Conference napalm::commusic_v1

    
    re -1  $270 is way too much to pay. Kurlan's..I'm not surprised.
    
    Mike D

       
    > positioned against Midiverb II market...
    
    ...and apparently not particularly well. 60 vs 99 programs, mostly
    reverb vs. reverb, chorus, flange, delay. $270 vs. $269.
    
    Anyone read the "First Reflection" article on the Alesis Quardavoib?
    Sounds like a way cool unit....
    
    Edd

    Actually, the R100 has 60 presets and 40 user-settable settings, 16 bit
    D/A, blah blah blah ... 

    Not a bad little box, but I'll take my MIDIverb II.  And yes, the
    Quadraverb smokes.  Still shaking out s/w bugs, though (U'll C it in
    March is my guess). 

-b

The R100 takes 16-bit samples, but it only does this at a 31.25kHz rate,
giving a frequency range of 20 Hz to 12 kHz.  (this according to the spec
sheet)    It is mono in, stereo out.  Each program has exactly 4 editable
parameters, and the wet/dry ratio is always one of them.  As far as I could
tell, you can *not* change parameters from MIDI.  All you can do is select one
of the programs.  More knobs than a MicroVerb, though.

There is a rack-mount kit (the RK100) that will hold two of them.

The 16-bit samples at 31.25kHz is shared by the SPX50D special effects
processor, which is also part of the "personal studio" line.  The SPX900 and
SPX1000, by comparison, sample at 44.1 kHz.  (at only 4 times the price)

Boy, I sure can sound knowledgable with this Yamaha audio equipment catalog
in front of me.

    
    
      You can get em at Sam Ash Edison, N.J. for about $139.......
    					rich coccoli 
    
    

    
    With the Sam Ash price in the back of my head, I went for another look
    and a listen to the R100.
    
    First, the thing does not have 100 programs, it has 60.  It can *map*
    those 60 programs to 100 midi program numbers.  All 60 programs are
    programmbale with three parameters.  As mentioned in an earlier reply,
    parameter #4 is always the wet/dry balance.  
    
    The parameters vary from group to group.  You have 10 reverbs with
    initial delay, reverb time and high frequency rolloff parameters. 
    There are 10 delay/reverb combos, with delay time, feedback and reverb
    time parameters.  There are 10 early reflection programs with delay,
    room size and liveness parameters. There are 10 early reflection with
    feedback programs, with delay time, room size and feedback parameters.
    There are 10 stereo echo programs and 10 L/R delay programs, these use
    left delay, right delay and feedback parameters.  
    
    All 60 can be reprogrammed from the factory settings.  The factory
    settings are printed on the top of the unit for reference.  Despite the
    labeling, the last two groups of 10 programs can be used
    interchangeably.  I set up patch #41 the smae as patch #51 and they
    sounded identical, as you might expect since they share the same
    parameters.
    
    Since there are no modulation parameters, this unit will not flange and
    the chorus effects have no real timbral animation.  It can do comb
    filtering, though.  So it is not as much of a multi-effect box as a
    MidiVerb II.  It's more like a hot-rodded MicroVerb that can do fancy
    delay stuff.  Noticeably absent: reverse reverb.  
    
    One cool feature is that when you key in a change in the effect, the
    two-digit LED blinks until you hit the "recall" button.  This way, you
    can jump between non-adjacent program settings in real time without
    glitching, i.e. it doesn't have to step through the programs in
    between.  It's a simple way to avoid a random-access keypad.
    
    The input is mono, the out stereo only (no summed output).  There is a
    power switch (yeah!) and a bypass on the front panel, plus a footswitch
    jack for bypass on the rear.  MIDI is skeletal, it responds to program
    changes only and since the salesman couldn't find a manual, I didn't
    see how to select channels (maybe it's omni on only????).  The only
    knob is an input gain control, and the usual signal and clip LEDs are
    supported.  Power is by a supplied 12V wall bug.  Memory backup is the
    now ubiquitous curse of the five-year lithium cell.  Overall size is
    same width as an FB-01, but only half as deep.  Two units may be
    mounted on an RK-100 rack adaptor.
    
    Final assessment:  For under $150 including the rack adaptor, it's a
    good alternative to the Alesis MicroVerb.  Against the more expensive
    MidiVerb II, you can program delay times (good if you need it) but you
    miss out on the nice chorus and flange stuff, so it basically comes
    down to price.  If $150 is all you can afford, reverb is really what
    you need, and you can't find a second hand MidiVerb II  8^)  8^)  8^)
    then this is a box worth having.
    
    							Brian
    

    Not having chorus+reverb doesn't bother me.  Isn't chorus an effect you
    would use on a single instrument, while reverb you would apply to
    everything together during mixdown?  (Assuming you were going for
    realistic spatial effects.)  So you wouldn't be using chorus and
    reverb at the same time anyway.

    
    Re: .7
    
    No, what I meant was that although the Yamaha promo says it does
    "chorus" it's not a *modulated* chorus, as there is no pitch shift
    involved.  It's really just a comb filter effect.  
    
    							Brian