JiveTurkey
Goatlord
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- 16,628
Now do QC reverbs
MERIS MERCURYX REVERB PEDAL
- Thread starter BROCKSTAR
- Start date
- Messages
- 14,882
Yeah, the LVX and Mercury X are fire! 
I am excited to use them on Synths/Keys, Vocals, and Drums.
Totally stoked I grabbed both when I did this past Summer. The LVX
has lived on my board ever since.
I hadn't thought to phrase it like Orv did, but there is definitely some kind
of fatness/bigness that comes with the LVX for me. Takes a size 10 shoe and
makes it leave an impression like a size 13. I've been using it as a quasi-boost
because of that on a few patches.
Just great stuff.
I am excited to use them on Synths/Keys, Vocals, and Drums.
Totally stoked I grabbed both when I did this past Summer. The LVX
has lived on my board ever since.
I hadn't thought to phrase it like Orv did, but there is definitely some kind
of fatness/bigness that comes with the LVX for me. Takes a size 10 shoe and
makes it leave an impression like a size 13. I've been using it as a quasi-boost
because of that on a few patches.
Just great stuff.
- Messages
- 6,553
So I signed up to the Pedal Collaborative Patreon:
I grabbed his LVX and MercuryX presets. They're very good. I'm not so hot on the pitchy stuff, but the non pitchy stuff is very lovely, and using the prEditor to slam presets into the LVX and the MercuryX at the same time, is brilliant.
I grabbed his LVX and MercuryX presets. They're very good. I'm not so hot on the pitchy stuff, but the non pitchy stuff is very lovely, and using the prEditor to slam presets into the LVX and the MercuryX at the same time, is brilliant.
BROCKSTAR
Roadie
- Messages
- 723
Yeah im on their patreon as well! Also don't forget the patchstorage place too for free ones.
patchstorage.com
patchstorage.com
Meris LVX | Patchstorage
Meris LVX is a modular delay system for musical instruments. Delay elements can be enabled and routed to create extremely flexible delay patches.
patchstorage.com
Meris MercuryX | Patchstorage
Modular Reverb System with pro audio & studio rack heritage, advanced processing, and high performance signal path.
patchstorage.com
How does this thing stack up against convolution reverbs?
www.polyeffects.com
Verbs — Poly Effects
Your tone in amazing spaces. Verbs answers an age old question. Would your guitar sound good in the Pantheon of Rome? Or a nuclear reactor hall, a cave, a neolithic tomb, the London Palladium? The answer is yes. You have 48 presets with different captures to explore. 8 of these can be filled with
www.polyeffects.com
If we only consider the actual reverbs, it's a matter of taste really. But really really convolution is a bit cack most of the time. Very nearly all, if not all, of the IR's in Verbs are sourced from freely available ones on the internet, so you can just search openairlib and load them in your daw to see how it sounds. Maybe you'll like it!How does this thing stack up against convolution reverbs?
Verbs — Poly Effects
Your tone in amazing spaces. Verbs answers an age old question. Would your guitar sound good in the Pantheon of Rome? Or a nuclear reactor hall, a cave, a neolithic tomb, the London Palladium? The answer is yes. You have 48 presets with different captures to explore. 8 of these can be filled with
I have a Tasty Chips integral IR verb, but it's for sale now and I grabbed a used Mercury 7 to put in my mixer send to replace it. Great algorithms just do magical things to the sound.
BROCKSTAR
Roadie
- Messages
- 723
I love and have tasty chips integral, however I don't treat it or use it for a beautiful sound more or less. I use it just to upload random samples and turn it into something no other pedal can do! Maybe keep it and pair it with mercury7...
Sascha Franck
Rock Star
- Messages
- 6,190
I pretty much disagree. In case you track down some proper ones (and there's actually a lot of proper ones), they just sound like the hardware they were snagged from - as long as there's no modulations and dynamic things happening in the hardware (which rarely is the case as long as more or less "real" spaces are concerned).
Openairlib is a pretty bad source for IRs to use in a guitar-ish context. You can find churches, chapels, caves, cars and what not there. Don't get me wrong, that's all great - but no nice halls captured from great, dedicated reverb hardware, which are those working best for guitars IMO.
If you want some decent IRs, here's some 480l ones:
Lexicon 480L : Free Impulse Responses
In about 2004 I sat down and recorded a complete set of impulse responses from the legendary & industry standard Lexicon 480L digital reverb unit.
grantnelson.co
Bricasti M7 impulse response files
Samplicity's original and highly acclaimed impulse response (IR) files from the Bricasti M7 reverb unit
samplicity.com
And in case you're lucky and the wayback machine will be working properly again, there's also these:
Obviously, there's tons more, but these could give you a decent starting point.
Apart from that, in case you like an algorithmic reverb in your DAW, unless it's dynamic and/or modulating, grabbing an IR of it is pretty much as easy as it gets (just send a dirac spike through it and use the resulting bounce).
Openairlib is where nearly everything that's on the poly verbs is sourced from, that's why I mentioned it.I pretty much disagree. In case you track down some proper ones (and there's actually a lot of proper ones), they just sound like the hardware they were snagged from - as long as there's no modulations and dynamic things happening in the hardware (which rarely is the case as long as more or less "real" spaces are concerned).
