Lexicon Vortex

This is what I percieve as the typical inner-dialogue of a first-time Vortex user:
Plug it in. Route signal through it. Turn the knobs. Listen. "How interesting! Now, how do I program it or 'morph' effects? Uh, where's that manual?"
You cannot easily decipher this unit without the manual. However, you can quickly and easily pick presets, and jack around with their parameters. The manual is extremely helpful. I got mine used, without one. Fortunately, a friend of mine lent me his manuals, and I Xeroxed them shamelessly.

I find the quality of effects to be stunning, but there's an unforgiveable noise floor that I haven't been able to eliminate. I bought the Vortex for possible guitar-experimentation, but mostly as a studio effect. The noise is tolerable in my studio, but unacceptable in even the simplest guitar signal chain (guitar, Vortex, amps). Also, it sucks the sweetness out of my strat's tone. I had thought to maybe retire my old stinky Quadraverb in favor of the Vortex. Not likely. I may use it as a special guitar-effect someday, but I doubt it.
Now for some good stuff: In my studio, I have become attached to 2 of the Vortex' presets: "Choir" sounds amazing on background vocals, especially with the delay tempo tapped-in correctly. I think the other one I use (more sparingly) is "Centerfuge," which can nicely freak-out an otherwise "normal" sounding track.
I'll provide separate ratings to qualify the arbitrary single number I chose below.
As a studio effect: 8.5 [superb quality, but slightly noisy.]
As a guitar effect: 3 [interesting possibilities, but VERY noisy, and a tone-killer]

I have not had any problems with my Vortex, so I cannot complain about it. But I have had other Lexicon scares in the past. I bought an Alex that had to be repaired within a year, and a JamMan that was bad right out of the box. Neither has given me a single problem since. The Vortex seems to be made with the same (good or bad, I don't know) quality-standards. I would be confident enough to use it without a backup.

I have found Lexicon to be courteous and helpful in the past. Haven't dealt with them on this one, though.

I am a long-time admirer of Jimmy Page's work in Led Zeppelin, more for his creative expression and unusual arrangements than his sequined jumpsuits and heroin addiction. All that aside, I use maybe 3 digital effects- delay, rotating speaker-simulation, and an occasional flanger. The latter of these two are supplied by my Quadraverb, and I hoped to replace THAT glitchy noisy thing with the Vortex. It ain't gonna happen, folks. The vortex is FAR noisier as a guitar gadget. Also, I don't care for its foot pedals. The appeal of "morphing" effects could be better satisfied if you didn't need 2 two-button pedals and an expression pedal. That's alot of floor space to absorb for one rack-gizmo.
I doubt I would replace the Vortex with another Vortex. Yes, it does cool stuff, but I'm not married to it (unfortunately, I AM married to my Quadraverb). I wish the Vortex had a better signal to noise ratio, better foot-contollers, and less destruction of guitar tone. I believe that it can be used very creatively, nonetheless. It's a shame Lexicon discontinued it. I think some minor modifications could have made it a truly breathtaking effect-unit. As a piece of studio gear, it does some really interesting things, and has superb sound quality. Studio users might love it. I predict guitarists would be disappointed.

Turning knobs will get you into some interesting places, but if you don't have the manual, it's uncharted territory. The manual is well-written and quite thorough, however, so the lack of a detailed display is not a terrible handicap.

Signals that go into this box can come out sounding strange and wonderful - but always musical. Think of it as the Industrial Light & Magic of effects: it's a special effects box that can do everything from light ambience to Warp 10 wierdness. If you keep in mind that what it is NOT (i.e. reverb), you will be a happy knob-tweaking camper. Noise is not a problem. I originally bought an Alesis Nanoverb for my keyboard, but it drove me crazy with metallic ringing. I traded it in the next day for the Vortex and found out where Lexicon got its reputation. (The questionaire asks if one can achieve the sound of a favorite artist. Answer: Yes, Timothy Leary after four tabs.)

I've had it for two years with no problems at all. It has had an admittedly easy life, but it feels solid enough. I could do without the wall wart.

