i wonder if going hardware will get me better results even at this pricerange?
i know that it's largely a matter of the right settings for the song etc, but there's something sterile and fake about most reverb/delay plugins i've tried that just doesn't match the warmth and density of pro works.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

i wonder if anyone has some experience with hardware fx units? i'm not talking about the 1k+ stuff, more along the lines of these:

http://www.thomann.de/de/tc_electronic_m350.htm
http://www.thomann.de/de/lexicon_mx200.htm
http://www.thomann.de/de/lexicon_mx_300.htm

the thing is, i haven't found a software fx plugin that really gets those pro sounding reverbs and delays. so far freeverb 2 is the best one i've found for reverbs, but i wonder if going hardware will get me better results even at this pricerange?
i know that it's largely a matter of the right settings for the song etc, but there's something sterile and fake about most reverb/delay plugins i've tried that just doesn't match the warmth and density of pro works.

IMHO there's pretty much no reason to get one of those cheap units for studio use. For 200€ you can get some pretty kick-ass plugins. I've used the M350 and MX200 live, and while they're ok I wouldn't use them in a studio situation. Maybe in some very rare cases where it'd fit perfectly in context, but definitely not as a go-to FX.

For example, Waves TrueVerb and RVerb are $200 each.

 

[departed]

IMHO there's pretty much no reason to get one of those cheap units for studio use. For 200€ you can get some pretty kick-ass plugins. I've used the M350 and MX200 live, and while they're ok I wouldn't use them in a studio situation. Maybe in some very rare cases where it'd fit perfectly in context, but definitely not as a go-to FX.

For example, Waves TrueVerb and RVerb are $200 each.

+1

for say $200, you'll get a much better software package than a hardware package, i guess due to parts and labour being built on hardware etc..

 

[Fragle]

thanks for the input!

well, as a reference, i'm loving the ambience work i.e. the sound of the reverbs/delays on stuff like opeth - ghost reveries, nickelback - all the right reasons, and in flames - clayman (bullet ride for example).
on the other hand, i try to steer clear from overly digital sounding reverbs....nevermore -tge for example. tom reverb on sentinent 6, or the vocal reverb(s) in general just don't seem to be what i'm after right now.

just checked jens bogren's site (as i love most of his stuff especially for the ambience work, mainly katatonia tgcd and ghost reveries), and seems like he's big on the lexicon pcm60 and tc electronic system 6000. no list of software equipment unfortunately....

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

thanks for the input!

well, as a reference, i'm loving the ambience work i.e. the sound of the reverbs/delays on stuff like opeth - ghost reveries, nickelback - all the right reasons, and in flames - clayman (bullet ride for example).
on the other hand, i try to steer clear from overly digital sounding reverbs....nevermore -tge for example. tom reverb on sentinent 6, or the vocal reverb(s) in general just don't seem to be what i'm after right now.

just checked jens bogren's site (as i love most of his stuff especially for the ambience work, mainly katatonia tgcd and ghost reveries), and seems like he's big on the lexicon pcm60 and tc electronic system 6000. no list of software equipment unfortunately....

Well, there's the Lexicon PCM Native bundle, of course, but that's in a completely different price range: http://www.lexiconpro.com/product.php?id=163

 

[arv_foh]

Get an Eventide H3000. None of the cheap hardware units are going to have what you're looking for, I don't think.

 

[Fragle]

well, thank you for your answers. guess i'll stick to software then...
anyways, talking plugins, what would you recommend for that sound i'm shooting for? i'm mainly looking for some lower budget suggestions, but i'm willing to spend more given that there's a free demo to check out before shelling out the big bucks.

 

[Mikaël-ange]

I have a midiverbIV for that use. Sometimes work on the mix, sometime not
But I plan to buy a pcm70 for that.

 

[Wolfeman]

+1 on what everyone else has said. The only reason I can see wanting to use an outboard FX unit would be to free up processor/ram on the DAW. And if that's the case, there are great hardware DSP/plugins to use- UAD, SSD Duende, etc...

 

[AdamWathan]

Redline Reverb is my favourite affordable software verb by far.

 

[VH100R]

get some impulse reverbs

lots of quality IR packs for free... bricasti, EMT, lexicons etc

 

[Fragle]

tried most of IRs around, none of them worked for me. guess i'm an algorithmic kinda guy lol. i don't like the lack of tweakability and the stiffness of IRs. they seem to work fine for modeling room sounds, e.g. adding a room to a drumkit that was recorded without a room mic, but especially for lead vocals i can't seem to get that sound.

will check out the redline, thanks!

 

[AdamWathan]

The Bricasti IRs kick ass. They are impulses from the Bricasti M7 which is an algorithmic hardware unit, so the bricasti IRs ARE algo verbs but they are presets from the unit. A good convolution reverb plug will let you make a lot of changes though, I know TL Space, Space Designer and SIR all let you tweak IR verbs quite a bit.

 

[arv_foh]

The Bricasti IRs kick ass. They are impulses from the Bricasti M7 which is an algorithmic hardware unit, so the bricasti IRs ARE algo verbs but they are presets from the unit. A good convolution reverb plug will let you make a lot of changes though, I know TL Space, Space Designer and SIR all let you tweak IR verbs quite a bit.

I love the Bricasti IRs. You can do a bunch of tweaking in Space Designer, there are options for pre-delay, attack time, decay time, blend, etc

I don't know what would be an equivalent plugin for PC though.

 

[Metaltastic]

SIR 1 (freeware) gives you predelay and stretch options (between 50%-150% of the IR length), which, combined with the M7 'pulses, work great for me!

 

[AdamWathan]

SIR is a great one as far as tweaking goesand TL Space like I mentioned for any PT users.