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Behringer REV2496 Modeling Reverb Price: $199 paid / $199 new Year: 2006 Specs The REV2496 is a pretty snazzy rackmount multieffects, down to the 'next-gen' panel design they've started to adopt (I don't care for the slant, but the hardware is great). Four endless rotary encoders, a large backlit LCD with contrast control (an order of magnitude brighter and clearer than my old Akai's LCD), a big fat preset knob and logical layout make operations easy. Half of the LCD shows what parameters are assigned to the rotary encoders, and where the 'knob' is currently. Response is fast and I have not noticed any software glitches yet. Has two engines that can run either dual-stereo (one through analog I/O, one through digital I/O), dual mono, or anything in between (10 routing configurations). Most reviews don't mention that even though AES/EBU isn't electrically compatible with SPDIF, you can set the AES/EBU jacks to SPDIF mode and use an XLR -> RCA cable to speak SPDIF to your sound card, giving you a dual stereo modeling reverb box for 200 bones. Sound: 4.5/5 It's a quiet unit, adding about 3db to the noise floor as measured by my Echo Layla interface. Reverbs are massive, especially the flagship V-Verb algorithm (a particularly thick and tasty reverb). You can tweak almost every aspect of early reflections, late reflections, etc. including mix, EQ and delay on each. Delays are smooth and accurate, and the chorus/flanger units are as expected - not thick analog, but still usable and can add good texture/quality to pads and keys. Quality: 4.5/5 Built nicely, with great 'push and turn' encoders. Connectors all solidly attached. Thank god this, like almost all recent gear, uses IEC jacks for power - no issues there. An inch or so deeper than you would expect. Usefulness/Playability: 4/5 It's a stereo multieffects send - both more focused and more versatile than an insert-style effects box, such as popular guitar units. This means that for maximum usefulness, you need a mixer with aux buses. If you don't, the unit will still be okay in insert mode (it passes through some dry signal in this mode) but that's not the true intention. The parameters are all very easy to edit, and it only takes a minute or to to set up a full patch. Overall Value: 4.5/5 I seriously dug through reviews and sites for a week before committing to one of these. I looked at Quadraverbs, Digitech boxes, even low-end stuff from Lexicon and related companies. I'm fully aware of Behringer's reputation, but I also own over $1k of Behringer gear that's never stopped working like the day I got it, so I've got confidence in their quality. The REV2496 looked like a really flexible box, and one of the requirements was dual-mono into single-stereo or dual-stereo operation, which it pulls off without a hitch. The interface is awesome, too - no more hunting through arcane hex menus or X/Y silkscreen charts to find out what to adjust. I strongly recommend checking out the REV2496 if you want a reasonably scalable, clean and easy to use multieffects box for use in a small studio setting. It's especially sweet if you have a spare digital I/O bus (with ASIO drivers) that you can use as an aux bus from Cubase or Logic. Edit: Be advised that this does have a Compressor unit, but that's the only 'insert-style' effects provided. There is no distortion/gain/preamp unit provided, which generally renders it unsuitable for a guitarist who wants a true 'before the amplifier' preamp. It'd be great in an effects loop, though. Jonny 290 fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Sep 26, 2006 |
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Sep 26, 2006 02:20
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 03:28 |
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