effects for analog synths

[danimuschi]

Anyone has good suggestions on delay and reverb effects on Voyager and Prophet '08?

 

My only experience with external effects are Spaceecho (the real one), Echoplex and stomp boxes on Rhodes, Clav, Combo organs, stringer synths etc. I've gotten rid of most of my old stuff since it was so road warn that i decided to retire it...

 

I've been looking at the TC Electronic Nova Delay and Nova Reverb since I quite like the format and they are flexible in the sense that i can use them directly on each synth or as an insert if i use a mixer... Is it really that important that they are stereo in and out? I guess it's only an issue when i absolutely have to run a stereo keyboard directly in a pedal...

 

Any thoughts?

[Doerfler]

Anyone has good suggestions on delay and reverb effects on Voyager and Prophet '08?

 

My only experience with external effects are Spaceecho (the real one), Echoplex and stomp boxes on Rhodes, Clav, Combo organs, stringer synths etc. I've gotten rid of most of my old stuff since it was so road warn that i decided to retire it...

 

I've been looking at the TC Electronic Nova Delay and Nova Reverb since I quite like the format and they are flexible in the sense that i can use them directly on each synth or as an insert if i use a mixer... Is it really that important that they are stereo in and out? I guess it's only an issue when i absolutely have to run a stereo keyboard directly in a pedal...

 

Any thoughts?

 

I run my Voyager through a Danelectro Dan-Echo that was given to me as a gift. I really like it. If I had $650.00 to spend on a delay (I don't), I would buy a MooferFooger MF-104M Analog Delay.

I also have a DSI PE8 Keyboard but don't run it through any external effects.

[danimuschi]

Yeah... i've tested the Moogerfooger delay and it's cool, but I don't think it's worth it and it's not stereo in. Plus, I'd love a tap tempo function

[Steve Force]

I had a decent MALEKKO ANALOG Echo 300 Dark300 ms CCD Delay pedal that sounded great but the build quality was shit (a slight power glitch fried it.)

 

I heard Jim Alfredson's Eventide TimeFactor pedal through his Modular and it sounded just swell.

 

When I can afford a new delay it will most probably be a Moogerfooger analog delay , as mentioned in the post above.

[Jim Alfredson]

The Eventide stuff is really fun. SPACE, TimeFactor, ModFactor, etc.

[Dave Bryce]

Eventide H9.

 

dB

[GovernorSilver]

Strymon BigSky is on my GAS list. There are demos with various keyboards (Roland Juno 6, Yamaha DX21, Wurlitzer, etc.) as well as guitar.

 

http://www.strymon.net/bigsky/

[danimuschi]

wauw! those strymon and eventide sounds great in the demos! Thanks... i'm now confused on a higher level ;-)

 

keep the good suggestions coming...

[danimuschi]

what about the good old Kaoss Pad? could be a neat solution maybe? I like all the esoteric sounds from the eventide and the strymon, but all i really want is a good, dependable delay and reverb that's easy to use... the other stuff is not important, but cool and usable i'm sure

[GovernorSilver]

Moog just introduced the Minifooger line of pedals. The Delay sounds good, based on the demos I've heard so far.

 

Neunaber has gotten good reviews for the WET series of reverb pedals. They also just introduced an echo pedal (presumably a delay):

http://www.neunabertechnology.com/

 

Sure, a lot of people use Kaoss Pads for effects, though I don't know anyone who would use one just for the reverb/delay, compared to the reverb/delay units available from the other manufacturers mentioned in this thread.

[Tusker]

Yeah... i've tested the Moogerfooger delay and it's cool, but I don't think it's worth it and it's not stereo in. Plus, I'd love a tap tempo function

 

The moogerfooger 104M is not worth it for everyone. It has a lot of control voltage inputs that many would not use. Unlike the minifooger however, it does have tap tempo. It also provides some chorusing and some drive, which helps mitigate the cost.

 

For the reverb+modulation side of things, that H9 looks sweet.

[Doc Tonewheel]

I like the Roland RE-20 Echo.

