Other Digital Effects

Digital Effects Processors are everything that is great about digital signal processing and provide multiple effects in a single box. Everything from digital reverb, digital delay and modulation effects are included. The ability to combine these effects takes everything to another level altogether. Eventide was one of the very first companies to head down this path with the Eventide H910 Harmonizer. The H910 was the world’s first commercially available digital audio effects processor. The H910 combined pitch effects with delay and feedback to create a very unique device for the time. The success Eventide enjoyed with this first product spawned many products over the years, and Eventide deservedly own the multi-effects processor market to this day. Their latest product the Eventide H9000 is an extraordinary bit of technology that will take them through the next decade.

A number of companies over the years have tried to take on Eventide, some with great success, some not so much. One such company that did succeed was Yamaha with their range of SPX signal processors. Yamaha introduced their SPX90 processor in 1985 and it offered everything from reverb to delay, chorusing and a multitude of other effects in a single rack space. The SPX90 was a massive hit for Yamaha who followed it with a string of even better processors. Companies like Alesis, Ensoniq, Korg, Kurzweil, Lexicon, Roland, Sony and TC Electronic all got into the multi-effects processor market with varying degrees of success. There are however some real standout products for those looking to buy hardware based multi-effects processors besides the Eventide and Yamaha offerings, and that includes the Ensoniq DP/4 and DP/4+ processors, as well as the Sony DPS-V77.

Released in 1990
The Yamaha FX900 Simul-Effect Processor offers flexible control of up to seven effects with 100 presets and real-time control options. It delivers high-quality sound with advanced A/D and D/A conversion for various applications like guitar, bass, and vocals.
Released in 1990
The Zoom 9010 is a highly advanced effects unit, offering four independent channels, flexible routing options, customisable send/return connections, real-time control of parameters, and the ability to run up to seven effects simultaneously.
Released in 1990
The Alesis Midiverb III is a high quality multi-effects unit which features up to 4 simultaneous effects at a full 15KHz bandwidth and with 16 bit resolution. Since all features of Alesis Midiverb III are accessible from the front panel, the operator can set up a wide range of complex effects without a complex user interface.
Released in 1991
After failing to make an impact with the Roland R-880, Roland went back to what they do best, affordable multi effects processors and the Roland RSP-550 was born. The Roland RSP-550 was a departure from the norm for Roland, gone was the SRV nomenclature, but only for a short while when they returned with the SRV-330.
Released in 1991
The Lexicon LXP-15 offers a rich and distinctive palette of special effects, including 128 preset effects programs to get you started. Each program has up to five display pages of variable parameters that you can adjust for subtle or dramatic changes in the program’s sound, and you can store as many as 128 customised programs in user memory.
Released in 1991
Korg had made a number of effects units by the time the Korg A1 was released, and for this unit they went all out to match the competition. The Korg A1 was designed to surpass the usual limitations of digital multi-effect processors.
Released in 1991
The Zoom 9030 is a versatile multi-effect device with 47 built-in effects, intuitive controls, analogue distortion, real-time modulation, and support for external effect devices, offering dynamic sound processing for a wide range of applications.
Released in 1992
The Eventide H3500 is capable of creating affects you have never heard before (1992) and is fully MIDI controllable with click less, real-time MIDI control. The Eventide H3500 incorporates all the effects of the Eventide H3000-SE, plus the Mod Factory dynamic presets, and the Eventide HS322/395 Sampler card.
Released in 1992
After a digital reverb and a digital delay, the next logical choice for Sony was a modulation processor, and that is exactly what they delivered with the Sony DPS-M7. With the new Sony DPS-M7, Sony continued to improve the sonic characteristics of the internals, with the DPS-M7 showing even better noise floor performance than even the DPS-D7 that preceded it.
Released in 1992
After the digital reverb, digital delay and then a modulation processor, what could Sony release next? A dynamic filter, which lacked the appeal of the first three effects in the DPS line up. The Sony DPS-F7 is suited to keyboard players more so than studios, as it generates rather interesting effects for keyboards including vocoder and synthesiser. Having said that, creative engineers could find great use for this effect in their racks.
Released in 1992
Ensoniq were a keyboard manufacturer back in the 1980s, but their legacy seems destined to be their first multi-effect processor, the Ensoniq DP/4. Using their experience from keyboards and samplers, Ensoniq developed their first effects processor in 1992 towards the end of their keyboard era, and to this day, the Ensoniq DP/4 is still sought being after.
Released in 1993
The Yamaha SPX990, regardless of the name came after the Yamaha SPX1000 and continued the Yamaha tradition of providing superb quality. The Yamaha SPX990 effect systems offers 80 preset effect programs including accurate simultaneous natural reverberation and early reflections.
3 / 71234567

Just a Quick

Question?

Can you tell us quickly what it is you love about Vintage Digital, and what it is you would like to see more of on the site? Is there anything you think we should add?
Let us know!