Yamaha SPX 90

[rob2001]

I'm a modulation nut I guess. I've had a ton of chorus, phaser, flangers and shifters. Some cool, some not. So I have a Yamaha AW 1600 DAW recorder. In one of the fx engines, it has an effect called "symphonic". I'm just floored by this effect. It's like a chorus but more of a spatial expander. Not as swirly as other modulation effects. I see the old SPX 90's have an effect called symphonic. I know the odds of someone having both an AW 1600 and an SPX 90 is slim. But i'm hoping there might be a few SPX 90 users that have some insight on the unit. I'd be running it in the loop of my JCM 800 or with an ADA rack rig. My hope is that the symphonic patches in both units will be similar so I can have that effect when i'm not recording. I'd be curious as to the quality of the other FX of the unit as well and I wonder if any other Yammie units have the symphonic effect. Thanks in advance, Rob

[Sarg_29]

I had a SPX90 several years back and yes it does have the symphonic patch as you describe. They are great effect units just more than I was into at the time so I sold it. :jo

[VinceM]

The magicstomp has the symphonic effect. I'm not sure if it is exactly the same as in the SPX90, but it sounds to me similar to what you described.

Vince

[brightboy]

The SPX-900 has it as well....

Cheers,

Jeff

[LordRiffenstein]

A lot of Yamaha units have the Symphonic, I bought a SPX90 just for that sound but they all fail to nail the sound of the SPX90, it just sounds better on the SPX90 than on any other of those units :p

[EunosFD]

Been looking at these lately too as they can be had for very reasonable prices & if memory serves me they sound decent too. How do they sound relatively speaking? Work well in a guitar rig? I know they're a bit old school technologically speaking so I'm not expecting it to compare to modern gear.

Just curious, but does the delay in it have tap-tempo?

[boogieplaya]

i used an spx 90 in the effects loop of my jcm 800 stack for a few years..it always colored my sound, but the delays were first rate..i think the colored sound came from the 800's effect loop as much as anything.

[gulliver]

The SPX 90 was one of the first programmable digital processors. I would think it's a little old in the tooth, hopefully you can find something more modern that does what you want it to do with more clearity.

[EunosFD]

The SPX 90 was one of the first programmable digital processors. I would think it's a little old in the tooth, hopefully you can find something more modern that does what you want it to do with more clearity.

Def some good points. I guess I kinda have a thing for old 80's stuff like that & figured since they can be had rather cheap it might be fun to mess around with.

[ericb]

Def some good points. I guess I kinda have a thing for old 80's stuff like that & figured since they can be had rather cheap it might be fun to mess around with.

I don't have any SPX90's anymore but I always remember drooling over them when they 1st came out.. They were about 675.00 from our local prosound places.. Way out of reach for me being that then I owned 1 amp and a few floor pedals and 1-2 guitars... Then finally after a lot of years they went down to 200-300.00 and I bought a couple.. Used them for years on Guitar and for PA use and studio use.. Nothing wrong with them at all.. They're TOTALLY TOTALLY simple to use and program. I don't have any anymore, but do have that Korg unit that's 2 SPX90's in one basically . That patch is a cool one for sure. You can find spx90's under 200.00 and if you want a VERY SIMPLE , and excellent sounding processor nothing wrong with that. They've taken these things miles ahead these days but some guys still like the old and simple stuff and nothing wrong with functionaly and simplicity! ERIC

[gulliver]

I admit, I bought a Quadraverb last year ... but it was all of $50. be careful with the older stuff, if you're in the hundreds, you're probably better off with newer stuff. You really have to shop around.

Eventually, I want to get an Adrenalinn, I think those are pretty slick and they sound pretty musical. John Mayer uses one on his new album, sounds like an overdriven harp.

[fuzzinator]

I use an SPX-90 in my effects loop for reverse reverb. Killer effect.

[LordRiffenstein]

SPX90 does color the tone quite a bit and that's why I'm running it in parallel with a mixer. It does have really good reverbs and delays as well, very usefull unit. You might look at the new SPX2000, it is way more transparant but saddly, the Symphonic is not spot on, still very very nice though.

[Memorex]

I bought an SPX90 in 1986. I still have it, it works great, and even though I'm not using it at the moment, I'll never sell it.

