Re: Vortex queries

[Dave Stagner <dstagner@icarus.leepfrog.com>]

On Fri, 20 Sep 1996, The Man Himself wrote:

> WARNING: This is a post regarding the Lexicon Vortex, and is not 100% 
> loop-related.  Those easily offended by non-topicality are advised to 
> delete now or suffer the consequences!

I think we're a long way from the topicops griping about deviations
from the norm.  Ghod, I HOPE so!

> At any rate, I'm not entirely conviced of the unit's possibilities.  It's
> very nice sounding, but a lot of the distinctions between different
> effects seem to be along the order of different sorts of delay tap
> patterns and so forth -- pretty subtle things that would sound 
>interesting
> in a headphone studio mix, but not so useful in a more
> performance-oriented application.  There are one or two wonderfully
> hideous things I've run across (ring-mod and envelope-detune), but I'm
> wondering just how deep the thing is. 

It is definitely more a studio than a live instrument.  This is no big
deal for me.  I hardly ever play live, and mostly monitor through
headphones anyway.  The subtleties are generally lost live, especially
if you play in mono (yuk!).  The user interface pretty much sucks for
live playing, too.  It's a shame it doesn't have MIDI support. 

But those subtleties are its strength in the studio.  Personally, I
can get lost in the abstraction of interacting delays, panning, and
spatialization effects, and I'm sure I'm not alone here.  :}  

> So if any Vortex users would care to share some editing/operating tips,. 
> I'd be most grateful.  At the moment, I'm not sure if I'll hang on to it
> or take advantage of GC's return policy.  Even at this cheap of a price, 
>I
> don't know if it's worth it for two or three cool effects. 

Heck, it's worth it just for clean delays and chorus effects.  If you
have a typical ART/Digitech/Zoom multi-effect, try A/B'ing it with the
Vortex.  Lexicon's sounds are lush and warm, and don't sterilize your
sound.  

But really, don't judge the Vortex by a few hour's fiddling.  It's a
VERY deep box, and like all deep instruments, it can't be picked up in
a few hours of play.  Keep working with it, and learn to appreciate
its strengths and weaknesses. 


By "beauty," I mean that which seems complete.
Obversely, that the incomplete, or the mutilated, is the ugly. 
Venus De Milo.
To a child she is ugly.       /* dstagner@icarus.leepfrog.com      */ 
   -Charles Fort              /* http://www.leepfrog.com/~dstagner */