Eventide 2016 Reverb

One knob, one function. Very easy to edit patches. Knobs are rotary encoders with radial ring of LED indicators. The program selector is also a rotary encoder, and pushing the encoder activates the selected program. As you surf the programs the LED rings give you a visual indication of the reverb settings so you have an idea what it may sound like before you activate it. Very nice.

Every encoder has a momentary switch that you close by pushing it. This adds a 2nd function to most of the controls. The EQ controls exploit this, tweak it normally and you change the boost/cut level; press it while tweaking and you change the EQ frequency. Pushing other controls displays their settings in the LED display, turning them makes the tweaks coarser (nice for predelay or RT60 time).

There is a small menu that contains the configuration stuff (MIDI channel, etc) that you'll rarely change. Only an LED display is provided, some of the pseudo-alphanumeric characters will look like greek until you read the manual.

The "manual" is... a two sided sheet of cardboard stock. That's all you need to know to operate this reverb!

The 2016 offers programmable control over Mix, predelay, RT60, position, diffusion, two bands of EQ, and reverb algorithm. Input/output level controls, LED level meters at -40/-20/-6/0dBFS, and a clipping LED help keep the signals at optimum levels. The clipping LED indicates clipping anywhere in the internal digital processing, as it is possible to dial up reverbs that are on the verge of instability. The rear panel has stereo XLR and 1/4" analog I/O as well as S/PDIF digital I/O. Analog I/O can be +4dBu or -10dBV via a switch.

BYPASS is self explanatory, KILL mutes the incoming audio while allowing the reverb tail to decay. They can be operated from the front panel or from a footswitch. Patches can be saved/restored vis MIDI sysex, either the whole bank or the current program. Nice to have the option to recall current program, as I have been saving patches for my modules with sequences. It makes logical sense.

I had no trouble using this reverb without a manual. The controls are intuitive, this unit is a breeze to use.

The 2016 is a digital reverb - it is not a multi-FX. I wanted a dedicated digital reverb because I was not happy with reverbs in multi-FX boxes and the interface is hard to use. The 2016 interface is superb and easy, and it uses every ounce of DSP firepower for reverb.

There are six reverb algorithms. Stereo Room, Room, and Plate are replications of the classic SP2016, which was popular in studios in the 1980s. Tony Agnello designed the original SP2016 and the new 2016 Reverb. A Mix magazine review concluded that the 2016 replication is faithful to the original. Tony added "new" versions of the classic algorithms. The "new" versions are not only improved updated algorithms, but they add control over the sound that were not available in the originals.

The reverbs have a wonderful color and character to them, something I have heard from too few reverb boxes. "Character" is a rare attribute attached to reverbs - notably Lexicon PCM-81, Quantec QRS, and Sony 777. The 2016 definitely has a character all its own.

The 2016's Stereo Room is the best one in the box, followed by a very good plate algorithm. Both have very natural decay tails and frequency degradation, you can get really natural sounding hall, cathedral, church, valley, and other reverbs. Room is really good for short ambient sounds, it has this uncanny ability to "lift" sounds out of a dense mix, especially when combined with predelay.

Vocals and percussion seem to really shine. I've had good luck with Kurzweil romplers and vintage analog synths. I have some MIDI sequences of classical music - playing the Kurzweils through a hall reverb on the 2016 really made them sound authentic. Choir patches through a cathedral reverb are unreal. This thing was MADE for latin percussion, they sound incredible through the 2016.

I haven't found one bad sound in this thing. Sounds GREAT! While three basic algorithms may not sound like a lot, you can get quite a variation with the controls.

I put up a web page with mp3 samples, you can check it out at http://www.retrosynth.com/~analoguediehard/studio/effects/eventide_2016/

Too new to judge, only had it for a month. Looks solid under the hood.

I discovered that the controls generate MIDI CCs but the manual was missing the MIDI info. I sent off an email to Eventide and Princeton Digital, but it was a couple of weeks before I got a response. You should join the eventidehelps yahoo list, the support is very good there.

It's not cheap - but you get your money's worth. Sub-$500 multi-FX just do not compare to this box. I wish that every digital reverb had the controls that the 2016 has, they really make tweaking so much easier. When you are trying to make a track fit in a mix, it's a hell of a lot easier not to have to navigate with a menu and a pair of +/- buttons, that can get frustrating quickly. The reverbs have plenty of variations and they possess a character that is unique to the 2016.

According to the Eventide support on the yahoo list, the 2016 algorithms are entirely different from the reverbs from the rest of the Eventide line. The 2016 algorithms were a product of Tony's company Princeton Digital, Eventide builds the hardware box. Princeton Digital does offer 2016 plugins but they only run on the full version of ProTools and they require iLok and a hardware accellerator. Unless you already have the ProTools system to run the plugin (which would be really $$$$$), the hardware 2016 is the cheaper solution.