[bluesjuke]

I used to have a SPX 90.
I can't recall what the Symphony setting did.
I do remember is was a very good processor for modulation effects though.

[boogieplaya]

if i remember right, the symphony preset had distortion in it, but you could edit it out..

[Zero]

I have one from the old days. Man the thing is noisy though (hiss).

[rob2001]

Thanks guys. This was the first time posting a question actually cured GAS! Noisy hey? That won't do. I figured out that I can just use my AW 1600 as a live soundboard as well. I didn't want to bring it to gigs that I do our own sound on but heck , why not? I'll have to be careful with it but it's totally easier than bringing my 16 channel board and a rack full of comps and fx. I set it up as a practice run and it works like a charm adding symphony or whatever I want at the board. Sounds great. I still might pick one up and use it as an insert on my regular board. Thanks dudes! Rob

[Axekisser]

Well as an old recording engineer I've used the SPX 90 and actually own the guitar version--the SPX 50D. I think they're great. Remember, the sampling frequency is 32.5 k so it naturally rolls off some highs which works well with guitars. The symphonic is a chorus program. As far as the noise issue, it likes to be driven at pro-levels. If the front isn't driven hard you need to crank the output (or input of next device). I would see if you could find the 50D and try that. I'd also recommend the Alesis Wedge unit depending on your set-up.

[rob2001]

Well as an old recording engineer I've used the SPX 90 and actually own the guitar version--the SPX 50D. I think they're great. Remember, the sampling frequency is 32.5 k so it naturally rolls off some highs which works well with guitars. The symphonic is a chorus program. As far as the noise issue, it likes to be driven at pro-levels. If the front isn't driven hard you need to crank the output (or input of next device). I would see if you could find the 50D and try that. I'd also recommend the Alesis Wedge unit depending on your set-up.

I've run across a few 50d's but wasn't sure if they had symphonic. Rolling off some highs with my amp isn't a bad thing either. It's very bright to start with. My fx loop has variable in and out( pots) so i'm sure I could drive it hard enough. Thanks for the tip on the 50D! Rob

[Rothbardian]

Can you guys offer some sample settings for some wall of sound type stuff?

I've had one of these units for years, but I never use it.

[Axekisser]

Can you guys offer some sample settings for some wall of sound type stuff?

I've had one of these units for years, but I never use it.

Don't know if I can get you the wall of sound stuff but here's a tip to use that works well for something different when using the SPX 50D:

Go to the "combo" distortion/modulation presets. Turn the distortion off/down; adjust the gate so it's off and then get the modulation sounding the way you want. Finally, adjust the gate back up so that your sound is clean/unprocessed until you hit a loud note/section and the modulation will kick-in because the gate opens.

I use this trick on guitars and vocals so that the modulation comes in on the loud parts and adds a bit of depth or wackiness (depending how you set-up the modulation). Works with the delay combo too IIRC.

[IG88]

I had an old spx90 and loved it but couldnt tolerate the bypassed signal as it just ate it up. the gep50, which is just an spx90 voiced with guitar with about 12 distortion algorithms added isnt that much of an improvment. id look into the latest spx variants, i was quite smitten with the 900 i played awhile back. heres some sounds from the spx90 ala MBV...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOreojwOIIM

[Lance]

There's a dude in Carlsbad, CA that mods these old Yamahas, which makes them MUCH better for effects loop usage. He mods all kinds of stuff, and it really increases the headroom of signal processors, which does quiet them down a bit, but greatly decreases the chance of clipping. I had him do an old Lexicon LXP-5, and it was worth every bit of the $150.00 he charges. Kimock uses pretty much the same unit in his $10,000.00 Two-Rocks, and he sounds fantastic. Give him a call, as he doesn't really check email.

http://audioupgrades.com/upgrades/upgrades_signal_processor.htm

[jaywalker]

All the SPX series choruses and verbs etc are featured in the magicstomp, and a number of them in the old DG stomp series.
Tha magicstomp has many symphonic multis too, like symph into rev etc.
I was just playing around with them a few minutes ago.....

