ART DR-X 2100 SE

long learning curve, but once you know the layout, it's fine
i've had one for 9 years now - i don't always change the settings on custom patches, but when i need to, i find i have to dig up the darn manual again.

other than some muddy reverbs, the unit sounds fantastic - huge sweep on the phaser, solid compression, tight EQ, and the acoustic environment simulator does wonders for quick EQ fixes in different venues

it hasn't died yet, no problems other than the input/output sliders sometimes make a loud pop when using them, and sometimes aren't responsive. i would steer clear of a used one for this reason alone, but maybe i've been a little rough on it over the years. oh well.

called them once, they were helpful

i use it primarily through a small mixer on an effects loop for an overall vocal mix when playing live. i'm not certain i'd get the same one if it dies, but the sound quality and capabilities would send me in ART's direction to replace it.

It's easy to use, but takes a little getting used to - considering the fact that there are no "algorithms" that you're confined to work from. You can either work with one of the presets or start with a blank patch and just add effects as you need them (or until you run out of memory). Because the effects chain is dependent on memory, it's wise to start a chain with the most memory expensive effects first (the delays and phaser seem to be the biggest memory hogs). If you start with the smaller ones (like reverb, eq and such) it won't allow you to add phasing and delay after you've racked up 3 or 4 other effects. So if you know you're going to need those effects in a chain it's best to start with them and then you can add as many of the "smaller" effects as you want after that. You can also control any parameter by midi, but the midi implementation can be tricky to understand at first. Once you get the hang of it, it's very powerful. One other drawback is that most of the presets aren't terribly useful ... most are so overwhelming that they seemed intended to try and "impress" a potential buyer rather than get any actual use in the studio.

I've used this with guitars, keys, drum machines and overall mixes. It does best just sticking with keys and other electronics. It doesn't have any distortion or amp simulators, so it isn't too good for guitars and the reverb is a bit muddy so it's not too useful for overall mixes. Other than that, it's a good processor. It's very quiet, the compression and expansion sounds good, the phaser, flanger, chorus and delay are solid. It even has an "acoustic environment simulator" that is very useful if you're trying to clean up the tone of a vocal track or other poorly miked sound.

I've had this one for about 4 years now, and have never had a problem with it. I've used it off and on for live shows and have never had any trouble. In fact, its expander is so smooth and intuitive that I've used it a couple of times to kill vocal feedback in particularly reflective rooms.

never dealt with them

I've used it while producing industrial, pop, punk and metal tracks. Its probably best suited for pop as it's lack of "exotic" effects makes it less useful than it could be (would have liked to have seen some distortion, amp simulations and vocoding). I bought it figuring I could use it as an all-around utility processor in mixes, but it works better as a "one instrument" processor to clean up flaws and generally fatten-up the overall tone. It's not as flexible as a Boss SE-70 but it's much easier to program than an Ensoniq DP/2. One of it's main strengths is that you can go from a "blank slate" to a great sounding chain of effects in less than a minute. I probably wouldn't buy it again - but it has enough features to keep me from selling it off.