Thank you very much for the compare-o. I'm a delay snob that's been through dozens of delays in most every format there is. Impressions: - Meris' DDL is among the prettiest I've ever heard and a possible contender against my old favorite DDL the AnalogSystems RS-290/390. - Neither of these pedals' BBD mode is particularly good and the Meris' is anemic. - Boss's tape mode sounds blah, while the Meris' is horribly distorted and murky compared to any real tape delay working as it should. The BOSS sounds murky w/ those pickups in all 3 modes. I don't really care for the sound of the DM-101 either, as BBD pedals can often be tough to make sound good beyond their tendency to deliver thick&dirty 'goo'. (The DeluxeMemoryMan being one exception). imho a BBD unit is best paired with digital synths and drums in a minimal arrangement; for adding midrange action and/or "warmth" and for smoothing harsh digi-drums. At this point I'm leaning towards trying the Empress Echosystem and already sold on a DP Boonar. I'm currently into a SA Nemesis as my main 'board's stereo delay, which is a very good bred&butter unit except that it has a busted encoder ,grrr.... (also have an o.g. RE-301, '90s big-box DMM, carboncopy, JR clockwork for slap & vibrato, Movall FallingStar (Belton-based slap & oscillation) plus 2 modular synth BBDs and DIY) . Cheers and thx again :)
I had an Echosystem and now have the LVX, and while I don’t regret getting the LVX as I love how deep and experimental it is, I do still miss the Empress, but sadly I couldn’t afford to keep both. It’s a stunning delay, you won’t regret it
Meris sounds awesome. Maybe dial the modulation back just so we can hear a nice clean delay, but still sounds nice and wide I recommend basically erasing all of the presets in the merits and starting from scratch. That’s what I did. You can always save them and load them later.
So the answer is no, with emphasis on the basic (maybe if you don't use the modulation, but what's the point, you are talking about it, but it's NOT a working condition tape), boss delay are better for that, for example, the tape sounds like a very broken one. any way I own a Boss GT1000 core which covers my BASIC delay/reverb needs, THE ONLY unit today that if you take the time for tweeking, can replace all delay units, is the H90 (and much more), you can do a lot with H9, but no Bouquet Delay, Head Space and Wormhole (it's under reverb, but...). Don't get me wrong it's a great unit. but not for basic delays. UX comment - if I need lots of basic delay, and I need to play around with params to get BASIC sound, than the unit is not made for basic.
I don’t know if it’s cuz you played different voicings, but anoyingly the Boss sounded warmer and fuller. Maybe it’s just the notes played. I’m still buying the LVX to try it. Lol
I wonder what is the longest delay time available on this thing? Manufactures always skimps on these things in the specs, and think it's totally uninteresting and of no or little merit. I do. As I've understood it, it has max some 5 seconds plus in a limited freq range (or sampling) mode. Outside of that, it seems to have all the bells and whistles, and they have thrown in the kitchen sink too. Say, not too many peope are interested in long ambient delays these days, like "frippertronics" for 10 seconds plus and more. On Strymons TimeLine you could get your way around it to produce 20 seconds delay, but it was never stated in any manual or specs anywhere. You had to do cunning tricks. At that price it's definitely a deal breaker for me. No matter how posh and good it sounds. This one still sounds a bit like the Mercury 7 Meris. A reverb that had a "niched" sound from Lexicons, and sounded great, but such a specialized and useful only for certain scenarios. Soundscapes, atmospherics and totally unnatural sounds. Impressive as such initially, but grating and listening fatigueing in the long run, due to lack of any natural sounding reverbs.Or delays...
Wow, the BOSS sounds better. It’s a little more musical and definitely more usable. I was just about to pull the trigger on another LVX. I returned the first one since it had really bad phasing issues in mono, but apparently they fixed that in v1.1. Anyway, I’ll pass based on this video. Thanks for saving me some money!
Can I say I prefer the Boss here? Way more clear and balanced, percussive and not "on the way" while you play. In a blind test I could tell a digital from a tape or analog in any Boss emulation. Maybe you put too much saturation and mod in all those Meris presets? I don't know, it's just my own taste. I love both pedals for different uses, and you did a cool, interesting comparison. Thank you!
That is a really good point! and I'm not kidding. I think what I was trying to say was 'Is the LVX only good for wacky, ambient stuff or can it do simple meat and potatoes types of sounds'. Sorry!
