31st October 2012
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#1 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 258
Thread Starter  | Yamaha SPX990 vs SPX2000?
Hey guys,
Wanting to add some Yamaha effects to my line up. Would really appreciate any user feedback or preferences on these boxes. I hear the 990 is the most musical of the older boxes, but the 2000 is supposed to be good to?
I like Yamaha delays especially, and have a choice between two good prices on these, unfortunately cant demo.
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31st October 2012
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#2 | | Lives for gear
Joined: May 2005 Location: Basel, Switzerland
Posts: 3,201
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Bummer you can't try it beforehand, because the rotary encoder on the 990 tends to become unreliable with age.
You still can use the up/down keys, though, if you're patient.
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31st October 2012
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#3 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Aug 2008 Location: Karlsruhe, Germany
Posts: 863
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I never considered the 990 to be musical. Compared to 900s or 1000s they sound harsh, cold or metallic to my ears. YMMV, though.
But I didn´t like the SPX90 either, so guess what my personal Yamaha preferences are. SPX2000s have a bunch of new algorithms which aren´t bad at all.
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1st November 2012
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#4 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Dec 2006 Location: Saint John, NB, Canada
Posts: 195
| Quote:
Originally Posted by jensenmann  I never considered the 990 to be musical. Compared to 900s or 1000s they sound harsh, cold or metallic to my ears. YMMV, though. | Definitely the opposite of my experience. The 990 was a huge step in the right direction with the reverbs specifically.
Truthfully, I've been a fan of most all of the Yamaha boxes at one time or another. Quote:
Originally Posted by jensenmann SPX2000s have a bunch of new algorithms which aren´t bad at all. | Most definitely. The 2000 processing is pretty much good enough to make even non "Yamaha" fans happy.
Then again... That was also true with the 990.
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1st November 2012
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#5 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 258
Thread Starter |
Thanks Malcolm, would you have a preference for either unit?
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1st November 2012
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#6 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,270
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I have owned most of the Yamaha units. I would go with the SPX90 mk ii for the studio or the GEP50 for guitar/keys/bass. The other units are probably closer to a typical "high end" unit, I still have the 990, but don't really get there compared to Eventides, better Lexicons, Bricasti, Ursa, Quantec, AMS, etc. I seem to reach for the lowly GEP50 the most and have owned it for close to 25 years. It's one of my foremost secret weapons.
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1st November 2012
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#7 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Dec 2006 Location: Saint John, NB, Canada
Posts: 195
| Quote:
Originally Posted by davehall6162 Thanks Malcolm, would you have a preference for either unit? | Prefer the 2000, but am very happy using either. Some of the newer reverbs in the 2000 really make the difference for me. Both are supremely useful boxes IMO.
If people really still like things like the SPX90, they would be beside themselves with a 990 or 2000. So much quieter, and infinitely nicer effects.
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1st November 2012
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#8 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Nov 2007 Location: Orange CA
Posts: 2,611
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The SPX990 has the famous "Symphonic" and "Big Snare" presets without all the noise of the SPX90 or SPX90II.
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1st November 2012
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#9 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Dec 2006 Location: Saint John, NB, Canada
Posts: 195
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Empire Prod The SPX990 has the famous "Symphonic" and "Big Snare" presets without all the noise of the SPX90 or SPX90II. | Exactly!
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2nd November 2012
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#10 | | Lives for gear
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,366
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SPX 990 was programmed in the UK the 2000 in Japan/US ......They made a serious and conscious decision to make the SPX-990 a very different sounding unit and get rid off the SPX-90 Jap crap Tag .....!
They did well!
I'd be going for a different unit unless you can get both El-cheapo!
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2nd November 2012
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#11 | | Gear nut
Joined: Oct 2012 Location: Bolivia - Chile
Posts: 106
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+1 Yamaha SPX990
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2nd November 2012
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#12 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Dec 2002 Location: Germany
Posts: 621
 | Quote:
Originally Posted by Empire Prod The SPX990 has the famous "Symphonic" and "Big Snare" presets without all the noise of the SPX90 or SPX90II. | I think a lot of people miss the fact, for whatever reasons, that the SPX2000 has a "Classic" bank with the old SPX90 FX, including Symphonic. All this with AES/EBU and up to 96 kHz. It's called "Classic" not "SPX90" - but it's there.
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2nd November 2012
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#13 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Dec 2006 Location: Saint John, NB, Canada
Posts: 195
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Yes. The 2000 has all the old classics. Yamaha seems to be good at embracing it's past in it's new designs.
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2nd November 2012
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#14 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 258
Thread Starter |
..but do the old classics sound the same in the 2000? better or worse? How are the delays in the 2000 compared to the SPX990?
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2nd November 2012
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#15 | | Gear nut
Joined: May 2009 Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 76
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I still use my SPX90 on mixes. I have it set up as a send on my X-Desk. There's something about it that I love and you can get them for dirt cheap on Ebay.
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2nd November 2012
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#16 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 258
Thread Starter |
thethrillfactor... you out there?
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