I just scrolled down a ways to see if this topic already came up. I am sure it has but probably about 15 years ago. The question is pre or post reverb? I am struggling with whether to give up my Lexicon mx300 and go with a plug in. I just watched a video where a guy samples 2 post an 2 plug ins and the plugin’s don’t sound as good to me. The guy in video decided to stick with his pieces instead of plugins. I have a few assorted plugin reverbs and they just don’t sound as good but maybe if I had a better plugin verb, it would be worth switching. Does anyone still use the good old fashion reverb effects in a rack?
I’m assuming that you mean hardware vs software, not pre/post, right?
Reverbs are pretty subjective, and hardware reverbs are just as prone to the bad artifacts that plugin reverbs are. Also, there are a lot of cheap sounding reverb plugins out there.
If you already have a hardware reverb that you like, what is the purpose in changing it? Is to to see if you can get the same or better without the downsides of hardware? If so, you can always get demo versions of different plugins. The good thing about reverb plugins is that they all are going to sound different. Once you find one that sounds “right” to you, then you are good to go.
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Yes, I meant software vs hardware. I think what I have issue with on the hardware is there is a slight degree of white noise that come from all of my hardware pieces. When I played harder sounding music, the fuzz noise got lost in the song. Now that I am scaling down to a softer and cleaner sound, the fuzz sound is standing out. So my guess was the plugins would not have as much or maybe any static sound. The plugins that I have don’t have any fuzz sound but they don’t sound as real. The MX3000 sounds more like I am in a real room. Someone just mentioned they use Sonnox Oxford reverb V3 and they seem to like it better than the hardware. I think I will do what you mentioned and download a trial version of some better plugins for verb. Does Boz sell any verb plugins?
I am with Boz. until you find something that is better than your hardware keep using the hardware. I wish Boz had a reverb with the way i feel about his other plugins i would love it.
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If I was debating the same thing, it would be a simple pro’s and con’s scenario. Perhaps you would keep that hardware unit for the ‘vibe’ when you play harder sounding music then use a plugin for the softer cleaner stuff. There’s nothing wrong with keeping that hardware unit and only using it once in a while.
That would be enough reason for me to keep it until I was sure I didn’t need it anymore.
I wish!!!
I don’t. The only verb I consistently prefer over a plugin is the Bricasti but I only use it when its available in studio I’m working out of. If I were to go the hardware route, the smallest config I could get by with is a Bricasti S4 or larger, and they start at $13,500. Not worth it to me.
If it helps, my go-to verb is the Liquid Sonics Bricasti emulator. Its expensive, but I’m pretty happy with it for music (though it can’t not be used for film).
For music, I also use the Exponential line, the Waves Abbey Road, UAD Abbey Road, Valhalla, Soft Tube, and Vienna verbs. Those are all worth demo-ing if you’re looking to go in-the-box. If you’re after ultimate uber extreme realism, you may want to start with Exponential, Vienna, or AudioEase. The realism is far more extensive than the Bricasti in my opinion.
Hey James - I’m interested to know how much you tweak the controls on your hardware reverb… Are you making your own custom patches, or are you using preset patches that came with the unit?
Thanks, good to know. To me there is nothing much worse than the sound of cheap reverb. It’s like the “little leaven can kill the whole loaf” analogy, $13,000 is quite a bit of money for a verb pedal. It should come with a compact car for that price. 
I will look into a download trial of those listed.
Yes, I don’t seem to ever use any stock settings on anything. (Elf -tweaking is my favorite) 
What plugin reverbs are you comparing to the Lexicon 300?
Sonitus reverb, the one that comes with cakewalk.
oh. oooooh. Yeah, that’s not a fair comparison. There are plenty of better reverbs out there than that. Don’t base your hardware vs software on that comparison.
What kind of sound are you going for? natural and real? super long unnatural? Spacey? Different reverbs are good at different things.
Natural and real. Slightly longer tails.
My favorite reverb sound is Sinéad O’Connor’s first two albums.
Maybe an impulse response of your unit would be a way to go. You could search around the web for one, (I found one, but the link was broken) or you could even make your own, if you have access to a convolution engine.
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Good idea, I have seen how to videos for how to do that with amps.
If there isn’t any modulation in the reverb, then taking an impulse can work well. If there is modulation, you can get some funky results if you don’t do it right. And even if you do it right, it won’t come out quite the same.
Years ago I got rid of my PCM 70 and 90. They were awesome sounding, however, the way I use reverbs, which is generally fairly subtle, plugins have replaced hardware just fine. I sold my PCM 70 to Michael Brauer, believe it or not. I bought the PCM 70 to get reverbs that sound more like his:)
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What are you using now?
Lexicon mx300