Lexicon MPX-1 Multi-effects

How easy is it to get a good sound out of it?

Butter. It couldn't be any easier. You turn it on, hit PROGRAM, bada-boom-bada-bing.. you're on broadway.

How about Editing patches?

Dunno... haven't got out of the presets yet. There are over 200 presets and IMO, every single one is OUTSTANDING.

How is the manual for it (if there is one)?

Than manual is written by fluent english writers (Roland, listen up). My 2nd grader can follow it; I'm not kidding, it's that straight forward. Butter. Ever read a Mackie manual? Well, subtract a bit of the entertaining sharp wit and replace it with a dash of arrogance, and you've got your Lex manual ;)

Do you know the firmware revision number? Has your unit been upgraded?
1.02 I believe

What setup (i.e. what guitars and amps) are you using this with?

I'm using it for vocals primarily. But I also use it for my grand pianos, string ensembles, etc. As a self producer, there is nop better effects on the planet.. IMO.

Is it noisy?

Hahahaha.. for $800 it BETTER not be ;) No, it is silent.

Are the effects weak or do they always sound great?

You CAN'T make it sound it bad. Trust me, the sound is heavenly. 'AMBIENCE' is a word that should not be allowed unless it is used in the same sentence as Lexicon.

What amp are you using it with?

20/20bas. I can't tell you my instrument setup because I'd have to kill you, but I will say this, with my current kybd and modules, along with my BELOVED Mackie mixer, my sparklin/boomy 20/20bas', and my darling Lexicon MPX-1, I have never been so inspired to write music in all of my life. I'm loving life.. truly.

Can you get the sound of your favorite artists?

Errr.. I'm still working on that freakin' Barney song, you know, "I love you, you love me..." but I'm having a major chord composer's block write now and can;t figure out the progression.. hehehehe :)
Listen, my aim was to get the kind of room ambience say, Harry Connick and his trio can get. Now I have it. Sometimes I get so dreamy while playing a grand patch with the "Empty Club Room" preset, I forget where I am.

Who are they?

Too many to list. I like soul and jazz for the most part though.. all the greats in both categories.. yunno... Herman, Sinatra, Strayhorn, Monk, Miles, Diz, Tyner, Roberts, etc etc etc etc.. Stevie Wonder, Womack, Sly, Prince, Clinton, EWF.. etc etc etc

Are certain effects (distortion, chorus, ...) very good? Very bad?

Everything is fantastic; it's a Lexicon, I read some of the other reviews here about noisy effects, etc.. PUHLEEEZE. I guess my ear isn't that discriminating. I wonder how many of the greats thoughout history could even pick up on something so ridiculously small like a microscopic amount of noise like that. I say pay attention to your MUSIC unless something is stifling your creativity or screwing up your mix. Forget the little stuff. There are still guys making extraordinary tunes on the Ensoniq Mirage. Get real.

Dunno. I don't gig. I'm a house rat. Seems fine to me.

No clue.. hope I never have to talk to their Sacks 5th Ave asses ;)

What style of music do you play?

Soul, jazz, hiphop

Is this a good match?

I can't imagine any listenable style of music the Lexicon couldn't enhance.

How long have you been playing?

Playing: 20 years
Producing/Mixing/Recording: 10 years on and off

What other gear do you own?

Ahhh, OK, twist my arm: XP80, Proteus 2000, Mack 1202vlzpro, Event 20/20bas, Event Gina, and a big ol' powerful computer to make it all play nice together :)

If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?

If it got ganked from my house, it would be insured, so yes, I'd buy it again. If it got ripped from somewhere else, I guess I'd have to start saving again :) Listen, I was SCARED TO DEATH to pay this much for an effects unit... but then I said to myself, "Self, if you're SERIOUS about your music, then you need to have a SERIOUS sound. And if you're SERIOUS about your vocals, you'd best surround them with the best gear money can buy. Suffice to say, I haven't regretted spending a penny.

what do you love about it?

The VIBE/Ambience it creates. This MF is ALIVE. I mean, it breathes and pulsates like a REAL room/hall/etc Do you have ANY IDEA what that can do for your creativity and your inspiration? If not, get your a$$ down to a music store and make them hook one up to a board with a GREAT grand piano... and brace yourself.

