TC Electronic M-3000

Extremely easy to use. Haven't opened the manual yet. Firmware 2.03.

Absolutely amazing. Best reverb I've ever owned. Worth every penny I spent on it. Plugin reverbs are getting better, but I still haven't heard one that compares to this. This thing is so smooth and lush, I'm extremely happy with it.

My only 'complaint' is that there is a one second or so delay between changing presets. I say complaint in quotations because I don't really feel like this is something to complain about. I'm using this unit strictly in a studio so I'm using one setting or maybe two for an entire day. The only time this would be a problem is for live use, there would be that tiny lag between changing settings. No big deal for me though. As for reliability I would give it a 10. It's metal, seems solid and TC stuff is always top notch. I've owned half a dozen pieces of their gear over the years and never a had a single problem with any of them.

Never tried to deal with them, haven't needed to. But I've heard they are reliable. I know I emailed them once about upgrading the firmware in my TC Fireworx and they got back to me right away and said they would ship me out the PCMCIA card to upgrade the unit, then refund my money as soon as I shipped it back. Cool huh?!

Best reverb out there, in my opinion. I've owned Eventide units, Lexicon PCM reverbs, tried just about every plugin there is, this TC M3000 is by far my favorite. It will never leave my rack!

Fantastic operating system ... apart from one thing : its Store routine ...ghastly , clunky text input and illogical button pressing procedure ... I lost a few edited patches because of it.
I let tc Electronic know about that ...

I got a PCM91 to use alongside ... I was looking for a big richer, lead guitar reverb ... the rich chamber was amazing for that ... but apart from that the PCM91 was unremarkable, samey sounding, with the OS from hell.
I also use Altiverb ... which is great, but - in the context of a mix with A/B ing - I often chose the M3000 over Altiverb ... to my surprise sometimes.
I used MANY presets from the M3000 ... one or two from the PCM90 ... I sold the Lexicon ... no contest and a bit of a luxury to have both frankly.

Haven't had any problems, with constant use.

I've sent them some pretty peevish emails ... about a few of their products, and they've been amazingly responsive and helpful.

Have used many reverbs in my career of 30 years ... this is my first choice if I had to have one, though obviously the newer tc stuff (M6000/4000) will be even better.
I recommend this box unreservedly.

Concerning the M3000, "easy to use" doesn't come to describe it - this unit was remarkably engineered.

All basic functions are instantly available, and separated with the more advanced functions with a very wise normal mode / expert mode distinction.

What's more, the default presets are very good, you seldom need to modify them - an instant result.

And the LCD screen is nice and clear - not to speak about the manual, which is both detailed and easy to read.

Being basically a Lexicon user, I was at first a little confused, as they are no real "typical Lexicon large hall" equivalent - reflexes, reflexes...
But this first impression was quickly wiped out by the extraordinary sound quality of the M3000 reverbs.

The M3000 (basically...) comes along with two kinds of algorithms - "normal" reverb algorithms which also come with the M2000 unit, and "VSS3" algorithms, which make the specificity of this unit.

Whereas "normal" algorithms are somewhat average, VSS algorithms are extremely interesting.

VSS stands for "virtual space simulator", and it does its job very well. Never heard reverbs that are this realistic - you can almost hear the curtains and the furnitures !

The VSS family : indoor mini, small, medium, XL, XXL - cars - outdoor XL, XXL - nature.

All the VSS indoor presets are excellent. The outdoor presets are very good. Unfortunately, the car presets are not this good - and the outdoor presets sound awfully indoor. Anyway, these indoor presets are so good that the M3000 would be worth buying only for them.

The "in mini" presets are particularly impressive.

It seems very likely that this reverb has been designed for cinema applications - but it gives also great results when mixing music. If you wish to get Joy Division like mixes, with natural spaces everywhere, go for it without any hesitations !

Note also that there are chorus, EQ & dynamics presets, but they are very few and are not this interesting.

It seems rock solid.

Never dealt with the company.

To conclude, if you want realist spaces for cinema applications, this is the perfect machine.

