That Dystopia preset was LEGIT!!! And great playing bro. So many cool sounds. Appreciated the synth take on this pedal. Interested if you share your custom sound creations (yep...preset and tweak junkie... not a sound creator per se). Brilliant deep dive.
@@mark35mi thanks Mark! This was kind of a tough one because there's so much to cover… I always worry about doing long videos like this. Thank goodness for chapter markers. 😂
@@ToddPage1987 so glad it was helpful Todd! Obviously it's a balancing act, especially with a long video like this - but I'd rather give more than enough info and chapter marks so people can jump around and get what they want!
I love the Mercury X, I've been pairing it with the 3rd Wave - I find it sounds amazing with binaural patches, which the 3rd Wave excels at. When you were talking about switching the OB-X8 from pan to mono, I wondered if you'd tried experimenting with the Pan Width (full vs half vs quarter) parameter on the OB-X8? I find sometimes less is more especially if the effect it's running into is doing some stereo processing of its own -- some of the sounds on the OB-X8 ping pong too much by default for my liking. Also not sure if you noticed but the lights over the foot switches are pressable buttons, I find it a little faster when using hands.
@@AudioLomtik yes indeed, all great points - and the 3rd Wave is a MONSTER synth! As for the OB-X8 panning, I never use patches like that in a real world situation - I find random panning distracting in a mix. I used that patch just as an example of a stereo source for the sake of demo'ing the pedal. The X8 sounds glorious though in double mode!
Thanks, Jim. I'd definitely be interested in seeing and usng some of your patches. You could share 3 or so on their free patch exchange (one or two useful and one or two weird) as teasers. I upgraded from the Mercury 7 because I love the sound of their basic algorithms - however, they tend to be bright (maybe that helps guitarists more but synths can already have loads of high frequencies?). Being able to control and filter the beautiful Ultraplate and Cathedra settings was a major draw for the upgrade. Add in the 78 Hall and Prism, plus the 78 Chorus modulation and the Diffusion setting and, well, there's a reason this is the only reverb pedal I have now. I think the core reverbs are extremely well-design because they seem designed to tweak since they hold up so well and go so many amazing places when you do. That, plus I'm ALSO head over heels in love with using the Cinematic Rooms Pro plugin by Liquidsonics! I rarely turn elsewhere for reverb these days between the Mercury X and CRP, except maybe Blackhole Immersive or Supermassive if doing crazy things with a different sound than the Mercury X Gravity (which can also be pretty crazy). The mix knob design being non-linear is a conscious decision of theirs and is aimed at guitarists. preEdittor v2 for the win (though it has some minor usability issues). It's standard on their pedals with a mix knob, I believe. It was so on the Mercury 7 and is so on the Polymoon. You get used to the non-linear action, but you never love it. I find it more of a problem on the pre-delay than the mix knob. The gate issue is the only thing that annoys me as a non-guitarist because it's a feature not just a function that I'm losing, but, then, I rarely ever gate my reverb, so it doesn't rise to anything major in my mind. Plus it's easy to gate externally - I use the StandardGate plugin.
@@cfs thanks for all the great thoughts - we have a lot in common when it comes to these fantastic reverbs! 😁👊🏻 And yeah, Cinematic Rooms is fantastic. That, Tai Chi, and HD Cart are three of my favorite plug-ins of the last few years. HD Cart finally got me to sell my Lexicon 300, which is saying something!
Thanks jim for that honest review. Fair enough and if they are smart they thank you also and just update the firmware which could be easily done to fix most of that problems. Then it might be really competitive. So far is stay with my specular tempus and eventitde h90…lets see what the future holds for that mercury. Good luck for arcade orchestra hope to see it live soon.
It really is fantastic and can create some incredible soundscapes that you can't get with any other reverb pedal. It's a great complement to the Tempus and definitely a keeper! The only real issue at the moment is the gated algorithm - the rest of my "complaints" are very minor in the grand scheme of things, and I hope it was clear that my initial impressions about some of the reverb algorithms just needed more time to wrap my head around. It's really worth checking out! As always, thank you for the kind words ❤️
@@Music_Ram hey hey! I've used Sony V6's for over 30 years now - I still have my original pair from high school (I'm wearing those in the video), among a few spare sets. I've tried others and keep coming back to the Sonys. They are bright and extremely detailed, which I like. They're great for travel too since they fold up. Sadly they're not made anymore, but the 7506 are similar.