Amazing review! Thanks for that! Do you still have the FTT Future Factory? I have one and I'm on the fence about selling it to but a LVX. How do you compare the basic digital delay tone between them and the modulation? Thanks!
i am still struggling and a bit "afraid" of the enormous option the meris delivers. Because of the type of music we are playing i need a programmable delay pedal with the option to exactly dial the bpm because tapping in the delay time before or during a song precisely is nearly impossible. When it comes to delay,reverb and mod i am pretty old school and i love the vintage originals and i do know what they sound like. And thats basically all i need, great analog,tape and digital delay. Does the meris offer a variety of analog, tape ect delay presets which might represent for ex. a memory man or a echorec ( from where i might start my fine tuning) or is it in every case up to the user to create whatever he likes? whats your opinion today after a few months of testing and tuning? thank you! ps : can you think of an alternative besides the timeline and the free the tone
Interesting question. There are a lot of delays out there, but in my opinion if you want relatively simple with presets then the Boss DD-200 is a really good bet. It has emulations of all the standard delay types, plenty of presets and not too many controls. When I put it up against a few other delays recently it sounded very good, way above its price point.
I was planning to get a Hologram Microcosm, but I’ve got my reverb covered with a Strymon BigSky. So now I’m getting an LVX, but it has reverb too. Am I going in the wrong direction here? I really want a flagship delay pedal and am now thinking I should go for the Strymon Timeline.
It all depends on how you like to work and what kind of music you are doing. If you want a delay utility tool then the timeline is it - (relatively) simple to use and delay types segregated. The LVX is more of a delay experimentation workstation that can do anything, but it takes time to dial in. There are other utility delays out there - e.g. empress, source audio and even boss dd-200/500...and plenty more.
I don't understand why they didn't put in some basic delay presets for guitar players, like analog, tape, perhaps some Space Echo and Echorec. This is like buying a website and getting a copy of the HTML spec. That might work for the synthesizer crowd, not so much for rock guitar players. None of the presets it comes with sound like they were meant for guitar, the way those in the Boss are.
Nothing special - just put the stereo fx loop on the grid and connected stereo cables. I may have checked the levels to ensure unity gain as I seem to remember there were some issues with gain on the QC.
I've just listened back and I'm not sure if I can hear it. I can hear a little glitch from my wireless system. Could also be that my signal was a bit too hot for my audio interface on the bass notes. It's not from the LVX.
Great video, thanks. I’m wondering how good LVX is at covering “fake reverb” type effects? I don’t have a Timeline any more, but I recall that one of the preset patches (I think it may have been 12A) was a very ambient “smeared” delay, that sounded more like reverb.
Thanks, glad you liked it. The LVX can do monster reverb sounds! Some of the presets are incredible in terms of giant ambient reverbs. I haven't tried dialling in something more basic, but it definitely does reverb. Check out my other video on the LVX compared to the Free the Tone Future Factory - it gets a bit more like reverb in that video where I try out some diffusion settings.
Seemed to be a lot more saturation with the Meris ? I have the DD500 and find it great for most of my needs. Not sure I could justify spending the money on the Meris.
Yes, good point I put a bit too much in there maybe. I had the DD500, but sold it - I couldn't get on with the menu system. The Meris has a better UI, but not perfect. The Quad Cortex is the best UI out there in my opinion.
Was thinking of getting one to use with a quad cortex as well. How is the meris VS stock delays in the QC? Apples to apples that is, tape on QC vs tape on Meris etc
The QC's delays are very good, but have nowhere near the features of the LVX. In this video I have done a demo of Timmons style dual delays with the QC ua-cam.com/video/jXq5k4_Y70M/v-deo.html and in this video I've done a detailed comparison of analog delays on the QC (where the QC is okay, but not fantastic) ua-cam.com/video/ypG-ClcehfY/v-deo.html
My exact question. I love the Timeline. So now I press play.
I was the sixth person in the world that wanted to see the knob tweaking section😊very helpful
Welcome fellow nerd! Maybe this is not the best strategy for me to get to a million subscribers?
Thanks a lot for making an entire video about my exact questions!
Glad you liked it. I hope it helped!
i love the LVX sound !
Thank you very much for the compare-o. I'm a delay snob that's been through dozens of delays in most every format there is.
Impressions:
- Meris' DDL is among the prettiest I've ever heard and a possible contender against my old favorite DDL the AnalogSystems RS-290/390.
- Neither of these pedals' BBD mode is particularly good and the Meris' is anemic.
- Boss's tape mode sounds blah, while the Meris' is horribly distorted and murky compared to any real tape delay working as it should. The BOSS sounds murky w/ those pickups in all 3 modes. I don't really care for the sound of the DM-101 either, as BBD pedals can often be tough to make sound good beyond their tendency to deliver thick&dirty 'goo'. (The DeluxeMemoryMan being one exception). imho a BBD unit is best paired with digital synths and drums in a minimal arrangement; for adding midrange action and/or "warmth" and for smoothing harsh digi-drums.
