I am about to start building a mix room and I'm making an equipment list. I'm wondering what EFX boxes in my list overlap each other in use. What would also be your top 8 (not limited to the list) if you had a choice.

Lexicon 480
EMT 250
Eventide H3000
Eventide H8000
AMS RMX16
Lexicon PCM42
Roland SDE3000
Lexicon PCM70
Yamaha SPX90
Roland Dimension D
MXR Auto Flanger

The answer is none.

They are all necessary.

They all have their own unique character.

Everyone has their own personal favorites.

I own something close to 35-40 effect units.

My favorites i buy 2-3 of each.

The Noahs ark thing.

But my sound(productions & mixes) are effects dependent.

Also i hardly use any plug ins.

I would suggest buy a pair of PCM42's,SDE3000's,PCM70's,SPX90's.

Hey Thrill, why buy SPX90's...what's the secret mojo inside these?

I never really cared for them...but maybe I missed something.

Cheers,

Kris

Secret is you need to run them as a pair a dual mono thing.

Set them up with different settings and you get that humongous "80's"sound especially on electric guitars and pitch shifting tom reverbs and room sounds.

My favorite use though is to dumb down modern digital delays.

Modern delays are at times to distinct and bright.

Run them through a pair of SPX90's in bypass and they will tuck into the mix.

Does it work with SPX-90 II?
A friend has a SPX-90 II for sale, so I was wondering if SPX-90 and SPX-90II sounded exactly the same?

The II actually sounds better than the original(less noise).

Is it a good thing or a bad thing for the "bypass" trick?

I would say its fine.

The best unit if you can find one is an ADR autopanner.

The unit has a mojo that makes everything you run through it sound euphonic.

cool!
thanks for the tip!

You're a madman Thrill.

heh


Hey you just can't live with one.

Also the PCM70 and SPX 90 always sound bigger as a pair ran in mono.

i'd add an AMS-DMX and TC stuff to that list sir.

Raal, Ive never used the DMX before. Is there something that you really prefer it one. I like the T.C. stuff as well, but most of the time it seems like a can get the same vibe out of a plug-in. Then agian I havn't spent much time with there stuff.

it has a very particular character to it. can add a perceived presence to vocals if used lightly, say .008 on A, .000 on B. you can also detune, sample and do other things, but i find myself using it pretty conservatively. just one of those things that sounds good with very little tweaking.

maybe someone else could tell us what plugs they use to substitute the DMX...

That's because of the delay going through the converters.

Same goes for the Eventides.

Also the converters have limited bandwith that works well with acoustics and vocals.



None.

The thing that I remember about the SPX90 vs the SPX90 II is that the first one seemed like the noise went higher than the effect. The II seemed better about that.

Long live the SSL expander in the channels.

Thrill I own PCM delays and I am quite fond of them. When compared to the digi rack delays or even Echo Farm delay there really is no substitute. However I would be interested in hearing why you feel it is necessary to own PCM's and SDE's. Is that because you are on a desk and need both flavors? Does the SDE have a cleaner vibe than the Lex? I know back in the day they were used to trigger samples, but why are they needed today I ask?

In addition to PCM's and SDE's I see many 2290's, Prime Time's, and a small cult seem to love Yamaha D5000's. (I won't even mention other cool ones I see in NYC studios to keep the ebay syndrome from occuring.) As a fan of tape echos and analog delays, I see the use for multiple delay units but I would like to know why you feel so many digital delays are necessary and what is your perfered ping pong delay unit when needed?

The PCM 42's are the best delays for vocals because of the limited bandwith and built in limiter that smooths out the sound a bit when you smack it.

They also work great on rock guitars when you want that wide chugga-chugga thing.

(By the way a nice little secret of mine is if you can't afford a PCM 42 and want the sound look for a used Lex 1300S. Its the same guts minus the modulation stuff. Because its a stereo piece i use it a lot as a predelay on modern revebs. It tends to take the edge away and makes the reverbs more vibrant.)

The SDE 3000 i've always liked on direct guitars when trying to do the pseudo stereo vibe.

They are also limited in bandwith and give direct guitar a certain glow.

The 2290's i've liked for the pseudo stereo bass vibe and the reverse delay on acoustics.

The AMS DMX 1580 sounds fantastic on hi strummed acoustics when pitch shifted slightly and almost no delay.

It also works great on vocals when you want a crispy vocal but no reverb shimmer.

The D5000 is a nice all arounder.

There are others which i haven't mentioned here that i personally love and use alot but we can't mention every secret here can't we.

Or is that a secret?

By the way thanks for your feedback.....very informative!!!

What about low passing delays to tuck them in to the mix? De-essing the send also can help. I always hate it when delays and reverbs are most noticable on esses.

Thrill,

How much would you expect to pay for a used Lex 1300S?
Cause I found one which was much more expensive than a PCM 42!

They cost like $5000 new, but you just have to luck on someone who doesn't know what it's worth, which if Thrill's post isn't broadcasted is a few hundred bucks. The average low for a PCM 42 is around $800ish so if you can find a 1300s for a grand you still come out ahead, I'm not so sure about the resale value of it though. Hey Thrill can you adjust the L/R to different delay times?

No you can't.

Its made for syncing video.

Its total stereo.

Also no feedback or modulation.

You can turn the limiter on and off.

I have a pair that i purchased of Ebay for $200.

They pop up from time to time.

Make sure its the 1300S not the 1300.

doesn't the title of this thread sound like a Walter's question? (no offense to the person who wrote this)

my eyes quickly darted over to see who authored it.... but, alas, it was not he

Not sure what a Walter's qustion is, but I started the tread because I didn't want to buy a hundred boxes to take care of basic Reverb, Delay and Modulation. I still not quite sure what are the best to start off with, but I have a couple ideas.

If i were starting out putting some efx boxes together and could only pick 3 things of your list i would probably do:

1) A pair of PCM 42's

2) A pair of H3000's or an H8000

3) A 480L

Basically what you'd find for effects outboard in your typical sound motel.

The rest you can get by with some plugs(Altiverb,Princeton Digital) or cheaper effect boxes.

Thrill? any photos of your "Sound Motel" ..........lol

and by the way........I've been keeping my eye open for deals on those older units.

Sound motel?

Its more like a Sound Motel 6. heh



Which one's in particular?