Latest User Reviews

Simple, different but very useful and instant sonic mojo in your mix!

I have both the 323 and the 626. While they are very similar I advise anyone to get the 626. The 323 has only 8 programs. 626 has 9 plus a, b, c , d, e and f programs. the first 8 programs are exactly the same on both machines and while on the 626 you have double the memory the first 8 programs have the exact same max decay as on the 323. You only take advantage of the extra memory on the 626 for the extra presets and on the extra presets you can actually have longer decays up to 20sec (only preset A does 20sec) or delays with almost infinite feedback. there are mono and stereo delays and delays with some panning variation.

On the delay programs they have fixed delays like 100, 120, 140ms etc. This varies with with the delay preset and the increments can be narrower or wider (weird amazing machine) Its difficult to describe how it sounds but a darker version of eventide blackhole with some delay is the closest thing I can think of. They have a fragile feeling in the hands and are very light. the inside looks simple and If something fails it should be simple to fix. I love it. They are rare machines ,specially the 626, very unique , look cool, and relatively affordable still today. In 2020 I paid for a 323, 1000e and a 626 in mint condition , 1500euro. Grab one now.

I have used this mainly as a reverb unit, but it actually works well as an audio-processor as well. For mixing purposes you would need the MD-algorithm – which can be bought separately. My favorite preset is the “BigBlue” which is a large hall with an extended stereo-width bigger than real life.

I love this machine. the reverbs are magnificent and full of finesse. a perfect complement to Lexicon. I have a PCM96, a PCM70, an SPX90 and an eventide DSP7000 and the M3000 is often my first choice on acoustic instruments and voices. For the price on occasion today, this is absolutely the reverb to have. If I had to keep only one, it would be this one. Sometimes it can have some small wheel problems…

Since I received the SST-282 I must say it’s a jaw dropping and playful unit. Everything sent through sounds magical warm and bright. As for the time it was made the delay time isn’t the longest but I mean for drums, perc, just about everything just adds more richness to the sound.

As a specialist in deep 3 dimensional and spacious mixes i find this device able to fill that emptyness that often arises when mixing entirely in the box. The so called “HOLE IN THE MIDDLE” that many workstation mixdowns suffer from can partly be cured by this device as it utilises semi mono elements that fill up that gap. As many workstation plugin reverbs often sound (too) wide and not deep this SST is a fix in many of these cases. The sound quality is “strange” and that’s just what the brain sees as interesting and characterful. An amazing device that when taken care of properly, will bring years and years of joy to your mixing sessions.

As stated in the review on this website already: the unit is from the eighties and sounds like the eighties. since the the review is written by me, I need to emphasize that there are (were, back then) of course better and expensive sounding units on there market, but the RVD901 is the easy and straight forward one to got to. You need some authentic eighties gate reverb on you drum machine – take MODE4 and there it is. Even from today´s perspective, if you are not after all the vintage sound, MODE1 offers largest and widest sound. That one was and is still a surprise for me. Go through the review and check one out if it crosses your way. PS: I gave it just a 70% in reliability, since the RVD is pretty young in my studio setup. Since it survived until now, I assume it´ll last and will be stabile.

I have the 3030 without the digital I/O. This is the reason I am selling it, I need digital connections. One overlooked feature of this unit is the compression which allows for some very dramatic reshaping of the reverb bloom.

Some rather wild effects can be had with extreme compression settings. I admit I am not a fan of the reverb sound though. It is thin and doesn’t sit well in my mixes – mostly it gets totally buried. I am a fan of the other effects this unit can do though. The chorus, phaser and resonator are delightful on their own and good for making spacious synth pads.

They also allow for some more creative reverb sounds that are more interesting than the reverb on its own. I find the editing is fairly easy but the resolution of the parameter knob isn’t fine enough and makes for a bit of frustrating fiddling. The unit is also very quiet. If mine had the digital I/O I would keep it. It’s a decent box for unusual effects but for basic reverb duties it has no traction.

I have had 2 of these, both brand new. These units have well documented design problems. First thing I noticed is these units get VERY hot, even after not long being on. You could fry eggs on them. Both units ended up freezing up, or just plain powering off and on by themselves randomly. I returned them. Also the sound is not worth it. Very bland metallic verbs, and editing them did not help much. The older 330 series before them sounded smoother, tho kind of dark and nothing super special. This is opposite of that. My 330 series didnt have technical problems either. For those still willing to chance it on these 3030, there were 2 versions. One with optional digital in/outs called 3030D and one without just called 3030.

Too many people dismiss this reverb and I understand why, the presets suck. If you take the time to really dig in and get your hands dirty, this is a very good unit and very capable. The fact it is 24bit is also a huge bonus as it is generally very quiet. It is a pain to edit, but well worth the effort. The fact they can be picked up off eBay for song makes it a no brainer.

This reverb does not get a lot of love from those that own it, and it is not that it does anything particularly wrong, it is for me at least because it is very uninspiring in use. It does not have the funk of the Roland SRV-2000 or the pristine reverb tails of say the Lexicon 480. In a word, boring.