And if you're a musician and are longing for a unit that could bring you a wide range of different spaces, all of them of high quality, some of them being *very* unusual, this is also the perfect machine...

The user interface on the M3000 seems to be very straight forward, friendly and easily intelligible. I found my way around without a lot of headscratching having read the more than adequate manual and reviewed the basics. This particular unit has the latest software currently available: version 2.04. If someone had zero experience with other units of this type it would probably still come together quickly enough. At no time was I baffled by the approach to setting levels, choosing the routing of the two engines, building a patch from scratch or editing presets etc.

For years I have sought something special in the way of a reverb / delay for my jazz guitar rig. A box that would also nail this sound in my head when recording was equally important to me. When the M3000 debuted in '99 I was quite optimistic that my waiting was over in terms of the design and execution aspect. This was based more than anything else on TC's rep and a little later supported by a few key reviews in Mix, Electronic Musician and Keyboard Magazine etc. I couldn't afford one initially, but I made do with a perfectly adequate Lexicon LXP-1 and hoped that a used one would materialize when I had the dough. Experience had taught me that this level of processor or higher might well be overkill in a live setting, as it would be used in my rig with musical instrument speakers, not a PA. But did this stop me? No... I dreamed on hoping that this unit would singlehandedly serve up what my mind's ear was seeking. I have not had this unit long at all. But I can say with heeps of conviction that the proof is in the pudding. Sounds incredible with my stereo Walter Woods amp running to two open back cabinets loaded with JBL D-120's. My archtop, nylon string and solidbody are all significantly elevated by the addition of the M3000. No surprise, it's much quieter than the Lexicon. With very little fuss I was able to dial up a very warm, ethereal concert hall with a touch of delay for stereo imaging. Sounded totally convincing and realistic. No question it will sound only more rarified in a recording context. I can well imagine that a Lexicon PCM-91 or better yet a Model 300 would surpass this in some fashion, but at this point I feel I've scored a real prize that is the solution I've longed for. It's hard to imagine I won't be even happier once I've had the time to fine tune and tweak to my personal tastes and application. The modulation, or lack there-of, I found very cool to experiment with. Seems to be a box ripe with potential and control to bring out the best in whatever your trying to enhance.

This is the least of my worries. I am very festidious with my gear.

I've contacted TC in LA and Denmark a number of times over the years (by phone and e-mail) about the Model 1210 and pedals of yore (Integrated Preamp, Dual Parametric etc.) With each attempt to get help and perspective on these products and the M3000, I received what I came to them for: customer support. If it was an e-mail, they always got right back to me with something helpful, regardless of however trivial my questions were.

High level R & D in a finished product that's sonically a joy. In my case ... worth the wait and worth every penny. Bonus points: not as heavy or as deep as a Lexicon PCM 81 or 91. Also "voltage intelligent," so no transformer needed overseas.

The M3000 is very easy to use right out of the box. I agree with an earlier reviewer in that the manual could benefit from a little more info on the presets. As far as the comparison with the Lexicon PCM91, I have both and the comparison seems valid to this engineer.
In most retail situations, these two units are the ones that are compared. I paid about the same for both.

The M3000 has a very smooth (sometimes referred to as natural sound) when compared to others in the price range. I do agree that for Billboard top 100 vocal recording, the Lexicon is probably a better choice and if you are doing a lot of environmental sound work then the M3000 is the preferred unit. It may be a little too subtle for lead vocal work but certainly can handle the job. The Lexicon is definitely more "in your face" when it comes to plates and halls and clients generally choose it for their lead vocal sound. It's just part of the business of making records. Unfortunately, the record that gets heard has to jump. Just my experience to date!

The M3000 has been purring in the rack for a long time without a problem.

Never called or had a problem.

