Man!!! So tasty I'm still wiping my mouth. Your dry signal sound was richer and more beautiful than most of processed ones I heard. I guess quality of that CAE+ pre with VHT power can't be beaten. This great melodic guitar reminds me Hans Zimmer soundtrack for Days of Thunder with amazing Jeff Beck playing.
Michael your video is excellent. This is exactly what I want to hear when videos portray hardware/software devices. You let the sound of the units speak for themselves...especially the "nerdy" part. IMHO the best part of your presentation. I know what I like... or not. Very nicely done!
This brings back some great, old memories! I remember watching RATT back in their club days. Warren played 2 black Marshall cabs, criss-crossed with 2 of Jake's Orange cabs, a Marshall head, 2 Lexicon PCM41s and he'd kick-in a OD-1 for leads. Man, what a great, live tone!
Of course I feel like "sticking around and getting super nerdy." I probably watched this video a couple years ago. Watching it again. Great channel. One of the best.
The studio I recorded my record at had a Neve console with the original Lexicon (beige box) reverb. It made everything sound so good. Many parts were coupled with a sweeping panning delay and just sounded otherworldly. Of those 3 reverbs, the pedal sounded 'fake' to me or 'hallow'. Both of the Lexicons were perfect. I think I preferred the 70.
Listening through Beyerdynamic phones, I gotta say I like the older PCM70 best. The 96 was great, but the PCM70 sounded warmer and denser. The Digitech pedal was too "in your face" and bright for my liking. The guitar sounded like it sat in the mix better with the PCM70. Thanks for posting.
Love your videos...feels like I'm talking to my friends and learning about the gear that I wanted or even gear I own but in other formats. Keep up the great work! Cheers
PCM 96 certainly sounds like a cut above the rest, but for most people's budget the Polara sounds like a really great option. I would also consider running IRs through a DAW or an IR loader pedal.
0:48 Your selection surprised me, but by far was a pleasant surprise. That track from the Armageddon score was a super choice. Now I'll continue to the juice of the video...
Plenty of great sounding reverb units out there these days, but the PCM 70 has that ability to sit in the mix so well. Archaic by todays standards, but still reigns supreme in the Pro studio market.
This is one of the best reverb comparisons. I like your plain and practical way of speaking without hype. I saw a Bricasti in your rack. Bricasti are ex Lexicon engineers? I'd love to hear a comparison to the 96. Thank you!
I love Lexicon reverb...I think the 96 is a killer verb and sounds brighter, very detailed and on certain things is better. In my experience, the PCM70 being old and with a low bit rate just sounds more musical with guitar to my ear. The higher notes don't get brittle or edgy. My PCM 70 version 2 is the bomb diggity .. I noticed the Egnater preamp in your rack. I used the IE4 for several years. Good stuff!
I always gravitate towards older reverb sounds. The pcm70 sounds perfect to me. But I'm not typically a huge fan of most modern reverbs. The Oto Bamm is an exception but it is designed to sound like an old or emt 250. I'd like to try the Chase Bliss one as well. But yeah, given the choice between like a bluesky or most older pcms or hell, even a spx90 or a quadraverb I'll take the pcm or the alesis or yamaha. Something with some character.
Wow, I was just looking at buying the DigiTech Polara because of the Lexicon stuff, and some of the online user reviews were shooting it down. This is proof that so many people in forums talk out of their asses and have no clue about stuff in this arena of gear. The pedal, for a PEDAL... sounds fuckin HUGE!!!!! On a pedalboard at a plain ol' gig, it will make me very happy. GETTING IT.
The DRY TONE's crunched up, compressed, high gain dumbleeque-ness clouds the reverb illustration. Imagine eating wonderful Indian food at the Taj Majal palace loaded with tumeric and 50 other spices and someone adds different salts to enlighten you about the taste of salt.
Grab a PCM 80 or 81. Much cheaper, but you still get that classic high-end Lexicon sound & the "tails". I love my 81. I have an Eventide H7600, but in some ways I prefer my 81. It has a lot of warmth & character.
great video michael. I know EVH had PCM's in his live rack, but do you think he used the 480L for the recordings? I have seen images of the 480L remote at 5150 .
