The korg drv-1000, a dream reverb unit...

[heavenorlasvegas]

Here is a list of reverb machines i have owned:

Alesis Quadraverb
Alesis Midiverb
yamaha R1000
zoom studio 1201
yamaha SPX 90
Yamaha FX900
LEXICON Alex
LEXICON Reflex
lexicon PCM 80
roland srv 2000
a few digitech machines
and a few more i'm forgetting ...

my question is this...is there another reverb device that has as rich as organic character as the drv-1000? the folks at korg really hit a home run with this gadget. i suggest if you are in the market for a great rack reverb you give this one a shot...

roger

[Arpangel]

I think it all depends on what type of music you make, and how you use these things.
I’ve heard people demonstrate reverb units, and I’ve hated them, but when I’ve tried them myself, I like them, I always use reverbs the same way, I can make anything fit my music, and the verb's will always sound like me, because of how I set them.
I have had favourite ones though, that are easier to get the results I’m looking for, chronologically, I’ve owned these,

Alesis Midiverb 11 permanently set to patch 45 "Bloom"
Lexicon LXP1 mostly used for long hall, but the delays are really special.
Eventide H3000 the box, for modulated canyons, no competition.
Lexicon 224 simply the best I’ve owned, for my music, but no longer with me, due to reliability.
Now I still have my Midiverb 11, I also have a Strymon Big Sky, very ethereal, a UAD Golden, which sort of in a vague way replaces my 224, and a Behringer FX2000, which is left on Cathedral.
That’s it, I’ll check out this Korg, but I think I’m OK for verbs right now.

[James Perrett]

I seem to remember checking out the DRV1000 when it was new and I was looking for a digital reverb. I don't remember being very impressed and ended up buying a the Ibanez SDR-1000+ (which was actually made by Sony).

[adamburgess]

For some reason, I ended up with a Yamaha EMP100 half rack thing years and years ago, and, there was something about that, that was lovely. Versatile and quite… 'sparkly', if nostalgia serves!

Wonder where it went!

[Arpangel]

For some reason, I ended up with a Yamaha EMP100 half rack thing years and years ago, and, there was something about that, that was lovely. Versatile and quite… 'sparkly', if nostalgia serves!

Wonder where it went!

You sir, are a very perceptive and wise man, the EMP100 featured on many of our tracks in the 90’s, we got it because it was cheap, it has the "something" that you talk about, plus, some crazy algorithms, like reverb before delay pitch and chorus, these half-rack units, along with my SE50 and Zoom 9030, are still worth looking out for, it was a golden time for hardware effects.

[Tomás Mulcahy]

I seem to remember checking out the DRV1000 when it was new and I was looking for a digital reverb. I don't remember being very impressed and ended up buying a the Ibanez SDR-1000+ (which was actually made by Sony).

Funny you bring it up, I was gonna say Sony too. We had the DPSV-77 along with Rev7, Quadraverb, LXP15ii, Alex and the O2R. The Sony was the nicest sounding reverb and the easiest to sit in a mix.

[nathanscribe]

I've had a DRV-1000 for years and 'rich and organic' isn't exactly how I'd put it, but hey. It does have its character, and I like the limitations of the '8 presets, 8 reverb lengths' arrangement. Mine sees a lot of use on drums.

My other two favourites are a Dynacord DRP16 with even less control, and a Vermona spring reverb with (checks notes) *even* even less control, but they're perfect for what they do. Got a Lexicon MPX1 that hardly gets switched on these days, and a Yamaha DMP-11 that has the SPX-90 reverbs – haven't used those in anger yet, it's mostly about the Symphonic preset.

Horses for courses though. I don't have much need of 'better' reverbs. You find your thing, and it's fine, whatever that is.

[ajay_m]

I used to own a drv2000 as opposed to the drv1000 and it wasn't very good, with an unpleasant metallic ringing on all presets.

[Arpangel]

I seem to remember checking out the DRV1000 when it was new and I was looking for a digital reverb. I don't remember being very impressed and ended up buying a the Ibanez SDR-1000+ (which was actually made by Sony).

Funny you bring it up, I was gonna say Sony too. We had the DPSV-77 along with Rev7, Quadraverb, LXP15ii, Alex and the O2R. The Sony was the nicest sounding reverb and the easiest to sit in a mix.

