Reverb comparison

Each digital reverb I've owned has been better than the preceeding one. My first, the Alesis Quadraverb, sounded like I had slapped one of those red playground balls you used in elementary school, highly over-inflated. Remember the "ping" when they bounced on the blacktop?

The Axe has a tad of it, but I've found I can dial it out. For a shorter time/size, I bring down the diffusion/density. I can almost always find a setting that is acceptable for the type of reverb I'm looking for. I do have a couple of plugins I like better, but this is the best hardware unit I've owned so far. Occasionally, I hear a commercial recording, am blown away by the reverb, and wonder what they used.
 
Convolution, to be phenomenal.. IMO.. requires a good deal of processing power, and excellence in the IRs being utilized.
IMO, plugin (non-convo) reverbs come up just shy when compared to top units, or "real thing" options such as a real plate. Take the top Lexi in a pristine listening environment and compare. That said, plugins have come a long way... Valhalla demonstrates (jaw droppingly, IMO) this for instance.

As for my vocal comment..
If I had a single source to use. Obviously, if I am demo'ing 'verbs, I would be checking with many source types. But, to really listen and evaluate a 'verb? My first choice.. to really "hear" the 'verb.. would be some well recorded vocals... and some live ones (booth'd). From there I would go to other sources.

As for a spring reverb.. lol... only thing I have ever liked them for is sustaining a cord through an amp with one "built-in," and then knocking it over. Even better.. down a flight of stairs. With a room mic recording it all :lol
 
I think the UAD plate plug holds it own against the real deal.

Caveat that it runs on a UAD DSP card, but still, that plug is a phenom.
 
yek said:
The dry recording itself already sounds metallic.
Click to expand...
+1

I have hated that damn dry stress test using metallic, even synthetic sounding snare drums. Yeah, I am always up for a 8th grade solo snare drum rudiments concert .....
 
I have no real problem with the Axe II's reverbs for guitar applications.
IMHO they aren't up to what I'm used to for studio duties- they don't hold up against the Lexicon PCM rack gear, the higher end TC units or even the better plugins (Lexicon PCM bundle, Altiverb etc).

There is something to be said though for using a grainy or unnatural reverb in some situations.
Sure on vocals and analog drums I prefer something resembling a real acoustic space as closely as possible.
The reverb sound might not work though on a synth, digital drums other elements within a mix- particularly those without much in the way of attack.

The Lexicon 224, for example, has some great patches that sound less than realistic in isolation but tend to work better in a mix than something more realistic.

Something to try is to run the reverbs in the Axe II in parallel and put studio compressor and a graphic EQ after the reverb.
Give it a go and let me know what you think.
 
I only use the Axe II verbs for live because I'm not printing Fx into a recording and the UAD verbs are just plain amazing. Plate 140, EMT 250, Lexicon 224...covers just about every reverb need!

Alesis Quadraverb! Yes! Was my big rack FX unit 20 years ago when I was running ADA MP1's...LOL
 
nikki-k said:
only thing I have ever liked them for is sustaining a cord through an amp with one "built-in,"
Click to expand...
You be careful with your cord substitutions now! :p

BTW: like 5 months ago, I sent Cliff what to me seemed some very interesting "inside insights" from Italo on HRI about Lexicon style reverb. I now lost the link myself, but he probably got it. I do miss a little extra in that style, like it can be a little "cold" and not often keep me hooked on a preset at the moment. Without any further complaints though. For many uses, it's already great. No complaints about the spring reverb either.
I just expect more of Lexicon style reverb [not saying it should be, but the option should be there ;)], even if some of the Presets would sound just like it (eg the PCM-70 one), which I can't compare. It's just in my head for some reason that a Lexicon style reverb has more going on.

Here some other aspects that could play a role. AFX I, so possibly outdated or already improved...:

- Radley, 5/2009: I definitely feel that adding some modulation (advanced parameters) makes the Verb sound more 'alive' and full.
> Cliff: The modulation defaults to off because it adds CPU usage. Turning it on makes a big difference. Some other advanced parameters to experiment with are the Color, Input Diffusion and Diffusion Time. Color sets the reflectivity of the walls. The lower the value the softer they are. Input Diffusion controls how much the early taps diffuse upon first impact. Diffusion Time sets how slowly the reverb builds.
- Radley 5/2009: Please consider changing the chorus waveshape in the Reverb block to triangle - I'm hearing the modulation 'turn the corners' and it detracts from the smoothness IMHO (when using long, heavy Verb).
> Cliff: For reverb tail modulation some people have postulated that a random LFO [in the chorus] may be better. Since that's one of the stock LFO types [in the chorus] it would be a simple change. [but never happened?]
- Radley, 4/2009: I think I have figured out what I was 'missing' from my other modeler's verbs - it is a warm EQ boost in the lower midrange that's always there (which can be duplicated with the AFX).
 
wezx said:
Alesis Quadraverb! Yes! Was my big rack FX unit 20 years ago when I was running ADA MP1's...LOL
Click to expand...
Same here. Twenty years ago...two Quadraverbs, two MP1s, a Digitech MEQ 28, 360 Systems Audio Matrix...among other dinasaurs.
 
vAmp said:
Please consider changing the chorus waveshape in the Reverb block to triangle - I'm hearing the modulation 'turn the corners' and it detracts from the smoothness IMHO (when using long, heavy Verb).
Click to expand...
This could be a topic for an entire thread, but I've always been baffled why some modulation units have a default of sine, or worse, only sine, as the LFO waveform. The pitch change is zero at the peaks, leading to an unstable effect. For vocals and solos this can be useful, but for general purpose use, triangle is the only waveform for me. I wish the Chorus block allowed triangle for more than two voices.
 
steadystate said:
Same here. Twenty years ago...two Quadraverbs, two MP1s, a Digitech MEQ 28, 360 Systems Audio Matrix...among other dinasaurs.
Click to expand...

I had an MEQ 14..loved that thing - EQ with midi controllable presets, and the red lights looked very cool! I had a stock MP1 and a modded 3 tube MP1.

LOLOL...we're old.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom