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Looper's Delight
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>Fellow loopists-
>
> While waiting to take delivery of my very first
> loopifier (Headrush), I've begun plotting my next
> purchase. =) What I'm interested in is a
> multi-effects unit, probably rackmountable, which I
> can use for either pre- or post-loop processing
> (depending on mixer routing). I want to be able to
> get some really freaked-out guitar tones, but I don't
> want to spend $800, either. At the moment I'm
> considering the Lexicon Vortex and the MPX-100. As I
> have some time before acquiring this unit (I won't
> have the cash until March), I thought I'd solicit
> opinions from y'all to aid my decision.
I have both, and they're very different creatures. The MPX is an excellent
"meat and potatoes" device, not extremely flexable, but sounds terrific.
It's the main reverb/chorus/"normal" delay box I use anymore. The Vortex is
more of one of those "wierd Thai curries that taste great but you might not
want to know the ingredients" devices, if I may extend the food analogy to
a ridiculous degree. It's great for short loops that mutate over time, for
choruses and rotary simulations that have a non-cyclical swirly quality,
short delays that ping around the stereo field, etc. Very interesting and
deep machine, not exactly user friendly but not bad for how complex it can
be. It's one of those rare boxes where I find something new in it every
time I sit down to program it. For freaked out guitar tones, I'd recommend
the Vortex.
>
> MPX-100 - If Lexicon would just put the manual online,
> I wouldn't have to pester you with these questions. =)
> How flexible is this unit in its effects settings and
> the routing of multiple effects?
Not flexible. The routings are all preset, and there are only one or 2
parameters you can modify within each preset. The unit basically sacrifices
programmability for sound quality, and it's a worthwhile trade-off, it
sounds wonderful, way better to my ears than anything else in the price
range.
>How good are the
> delays for loop purposes? Would I be able to, say,
> set a short infinite delay (1-3 sec) to swirl
> atmospherically behind a longer Headrush loop?
It can loop(5 secs I think), and there are some interesting multitap delays
available.
>Can
> the Vortex's ability to set interesting polyrhythmic
> echoes be duplicated?
Nope
>Could the unit be configured to
> act as two independent mono processors for pre- AND post-loop
> messing-about?
Nope.
Still, I find I actually use the MPX much more than the Vortex. The Vortex
isa incredibly cool for what it does, and I'll never sell mine, but the
MPX's simpler and more conventional delays are often more useable, even in
the strangest musical settings.
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Dave Trenkel : improv@peak.org : www.peak.org/~improv/
"...there will come a day when you won't have to use
gasoline. You'd simply take a cassette and put it in
your car, let it run. You'd have to have the proper
type of music. Like you take two sticks, put 'em
together, make fire. You take some notes and rub 'em
together - dum, dum, dum, dum - fire, cosmic fire."
-Sun Ra
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