@@JimDaneker After buying and returning different headphones, I think I've found my all-time favorite-I just got them! Thanks again for your advice. I'm curious, what do you think of the Sony CD900ST as a second pair? Thanks!🙏
@@nicolausala they're both fantastic. It probably comes down to whether you need reverb or not, because MercuryX can do both delays (although more basic) AND reverb, and there are all kinds of ways to make them interact ;-)
@@JimDaneker I think reverb is beautiful with poly synths and samplers, while delay is something that u can put anywhere. LVX also has reverb patch... I know I will have both at some point ...can't decide which first lol
I have the Polymoon and some user built an app to control it - these pedals are as complex as the old rackmount stuff and NEED an app to control them. Even with the added real estate of the Mercury and LVX - the menu diving seems tedious.
@@BlackMan614 they've done as good a job as can be expected with building an interface that works in pedal form, but yeah, you are absolutely right… there's a TON of stuff in here so that app is a godsend, and it works great!
It isn't tedious. It's actually fine - you get to learn it and use it. It's pretty fast, actually, once you do. It takes hours of use to learn it, so it's less of a pick up and use kind of pedal to get the most out of it. However, prEditor v2 still makes a substantial positive difference, especially for people using it in a "studio" setting (as I am).
@@cfs I don't own one, so I won't comment. I will say the Polymoon is unusable without the 3rd party editor and don't get me started on ChaseBliss pedals and their DIP switches and botched MIDI implementation making an editor not even possible. Apparently, I am not the only one with issues regarding the Meris pedals: ua-cam.com/video/Rc7E401G0T4/v-deo.html
@@BlackMan614 The Polymoon is quite easy to use via MIDI (which is how I use it, along with the Mercury X now). If I was a guitarist I'd have sprung for the overlay for it.
Beautiful explorations. Thank you. And fair critiques. Thank you for your kind words. 🙏🙏🙏
Thank YOU @MerisUs for such a fantastic and beautiful box of reverb goodness! The more I dig, the more gold I find... and I'm just getting started!
Love my Meris Pedals, very unique great walkthrough as always pal! 28:18 ! that is seriously lush! and very wide!
@@scottmcauleysounds thank ya brother. It really is fantastic!
Been waiting for this video from you. 10 seconds in and I’m already excited
@@JimCardoza hope it doesn't disappoint - there's a lot to dig through in this one!
@@JimDaneker oh I know, I’ve had both the LV X and the mercury X since they were released and have use them on all of my synth recordings as well
That Dystopia preset was LEGIT!!! And great playing bro. So many cool sounds. Appreciated the synth take on this pedal. Interested if you share your custom sound creations (yep...preset and tweak junkie... not a sound creator per se). Brilliant deep dive.
@@mark35mi thanks Mark! This was kind of a tough one because there's so much to cover… I always worry about doing long videos like this. Thank goodness for chapter markers. 😂
Hard to find good reviews with deep dives into pedals for synth - so thanks for putting the time into this. Very helpful!
@@ToddPage1987 so glad it was helpful Todd! Obviously it's a balancing act, especially with a long video like this - but I'd rather give more than enough info and chapter marks so people can jump around and get what they want!
@@JimDaneker yeah chapter markers are SO helpful - love it when someone takes the time to do that - thank you!
I love the Mercury X, I've been pairing it with the 3rd Wave - I find it sounds amazing with binaural patches, which the 3rd Wave excels at. When you were talking about switching the OB-X8 from pan to mono, I wondered if you'd tried experimenting with the Pan Width (full vs half vs quarter) parameter on the OB-X8? I find sometimes less is more especially if the effect it's running into is doing some stereo processing of its own -- some of the sounds on the OB-X8 ping pong too much by default for my liking. Also not sure if you noticed but the lights over the foot switches are pressable buttons, I find it a little faster when using hands.
@@AudioLomtik yes indeed, all great points - and the 3rd Wave is a MONSTER synth! As for the OB-X8 panning, I never use patches like that in a real world situation - I find random panning distracting in a mix. I used that patch just as an example of a stereo source for the sake of demo'ing the pedal. The X8 sounds glorious though in double mode!
Thanks, Jim. I'd definitely be interested in seeing and usng some of your patches. You could share 3 or so on their free patch exchange (one or two useful and one or two weird) as teasers.
I upgraded from the Mercury 7 because I love the sound of their basic algorithms - however, they tend to be bright (maybe that helps guitarists more but synths can already have loads of high frequencies?). Being able to control and filter the beautiful Ultraplate and Cathedra settings was a major draw for the upgrade. Add in the 78 Hall and Prism, plus the 78 Chorus modulation and the Diffusion setting and, well, there's a reason this is the only reverb pedal I have now. I think the core reverbs are extremely well-design because they seem designed to tweak since they hold up so well and go so many amazing places when you do.