Great review. One thing I'd love to hear -is "what isn't the Lexicon sound" - for comparison. I have an MPX1, an MPX550 and the built-in Lexicons in my Soundcraft Digital 328 console. I can really hear the difference between those and my other babies - Eventide DSP4000 and Eclipse. In general, I prefer the Eventides, but they are definitely more otherworldly/effect vs. the Lexicon's more warm and deep. But I'd also like to hear what separates Lexicon from Bricasti, AMS, TC Electronics, and any other verbs.... and preferably with your demonstrative methods Michael!
Michael,Please consider a tutorial video for a Lexicon pcm92 (or pcm96). So hard to find people that understand it as you do. Help! Great guitar playing with minimal "this is such a tough note" face.
I'd choose the 96 for piano, acoustic guitar, strings, vocals, and the final mix. The 70 seems best for drums & perhaps sax. For all other instruments, it would depend on how busy the mix is.
POLARA: The Polara had just a bit of plate sound at the reverb tail....... really they all sounded great. The naturalness to the Lexicon is quite lush, dense and swirly to the sides. Sweet to say the least...... Yes to the Lexicons, yes to the Polara, yes to your solo.
The dry is really gainy with a sharp attack, not a great idea for a reference tone. Difference between the reverbs sounds to me a matter of EQ and stereo width, the 96 is definitely softening the tone as well as the most broad stereo picture, the 70 is a little less soft with a narrower band, and the polara was the least coloured with a band similar to the 70. When you had the three together there was a clear delay between them which is probably the modulation of the polara coming through. Pretty good depth for a pedal compared to a rack effect though.
i found the 96 to sound bigger and in a way more natural than the others, but there is some high end in there that sounded just a little harsh to me and made me lay more to the side of the 70 or maybe the polara in this particular thing.
How does the Strymon BigSky Reverb or the Eventide compare to these reverbs shown in this video? What I look for in an outboard effect processor is quality effects and MIDI in/out so that I may link the synth program change to an existing pre-set or one I custom created. If you can not save the effect or it does not have MIDI in/out I pass on it.
Great demo. I just got the Headrush pedal board with the "Eleven rack" effects. It sounds pretty good for guitar. I mean for what it costs considering what you get in an all in one system. I love the Lexicon stuff and the Digitech pedals. Wish I could afford all of it.
Real cool riff and well feeled...i am in the process of getting a new reverb since the TC HOF2 did not do it for me.I need versatility way more than the HOF2 which had no mix from dry to wet
I wonder if you can help me out with a question that is plaguing recently. I am not a studio person but a guitarist who is recording in an apartment... in other words, I'm practicing and playing live on PC, which is a nice solution for apartments. I use my Steinberg UR22 interface and AmpliTube through Ableton Live. That's enough for me at home because I can't use amps or speakers. Now I do currently want to build a pedal board for this and yeah, simple, just put the effects between guitar and audio interface. But here comes my problem. Especially related to reverb pedals. What if I want to have the reverb after the VST and DAW, while still being able to listen and play live? How would this work, and is this possible without further latency? I don't even know how I would connect things or if I need additional hardware. I just can't get my head around this idea. Can you tell me how I could achieve something like this?
AWSOMUS MUSIC. I doubt it. Too low end. More likely Lexicon 300L or 480L. The 960 too later possibly. Also older classics like the 224 & TC suites were (are) used in pro recordings from all modern eras 80s/90s.
fastguitar I have a hard time believing this. Diva vocals always, always got the best reverb in the house. In most big studios at the time the PCM70 was what you used when your 224s, 480s and RMX16s were already tied up.
It sound like if you did a seek with a high Q on a parametric EQ, you would quickly find existing resonance 70 and the pedal but not the 96. Would be worth a try maybe. The 96 seems a lot more natural "transparent?" and effortless.