[CEB]

Eventide if you can afford it. If you need something less expensive Lexicon.

[danimuschi]

Right now I'm leaning towards the Nova Delay...I Found a used one that's cheap...

[orangefunk]

what about the good old Kaoss Pad? could be a neat solution maybe? I like all the esoteric sounds from the eventide and the strymon, but all i really want is a good, dependable delay and reverb that's easy to use... the other stuff is not important, but cool and usable i'm sure

 

I have the KP3 and it is pretty nice but it does have a lo-fi tendency but I do love the real time control with the touch surface. Personally I would be tempted to go elsewhere for a general fx solution.

[Steve Force]

Yeah... i've tested the Moogerfooger delay and it's cool, but I don't think it's worth it and it's not stereo in. Plus, I'd love a tap tempo function

 

The moogerfooger 104M is not worth it for everyone. It has a lot of control voltage inputs that many would not use. Unlike the minifooger however, it does have tap tempo. It also provides some chorusing and some drive, which helps mitigate the cost.

 

For the reverb+modulation side of things, that H9 looks sweet.

 

Indeed. And yes, that H9 looks interesting....

[Marzzz]

that H9 looks interesting....

if the H9 was able to do at least two simultaneous effects, it would be perfect.

[J. Dan]

I'm going to take a slightly different approach here, but my applications and experience may be different. Back when I gigged out with a digital workstation and an analog keyboard (roland Jupiter 6), I used a multieffect on the analog. I wasn't doing studio stuff or trying to get some sort of unique sound, just using the analog synth for stuff I couldn't get out of the digital without VA. I used the Boss VF-1 (actually an SE-50 before that) and found it to be a great fit in that rig. 1/2 rack space and excellent MIDI implementation, which allowed me to use the digital synth to control the parameters on it. It did pretty much everything - reverb, delay, chorus, amp sim, eq, even vocoder....and actually the vocoder sounded pretty damn good!

 

Now if you're looking for the BEST reverb + delay, that's not going to be it. But it's pretty good, and you get a whole bunch of other effects simultaneously that are easy to configure.

 

Now that being said, there are probably some modern units that are better. And if you want hands-on real-time control, there are better devices out there - though with good MIDI implementation, a control surface could be set up to do what you need. My only point is that effects have gotten pretty good across the board, even on some of the lower priced gear. And a multi-effects unit that combines so much in one box can really open up some possibilities that you wouldn't have thought of. Heck, just having dynamics processing and EQ in the chain with chorus, delay, and reverb.

[Nillerbabs]

Hej Dani.

 

I'm here to tell you about the Nova Delay, which I owned. For starters, I was disappointed in how clean it sounded. I love a good clean-sounding echo, but even more I appreciate the nasty, dripping degrading echos that warble and stutter and sound, well, organic. There's a knob ranging from tape over analog to digital. All it does is roll off the highs. And the inducable chorus sounds very pretty to me as well.

 

Furthermore, it has a thing going control-wise that I don't understand. We all know and love the sound of The delay time being swooped, altering the pitch of the echo. The Nova Delay does this, but the delay time knob doesn't span the full range. Instead, a numeric display tells you the repeat time in seconds or BPM. The knob, when placed at 12 o'clock is neutral. When turned slightly to the left, the delay time will start falling slowly, and as you turn it further left, it drops faster. Likewise, turn right, delay time rises. This makes it really hard and unintuitive to control aforementioned lovely delay effect.

 

Like you, I'm looking for a sweet delay and have ben drawn in by the sounds of the Strymon Timeline. Too bad it's so expensive.

[The Real MC]

I'm using my Korg SDD-3300 for delay effects. If you're strictly a preset surfer don't buy this box. If you know delay modulation theory and like to tweak, this box will serve up some wonderful effects that modern multiFX can only dream of.

 

The cool thing I recently found about this box is the programmable matrix mixer. The matrix mixer is a great tool for live gigging. I can route three analog synths to its three inputs and route them wherever I want per song. I can set up a stereo ambience with two delays, use the third as an echo, and route any synth wherever I want as the song needs.