There seems to be a bit of "which unit is better" or "apples and oranges" ratings discussion developing around this unit. As stated earlier, the M3000 and the PCM91 are going to get compared even if they serve different purposes. A person with 2000 bucks will be looking at these two units because that's what's available in that "right before you mortgage your house" price range. Check any listing and there they are. I would hate to run a session without a Lexicon but I don't do any film work, just rock, rap, pop groups trying to be stars. This is the main work for the majority of studios throughout the country. The M3000 is great unit with a very nice, natural sound and would replace it if the dough was available but I have to agree with the PCM91 comparison review and say that I would have to replace it in a second. Different units in the same price range, so you get the best headphones or monitors available, with the best studio quality mic available, and you just listen. Your wallet will follow your ears and you can't go wrong with piece.

Very Easy. In Reverbland, you have to deal with different parameters and names that one just cant relate to anything else, so the Wizard really helps. I think this is important in any reverb. This is the easiest I have seen so far.

I work with sound engineering only. Studios, Live PA. I think that any comparison to the Lexicon PCM 91 is very unfair. The Lexicon PCM91 is almost 2 years of R&D in advance and a couple of hundred bucks more expensive. However, having scrutinized both units back to back, and A/B ing as hell, I find the Lexicon more pleasing to listen to when covered (i e buried) in a mix. But for example, percussion and drums and fast transients, or a single instrument at low volume, the TC Electronic wins hands down. Use the Lexicon for vocals, only! It is much better than the TC in that department. But the TC is more prone to re-create an accurate listening environment that does exist in nature. Church, wood, hockey rinks, grand canyons. The TC does that more faithfully. And coming to think of it, I am not THAT impressed by churches and hockey rinks in real life. But they do not, at least, rattle at the end of their tails. I've heard and read that many pro musicians favors AMS, TC (M5000)and SONYS reverbs compared to Lexicons (any model), because of Lexicon always uses the same algorithms for everything, and those are streamlined for AOR modern music listening. Cloning the very same settings on the TC and Lexicon is very difficult. So one cannot really set the same type of decay and early reflections and diffusions to do a proper A-B comparison. If I worked in post production for sound effects for a blockbuster movie, I wouldn't use the Lexicon at all. I would go for the TC 3000. It is very easy to imagine the space where a sound is supposed to be with the TC and get it. Now, if they only would make a unit that could do BOTH.

Yes, The TC is rugged and doed not pick up external electronic pollution. The LCD's are very well built. I do not do gigs with it so I cannot really tell. As for now, it is top notch.

Haven't needed this yet.

All kinds of music. Since I am a studio engineer, occasional PA live gigs. The TC M3000 is just as specialised reverb as the Lexicon. I do own both. I wouldn't get rid of M3000 because it fills in the reverb space which I've always missed. Yes, it will turn out very expensive, until any company does a reverb that is "The only reverb you'll ever need". I think it would be not much of a problem coming up with an algorithm that does both, but for computer software only.

There's one in every crowd! The M3000 is very easy to use. The display has everything you need right up front. You can either use the beginners mode which modifies several parameters at once or delve into the expert mode to really modify a preset or make your own. It is extremely easy to store after your hard work. Overall, it is much, much easier to use than the Lexicon PCM91 which is probably the closest competition in this price range. Unfortunately, I am not as impressed as others with TC manuals. The PCM91 is a huge notebook with complete explanations while the M3000 is a typical small manual that only answers the basics. It is much easier to program out of the box and that is the trade-off.

This is where I stray from the crowd. I have heard so much about this unit and just had to have one. I'm a reverb junkie and have been for 20 years. I have heard most of them and use a top of line Neumann mike and headphones to check out the sound. To my ears, the sound was a disappointment. It was really good but I expected to be knocked out after all the hype. I kept A/Bing it with the other units in the rack and it just didn't have the depth of the PCM91. The thing that I was listening for was depth of field. Can you feel and hear the space? Do your ears follow the sound from source to completion through the space? It is definitely better than products from Roland, and is not as mechanical sounding as the earlier PCM70 but the Lexicon creates a more defined space. I spent hours going through presets and creating my own and my opinion never changed. It seems to create the illusion of being more natural by moving the reverb slightly away from the source sound so the source is less affected.
You do lose that wall of reverb but you also have trouble getting it back when you need it. The M3000 is very popular and opinions are just that.