[todd richman]

If you get an SPX-90 do yourself a favor and call David Phillips at L.A. Sound Design. He has some amazing programs for that unit that are pure classic 80's radio tones-Landau, Huff, etc. Also, I would check the battery or have a fresh one installed so the memory stays stable. That service is not too expensive.

[DANOCASTER]

get a SPX 90II. I had one in my Bradshaw rig

it's much quieter and has the symphonic patch

also a great effect :

+ 8 cents on the left ( w/ 60 ms delay )
- 8 cents on the right ( w/ 30 ms delay )

that's Landau's "Womanizer" patch

kick that baby in halfway thru a solo ;)

[todd richman]

That is a great patch Dan. How about a pic of your old CAE rig?

[NBarnes21]

I liked using the reverse reverb on mine a lot, but the volume drop and tone coloring was unbearable and I eventually sold it.

[DANOCASTER]

That is a great patch Dan. How about a pic of your old CAE rig?

I wish I took more pics. I only have 2

here's one from NAMM '89 ( demo'd for DW ). The rack on the right is mine ( that's me on the right as well ) .

With the VHT 2150 on top , it was above shoulder high !! 22 spaces PLUS the VHT - crazy !! What was I thinkin' ? A 3 channel Soldano / a Simulclass Mark IIIC / a Studio preamp / a TRi Stereo Chorus , etc.. It was an amazing sounding rack !!

standing right behind me is my very early Tyler w/ the earlier strat headstock: JB in the bridge w/ 2 hot stacks ( plus series / parallel - mid boost - blower switch, etc )

I must have used that on a million sessions !!

http://danocaster.smugmug.com/photos/524354817_DjzPa-X3.jpg

Here's a clearer shot of the rack w/ LA producer / guitarist Bob Hartry

again - my rack is on the right ( w/ TWO SPX-90IIs !! )

http://danocaster.smugmug.com/photos/318178311_oRRgT-X3.jpg

[rob2001]

WOW!! This is an old thread!! I ended up buying an SPX 50d. I don't use it much though. I don't know, I think the symphonic in my 1600 used for recording has spoiled me! When I use it in mixdown it sounds incredible but the 50d in the amp loop doesn't sound near as good. It's probably the fact of it being after the speakers and it's a stereo effect whewn recording. Plus the fact that the amp sounds much better when the loop isn't being used. I can see it working if I used a stereo rig for live.

Anyhow, I don't use it with my amp but it gets some use as a plugin for recording. Some of the verbs sound pretty good. I have used it for practice running it into an ADA cab simulator and straight to the board. I've sold off all the other rack gear so it's just the JCM 800 and a few stompers for live work now.

Funny to see an old thread come up and see how my perspective has changed in a few years.

[Eagle1]

Yes the Magicstomp has all the SPX90 stuff in it and it costs about 50p .

[todd richman]

Great pics Dan. Your rack was HUGE! One day I need to go back and revisit the old school mid to late 80's rack thing. The trouble is that many of the high quality units like the TSC, 1210, 2290 and PCM-70 v2 are very pricey now. I guess the membership over at HRI has driven up the demand for those units.

[todd richman]

Can someone help me with some Symphonic, Stereo Flanger A & B, Chorus A& B and a faux Leslie patch settings please.

[huutevar]

I think the old REX-50 was pretty similar to the SPX-90. I think it also had one of the first digital distortions. I had a REX-50 in the late 80's but the weird shape of the box convinced me to sell it.

[todd richman]

Still seeking some favorite patch settings from SPX-90 owners.

[rob2001]

PM sent Todd!

To quote myself.....

"Funny to see an old thread come up and see how my perspective has changed in a few years."

Once again, funny to see how our/my setups change over the years.....i'm back to a rack rig and i'm loving the Yamaha in it's proper setting. The Symphonic and micro pitch programs are killer in stereo.

Just a thought on Yamaha gear....this SPX 50D of mine has been the most abused gear item i've ever owned and it still works flawlessly. I can say the same thing for my drummer's Yamaha kit! Yamaha makes great gear IMO.

[guitarnet70]

December 2007? Heck! this must be the longest lasting thread on TGP...

[todd richman]

rob-thanks for the PM. Could you post your Symphonic settings you currently have in your SPX please.