General Effects Processor

[rgdrummo]

I have a Mackie 1402 as part of a growing home studio and want to add a good all-around rack-mount effects processor in the $300 range to add reverb, delay and other standard effects to tracks recorded with instruments such as my sax, Rhodes 73 and a baby grand. I go straight out of the Mackie into a Denon 550 CDR/W. What would you recommend? Why?

Thanks, Rob

[michaelhoddy]

If I were you, I'd drop around $400 and get something like the Lexicon MPX-500 (my preference) or the TC M*One (some other people's preference). To my ears, the difference between a $300 unit and a $400 unit seems to be pretty significant.


You might also want to check out a used Lexicon LXP-15II, which can now be had for that kind of price.

[rgdrummo]

Thanks for the recommendation on the effects processor. I did not really have a clue about how much to spend to get something that is decent. If you spend less than what your really need to get a reasonable quality then the money is just wasted on throw-away technology.

Rob

[rgdrummo]

Michael,

I bought the MPX-500 as you suggested. It is absolutely incredible. It even brings my D-20 to life in a way I never thought was possible. I tried using it as an insert effect on a single channel with my Rhodes 73 but I got the best results using the aux send and returns in stereo on the my Mackie 1402. Thanks for the good advice.

Rob

[michaelhoddy]

Rob,

Glad to hear that it's working well for you. I've always been a big Lexicon fan for their high-end stuff, but the MPX-1, 100, and 500 have really impressed me in live sound and project studio installs I've designed or used, especially for the money, and when compared to other manufacturers' gear in the same price range. Even in the cheaper units, the "Lexicon sound" character seems to remain largely intact. Great bang-for-the-buck. Good luck with it.