What do you hate?

Not being able to afford two more and a 1642 vlz mixer ;(

What is your favorite feature?

Ease of use with presets. I dig presets anywayz. So it's a blast for me.

Did you compare it to other products? Which ones?

Compared to the MPX-100 (you get what you pay for kids, beware!) , and some ART, Alesis crap.

Why did you choose this one?

One word: reverb

Anything you wish it had?

Pictures of animated naked ladies that carry cards across the screen like at a boxing match: because this box KNOCKS ME OUT everytime I listen to it. (hey don;t touch that, I just copyrighted it :)

Does it help you make music, or does it get in the way?

It inspires me to heights I could have never dreamed. And no, I have nothing to do with Lexus--errr Lexicon. I just call it like I see it.

Anything else you'd like to share?

Bottom line:

IT'S PRICEY. I know, it hurts to think you could buy another synth for the money it costs. But the way I see it, it enhances everything in your rack, including your voice. It is an instrument all on it's own. How important is your demo? Your performances? The way listeners perceive your skills and ability? I bet you answered "VERY" to all of the abovem right? If you did, you need reverbs like this to make your music SING, to give it life, to give it natural space and REAL ambience. And if you said "Not very," you're lying because you wouldn't be reading a LEXICON review if any of the above weren't important to you.

And now, my friends, excuse me while I disappear... unnoticed, subtly, smoothly, gracefully, beautifully... like the whispering tail of a sonically SUPERIOR Lexicon reverb.

Peace,

MJ

The Lexicon MPX-1... what a box! I've had the unit for about six months now, and have gotten to know quite a bit about it. It's extremely easy to use if you're a 'Plug in and go' type of player (I play guitar and use it as an effects processor for my rig -- It is NOT a guitar- specific processor. It can be used on anything). However, for those of us who like to tweak a bit with the presets, things get pretty involved, but never out of control. It's pretty straightforward as far as editing goes. The patterns for editing are consistent throughout the machine, making things easy to remember. Not bad for a two-line display at all!

I use the MPX-1 in the effects loop of my Mesa Dual Rectifier Solo Head. The amp has a parallel effects loop, which allows me to tweak with the sends and returns from the amp as well as the input and output levels controlled by two knobs on the front of the MPX-1. I had a problem when I had the effects sends and returns on the amp at 50% and the MPX's levels set at approriate levels. I kept getting this ugly phased-out type noise (like when two identical sounds play at the same time at the same volume). This sounded bad and was really noticeable on higher notes played around the twelfth fret on the G, B, and E strings. Not good for solos at all! Sooo... I just cranked the Amp's sends and returns and set the MPX's 'Global Mix' at around 60%. This got rid of that nasty sound but the levels are a little weak in some presets. Nothing MAJOR, but a slight loss in volume. I know this doesn't sound very professional, but I'm NOT a pro, and this is the only way i've been able to correct the sound. I doubt there would be any problem in a serial (in line) effects loop. I kind of discredit my amp for this setback more than the MPX-1. The range of sounds is incredible, especially if you're a 'tweaker'. Noise is not an issue at all with this unit. My amp is noisier than this thing could ever TRY to be, so if it IS noisy, I wouldn't know. I'd ask a studio pro about that. The reverbs... Oh my... Ya gotta hear 'em. They're even better when you start adjusting values. I didn't know there was this much to a reverb, and frankly didn't think it was that critical. But now i've become dependent on them for my sound. These are the best in the biz. The Chorus, Mod, Delay, Pitch, and EQ effect blocks more than suit my needs, and are easily set up to produce a good sound. Effect routing and order are easily accessible, and open up infinite possibilities. Sometimes though, it seems that when i'm creating a sound, especially one with pitch shifting, the availability of other effects is drastically reduced. The manual says this is because the pitch programs require tremendous amounts of processing power and it doesn't have room for many other effects. This is kind of a bummer... but it's a good Pitch shift! The reverb is never compromized, having it's own dedicated DSP so it is available no matter what. Distortion? forget it. I have a Dual Recto, so why would I need a separate source for distortion when I already have the fattest crunch in the industry? It does do some cool subtle stuff with the radio, television and telephone presets though.