At this point I'm leaning towards trying the Empress Echosystem and already sold on a DP Boonar. I'm currently into a SA Nemesis as my main 'board's stereo delay, which is a very good bred&butter unit except that it has a busted encoder ,grrr....
(also have an o.g. RE-301, '90s big-box DMM, carboncopy, JR clockwork for slap & vibrato, Movall FallingStar (Belton-based slap & oscillation) plus 2 modular synth BBDs and DIY) .
Cheers and thx again :)
Glad you liked it. Thank you for the insightful comment.
I had an Echosystem and now have the LVX, and while I don’t regret getting the LVX as I love how deep and experimental it is, I do still miss the Empress, but sadly I couldn’t afford to keep both. It’s a stunning delay, you won’t regret it
Meris sounds awesome. Maybe dial the modulation back just so we can hear a nice clean delay, but still sounds nice and wide I recommend basically erasing all of the presets in the merits and starting from scratch. That’s what I did. You can always save them and load them later.
Also. I always love some modulation. I was only saying that to try and compare it to the other delays a little better. 🙌
@@LoVeAmBiEnT Great point. Yes, the Meris does sound pretty good and it is sooo flexible!
So the answer is no, with emphasis on the basic (maybe if you don't use the modulation, but what's the point, you are talking about it, but it's NOT a working condition tape), boss delay are better for that, for example, the tape sounds like a very broken one. any way I own a Boss GT1000 core which covers my BASIC delay/reverb needs, THE ONLY unit today that if you take the time for tweeking, can replace all delay units, is the H90 (and much more), you can do a lot with H9, but no Bouquet Delay, Head Space and Wormhole (it's under reverb, but...). Don't get me wrong it's a great unit. but not for basic delays. UX comment - if I need lots of basic delay, and I need to play around with params to get BASIC sound, than the unit is not made for basic.
I don’t know if it’s cuz you played different voicings, but anoyingly the Boss sounded warmer and fuller. Maybe it’s just the notes played. I’m still buying the LVX to try it. Lol
Haha. We buy this stuff even if the reviews are bad! Seriously, the LVX is very flexible so if you want to make it clearer you can.
My thoughts entirely! Did you get the LVX in the end?
I wonder what is the longest delay time available on this thing? Manufactures always skimps on these things in the specs, and think it's totally uninteresting and of no or little merit. I do. As I've understood it, it has max some 5 seconds plus in a limited freq range (or sampling) mode. Outside of that, it seems to have all the bells and whistles, and they have thrown in the kitchen sink too. Say, not too many peope are interested in long ambient delays these days, like "frippertronics" for 10 seconds plus and more. On Strymons TimeLine you could get your way around it to produce 20 seconds delay, but it was never stated in any manual or specs anywhere. You had to do cunning tricks.
At that price it's definitely a deal breaker for me. No matter how posh and good it sounds. This one still sounds a bit like the Mercury 7 Meris. A reverb that had a "niched" sound from Lexicons, and sounded great, but such a specialized and useful only for certain scenarios. Soundscapes, atmospherics and totally unnatural sounds. Impressive as such initially, but grating and listening fatigueing in the long run, due to lack of any natural sounding reverbs.Or delays...
Wow, the BOSS sounds better. It’s a little more musical and definitely more usable.
I was just about to pull the trigger on another LVX. I returned the first one since it had really bad phasing issues in mono, but apparently they fixed that in v1.1. Anyway, I’ll pass based on this video. Thanks for saving me some money!
Good stuff, man. Thanks for making this!
Glad you liked it!
Can I say I prefer the Boss here? Way more clear and balanced, percussive and not "on the way" while you play. In a blind test I could tell a digital from a tape or analog in any Boss emulation. Maybe you put too much saturation and mod in all those Meris presets? I don't know, it's just my own taste. I love both pedals for different uses, and you did a cool, interesting comparison. Thank you!
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I have had a listen back and you are right - maybe I put too much saturation into the Meris on the analog delay preset.
Try using the filter and modulation in the feedback path only.
I couldn’t find any place where you answered the question posed by the video? Or in anyway you compared this to the timeline?
That is a really good point! and I'm not kidding. I think what I was trying to say was 'Is the LVX only good for wacky, ambient stuff or can it do simple meat and potatoes types of sounds'. Sorry!
Amazing review! Thanks for that!
Do you still have the FTT Future Factory? I have one and I'm on the fence about selling it to but a LVX. How do you compare the basic digital delay tone between them and the modulation?