No problems thus far.

Considering what I paid for it, this box is a great value. After reading the other reviews, I am going to get a volume pedal for it and have some fun morphing between registers. If you already have a good reverb, this box can add the spice you have been missing. Just don't expect it to fill a role it was never meant to fill, i.e. standard reverb/chorus/delay/etc.

Getting a good sound from the Vortex is easy - the presets are very cool. Editing is fairly easy (With three knobs, how confused can you get?), but the really interesting controls are all hardwired. You can't, for example, set the decay time to be controlled by the amplitude of the signal, unless the preset is set up that way to begin with. I haven't seen this feature in =any= FX processor, but IMO, it would have definitely set the Vortex apart from other units. Also, a power switch would have been greatly appreciated. If you're buying this used, make sure you get the manual.

Very nice. I've run guitar, vocals and synths through the Vortex and they all sounded great. My one wish was that more esoteric effects like Bleen had been included. Several of the presets, although great sounding, are not that different from effects on a standard unit. With headphones you can tell that something interesting is happening, but with only 32 presets, I think Lexicon should have gone all-out in terms of unique sounds. Adding an expression pedal really really really helps get some good sounds out of the Vortex. The combination of real-time control with the organic-kinda way the unit works (A lot of effect paramaters are dependent on input volume or some other variable) can yield some good possibilities.

Everything about this unit seems well built, except that the preset switching knob needed to be replaced by the time it had come through the mail to me. Apparently this is a relatively common problem, but it was still disappointing. In addition, the patch switching pedal button only cycles through the user patches, so if your knob is broken, all the presets are inaccessible.

Lexicon support was quick to respond, but their quoted prices were outrageous. I had a great local electronic tech fix my patch switch knob for a third of Lexicon's quoted price - US$~90. If you need your knob replaced, buy the component from them and have an independent tech do the installation.

I make mostly gothic/industrial music, and patches like Bleen add a nice amount of uniqueness to the songs I use them on. For the average used price, I'd take the Vortex over the two Boss pedals I could get for the same price any day. Musicians of non-electronic styles should probably think twice if they're even considering getting one of these, but industrial/gothic/darkwave/techno/dance/rave/et cetera types of people should get good mileage. If you are after some interesting effects to add to your sound, and can find a Vortex cheap, I'd say go for it. Don't depend on it as your main effects processor, though - for me the Vortex is a special occasion, add something interesting device. And definitely spring for an expression pedal. I got my Vortex about a month before my pedal, and it totally makes a difference, especially for the morphing effect. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason about the strange territory in between two unrelated effects, but it's definitely a cool place. With a sweep of my pedal, I discovered a totally strange vocal effect that turns anyone's voice into the speech of Satan, or one of Saberhagen's Berserkers on a bad day. Totally approved for creating Trinity channel propaganda >=).

It's easy to get a good sound but it's pretty impossible to get the sound you want ! Editing offers a lot of possibilities, and controlling one of the parameters with a footpedal (stereo) opens a new world in FX ! Amazing. Get the manual or throw the box away !. Then learn the manual by heart. And take time to experiment or throw the box away !

NO COMMENT ! (9/10 because there's a little shhhhhhhhhh)

It's Lexicon, so... (but nobody's perfect...)

Personally I love it, but I think that most guitar players would hate it. I would recommand with product to keyboard players and drummers. I bought it after having read all the stuff on Internet. Thank to all the people who wrote about it !

If you're used to using stompboxes, this unit is going to be a nightmare for you as you have to read the entire manual in order to work it properly. This is probably the one area that kept this item from becoming incredibly popular. To Lexicon's credit though, the manual is very helpful.

The sound quality of the effects itself is excellent, although I have to agree with a previous comment that the Vortex does not have good bypass. As most of the best sounds from this unit have to be used in stereo, it probably won't be used live much, as carrying around two amps is a real pain. Some of the panning sounds are unbelievable with two amps though, especially when it sounds like it's rotating around you. As for the comment of this unit being comparable to a two meter square floorspace of 70's effects pedals, I would have to say that I would prefer the 70's effects pedals to this unit, as I am an ELECTRO HARMONIX fanatic. The Vortex may actually become a much sought after item, as it is out of production and the sounds it can achieve are quite surreal. No noise.

