Used PCM70 or plug in?

[dkrz]

About to upgrade my reverb… How would some high end reverb plug ins compare in audio quality to a PCM70. I've never heard a PCM70 but I can get a used one fairly cheap. Any advise?

dk

[where02190]

What's "fairly cheap"?
PCM 70 is a great sounding reverb, and ain't noghitng like the real thing....

[Chompers]

PCM 70!!!!!!

[Stephen Bond]

Plug In!
I just sold all my rack outboard fx as I wasn't using them . With outboard you'll have the hassles of recall. Even recalling Program settings, non-stored knob values and physical patching was too much for me compared to the ease of a single double click to load a different song. Sure my PCM 80 sounded great, and didn't suck up my CPU like Waves Ren Verb but for me digital outboard is history. Analog boxes-now that's a different story!

[Will Russell]

FWIW- I just sold my 2 PCM70s and i use a PCM91 and Reverb 1. The PCM70s sound great but were way too noisy.

[dkrz]

Thanks guys,

Probably somewhere between 6 and 7 hundred.

Is this a no brainer or should I be considering demoing some high end verb plugs. I'm also considering the whole OS 10 PT 6 thing and all. It might not be the right time to be buying LE 5.x / OS 9 only compatible software right now.

My number one consideration is quality of sound ONLY. Are there software verbs out there that can hands down sound better than a good quality hardware counterpart? I know "sounds better" is very subjective…

Thanks for the input, any more advise?

dk

[Tex Tiles]

I love my pcm70. there is no plug in that sounds quite like it. the noise really is not a problem as it's a reverb in the background. the pcm70 will still be worth close to what you payed for it (or more) in a few years and a plug in will be completely worthless. anybody who knows what they're talking about values and appreciates some of these fine pieces of gear, and can use them to wonderful effect. One of my all time favorite drum verbs, and also a wonderful chorus effect on the long hall. Cheers, Tex

[imp]

Go with the PCM70... or you can also find a used PCM80 fairly cheap as well. I think some of the plug-in stuff sounds excellent, but now that I'm running the 32 track version of PTLE with lots of automation, etc, I keep running out of CPU power really fast. The good verb plug-ins really suck up CPU power. I'm at the point now where I'm running 5 outboard effects units and almost no effects plug-ins... just so that I have enough power to run my heavy sessions. Another way to tackle it... get the PCM70 and the plug-ins also... then you'll really be set. I love the idea of outboard effects... you may as well call them "powered plug-ins"... same thing really, with the only disadvantage being that you need to go in and out through the converters... this may or may not be an issue depending on what you're doing. Actually, to be fair, there are other disadvantages of using outboard stuff verses plugs, but... I will end off by saying that CPU power is always an issue. I personally hate to be limited by CPU power. -imp

[Doc]

Dan,

I can't speak from experience about the noise level of a PCM70 but I do own a PCM41 delay which I use with my analog synths and it is very quiet.
My main reverb is a Roland outboard unit going through the analog i/o of my 001. I have many of the plugin reverbs (Waves, DUY, etc.) and still only use them for certain fx. Personally, in 90% of situations, I prefer the sound of my Roland to any of the plugins so I'd imagine the PCM70 will be a step above that again.

One thing I really like about my Roland (I'd imagine the Lexi is the same) is that it is true stereo in, stereo out unlike any of the plugins I have. If I pan a signal through the Roland, the reverb output follows the image producing a much more realistic effect. For example; when the input signal is panned left, the reverb is louder and has different delay characteristics through the left output.
This makes a big difference to the space in the final mix.

[bugsy]

I have 2 PCM's 80's... and you cant beat them with a plug if you just want to talk pure audio quality. As far as plug reverbs, I really like the UA Realverb. Sucks a lot of power, but sounds good.

Anyway, havent worked with the Lexicon 70, but anything with the word Lexicon on it cant sound that bad!

Good Luck!