 

Yeah it's missing out on reverb, but I prefer the ambience effects for analog synths.

[danimuschi]

my two top candidates right now are the Nova Delay and the Eventide TimeFactor...

 

Both of them are probably pretty good.

 

As I think i wrote earlier, I don't really need weird effects (although I don't mind them). All I need is a decent sounding delay and reverb. All the other fancy stuff is extras that I probably could find use for some day, but it's not that important to me.

[GovernorSilver]

That's what I like about the Minifooger Delay over its big brother - it's "just a delay' - no MIDI stuff, no modulation, etc.

 

tc electronic Hall of Fame reverb might be another inexpensive one worth a look.

[genesisfan]

I bought a LEXICON MX400 i use it for my Prophet 8 that i plugged into Alesis line mixer

has some nice effects & programs,

its a good start.

 

[Doerfler]

That's what I like about the Minifooger Delay over its big brother - it's "just a delay' - no MIDI stuff, no modulation, etc.

 

Hey Gov -

 

you manage to check out one of these yet? I haven't been able to find one, but an analog delay by Moog Music for $200 is tempting.

[GovernorSilver]

That's what I like about the Minifooger Delay over its big brother - it's "just a delay' - no MIDI stuff, no modulation, etc.

 

Hey Gov -

 

you manage to check out one of these yet? I haven't been able to find one, but an analog delay by Moog Music for $200 is tempting.

 

Not yet. I was told I could have gone up to Brooklyn during CMJ to check out the new Minifoogers, but something came up. I'll probably hit up the Guitar Centers next weekend to use my 15% off Black Friday discount card in case one of them has them in stock by then. Based on the demos I've heard so far, the MF Delay sounds "close enough" to its big brother, as far as the darkness of the repeats and general sound quality goes.

[GovernorSilver]

Forgot about the El Capistan, which is Strymon's tape delay + spring reverb simulator pedal. This video featuring a Roland Juno and Moog Phatty is a bit old, but the El Capistan has since been updated with a selectable stereo TRS input (requires TRS input adapter and changing a jumper setting).

 

[video:youtube]

 

 

[CEB]

I bought a LEXICON MX400 i use it for my Prophet 8 that i plugged into Alesis line mixer

has some nice effects & programs,

its a good start.

 

That is what I would use before going with a Strymon stompbox. It is same money and you are getting a 4 channel multiprocessor processor. You have multiple signal paths. You can for example run a chorus on one channel or a delay on another ect..... The DBX compression is decent. You can run multiple analog synths through separate paths in the Lexicon.

 

But that is me. I strongly prefer rack processors over stomp box stuff anyway. I like my keyboard effect implemented either internally or in a rack. I guess I'm still an 80's guy at heart.

 

But the Eventide stuff is a different deal. That stuff sounds sweet. But I would rack in the end.

[GovernorSilver]

The Lexicon MX box that keybrdwzrd used for demoing his Moog synth(s) sounded great. Forgot if it was a 200 or 400.

 

However, I like the sound that Adrian Utley (Portishead) gets running an analog synths into an Echoplex. The Strymon El Capistan does a good emulation of tape echo (warble and all - only if you dial it in of course), and also has spring reverb.

[danimuschi]

Nice!

 

This one looks cool as well...

 

http://www.tcelectronic.com/flashback-x4-delay/

 

Forgot about the El Capistan, which is Strymon's tape delay + spring reverb simulator pedal. This video featuring a Roland Juno and Moog Phatty is a bit old, but the El Capistan has since been updated with a selectable stereo TRS input (requires TRS input adapter and changing a jumper setting).

 

[video:youtube]

 

[Al Coda]

The Lexicon MX box that keybrdwzrd used for demoing his Moog synth(s) sounded great. Forgot if it was a 200 or 400.

 

There´s also the MX300 which is cheaper than the MX400 but has the same features in stereo, except the I/Os are TRS and the surround routings are missing.

Lexicon MX300 is bang for the buck IMO.

 

A.C.