Signal Processors

Eventually, pretty much everyone tries to recreate that old vintage valve guitar sound by using an old vintage valve, but Zoom have teamed tube technology with a powerful digital effects DSP to combine the best of old and new. Paul White finds out if the marriage works.

Digital delay tends to be taken very much for granted, but the majority of today's studio effects would be impossible without it. Paul White describes how to set up your own DDL effects from scratch.

The roles of the various signal processors and effects used in audio production are pretty well understood by most musicians, but it's not always obvious where they should be patched into the signal chain to give the best results.

Equalisation is one of the most powerful tools in your sonic toolkit and can be your greatest enemy or your greatest ally in the battle for the perfect sound. David Mellor gives advice on how and when best to use it.

The flood of quality effects units from Lexicon continues unabated. The Reflex takes the familiar Alex format, enhances its front panel editing, adds Lexicon's new Lexi II chip for improved sound quality, and tops it all off with comprehensive MIDI control facilities. Nick Magnus gets dynamic...

Paul White tries out Zoom's new super-budget, 'no frills' 1202 effects processor and finds it to be far more veratile than its appearance suggests...

Alesis' Midiverb was a big hit with cost-conscious studio musicians when it was first launched back in the mid '80s. Now Paul White assesses whether the Midiverb 4 is still first among sequels...

Exciters and enhancers are often mentioned in SOS, but what exactly do they do to your sound, and how do the various types differ? Paul White explains.

There's something very Tardis-like about a tiny box that contains simulations of large acoustic spaces, as Paul White discovers.

Korg's new pedal box features a novel pressure pad that lets you change performance parameters while you play. Paul White gets in his annual half-hour guitar practise session checking it out.

Paul White gets to grips with the latest budget equaliser from Ross, and offers a few handy tips on graphic equalisation.

Does ART's new model have anything new to offer in a market already well supplied with affordable compressors? Paul White finds out.

At a time when the prices of multi-effects units are, on average, lower than they've ever been, Boss have launched a processor which does... reverb! Derek Johnson looks at the back-to-basics RV70.

Paul White proves once again that nothing succeeds like excess. This time he patches in two compressors and a limiter to deal with a minor dynamic range problem...

Paul White unpacks a crate of Lite and discovers a processor that could brighten up your rack as well as your sound.

Lexicon's PCM70 reveb has been widely acclaimed as a modern classic, a ubiquitous component of pro studios worldwide. Paul White tests out its successor, the PCM80, falls deeply in love with it, then has to give it back!

Many musicians are familiar with the SPL Vitalizer. Now the company hope to win a space in the racks of studios world-wide with their new Optimizer. Dave Lockwood finds some unique features behind the company's unconventional approach to equaliser design.

Not only does this digital processor produce a wide range of convincing guitar tones, it can also double as a general-purpose studio effects unit. Paul White dusts off his axe and plugs in.

Using a Leslie no longer means dragging around a large wooden cabinet crammed with rotating speakers. More and more modern units and simulators are now available, and Nick Magnus dons his prog rock mantle to explain how to get the most from them.

Behringer claim that the Combinator can dramatically compress a signal without introducing any undesirable side-effects. Paul White checked it out on a mastering session.

Is this low-priced brother of the powerful TSR24 destined to find its way into the studio rack of the UK, or simply become part of the EC effects processor mountain? Derek Johnson finds out.