LXP15? ugh.
I had one for two days, it drove me crazy, not particularly good, and an exasperating operating system, nothing good to say about it.

[Tomás Mulcahy]

This was the mark ii so maybe a different user experience? I really liked it, easy to use and I had 4 pots in a 1U rack underneath lined up with the display. Best thing was continuously varying delay time like analogue. It sounded better than the Alex for reverb. That tended to ring a bit. Both machines had ground hum issues though. I made IRs of my favourite LXP15ii settings before I sold it years ago, and I still use them.

Paul White said "The operating system is a doddle, and for most routine applications you won't even need to open the manual." I agree
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/lexicon-lxp15-ii

[WWjmp]

I have the SRV2000 and that was nice enough, it hasn't been in use for quite awhile mainly due to its size (too deep for the live keys rack). I remember liking it back in the day but how it would stack up sonically today is a good question. I keep meaning to incorporate it somewhere in some setup but never get around to it.

A couple Digitech DSP256 reverb/multifx units that weren't the cleanest devices, but were very simple to use and edit and sounded good enough for guitar work back when they were in use. I really liked them for bass and keys too, I had 4 of them at one time. But they've been dead a long time now, probably just the funky battery setup gone bad. More recently Lexicon and TC Electronic lower budget reverbs that sound good enough for what I use them for - one is on a keyboard setup for live use, the other on the headphone monitor for vocal recording (normally doesn't get recorded though, just to give the singer some reverb).

When deciding to get a dedicated reverb for recording purposes I tried out a couple higher-ish end units, I forget which ones now, a Lexicon something but ultimately I opted for the Bricasti M7 it just sounds sweet and does everything a reverb needs to do. I find I do alot less fumbling around with all sorts of reverb plug-ins on various tracks, when one or two instances of M7 brings the tracks together in a nice way. Less reverb use all-around, cleaner mixes, and better reverb sound wherever it is used. I'm sure the Lexicon would've been nice too, but the M7 was the way to go for me at least. My rationale was to get the best I could get and be done with it, have one for the rest of my recording days without having to continually upgrade and then justify each new unit to my wife when what we 'really' need is a kitchen upgrade.

[Arpangel]

When deciding to get a dedicated reverb for recording purposes I tried out a couple higher-ish end units, I forget which ones now, a Lexicon something but ultimately I opted for the Bricasti M7 it just sounds sweet and does everything a reverb needs to do. I find I do alot less fumbling around with all sorts of reverb plug-ins on various tracks, when one or two instances of M7 brings the tracks together in a nice way. Less reverb use all-around, cleaner mixes, and better reverb sound wherever it is used. I'm sure the Lexicon would've been nice too, but the M7 was the way to go for me at least. My rationale was to get the best I could get and be done with it, have one for the rest of my recording days without having to continually upgrade and then justify each new unit to my wife when what we 'really' need is a kitchen upgrade.

Bricasti? I’ve heard a lot about them, good and bad, never used one, they don’t pop up very often, I don’t know anyone that has one.
Strange world, this reverb situation, and price can be irrelevant sometimes, there are loads of units out there that just don’t have it, you listen and they aren’t realistic spaces, and they aren’t nicely "weird" they just sound boring.
If I had to choose reverbs that covered everything, I’d take a Lexicon PCM60, Lexicon LXP1 and a Behringer FX2000.
I only had one hardware reverb up to four years ago, and that was a Lexicon 224 it was beyond, but totally unreliable, in for repair all the time.
Now I use a Strymon Big Sky, and the Behringer, that’s it.

[Bob Bickerton]

I know it’s something of a wind up to suggest this Arpy, but as it turns out I use a UAD Lexicon 224 emulation more often than not in the box (without the hardware hassles). It is my go to reverb.

UAD has released a stereo pedal version in the Universal Audio UAFX Golden Reverberator Pedal and if it’s as good as the plug in it would have to be a contender for your setup.

Bob

[ken long]

Agreed, Bob. Love the Lexicon stuff and I own a PCM60 (which I will never part with) but the Native bundle is so close I tend to use it a lot when I need more control.