Openairlib is a pretty bad source for IRs to use in a guitar-ish context. You can find churches, chapels, caves, cars and what not there. Don't get me wrong, that's all great - but no nice halls captured from great, dedicated reverb hardware, which are those working best for guitars IMO.
If you want some decent IRs, here's some 480l ones:
Or the sort of famous factory preset IRs from Samplicity:Lexicon 480L : Free Impulse Responses
In about 2004 I sat down and recorded a complete set of impulse responses from the legendary & industry standard Lexicon 480L digital reverb unit.grantnelson.co
Bricasti M7 impulse response files
Samplicity's original and highly acclaimed impulse response (IR) files from the Bricasti M7 reverb unit
And in case you're lucky and the wayback machine will be working properly again, there's also these:
Obviously, there's tons more, but these could give you a decent starting point.
Apart from that, in case you like an algorithmic reverb in your DAW, unless it's dynamic and/or modulating, grabbing an IR of it is pretty much as easy as it gets (just send a dirac spike through it and use the resulting bounce).
MirrorProfiles
Rock Star
- Messages
- 3,314
Yeah…. no.
All of the best reverbs even now have behaviours that IR’s won’t capture. Reverb designers have long explained why IR’s fall short and why some kind of modulation is required, and accurate. Imagine you are in a concert hall watching a cellist.
Does your head remain completely still? Does the cellist move their body and the instrument at all? Does the temperature and humidity remain constant? What about everyone else in the room at the same time? Are they totally still?
An IR is capturing from a single point source in the stage (the speaker) to a single point (wherever the mic is). What about if you want to adjust these positions? or change the behaviour of the room? It quickly becomes infeasible with IR’s because you need so many.
Reverb designers are well aware of the pro’s and con’s of IR’s, and if they were that accurate and clever they’d use them more often. The reality is, algorithms are superior except for very specific cases.
480L is an excellent example of a HW reverb that IR’s will not do justice. The modulation of the 480L is part of its identity and sound.
Same goes for the Bricasti, and it’s a big reason why Casey is fine with IR’s existing. Liquidsonics literally created a forum of “dynamic IR’s” to try and capture these behaviours. It gets closer but it’s still not quite the same or as good, but they’re an improvement on regular IR’s.
Like all the best ones do. A couple of older ones like a PCM60 or RMX16 are time invariant so IR’s can do a reasonable job. The flip side of it being they have crusty old converters and noise which can have quite an effect on the sound.
Pretty much all the great reverbs have some form of modulation - it’s not always an obvious wobble, they’ve evolved over time to sound natural and non intrusive. Slapping a chorus over the top of an IR doesn’t work either, and generally sounds like ass.
EDIT: a good explanation from Michael Carnes (formerly of Lexicon and Exponential Audio, worth looking at old forum posts of his too) https://www.audiotechnology.com/regulars/last-word-michael-carnes-part-2
Last edited:
Sascha Franck
Rock Star
- Messages
- 6,190
Oh, ok, didn't know.
Possibly should've asked some IR makers for a bunch of files. I mean, we all want those nice plates or a TC hall, don't we?
Sascha Franck
Rock Star
- Messages
- 6,190
And how often exactly do you need/want to mimic all that stuff in a guitar-ish application?
Not sure about others, but for me the answer is "never".
MirrorProfiles
Rock Star
- Messages
- 3,314
Personal preference, but generally on guitars I don’t want the static nature of IR’s and it’s one of the few places I actually enjoy hearing an obvious modulation on the reverb (which can sound terrible on say piano or some vocals).
IR’s just get stuffy sounding really quick, decent algorithms feel more natural and lively. Try for yourself - there are decent 224, 480L, EMT250 etc plugins out there, and then compare to IR’s. Or compare bricasti IR’s to the liquidsonics stuff.
At best, you might not notice much difference or care about what’s being lost. That’s a very low bar to aim for though, when you can have a much better version. Stack up a load of IR verbs in a mix and then compare to decent algorithmic ones, all of a sudden things open up and sound more spacious and less congested.
MirrorProfiles
Rock Star
- Messages
- 3,314
This is actually a very good blog, and far better than a lot of stuff on Production Expert:
Sascha Franck
Rock Star
- Messages
- 6,190
- Messages
- 6,553
Shite video quality, but I didn't really feel like doing a proper video today:
I do love these Meris pedals. A lot. Strymon definitely make some great stuff, but the Meris ones just resonate with me. When I first tried the LVX out in a shop, I was horrified by the workflow. But to be honest, that was a reaaaaaaaally bad introduction to how they work.
My advice, if anyone is on the fence, buy one with a good money back guarantee and spend a week really learning how to use them. They slay. They can do so much once you really get your head in there.
The PREditor app is pretty good too.
I do love these Meris pedals. A lot. Strymon definitely make some great stuff, but the Meris ones just resonate with me. When I first tried the LVX out in a shop, I was horrified by the workflow. But to be honest, that was a reaaaaaaaally bad introduction to how they work.
My advice, if anyone is on the fence, buy one with a good money back guarantee and spend a week really learning how to use them. They slay. They can do so much once you really get your head in there.
The PREditor app is pretty good too.
