the watmm GAS thread

  On 1/31/2017 at 11:01 PM, RSP said:

For all my big talk I've been feeling the urge for a certain early 80s digital reverb that's still kind of under the radar and inexpensive because it's an OEM version of another, more well known one.

 

I'm not going to name names just in case I decide to put a bid on one after I get paid tomorrow.

All secretive, got me intrigued. If you buy it, brag afterwards, or if you don't buy it then let at least me in on the secret (I just bought a Quadraverb so I won't be outbidding you or anything anyway lol)

yeah I'm interested too now, hahah.. even though I have a ton of reverbs already :D

  On 2/1/2017 at 12:21 AM, modey said:

yeah I'm interested too now, hahah.. even though I have a ton of reverbs already :D

 

It's not super obscure or anything, the one that it's an OEM of is relatively inexpensive, too, even on eBay, and they show up a lot.  A few years ago a friend of mine gave me a delay from the same line that is chronically underappreciated in my book.  Sounds great, I assume because the digital section is something like 22kHz at either 8 bit or 12 bit (I've heard both) so there is a ton of analog filtering going on - it has a block diagram on the top of the case and there are analog filters on the input, output, and two in the feedback loop (pre and post insert) and the dry signal stays analog, unlike most newer (late 80s and beyond) digital delays that digitize everything and do all the processing in DSP.  Since the reverb I have in mind is a lot more highly regarded I expect I'd love it based on what I think of its unpopular cousin.

 

 I'll name it once the auction I'm watching is over.

Modey, there's an untested Microverb II on eBay right now that didn't sell at $20 and was relisted at $15.  I've always kind of wanted one of those (love the microlmiter) but I'm holding out for a Microverb I since it has a reverse reverb in it and is supposed to be a bit dirtier sounding.

damn, that's a good price. I've already got a Midiverb III and Quadraverb GT, and also the amazing Behringer Virtualizer Pro which has one of the lushest reverbs I've ever heard (plus really decent filters, vocoder, and other effects). That's something that is a relatively unknown/undesired unit.. I'm surprised they're so cheap on ebay.

I've heard nothing but good stuff about that Virtualizer Pro, it's really that good huh?

Yeah, I'm not sure if the reverb algorithms are based on anything else, but the hall reverb pretty much turns anything into a lush blanket of sound. Of course, it's nothing compared to a Strymon or Eventide reverb, but I seriously think it gives the Quadraverb and possibly Lexicon verbs a run for their money..

It was the Ibanez SDR1000+ (got outbid, I guess the plus prices have gone up more than the regular 1000)

 

Everything I've read, my experience with other 70s/80s Ibanez rack units (HD1000 is really underrated in my book, and the AD202 is one of my favorite BBD delays of all time, also pretty underrated) and the few Youtube demos all make it seem really nice for the price I was expecting ($100-$150) but once you get near $200 there are more options (including the original Sony MU-R201 that the an OEM version of).

 

The original 1000 is pretty common, the plus (which has a few more algorithms than the original or the Sony version) a bit less so.

Ended up going a completely different direction and getting a Line 6 Verbzilla, not just because it's supposed to be a pretty solid true stereo reverb but because the only working Tonecore dock I have is mono but I've got a stereo-compatible Red Panda Bitcrusher in it, so if I want to use that on a stereo source I can swap it into the stereo dock that the Verbzilla comes with.

I got a Roland DEP-5 (People have probably heard me say this) for about $70 from eBay and it redefined my sound. It's kind of broken but I highly recommend looking into it. Might be the best mod verb of all time. It also does a basic chorus and delay and eq.

  On 2/2/2017 at 8:00 PM, RSP said:

It was the Ibanez SDR1000+ (got outbid, I guess the plus prices have gone up more than the regular 1000)

 

Everything I've read, my experience with other 70s/80s Ibanez rack units (HD1000 is really underrated in my book, and the AD202 is one of my favorite BBD delays of all time, also pretty underrated) and the few Youtube demos all make it seem really nice for the price I was expecting ($100-$150) but once you get near $200 there are more options (including the original Sony MU-R201 that the an OEM version of).

