Sony Oxford Reverb (yup - did a search)...

[SparkyCanada]

Hey there.

So - I'm trying to find out about this reverb.

I was ready this weekend to figure out who I would rent either a Lex 480 or 960 from - when a music sales guy I have been dealing with for over 20 years - mentions this plug in.

He tells me it's unbelievable - and thought it may sound better than my Lexicon PCM 70 or 91.

Anybody done a back to back comparison of the Oxford reverb against any of the above mentioned hardware units?

Thanks,

SparkyCanada

[Andi Rauscher]

I do not own a Lexicon hardware unit, but I have often worked with them.
I don´t like them too much, especially the 91...

The Oxford Reverb is my "go to" Rev, it really is awesome!

Check out ******//sonyplugins.com you can download a demo there!

It is definitely woth it.

I would get the Oxford Reverb.

[Ruudman]

I use the Sony reverb. It doesn't do shifting modulation like a Lex does.
If you set the phase mod too high it will start to ripple.
But I like it a lot. The ER settings are highly tweakable, but it won't for instance do the 480 hall like the real thing..
My 2 fave verbs for TDM is Sony and TC's VSS3.

The Sony replaces my old Lexverb, and I don't really miss it.


ruudman

[raal]

have a 480L and Sony plug. the Sony is what i use when looking for something subtle. for the lush bigger than life thing definitely 480L. i've had PCM70 and different Lexicon boxes. IMHO 480L is the king of that hill - haven't heard the 960 though. also have AMS verb, TC and others. use them as needed.

but the Sony is useful for sure.

[Ivo]

I reviewed all the Oxford plugins and although they make great plugins, the reverb I actually liked least of the collection. On some programs, using a percussive source, the early reflections where clearly audible as seperate echo's in an unnatural way. It would not be my first choice; I'd recommend it as a second reverb next to a convolution software reverb (my favorite is Altiverb, also available for Windows). Wat the Oxford Reverb does very well though, is sounding like a 'nice reverb' as opposed to sounding like a natural space. So on that front it might actually sound like, or better than, the older Lexicon units.

If you download the Oxford demo, make sure you download the Altiverb demo as well.

hth,

Ivo W.

[mixerguy]

Altiverb rocks.

[norman_nomad]

I wasn't blown away by it - but I could see it's usefulness in some mix situations. It didn't have very much "personality" however.

Demo it. It might very well work for your needs.

[Ruudman]

Originally Posted by Ivo

On some programs, using a percussive source, the early reflections where clearly audible as seperate echo's in an unnatural way. .Ivo W.

It can easily be avoided.
But, it's not got the most logical UI I've seen, and I fully understand people
finding it questionable..

I also use IR verb, but I really like Sony's ER section.
Maybe it's just me??


ruudman

[T_R_S]

I own a Lexicon PCM 80 and no plug-in I own can compete with it. I have not tried the ne TC verb yet. And that's about the only one (Plug-In) I have not used.

[RobR]

If you have and like the Lexicons, I wouldn't see much use in the Oxford.
I did like it as "air" on top of drums, but it didn't sound as natural as
the lexicon or altiverb. More useful if you're working on a big pop record.
You know, the kind that has a million dollar budget yet replaces
the string section with a Triton.
Otherwise, it does sound a little, y'know, "digital".

[SparkyCanada]

Thanks everybody for your input - I really do appreciate the knowledge here.

I'm starting to get the feeling that the Altiverb may be a better buy...

Both are in the same price range... so I'm gonna be broke either way...

Just so you know - renting a 480 or 960 for a month was going to set me back anywhere from $1,400 - $1,900 (CDN).

Though there still is that appeal of actually using a 480 or 960 - that keeps me from jumping right into the plug in reverb world - for now...

Thanks, I'm following this thread like a hawk...

SparkyCanada

[Ruudman]

Good luck SparkyCanada!

As for me, I will never promote software verbs again.
Never


ruudman

[ISedlacek]

I have yet to find a SW reverb that would sound the same good, lush and euphonic as higher end Lexicons (I have PCM-91). Neither plugins, nor convolution reverbs (including Altiverb) are able to sound that pleasant and effortless ...
I tried almost all of them - comparing to Lexicon, SW reverbs always sound a bit thin and tiny bit "metallic" to my ears ... Would not have a courage to use any of them on a real recording ...

[doorknocker]

Since TL Space is part of the Digi 'Toolkit' LE upgrade, I'd be anxious to hear any comparisons between the TL and the Sony reverb.

I downloaded both the McDSP and the Sony demos and liked the Sony much better, it sounded more natural and less intrusive to me.

Has TL Space been available for PTLE before? I'd really like to hear from anybody that might have used it.

[Frugaljr]

I have both TL Space and Oxford Reverb.