I'm not sure about it's reliability since I haven't had it that long. Like I said before, I probably won't use this item live, as the bypass is weak and the effects sound much better in stereo. Maybe someday, when I get used to working this unit!

For the kind of music I play, this unit is really neat. This is the first rack-mount effect I have ever purchased, and I only heard about this company because their JamMan unit is so talked about, even by people who hate rack effects. This is a great sounding effect, although the difficulty in learning how to use it will definitely make you contemplate what music is all about in the first place. I wish Lexicon would make their units more user-friendly.

Needs constant reference to the manual, which is the only way you'll know what's going on. The supplied presets mostly rely on stereo, and don't reveal the possibilities for (normal?) mono use. In order to get it to do what you want you need to understand what all those diagrams mean, and spend a lot of time with an awkward data entry knob. All this isn't a reason for not buying it though, as once you've done all this you can load them into registers for instant access to the sounds you always dreamed of.

Low noise and lush sounds.(Quality excellent). Flange/Chorus/Phase/Vibrato, from subtle to bizarre with no trace of digital weediness.Capable of extreme modulation. Tap time echo to 1.9s,or various configurations of two independent delays (0.9s each).Polyrhythmic echoes. Infinite loops, with no hiss buildup. Tremelo or autopanning. Overloading the input produces a distortion which is analogue sounding. Particularly impressive in stereo.

Haven't gigged it yet.

I filled out the registration card for my Lexicon Jamman, subsequently I was phoned from the States by a guy called Greg to answer my questions. Later they sent me a large collection of information including Vortex and Jamman application notes.

Imagine a 2 metre square area of floor space covered with vintage (70's)FX, all of which are connected together. Now take away hum+hiss.... that's a Vortex. It also does audio-morphing which means you can set up ANY 2 sounds, then change smoothly from one to another. Sometimes very strange things happen in the middle. These units have been selling a fraction of the RRP, presumably because no-one understands them. If you don't mind spending some time learning it, or you like the idea of twiddling at random and getting some very unusual sounds then get a Vortex.

I had to offer my opinion of this turd to counterbalance another. I bought this unit and took it back the same day for one reason - it sucked the tone right out of my rig. Bypass is a joke!
I wouldn't use this unit if someone paid me to. BTW, I have two (2) LXP5s, so it's not a dislike of Lexicon in general - it's THIS unit.

Horrible sound at ANY price! To paraphrase Bill Clinton...
It's the tone, stupid!

VERY EASY. IF you can twist a knob you can use the vortex. It doesn't have a lot of patches, but you'll find you don't need a whole lot. Editing takes getting used to. Just mess with it. There are 16 user banks and 16 presets. The manual is thick and very helpful. Needs midi control to be perfect.

Quiet. Can be used for effects loops. The morphing between a and b patches is great. Comes with a foot controller, and can use up to 3 foot controllers. Can run guitar bass and keyboards through it.

I have had it for a few months, without any problems. Haven't taken it to a gig yet.

?????

This is a great effect. However it is kind of speacialised so you won't use it all the time. I really would like to have midi control in it. If I could have my computer change the banks for me, I wouldn't have to hunt for the right button with my foot while I'm playing. It does have a bypass option via foot control. I love this, you can just punch in when you want and punch out when your done.

Great sounds, easy to edit patched once you get the hang of it. There is a manual for it, which has extensive documentation not only for programming it, but also layouts of all sounds, and what adjustments to each parameter will do.

excellent. quiet.

I have already used it live. No problems.

I bought this on sale, and I love it, I would buy it again in a minute. Years ago I bought a used Zoom 9000, one of the noisiest things I have ever heard. I chose this one not only for the sale price, but after listening to it, I was sold.