Hello Michael! I am a great admirer of your work here in Brazil. I really identify with the timbres you make! Could you briefly simulate the lexicon pacht in Bigsky (Strymon) with the mix and decay level? I would be very grateful. Once again, congratulations and a big hug. See you, Henry.
Thanks. It's a handful of things. There's some Ultrabeat hats (Logic), DM-307 from Heavyocity for some pulsy stuff. The deeper cinematic sounds are mostly happening from Spitfire Hans Zimmer Perc 2
Agreed. This is the first time I have seen one of Michael's demos and he does a good job of it, IMO. As much as I love the 96 and the 81 before it... I've got a special itch for the PCM70 and the VVV scratches it for me. With that said, I'm still hoping to own a PCM70 someday. If only it had modern MIDI control...
Thanks for another great video. Any possibility of doing one for the jmp-1? would also love seeing a comparison between a rack power amp and running a pre into the fx return of a head.
Even on my phone the PCM 70 just sounds killer. Absolute classic.
All three sound fantastic. Nicely dialed in. Shocking how good the pedal is.
Man!!! So tasty I'm still wiping my mouth. Your dry signal sound was richer and more beautiful than most of processed ones I heard. I guess quality of that CAE+ pre with VHT power can't be beaten. This great melodic guitar reminds me Hans Zimmer soundtrack for Days of Thunder with amazing Jeff Beck playing.
Thank you for demo_ing the DigiTech polara. Great pedal!
I thought i needed one, now I know I do
Michael your video is excellent. This is exactly what I want to hear when videos portray hardware/software devices. You let the sound of the units speak for themselves...especially the "nerdy" part. IMHO the best part of your presentation. I know what I like... or not. Very nicely done!
Thank you for the kind words Gordon! :)
I keep coming to this video. Thanks for a great video
This brings back some great, old memories! I remember watching RATT back in their club days. Warren played 2 black Marshall cabs, criss-crossed with 2 of Jake's Orange cabs, a Marshall head, 2 Lexicon PCM41s and he'd kick-in a OD-1 for leads. Man, what a great, live tone!
Of course I feel like "sticking around and getting super nerdy." I probably watched this video a couple years ago. Watching it again. Great channel. One of the best.
Agreed, I keep coming back to reference this video quite a bit. It's so well done!
The studio I recorded my record at had a Neve console with the original Lexicon (beige box) reverb. It made everything sound so good. Many parts were coupled with a sweeping panning delay and just sounded otherworldly. Of those 3 reverbs, the pedal sounded 'fake' to me or 'hallow'. Both of the Lexicons were perfect. I think I preferred the 70.
This is great! Love Lexicon Reverb and any video that has the millenium falcon pictured within the first minute has got my attention!
HAHA! Thanks!
Your tone is amazing.
Guitar tone is beautiful and melody line of solo is so melodic.... good work and good tone...love it...
I came for the Lexicon sounds. However, your playing just after 7 minutes in was stunning. Thanks!
I was open mouthed listening to that!
The 96 is just so clean and BIG.
I love the grain from the 70 its very appealing to me.
Fantastic playing 7:11, lots of feel and emotions in it ... Lexicon rules. :)
Listening through Beyerdynamic phones, I gotta say I like the older PCM70 best. The 96 was great, but the PCM70 sounded warmer and denser. The Digitech pedal was too "in your face" and bright for my liking. The guitar sounded like it sat in the mix better with the PCM70. Thanks for posting.
Beyerdynamic..... all the details and nothing gets by.
yeah but on a pedalboard at a regular gig it would sound amazing, no? Nobody is using a $1000 rack unit with their pedals at local gigs ffs
My sentiments exactly.
i like the 70 for that music -
has a nice sound that blends in but stays on top
Love your videos...feels like I'm talking to my friends and learning about the gear that I wanted or even gear I own but in other formats. Keep up the great work! Cheers
Yet again an amazing video.
Whoa. It's Robert Baker! 😎🎸
@1:23 Thanks for the seizure 👍
haha! Sorry. I don't know why that happened. Totally unintentional. Sorry.
