Lexicon MPX1 or MPX550?

[HA_DA_JA]

Having just started down the road of buying gear for a home studio and looking to replace my Alesis Quadreverb (for sale by the way) for something more upmarket, I couldn't decide which Reverb/EFX unit to buy that wont require me updating for a while without blowing the budget into the PCM81/91 territory.
Any assistance would be much appreciated and I am not stuck on just Lexicon products?
Also what really is the difference between the MPX1 and the MPX550?
Thanks

[Linear]

Having just started down the road of buying gear for a home studio and looking to replace my Alesis Quadreverb (for sale by the way) for something more upmarket, I couldn't decide which Reverb/EFX unit to buy that wont require me updating for a while without blowing the budget into the PCM81/91 territory.
Any assistance would be much appreciated and I am not stuck on just Lexicon products?
Also what really is the difference between the MPX1 and the MPX550?
Thanks

well you can start by using your real name.

Chris

[HA_DA_JA]

Being new to whole Forum thing I thought I would just use my username I use for everything. I didn't realise you are suppose to use your name.
My name is Dale Smith.

[Linear]

Being new to whole Forum thing I thought I would just use my username I use for everything. I didn't realise you are suppose to use your name.
My name is Dale Smith.

Sorry Dale, I was just being a dick although anonymous posters are a pet hate of mine.

A good budget reverb in my opinion is a Yamaha Rev5. Also PCM70's are great, but seem to be going up in value so I don't know if they'd fit in your budget.

I'd really avoid buying a 'new' reverb when there are plenty on the second-hand market. I don't think current cheap lexicon stuff bears any resemblence to the older stuff.

Chris

[mfdu]

hey linear (chris)

settle. dale just had his shy-boots on. if we don't scare him off, maybe he'll open up.

dale - are you wanting reverb for the mix, or just confidence reverb for the talent when tracking? i just use a b*^&$* reverb for headphone confidence . . . they're a good price - people will pay you to take them away.

there's been a few yamaha rev5's recently, and i've been eying them off with intent. glad to hear what linear says about the old stuff compared to current lexicons . . .

well, cop ya later.

chris.

[Martin]

will just throw my 2c in and say that while i use a fair bit of in the box reverbs, i quite like my Lexicon MPX1, got it second hand very cheaply and gets used often for headphone confidence mixes and occasionally routed out and back into tools for a different reverb favour...

well built, reliable and plenty of I/O options analog or digital etc..

[Barney Loveland]

Sony R7, older, cheap. Bit more work to bus out of the box and track back in but definitely worth it IMO.

[chris p]

Yo Dale

Welcome to the home/project/money-starved recordists club on the forum.

To answer your direct question, the MPX1 is the bigger, better brother of the MPX550 - everything from internal guts (32 bit vs 24 internal processing) to what you can actually do with the thing (5 simultaneous configurable effects vs 2 effect "patches"). Its much more of a multi-FX unit rather than the MPX550, which to be honest is mostly about the reverb.

However, one good thing about this forum is that people usually have good ideas "out of the box" (or is that Shinybox, mdfu chris?) about where your dollar can be best spent. Unless you KNOW that you really must have a better reverb, you might get better outcomes if you stick with the Quadrverb (a decent enough unit, if not of Lexicon pedigree) and look at something else. If you'll post a summary of your setup and roughly what you want to spend, you might find some good alternative ideas floating your way.

And don't mind linear - he's actually a really nice guy when you get to know him.

Regards

[mfdu]

ha ha

shiny shiny shiny, shiny shiny boots

tee hee

chris

p.s. i would'a thought the quadraverb was a decent enough place to be. alesis haven't really ever been at the forefront of crappy sounding equipment . . .

as a project studio fella myself i constantly battle the question of "what is best - music wth vibe, or music recorded with expensive equipment?"
the two are not mutually exclusive, but that said the gear does not dictate the musicality and enthusiasm of the client!
you smell what i'm cookin - focus on providing a great environment to record in. thats often enough to result in great performances.

[Kris]

Alesis Wedge. As mentioned on another thread I got mine for aprrox. $60us from ebay.

[Adam Dempsey]

The Microverbs sounded pretty darn good (smooth) to me, last I heard one years ago at a Metropolis mixing room...

[HA_DA_JA]

Thanks for all your valuable comments. wow you guys know a lot. I am just finsihing my last year at SAE and I do suffer from buying a lot of gear but mostly cheap stuff hence the Alesis quadraverb. I wanted to simplifier my studio stuff and get more high end gear by selling off my cheaper stuff. I did buy the MPX1 on ebay. It has a universal power adaptor thing so I got it shipped from USA costing all up AUS$595. Having listened to it I can hear the difference in maybe the tail end of the reverbs. A lot more cleaner.
So now that I have done this I now have a quadraverb for sale??