Thanks!
Thanks, glad you liked it. I have still got the Future Factory. Perhaps I will sit down and compare them in detail, but haven't done it yet.
i am still struggling and a bit "afraid" of the enormous option the meris delivers. Because of the type of music we are playing i need a programmable delay pedal with the option to exactly dial the bpm because tapping in the delay time before or during a song precisely is nearly impossible. When it comes to delay,reverb and mod i am pretty old school and i love the vintage originals and i do know what they sound like. And thats basically all i need, great analog,tape and digital delay.
Does the meris offer a variety of analog, tape ect delay presets which might represent for ex. a memory man or a echorec ( from where i might start my fine tuning) or is it in every case up to the user to create whatever he likes?
whats your opinion today after a few months of testing and tuning?
thank you!
ps : can you think of an alternative besides the timeline and the free the tone
Interesting question. There are a lot of delays out there, but in my opinion if you want relatively simple with presets then the Boss DD-200 is a really good bet. It has emulations of all the standard delay types, plenty of presets and not too many controls. When I put it up against a few other delays recently it sounded very good, way above its price point.
I was planning to get a Hologram Microcosm, but I’ve got my reverb covered with a Strymon BigSky. So now I’m getting an LVX, but it has reverb too. Am I going in the wrong direction here? I really want a flagship delay pedal and am now thinking I should go for the Strymon Timeline.
It all depends on how you like to work and what kind of music you are doing. If you want a delay utility tool then the timeline is it - (relatively) simple to use and delay types segregated. The LVX is more of a delay experimentation workstation that can do anything, but it takes time to dial in. There are other utility delays out there - e.g. empress, source audio and even boss dd-200/500...and plenty more.
@user-zv7lm8uk7hwhat kind of power supply are you using?
I don't understand why they didn't put in some basic delay presets for guitar players, like analog, tape, perhaps some Space Echo and Echorec. This is like buying a website and getting a copy of the HTML spec. That might work for the synthesizer crowd, not so much for rock guitar players. None of the presets it comes with sound like they were meant for guitar, the way those in the Boss are.
That's a very good point. The presets are mostly way out there and demonstrate how far you can go, but not much that is subtle or usable every day.
How did you have the fx loop setting in your quad cortex?
Nothing special - just put the stereo fx loop on the grid and connected stereo cables. I may have checked the levels to ensure unity gain as I seem to remember there were some issues with gain on the QC.
what is the digital clipping noise during the tape delay section? is that from the pedals? happens with both the boss and the meris.
I've just listened back and I'm not sure if I can hear it. I can hear a little glitch from my wireless system. Could also be that my signal was a bit too hot for my audio interface on the bass notes. It's not from the LVX.
Great video, thanks. I’m wondering how good LVX is at covering “fake reverb” type effects? I don’t have a Timeline any more, but I recall that one of the preset patches (I think it may have been 12A) was a very ambient “smeared” delay, that sounded more like reverb.
Thanks, glad you liked it. The LVX can do monster reverb sounds! Some of the presets are incredible in terms of giant ambient reverbs. I haven't tried dialling in something more basic, but it definitely does reverb. Check out my other video on the LVX compared to the Free the Tone Future Factory - it gets a bit more like reverb in that video where I try out some diffusion settings.
@@GuitarStuffChannel cool , thanks :)
There's a setting from the polymoon in the LVX called dimension tat could make more of a reverb vibe
exaktl question i have
Seemed to be a lot more saturation with the Meris ? I have the DD500 and find it great for most of my needs. Not sure I could justify spending the money on the Meris.
Yes, good point I put a bit too much in there maybe. I had the DD500, but sold it - I couldn't get on with the menu system. The Meris has a better UI, but not perfect. The Quad Cortex is the best UI out there in my opinion.
I was thinking about it, if the LVX could replace my other delays, my reverb and modulation, and do it better, I could sell them and get it lol
Was thinking of getting one to use with a quad cortex as well. How is the meris VS stock delays in the QC? Apples to apples that is, tape on QC vs tape on Meris etc
The QC's delays are very good, but have nowhere near the features of the LVX. In this video I have done a demo of Timmons style dual delays with the QC ua-cam.com/video/jXq5k4_Y70M/v-deo.html and in this video I've done a detailed comparison of analog delays on the QC (where the QC is okay, but not fantastic) ua-cam.com/video/ypG-ClcehfY/v-deo.html
By the way, the more I use the QC the more I like it. The user interface is just so rapid and satisfying.
I liked the Boss better honestly
Does the LVX replace the Ottobit Jr?