Alesis Midi Verb 3 or other cheap Reverbs

[dan0war570]

hello everyone,

im in the market for an outboard Verb / effects processor. im currently using Cubase SX 3 for mixing & recording and Audition 2.0 for mastering and 2 track editing.

Im not very fond of the included Reverbs in Cubase and want to try using some moderately priced outboard gear instead of SX 3s' plugins, or any other companys plugins. (i do like Auditions Verbs but in eiether case i would be adding an effected copy of the original track back into the mix)
the local Music Go Round has a couple of ALESIS MIDIVERB 3s' for about $75 and some sort of Behringer Reverb Unit for roughly the same price.

So does anyone have any thing good to say about the MIDIVERB 3 or any of Behringers effects?

I was also looking at some of the Lexicon MX series units with the USB option.

Any advice would be apperciated!!!

Thanks
Dan

[A.David.MacKinnon]

I have the Alesis Wedge (which I think is the last evolution of the Midiverb - but I could be wrong ). You can get one used for $50-$100 and they sound pretty good. If the Midiverb III is anything close then it's worth the $75.

I'd also sugest you try some impulse response reverb plug ins. If you haven't tried one of these the easiest way to explain it is as a sampling reverb. You load in a sample of a real acoustic space, plate, spring or digital verb and the plug in applies the reverb characteristics of the sample to your audio. I use the jr_irr. It's a free pluggo plug-in fror Pro Tools. There are others out there too. Do a search.
There are lots of free impulse response samples on-line or you can make your own.

[kayagum]

I have a Wedge, which I believe share the same algorithms as the Midiverb IV. A bargain outboard reverb, IMHO.

Also search this board for "reverb plugin" - there are plenty of good recommendation for reverb plugins, some of them free. (SIR Convolution is one that gets mentioned a lot).

[getreel]

+3 on the Wedge. I also like my Lexicon LXP-1 still for the great Lexicon plate verbs. But you know the Wedge plate sounds are really great too; to my ears anyway.

[syrupcore]

Alesis Quadraverb II is a nice piece. can be had cheap. really cool routing options for whacko effects and a nice room reverb for the price.

for plugins, SIR is amazing.

[vsr600]

I have a Midiverb 4 and it's awesome. Doesn't sound "good" or "clean" by any means but it's definitely great at adding gritty and weird reverb to stuff when I need it. It's not anything like any plugin that I've ever heard...

[RefD]

the Wedge gets alot of love around here.

i use the shit out of my pair of MIDIVERB IIs.

they're preset boxes, non-programmable, but they sound so damned good to me!

it's difficult/impossible to make them sound hashy, they're normally a bit hairy and dark and loaded with character, imo.

they're quite cheap now ($50 or less) and were made well enough that i have yet to come across a dead one.

[Mane1234]

Chimin in with love for the Wedge too. I've got two of them set up on the right hand side of where I mix. Just reach over and twirl the knob and start sliding the sliders....I am going to start looking soon for something in the upper eschelon of verbage. Not sure what yet. But I love my Wedge's......

[sparky]

I have a Wedge. I think it sounds like diarrhea for what its worth. The interface rules though: the rotary, faders, impulse button...it's great. The stupid Alesis DIN boa-wart ps does not rule. I have a TC m300 that I personally like better but costs more. I also haven't used it as much so time will tell, and its definitely not a "knock yer socks off" device. I just got a midiverb. Haven't wired it up yet but I can give some relative comparisons soon.

[kweis7]

I remember when Wedges came out for $400 bucks. That did not last long. I bought one for ~100 about 6 months later at the banjo mart and used it as part of a live rig for a couple years till it died. I bought another one for ~75 and it took only about 6 months for me to kill it. Not a bad piece of gear but not very tough; should have left them at home I suppose. The wall wart is a POS though.

I just ordered a picoverb from BSW. It should get here later this week and I'll let you know how it works. It looks like it should be pretty tough as it is in a small little metal form. Cheap (75), and 24bit. I'll be using it in an fx loop live and as a head phone monitor fx in the studio, if it does not suck.

[Red Rockets Glare]

Hi Dan,

You've gotten some great responses here, and I hate to divert the thread, but do you have any cool sounding rooms where you live? Would it be possible for you to run a signal from your DAW into that room and make a chamber for things like snare drums and vocals?

I do that on almost every record I make and it really sounds so much better and more real than anything you can plug in.

Sorry if this is something you've already considered, just couldn't help chiming in.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

Hi Dan,

You've gotten some great responses here, and I hate to divert the thread, but do you have any cool sounding rooms where you live? Would it be possible for you to run a signal from your DAW into that room and make a chamber for things like snare drums and vocals?

I do that on almost every record I make and it really sounds so much better and more real than anything you can plug in.

Sorry if this is something you've already considered, just couldn't help chiming in.

+1 on this idea. I always do this if I'm working somewhere with a good sounding room, bathroom, stairwell etc. If i'm at home I'm stuck with faking it.

[Mark Alan Miller]

I never liked the Midiverb III. Just sounded so, I dunno, plastic to me.

The Wedge is cool enough, but I have to shout big thumbs up for the Midiverb II.

[sparky]

+1 on the "use rooms" idea. I keep trying to find a cheap reverb box (thats why i just bought the tc box) to do things that you can't do with the rooms, but...i have had much better results with using cool sounding rooms than with boxes so far.

[trodden]

I remember when Wedges came out for $400 bucks. That did not last long. I bought one for ~100 about 6 months later at the banjo mart and used it as part of a live rig for a couple years till it died. I bought another one for ~75 and it took only about 6 months for me to kill it. Not a bad piece of gear but not very tough; should have left them at home I suppose. The wall wart is a POS though.

I just ordered a picoverb from BSW. It should get here later this week and I'll let you know how it works. It looks like it should be pretty tough as it is in a small little metal form. Cheap (75), and 24bit. I'll be using it in an fx loop live and as a head phone monitor fx in the studio, if it does not suck.

Interesting...

I'm looking for a small format effects unit to add some heavy verb to one of the vocalists in the band i play in. We can't always count on sound people at some of the venues we play (warehouses, basements, etc) and she needs/wants heavy verb effect on her style of vox. I don't want to buy another nanoverb. Its got to be small cause i don't have room in my rack for another full size unit, but have some room for something small to sit on top of the rack or off to the side. I was thinking about the wedge, thinking i could use that in the studio as well and would go in on half with her if its usuable in the studio. Haven't checked out the picoverb though..