As for those two, out of the box, Oxford is more versitle, tweakable and has more presets. TL Space has a couple of settings that are very lush and nice simulations of real spaces and are a little more "real" than the Sony. Clients love the pretty pictures of the church/hallway/etcs that they were sampled from. Nonetheless, I have used the Sony more because it has more practical presets and simulations of Lexicons, plates, ambience, etc. I haven't been able to access the new TL Space impulses due to a mistake on my end (lost my serial number card) and no communication from them during their transition to Avid ownership. A few days ago, I asked Digidesign to help me, but no reply as of yet.

For that kind of money, you might want to try to find a nice used older outboard unit. For whatever reason, they seem to have more presence and help the mix easier than the Plug-ins. Of course plug-ins are tremendously convenient and don't use up I/O resources. So pros and cons for both. I still use both plugs fairly often.

I may end up using my TL Space more often if I can ever access the impulses on-line.

[WindWalker]

another vote for altiverb!

[gwailoh]

I went with TL Space over the Sony after testing the download demos of each. I felt the TL Space was "bigger" sounding. Naturally this'll vary by setting but on the whole I felt the Sony was thin sounding and characterless. YMMV.

BTW I also went with Digi's ReVibe, which I use quite a lot. I think there's maybe a little bit of anti-Digi snobbery on the boards, and while I agree with some of it -- I prefer outboard converters over the 192 -- Digi has some plugs which are good. I seem to use ReVibe and also the Dynamics III compressor quite often. IMO, the moral is, demo everything and go with what you like.

[knerd]

I like how no one mentioned D-Verb, truVerb, or R-Verb :-) ...

Those are the only ones I own so I have to use them.. I don't mind the plate of the truverb ...
that's about it..

[wavcatcher]

Originally Posted by ISedlacek

I tried almost all of them - comparing to Lexicon, SW reverbs always sound a bit thin and tiny bit "metallic" to my ears ... Would not have a courage to use any of them on a real recording ...

Whooa,
That is a pretty sweeping statement.
I love TC and Lex outboard and use them regularly. BUT,
I also use software verbs daily on "real" recordings not because I have to or don't have other options (I usually have chambers, real plates, or hardware verbs available) but because the sound they give is the right sound. That's what this is all about right?

So while I agree Lex and TC hardware verbs are amazing you really shouldn't be scared to use some of the current software verbs as they are more that adequate for a "real" recording. I'm sure I'm not the only one here making "real" recordings with some software verbs in the mix. ( as evidenced by all the screaming Altiverb chearleaders in the post already !!).

[doorknocker]

Originally Posted by gwailoh

I went with TL Space over the Sony after testing the download demos of each. I felt the TL Space was "bigger" sounding. Naturally this'll vary by setting but on the whole I felt the Sony was thin sounding and characterless. YMMV.

Interesting. It was pretty much the opposite for me. I tried the Sony and McDSP Revolver demos a while ago and preferred the Sony Reverb.

I downloaded the TL Space demo yesterday and it does nothing for me. I pretty much went for the first impression when trying these plugs, I don't want to fiddle for hours to get an acceptable sound. It was just a matter of finding a fitting preset and bringing it up on an Aux track, i.e the reverb not really being audible but giving dimension to the sound.

The Sony reverb achieved this pretty well, all the others had a certain artifical character to them, even when applied in extremely small doses like described above.

I wish I'd prefer the TL as it's part of the Digi Toolkit bundle upgrade but WTF, so it's gonna be the Sony and no Toolkit (I don't really need the other functions anyway for now).

[not_so_new]

Originally Posted by ISedlacek

I have yet to find a SW reverb that would sound the same good, lush and euphonic as higher end Lexicons (I have PCM-91). Neither plugins, nor convolution reverbs (including Altiverb) are able to sound that pleasant and effortless ...
I tried almost all of them - comparing to Lexicon, SW reverbs always sound a bit thin and tiny bit "metallic" to my ears ... Would not have a courage to use any of them on a real recording ...

I guess the thing that makes me wonder here is that we are not talking about a few nice mics and a speaker in a great sounding room or a mechanical device like a plate or a spring...... we are talking about software. At that point all we are worried about is the hardware to run that software.

I am not pointing fingers but I just wonder how much anti-plugin bias goes into statements like the above? Code, is code is code. The algorithms that run when audio is presented at the input of the software are the same on both the plugin and the hardware it is just a matter of how you got there. The only difference in hardware verbs and plugins are the converters used and I have my suspicion that the converters in a PCM 70 are not any better than any of the ADDA converters that most of us use.

For the record I have never tried a plugin side by side with a hardware device, I have used both obviously but never side by side.

That said right now I have been using the built in verb with Samplitude and it has been great so far. I plan on getting a nice mix of hardware and software and then I will compare but at this point I wound never make a statement that I don't "have the courage to use any of them (plugins) on a real recording"