It looks to be very solid, and it seems to be evenly balanced as far as weight (meaning the rear of the unit doesn't outweigh the front 5 to 1 creating an awkward stress on the mounting brackets). I can't afford to have a backup, but it doesn't matter. This thing is built to tour and perform as well as sit in a studio.

I've thought about getting the v1.1 upgrade, but other than being able to connect with the new MPX-R1 footcontroller, I don't know of any added benefits for upgrading. I've never needed to contact Lexicon, but when I e-mailed them and requested information in this unit about a year ago, they sent me a nice color and INFORMATIVE brochure at no charge. It came with the brochure, the company newsletter, a list of other products they make, and a fold-out list of all 200 presets with descriptions for the MPX-1. Mouth-watering, indeed.

I play metal/rock/progressive guitar, influenced by Metallica, Dream Theater, and Pink Floyd mainly. Over the last five years since I started playing guitar, my rig has expanded a LOT, and this addition has definitely become a cornerstone in my sound. I compared it to the TC Electronics M2000, but liked this one better, and even considerd the PCM-80, but couldn't convince myself to spend twice as much on a PCM-80 when the MPX-1 does everything I would want the PCM-80 to do and does it just as well. John Petrucci of Dream Theater used both the PCM-80 and the MPX-1 on their latest album, so you know it's good. I would buy this machine again in a heartbeat. You simply can't get a better stereo effects processor for the price. Nothing has complimented my sound better than the MPX-1

Programming is rather difficult at first (compared to Digitech and Roland anyway.) Read the manual. You'll figure out everything much faster.

Unit was surprisingly noisy on "Telephone" and various flanger settings. This can be fixed by adjusting the input/output levels and eq. Otherwise, sounds brilliant right out of the box. Pitch shift, chorus, and of course reverb are all excellent. Flanger could be "whooshier." But it serves its purpose. Phaser, tremolo also good.

Seems sturdy enough. I've only had it for a week though.

If you like treated, underwater guitar sounds, this is your box. I use it alongside a Roland GP-100 and a Digitech TSR-24 and have come up with some very interesting combinations.

Outstanding. Great search/sort function. User can sort by program number, program type (i.e., scroll through only reverbs, or chorus) or by application (live, studio, guitar, etc). User can do quick high-level editing or drop down into micro-editing. Good comprehensive manual, particularly a laminated quick cheat-sheet of menu levels. Unit comes with a wide variety (200) of presets - from bread-and-butter reverbs and choruses to fun and occasionally useful fx.

Unit consists of six possible fx (reverb, chorus, pitch shifting, eq, modulation). Unit has two processors, one of which is always dedicated to reverb to maintain excellence in sound quality.
Unit is a tad noisy on certain flange sounds - but I am using unbalanced cords at the moment (which the manual advises against - I ran out of balanced cords). I will be replacing with balanced cords tomorrow. The flanger is a bit weak, and the rotary speaker and distortion settings are forgettable. But the reverbs! Beautiful, lush! I can distinguish no difference from this unit compared to tcelectronics M-2000 or Lexicon's own PCM-90. Lexicon users - don't kid yourself, this thing is in a very, very different league than the Alex or Reflex. Blows my own Ensoniq DP/4 away. I have always been suspicious of the "cultish" devotion of Lexicon users, but today I am a believer. Buy this thing for the reverbs. Some unique pitch shifting stuff, too (random pitch regeneration, etc).

Unit appears solidly constructed, and this will be a studio piece, not a road piece, so I can't really say.

No opinion, although I understand them to be quite good.

Exceptional MIDI implementation (every parameter can be controlled via anything MIDI, unit can even generate own MIDI clock). True stereo operation; digital outs; deep, deep programming controls, particularly on the reverb and chorus. Readers - do not buy the $400-700 Digitech/ART/Roland/Alesis/Boss/Yamaha pieces. Save your money and buy this one instead. One of the few units I can honestly say makes a mediocre voice (mine) sound like a great one.