@@BigHairyGuitars think you should put a warning on
PCM 96 certainly sounds like a cut above the rest, but for most people's budget the Polara sounds like a really great option. I would also consider running IRs through a DAW or an IR loader pedal.
it goes back to beginning where Lexicon has the superior acoustic ambience reverb patents and the other great Eventide has the pitch shifting patents
do they really!?! I didn't know these guys were holding patents on these things.
0:48 Your selection surprised me, but by far was a pleasant surprise. That track from the Armageddon score was a super choice. Now I'll continue to the juice of the video...
With such lush huge reverbs, I wouldn't need delay. Very nice.
I have a couple of the Digitech Hardwire pedals and I think they sound great and are portable and of course, they have the Lexicon chip in them.
Those were a good line of pedals. I've never checked out their reverb ones, Ill have to now. :D
Plenty of great sounding reverb units out there these days, but the PCM 70 has that ability to sit in the mix so well. Archaic by todays standards, but still reigns supreme in the Pro studio market.
Very good. Clear and concise.
That Preamp Just Kills!
amazing tone
Thanks for all the great quality vids, love watching, great tones and cool comparisons!
Nice video! Trevor is now using an Axe-Fx for reverbs. I worked with him on converting his classic tones to this new world.
Are you liking the Axe reverbs?
@@BigHairyGuitars They are incredible! I do work for Fractal, but I've been a gearhead for 40+ years!
Axe verbs were ripped directly from eventide algorithms...
That TONE!!!
Its like melting butter on sourdough toast!!
This is one of the best reverb comparisons. I like your plain and practical way of speaking without hype. I saw a Bricasti in your rack. Bricasti are ex Lexicon engineers? I'd love to hear a comparison to the 96. Thank you!
that must be like diving in an ocean of sound...sounds huge!
I love Lexicon reverb...I think the 96 is a killer verb and sounds brighter, very detailed and on certain things is better. In my experience, the PCM70 being old and with a low bit rate just sounds more musical with guitar to my ear. The higher notes don't get brittle or edgy. My PCM 70 version 2 is the bomb diggity ..
I noticed the Egnater preamp in your rack. I used the IE4 for several years. Good stuff!
What is the Lexicon sound? Concerning reverb? Perfection!
The polara hangs very well
Thanks mike for all the videos you make, im tryn to find a reverb that sounds real. I just got a friedman be 100 deluxe thats awesome.
The pedal rocks. In this context it's my favourite. :)
Nice playing !
holy shit that pcm 70!
can you do a video comparing the 70, 96 and the "new" plugins?
I always gravitate towards older reverb sounds. The pcm70 sounds perfect to me.
But I'm not typically a huge fan of most modern reverbs. The Oto Bamm is an exception but it is designed to sound like an old or emt 250. I'd like to try the Chase Bliss one as well. But yeah, given the choice between like a bluesky or most older pcms or hell, even a spx90 or a quadraverb I'll take the pcm or the alesis or yamaha. Something with some character.
Scorpions Love at First Sting, particularly Still Loving You has the most luscious reverb I have ever heard on record.
Sounds awesome!
I like the PCM70 sound the best for delays
Wow, I was just looking at buying the DigiTech Polara because of the Lexicon stuff, and some of the online user reviews were shooting it down. This is proof that so many people in forums talk out of their asses and have no clue about stuff in this arena of gear. The pedal, for a PEDAL... sounds fuckin HUGE!!!!! On a pedalboard at a plain ol' gig, it will make me very happy. GETTING IT.
Not my style of music but damn, dude, you're a very tasteful player.
The PADS sounds AMAZING!
that guitar riff is fire
I miss my MPX-1 - nothing like a Lexicon reverb. I prefer the 70 = Dense.
Great comparison video, you have some great gear.
The DRY TONE's crunched up, compressed, high gain dumbleeque-ness clouds the reverb illustration. Imagine eating wonderful Indian food at the Taj Majal palace loaded with tumeric and 50 other spices and someone adds different salts to enlighten you about the taste of salt.
What's the deal with the flashing at 1:25 and 1:43? If that's a stylistic choice you need to rethink it.