I didn't keep it long enough to be able to rate this unit.

I also never called the company but they do have an excellent reputation.

I have been a musician and recording engineer for 25 years at least and have heard a lot of reverbs. The M3000 is certainly leaps and bounds above the old springs and mechanical digitals. It does have a smooth sound which it is noted for but I just couldn't find the walls when I listened. Using a M147 Neumann, I expect to be able to hear and feel the transparency of the space being simulated. It's like your voice going in one side of the mike going through this simulated space and coming out the back of the mike. That's transparency. I never found it. It always stayed at the front of the mike. The Lexicon PCM91 goes all the way through and out the back. I boxed up the TC3000 the next day, put it up for auction, sold it for a couple hundred less, and sent it to a new owner. It was worth the experience. That itch has been scratched. Thanks for reading and I hope I haven't confused the issue to much. As simple as it gets, the TC is really nice and the Lexicon is a killer.

I have worked a bit with different reverbs but the TC M3000 is the easiest to use effect that I ever come across. It is simple, intuitive and you can use it without knowing anything about reverbs. As you get to know the machine you can draw on its many facilities and create almost any kind of room you want. Amazingly good.

Hooking the M3000 is easy. Using it is a relief. Listening to its rooms is simply magic. This is the best most natural sounding reverb I have ever heard. Some of the rooms are even better than real rooms since you can control the refections to your liking.

I have had no troubles so far and don't expect any. I seems to real solid.

I wanted to find out which effect was the better for my purposes and called TC in Denmark. They where extremely helpfull in assuring that I would get exactly what I needed.H.O musik Denmark who sold me the effect has also helped a lot in deciding and finding the absolute right tool for me. They are outstanding in their knowledge of sound reinforcement.

I am playing mostly acoustic blues and wanted to add room and ambience to the recordings of my Martin guitars. I wanted a reverb that would let the guitar stand on its own not adding or subtracting to the quality of the guitar. The TC M3000 does all of that better that I have dreamed of. It is simply the best and if ever got stolen I would not hesitate to rush down and buy a new one.

As always the T.C. Electronic interface is intuitive, and user-friendly. I'm really surprised that no one has yet reviewed this machine. Stepping up from the little brother, the M2000, the 3000 takes things a step further with VSS technology, i.e. 3-D space simulation. Add, and control reverb refelctions. Create and customize your own reinforcement environments with great ease. Excellent midi control, as always, too. Some things need a browse through the manual, but mostly things are simple to grasp. The manuals by T.C. are always pretty thorough, as well.

I use this as my main master effect. I'm pretty devoted to ambient music, so I tend to pre-fade sources quite a bit. This unit works really well for that type of application, but also does great for guitar processing without totally coloring the sound. Even more so, it stands above the rest for clarity in vocal processing. Coupling a slight, short delay to the back of a nice clear verb really sets voice-work out in a mix; again, without totally coloring the sound. The chorus on this thing is also very noteworthy. Large, hairy, and just plain icy chorus sounds can be achieved easily. For a little more money, you can get into the higher-end Lexicon units, i.e. PCM 91
but, when it comes down to general purpose functionality with a high-end sound, T.C. is the way to go!

Absolutely! It is just like all other T.C. rack gear...solid steel, durable feeling; dials, knobs, and buttons always feel safely secured to the chasis. They score high marks in this area, definately!

I stand by T.C. Electronic as one of the most strong customer service companies out there today! As I've aquired, and used more than a few of their products, I've dealt with them a fair amount, and have always gotten a quick, helpful response. Again, really high marks here, too.

If this thing were to get stolen, lost, or cooked, I'd be at the music store the very next day picking up another. I've been faithful with T.C. products, and plan to continue giving them my cash when it comes to high-end audio processing. I can always get started on their gear without cracking open a manual, and getting solid results is always inside the first hour of play. I can't say enough good things about T.C. and their products, so it's time for me to hush!