My next piece of gear will be deciding wether to get a ISA430mkII or a Channel in a box?
Any thoughts???

[chris p]

Hey Dale

Is that MPX1 you got off eBay for $595 the same one you have in the for sale section for $1000?

[HA_DA_JA]

Yes I saved on freight by buying 2 of them.
Thanks

While you're there I am looking at getting a shiny box mic that you seem to love very much.
How would you describe the difference between the 23 or the 46? And what was the reason in getting the C model instead of getting the L model?
Thanks
Dale

[chris p]

There's way too many Chris's on this forum - its MDFU chris who actually has a shinybox - little ol' Chris P just lusts after one. Linear Chris is different again.

As for telling them apart,

[HA_DA_JA]

But what is the difference between the C and the L and is that difference better or worse and worth paying for?
Thanks

Delightful Dale

[Linear]

But what is the difference between the C and the L and is that difference better or worse and worth paying for?
Thanks

Delightful Dale

Dale,

I'm surprised that, given what you are selling, that you haven't learnt your lesson.

The quickest and easiest way to waste/blow money is to continually upgrade crap gear for more crap gear. I've never used or heard a shinybox mic, and while I have no doubt that they are acceptable, they won't hold their value and soon you will be looking to upgrade again. There is an RCA ribbon mic on ebay for under $2k. You should be looking at that, rather than a chinese copy of an RCA. Even if they sound the same, a shinybox won't help you sell your studio nor be worth anything in 10 years time.

My rule now is that I only buy stuff that I am 100% sure I will never sell again (they should teach that at SAE). Note that this rule also prohibits me from purchasing anything with 'Pro' or 'Tools' in the description, one of the biggest oxymorons in recorded human history.

I also think that SAE is a big waste of money, most gear made in China is crap and tracking bands using 'protools' is a travesty. Then again I am also highly opinionated and have been described (as recently as 2 hours ago) as 'abrasive'. oh well.

Chris

[davemc]

I got one of those little 46c's just recently. Different sounding then my M160 or SF12. Was happy using it as a room mic, was used as a main vocal mic over my M149 for a certain singer. The sound suited him.
The freelancer in at the moment is using it on some metal style guitar amp back 6" or so back, he liked it better then the M160.
Its just another flavour. I do like ribbons.
So yeah no direct a/b with stuff although its been usable over the last week or so since i got it. Much prefer it to some over hyped cheap LDC mics I have used before.
I agree with what Chris(Linear) says I always buy cheap or buy to keep. The Shinybox was cheap(AUD$400 delivered), looks good, came with a nice case and pouch and so far been very usable.

[chris p]

Hi Dale

Here's a hint about forums: if someone says to go to a site and check something out, its polite to do that before posting further. The L vs C is explained there.

And take heed of the last two comments by DaveMC and Linear. They answer the question of "worth".

[mfdu]

hiya dave - glad to hear the 46c is working for you!

linear - you crack me up. stand strong, tiger.
(as you well know) if you want to stand out in this industry, you gotta actually have a [i]difference[/i].
ya cant do this simply by following the handout and using protools, hyped LDC's and "ultra-invisible channel paths" (?).

dale - learn your equipment, rather than simply following the upgrade path. buying to fill a known lack is one thing, but to willy-nilly splash cash on mere gear . . . dude.
you're getting rid of some usable gear. are you sure? are the funds going towards a focus, or just going to be pissed against the wall of b*&$^&r? maybe you could get more out of what you've already got?

cheerio.

chris (mfdu)

[davemc]

Chris P exactly when I was younger and hand more hair.. I would buy the latest and greatest what they talked about in Sonics, Sound on Sound etc before the net. Sometimes it was not great, sometimes not a big step up. Although we had a lot less choice in the lower end when I started out. So I made do. Lots of stuff can be done with a 57. Lots of stuff can be done with a Mackie or the like. Learn your tools. Limit yourself a little to get the most out of things.

Now you have the net forums full of people who all want a different sound then you, have different ears, room etc etc to you. Although say get this one as its the best. There are no best. Although for me there were certain items I wish I never brought and certain things in the low-mid range I would stay clear off. With the shinybox it cost $400 I am using it, re sale was not a thought. I wanted another flavour mic.
Just watch buying for only short term use, or buying as something is hyped on the net.

[mfdu]

for about four months i have been limiting myself by not using phantom power.

sure i still have a couple of self-powered tube LDC options, but nothing that involves flipping on phantom at the console.

why? because dynamics have so much personality, because their polar patterns react differently in the mix, because i dont want to risk blowing my ribbons.

it's great. i'm getting a vibe that i was missing through the hype of condensors. i am also finding my clients less intimidated because the mics are like what they're used to on stage. (after all, i am in the low end of the market - can't be choosey with the clientelle)

see? limiting can be good.

chris.