The sound stage, and if nothing else the tail of 96.....love it. Can't afford though :(
Grab a PCM 80 or 81. Much cheaper, but you still get that classic high-end Lexicon sound & the "tails". I love my 81. I have an Eventide H7600, but in some ways I prefer my 81. It has a lot of warmth & character.
great video michael. I know EVH had PCM's in his live rack, but do you think he used the 480L for the recordings? I have seen images of the 480L remote at 5150 .
How do you get the Lexicon Concert Hall reverb on a TC Electronics Hall of Fame!!!
Great review. One thing I'd love to hear -is "what isn't the Lexicon sound" - for comparison. I have an MPX1, an MPX550 and the built-in Lexicons in my Soundcraft Digital 328 console. I can really hear the difference between those and my other babies - Eventide DSP4000 and Eclipse. In general, I prefer the Eventides, but they are definitely more otherworldly/effect vs. the Lexicon's more warm and deep. But I'd also like to hear what separates Lexicon from Bricasti, AMS, TC Electronics, and any other verbs.... and preferably with your demonstrative methods Michael!
Hi Jeff, Yes! I'm working on that as we speak.
I must say the first verb, had no bad additive sounds after the note,
informative review, just a few more things to add to my wish list
Grrreat comparison video Michael. 🔊🎸👍
Thanks Jode! Thanks for watching!
PCM70, no contest.
Michael,Please consider a tutorial video for a Lexicon pcm92 (or pcm96). So hard to find people that understand it as you do. Help! Great guitar playing with minimal "this is such a tough note" face.
I'd choose the 96 for piano, acoustic guitar, strings, vocals, and the final mix. The 70 seems best for drums & perhaps sax. For all other instruments, it would depend on how busy the mix is.
Great feeling and job 👍
Big moist guitars! How does the Bricasti go on guitars?
We used an old one on the road and proved itself every night. Roadworthy and fucking wicked!
And yes, just press play man, we get it!
POLARA: The Polara had just a bit of plate sound at the reverb tail....... really they all sounded great. The naturalness to the Lexicon is quite lush, dense and swirly to the sides. Sweet to say the least...... Yes to the Lexicons, yes to the Polara, yes to your solo.
The dry is really gainy with a sharp attack, not a great idea for a reference tone. Difference between the reverbs sounds to me a matter of EQ and stereo width, the 96 is definitely softening the tone as well as the most broad stereo picture, the 70 is a little less soft with a narrower band, and the polara was the least coloured with a band similar to the 70. When you had the three together there was a clear delay between them which is probably the modulation of the polara coming through. Pretty good depth for a pedal compared to a rack effect though.
Love these vids!
Great Video Thanks
Hey @Michael Nielsen what you think, Polara, Digitech RV-7 or Boss RV-6 for late 80s hard rock plate reverb (Whitesnake, Motley, GnR's AFD)? thanks!.
I really like the sound of the Boss pedals. Can’t ever go wrong with boss
i found the 96 to sound bigger and in a way more natural than the others, but there is some high end in there that sounded just a little harsh to me and made me lay more to the side of the 70 or maybe the polara in this particular thing.
How does the Strymon BigSky Reverb or the Eventide compare to these reverbs shown in this video? What I look for in an outboard effect processor is quality effects and MIDI in/out so that I may link the synth program change to an existing pre-set or one I custom created. If you can not save the effect or it does not have MIDI in/out I pass on it.
I have the Lexicon MPX100. Is that a entry level rack unit, or is it the real deal..
Sounds awesome. I own a pcm 92. Wish there were some tutorials. I can't figure how to use the harmonizer on vocals.
I bought a MPX G2, and can't get ANY sound out of it. Lexicon has the worst GUI!
Please make a video about the G2! The ability to feed delays back into any other effect is amazing!
Great demo. I just got the Headrush pedal board with the "Eleven rack" effects. It sounds pretty good for guitar. I mean for what it costs considering what you get in an all in one system. I love the Lexicon stuff and the Digitech pedals. Wish I could afford all of it.
Great video. I have PCM 91. Where did you find this beautiful backing track? Thanks so much.