 

The original 1000 is pretty common, the plus (which has a few more algorithms than the original or the Sony version) a bit less so.

Watched one video on YT, seems like a very solid/big clean sound is possible, sounds quite 'pro' for that price range.

 

 

A friend of mine showed me this, and though I just bought a Quadraverb that I've barely even used, this thing has me lusting: 

Edited February 3, 2017 by auxien

  On 2/2/2017 at 11:32 PM, RSP said:

Ended up going a completely different direction and getting a Line 6 Verbzilla, not just because it's supposed to be a pretty solid true stereo reverb but because the only working Tonecore dock I have is mono but I've got a stereo-compatible Red Panda Bitcrusher in it, so if I want to use that on a stereo source I can swap it into the stereo dock that the Verbzilla comes with.

I have the Behringer RV600 which is a copy of the Verbzilla, iirc. Great pedal, love the 'space' setting. It's not quite as lush as my rackmount verbs but it's got its uses.

  On 1/24/2017 at 4:22 PM, juiceciuj said:

i ordered the new pocket operator (po-32)

Hell yeah, me too. Pretty stoked about it. Eagerly awaiting shipping confirmation - was supposed to get one today I guess but I won't freak out until later tomorrow. I was really surprised how much I like the PO-12. I might even pick up that arcade one later - I don't like the demos but it's so cute and I love that purple color.

 

  On 1/24/2017 at 11:16 PM, Alan Ord said:

agreed, some of my best stuff has been made on the weirdest/cheapest gear. 

 

just about finding what makes you most productive and happy. 

Yup... Might be time for me to unload some shit myself. I find I'm of 2 minds about gear... sometimes I lust for things that let me do weird stuff, sometimes I lust for battered cheap stuff. I think I'm happiest when I lean toward the latter. Some of my faves are both though. 

 

  On 1/31/2017 at 2:46 PM, modey said:

soooo I may have ordered a volca kick :P

I got some lust for one of those too... but I keep stopping myself because its innards are like, what, 10% of an MS-20? And I really just want one of those to sit on top of my Mirage and pretend like someday I'm going to make an album with just those two.

Edited February 3, 2017 by sweepstakes

  On 2/3/2017 at 1:14 AM, modey said:

 

  On 2/2/2017 at 11:32 PM, RSP said:

Ended up going a completely different direction and getting a Line 6 Verbzilla, not just because it's supposed to be a pretty solid true stereo reverb but because the only working Tonecore dock I have is mono but I've got a stereo-compatible Red Panda Bitcrusher in it, so if I want to use that on a stereo source I can swap it into the stereo dock that the Verbzilla comes with.

I have the Behringer RV600 which is a copy of the Verbzilla, iirc. Great pedal, love the 'space' setting. It's not quite as lush as my rackmount verbs but it's got its uses.

 

 

Cool, I'd have been considering that if I didn't need the actual Tonecore dock.  The Behringer CC300 I picked up last fall is fantastic, I use it a LOT. So much that I'm actually slowly getting the parts together to build one of those Jurgen Haible clones of the Roland Dimension D.

 

But that's it, that's all I need.  The Verbzilla, and the Dimension D clone, and the lamp, and the paddle game.

 

Edited February 3, 2017 by RSP

  On 2/3/2017 at 1:14 AM, modey said:

 

  On 2/2/2017 at 11:32 PM, RSP said:

Ended up going a completely different direction and getting a Line 6 Verbzilla, not just because it's supposed to be a pretty solid true stereo reverb but because the only working Tonecore dock I have is mono but I've got a stereo-compatible Red Panda Bitcrusher in it, so if I want to use that on a stereo source I can swap it into the stereo dock that the Verbzilla comes with.

I have the Behringer RV600 which is a copy of the Verbzilla, iirc. Great pedal, love the 'space' setting. It's not quite as lush as my rackmount verbs but it's got its uses.

 

 

Yah, the RV600 is prolly my next guitar pedal purchase.  I was gonna buy it weeks ago, but I couldn't find physical shops carrying any Behringer pedals.  Online ordering, it is.