That, plus I'm ALSO head over heels in love with using the Cinematic Rooms Pro plugin by Liquidsonics! I rarely turn elsewhere for reverb these days between the Mercury X and CRP, except maybe Blackhole Immersive or Supermassive if doing crazy things with a different sound than the Mercury X Gravity (which can also be pretty crazy).
The mix knob design being non-linear is a conscious decision of theirs and is aimed at guitarists. preEdittor v2 for the win (though it has some minor usability issues). It's standard on their pedals with a mix knob, I believe. It was so on the Mercury 7 and is so on the Polymoon. You get used to the non-linear action, but you never love it. I find it more of a problem on the pre-delay than the mix knob. The gate issue is the only thing that annoys me as a non-guitarist because it's a feature not just a function that I'm losing, but, then, I rarely ever gate my reverb, so it doesn't rise to anything major in my mind. Plus it's easy to gate externally - I use the StandardGate plugin.
@@cfs thanks for all the great thoughts - we have a lot in common when it comes to these fantastic reverbs! 😁👊🏻
And yeah, Cinematic Rooms is fantastic. That, Tai Chi, and HD Cart are three of my favorite plug-ins of the last few years. HD Cart finally got me to sell my Lexicon 300, which is saying something!
Any chance of you making these available for purchase?
Yep, working on it. Thanks for asking!
Thanks jim for that honest review. Fair enough and if they are smart they thank you also and just update the firmware which could be easily done to fix most of that problems. Then it might be really competitive. So far is stay with my specular tempus and eventitde h90…lets see what the future holds for that mercury. Good luck for arcade orchestra hope to see it live soon.
It really is fantastic and can create some incredible soundscapes that you can't get with any other reverb pedal. It's a great complement to the Tempus and definitely a keeper! The only real issue at the moment is the gated algorithm - the rest of my "complaints" are very minor in the grand scheme of things, and I hope it was clear that my initial impressions about some of the reverb algorithms just needed more time to wrap my head around. It's really worth checking out!
As always, thank you for the kind words ❤️
You Jimbo, are a nerd…. However, you are an awesome, talented nerd! You’re welcome. ✌🏼
@@conservativeokie 😂😂😂
Hi Jim! What headphones do you use? Do you have any recommendations for travel?
@@Music_Ram hey hey! I've used Sony V6's for over 30 years now - I still have my original pair from high school (I'm wearing those in the video), among a few spare sets. I've tried others and keep coming back to the Sonys. They are bright and extremely detailed, which I like. They're great for travel too since they fold up. Sadly they're not made anymore, but the 7506 are similar.
@@JimDaneker I just ordered them right away, and I’m excited! Thank you!
@@Music_Ram you're welcome!
@@JimDaneker After buying and returning different headphones, I think I've found my all-time favorite-I just got them! Thanks again for your advice. I'm curious, what do you think of the Sony CD900ST as a second pair? Thanks!🙏
@@Music_Ram you're welcome! I've never heard the other Sonys, sorry - just the V6 & 7506.
can't decide between lvx and mercury x...
@@nicolausala they're both fantastic. It probably comes down to whether you need reverb or not, because MercuryX can do both delays (although more basic) AND reverb, and there are all kinds of ways to make them interact ;-)
@@JimDaneker I think reverb is beautiful with poly synths and samplers, while delay is something that u can put anywhere. LVX also has reverb patch... I know I will have both at some point ...can't decide which first lol
I have the Polymoon and some user built an app to control it - these pedals are as complex as the old rackmount stuff and NEED an app to control them. Even with the added real estate of the Mercury and LVX - the menu diving seems tedious.
@@BlackMan614 they've done as good a job as can be expected with building an interface that works in pedal form, but yeah, you are absolutely right… there's a TON of stuff in here so that app is a godsend, and it works great!
It isn't tedious. It's actually fine - you get to learn it and use it. It's pretty fast, actually, once you do. It takes hours of use to learn it, so it's less of a pick up and use kind of pedal to get the most out of it. However, prEditor v2 still makes a substantial positive difference, especially for people using it in a "studio" setting (as I am).
@@cfs I don't own one, so I won't comment. I will say the Polymoon is unusable without the 3rd party editor and don't get me started on ChaseBliss pedals and their DIP switches and botched MIDI implementation making an editor not even possible.
Apparently, I am not the only one with issues regarding the Meris pedals: ua-cam.com/video/Rc7E401G0T4/v-deo.html
@@BlackMan614 The Polymoon is quite easy to use via MIDI (which is how I use it, along with the Mercury X now). If I was a guitarist I'd have sprung for the overlay for it.
@@cfs Do you even bother reading my posts?? I use the Polymoon with the MIDI editor. Wow... read. It helps. I'm done here.