Barry Manilow still loves his PCM70 on strings.
Real cool riff and well feeled...i am in the process of getting a new reverb since the TC HOF2 did not do it for me.I need versatility way more than the HOF2 which had no mix from dry to wet
I wonder if you can help me out with a question that is plaguing recently. I am not a studio person but a guitarist who is recording in an apartment... in other words, I'm practicing and playing live on PC, which is a nice solution for apartments. I use my Steinberg UR22 interface and AmpliTube through Ableton Live. That's enough for me at home because I can't use amps or speakers. Now I do currently want to build a pedal board for this and yeah, simple, just put the effects between guitar and audio interface. But here comes my problem. Especially related to reverb pedals. What if I want to have the reverb after the VST and DAW, while still being able to listen and play live? How would this work, and is this possible without further latency? I don't even know how I would connect things or if I need additional hardware. I just can't get my head around this idea. Can you tell me how I could achieve something like this?
Have you tried the Hardwire Supernatural? I've been using on all of my leads lately and highly recommend it.
gigantic larger than life god of thunder epic lighting shooting out of the sky otherworldly video.
Do any of the Lexicon racks multi effects unit's reverbs sound at all like Pcm racks?
Did mariah carrey use lexicon in the 90's for vocals?....vision of love
AWSOMUS MUSIC. I doubt it. Too low end.
More likely Lexicon 300L or 480L. The 960 too later possibly. Also older classics like the 224 & TC suites were (are) used in pro recordings from all modern eras 80s/90s.
fastguitar I have a hard time believing this. Diva vocals always, always got the best reverb in the house. In most big studios at the time the PCM70 was what you used when your 224s, 480s and RMX16s were already tied up.
Hi Michael have you compare them with the RC48 from NI? supposed to be a lexico 480.
I haven't directly. I do have it. So I'll check it out this week.
you are just as good as clapton, great stuff.
It sound like if you did a seek with a high Q on a parametric EQ, you would quickly find existing resonance 70 and the pedal but not the 96. Would be worth a try maybe.
The 96 seems a lot more natural "transparent?" and effortless.
Hello Michael! I am a great admirer of your work here in Brazil. I really identify with the timbres you make! Could you briefly simulate the lexicon pacht in Bigsky (Strymon) with the mix and decay level? I would be very grateful. Once again, congratulations and a big hug. See you, Henry.
Hi, great video!
What sample library you used to make the percussions in the backing track?
Thanks. It's a handful of things. There's some Ultrabeat hats (Logic), DM-307 from Heavyocity for some pulsy stuff. The deeper cinematic sounds are mostly happening from Spitfire Hans Zimmer Perc 2
@@BigHairyGuitars ok, thanks!
Does the lexicon pcm96 sound good in the send/return effects loop of a friedman head? Or would that be a bad way to use it?
I'm sure it would sound great, but a bit overkill.
@@BigHairyGuitars thanks
Please sugest me lexicon pcm 91 96 How to connect this processors to amp guitar head. May be this processors connect thru fx loop or other variations?
Epic playing ..yeahhh
I'd to se Valhalla Vintage Verb added to this shootout!
imho Valhalla Vintage Verb Sounds much more like PCM70, and even bolder
Also I've noticed that Valhalla muffles soundstage
Agreed. This is the first time I have seen one of Michael's demos and he does a good job of it, IMO.
As much as I love the 96 and the 81 before it... I've got a special itch for the PCM70 and the VVV scratches it for me. With that said, I'm still hoping to own a PCM70 someday. If only it had modern MIDI control...
@@mirreya9997 Thats the pro and the con of the Valhalla verbs imo. They overtake the original signal somehow.
Audio arts eq?
Where can i find your studio desk? Thank you!
Can i get the background tracks?
yep, send me an email at bighairysounds.com
The PCM70 seemed to blend much more smoothly than the 96, or the pedal. The pedal mono?
Thanks for another great video. Any possibility of doing one for the jmp-1? would also love seeing a comparison between a rack power amp and running a pre into the fx return of a head.