 

 

Ooooor I'm gonna wake up one morning and for some reason have a Strymon BigSky.  But then again, the RV600 does have that "super hi-fi digitaly" vibe that somehow actually sounds like "technology".  BigSky is like shooting heroin in your dick.

Regarding cheap reverbs i really like lexicon's lxp-1,5,15 sound. It uses their LEXICHIP DSP also. I have lxp-5 but one of its capacitors has blown i tried to replace one but it seems i made everything worse lol. I have to repair it with help of proper experts i guess. I hooked my lxp-5 to midi controller. When you change delay size via midi it barely clicks (comparing to Quadraverb for example; even ensoniq's dp/2-4 can click). It can sound like granular freezing sometimes.

Now i occasionally glance in direction of Lexicon MPX-1 with hint of GAS also.

 

I'm also GASing over Symetrix 606

Edited February 3, 2017 by telefunken

  On 2/3/2017 at 10:29 AM, telefunken said:

Regarding cheap reverbs i really like lexicon's lxp-1,5,15 sound. It uses their LEXICHIP DSP also. I have lxp-5 but one of its capacitors has blown i tried to replace one but it seems i made everything worse lol. I have to repair it with help of proper experts i guess. I hooked my lxp-5 to midi controller. When you change delay size via midi it barely clicks (comparing to Quadraverb for example; even ensoniq's dp/2-4 can click). It can sound like granular freezing sometimes.

Now i occasionally glance in direction of Lexicon MPX-1 with hint of GAS also.

 

I'm also GASing over Symetrix 606

 

Yah, if a capacitor is blown, that's often an indication of some power supply problem, short, etc., because the capacitor shouldn't be receiving so much voltage or reverse polarity (things that generally cause one to blow).

  On 2/3/2017 at 10:29 AM, telefunken said:

Regarding cheap reverbs i really like lexicon's lxp-1,5,15 sound. It uses their LEXICHIP DSP also. I have lxp-5 but one of its capacitors has blown i tried to replace one but it seems i made everything worse lol. I have to repair it with help of proper experts i guess. I hooked my lxp-5 to midi controller. When you change delay size via midi it barely clicks (comparing to Quadraverb for example; even ensoniq's dp/2-4 can click). It can sound like granular freezing sometimes.

Now i occasionally glance in direction of Lexicon MPX-1 with hint of GAS also.

 

I'm also GASing over Symetrix 606

 

Symetrix stuff is pretty great, I got a friend of mine into it and he's been using one of their power amps for his monitors and a couple of their preamps, all with great results.

 

I picked up a 301 compressor last summer for $16 on eBay because it doesn't have the (rare, $100+) power supply, but I haven't gotten around to building a new one and trying it yet.

 

Oh, and you should check out the Alesis Wedge, still one of my favorite cheap reverbs, if only because it has algorithms where you can sweep the reverb time from less than 1 second up to about 107 seconds (not a typo, it goes to 100+ second decay times) smoothly with virtually no artifacts at all.  You can get them for next to nothing in nonfunctional condition and it's almost always just a matter of remelting the solder on the power jack because it's not very well attached.  I really can't think of a better bargain in reverbs out there right now.

Edited February 3, 2017 by RSP

i saw a video on that Strom app and now I want the Analog Rytm 10x more than before. Which was already very gaseous.

Incidentally,  think you can still get people on Gearslutz angry if you tell them you like the Wedge.

lol

 

I'm finding synth/gear elitism to be super tiring lately. It's the reason why I've unfollowed the Synth Memes facebook group (that, and the sexism)..

I unfollowed a synth selling group because of elite twitism and blatant price hiking arsebiscuits. I guess it allso helped curb my synth lust.

  On 2/13/2017 at 5:07 AM, modey said:

lol

 

I'm finding synth/gear elitism to be super tiring lately. It's the reason why I've unfollowed the Synth Memes facebook group (that, and the sexism)..

lolol those doods have zero sense of humour it's the weirdest thing Edited February 13, 2017 by bitroast

i'm on a local synth facebook group and someone occasionally reposts synth memes and they're all horribly unfunny

Yeah, the synth colleting world today is like the guitar collecting world 15 years ago, or really collecting in general when you get right down to it.