Leading the Pack - The Legendary Lexicon Effects Processor
There are some companies that are legendary in the recording industry. Manufacturers like Fender, Marshall and Zildjian have based their reputations on the quality of their gear and the knowledge that when you plug your guitar into a stack of Marshall cabinets or crash into a Zildjian cymbal you know you are going get the exact sound you were looking for. The same situation can be found on the other side of the recording studio glass, where engineers and producers turn to companies like JBL, Peavey and Lexicon. These top ranked companies have come to be known for their monitors, mixing boards and digital effects.
Lexicon has been the leader in manufacturing effects processors since 1971and was the first company to successfully market a digital effects processor. Since then, they have managed to find great success in everything from professional recording to home audio. It is almost impossible to listen to a recording made in the last ten years and not hear Lexicon gear. Lexicon effects processors are ubiquitous and provide top of the line performance for musicians and audio engineers alike.
There are so many different signal processors available from Lexicon that you could almost outfit an entire studio or touring rig solely with their equipment. For the recording musician, the MX300 and MX500 are rack mount Lexicon reverb units which can be applied to either a full stereo mix or individual tracks. While intended primarily to interface with your digital audio workstation, these units are also rugged enough to be taken on the road and used in a live environment, allowing you to sculpt the details of your sound to match your recorded efforts. The Lexicon PCM offers unparalleled control over room size, wave type and every other imaginable parameter for 17 different types of proprietary reverb. Up to four outputs allow you to easily “line out” to any stereo mixer through balanced or unbalanced TRS connectors, and the internal digital mixers offer the ability to route your sound into dual stereo, quad mono or standard stereo.
If you are in need of a more versatile multi effects processor, the Lexicon MPX is the obvious next step. With a dedicated reverb effects chip, this effects unit also contains a secondary signal processor that allows for up to four additional effects such as digital delay, chorus and EQ. As a studio effects processor, the MPX is well suited for handling bass effects, guitar effects or vocal processing. The benefit of using outboard equipment such as the Lexicon effects processor in the home studio is that it greatly reduces the strain on your computer, freeing up system resources that can be used by other parts of your DAW. Advances in USB connection speed and the proliferation of Firewire technology have allowed outboard gear to move into the realm of near zero latency. Modeling reverb is one of the most processor-intensive activities associated with digital recording, and the specialized functions of a digital effects processor make it an indispensable tool when working with complex reverb chains and multi-instrument reverbs.
Whether it’s a dedicated reverb effects processor or multi effects device that you are looking to add to your effects rack, Lexicon equipment should be near the top of your list. In the world of effects processors, Digitech - a sister company to Lexicon - has cornered the market on affordable gear with their lineup of effects and pedals, but the price difference between entry level and studio quality is shrinking every day. The small form factor of rack mount processor equipment combined with its ability to complement not only home recording setups but also professional mixing and mastering studios makes a Lexicon digital effects processor a compelling sonic building block.
