vortex

[SoundFNR@aol.com]

re: possible VORTEX problems
1) noise? it's a very quiet pedal, maybe the problem is that it's hard to 
turn down 
   the output volume (you'd have to change it for each patch) , especially 
with the                                           
   presets. Maybe the case is that if you just plug & go you have to turn 
the 
I/P
   volume down to stop the amp overloading (= extra noise).  

2) Phase problems. I can't comment from personal experience (yet) but
   apparently many mixers have a phase inversion on the FX return, which 
may 
   or may not be the culprit.
   Best to use Vortex as 'in-line' if this is a problem.

3) Boring presets? It's more that many of them are a bit subtle, so yes 
they 
do
   mostly come across as being similar. They don't begin to show what the 
box 
is               
   capable of .  Actually I don't often find presets acceptable anyway.

4) Hard Manual? well let's call it challenging. 


Vortex 'Good Points'
Excellent sound, it even distorts nice when you overload the I/P. Very 
tweakable.
Extreme modulation. Infinite repeats without degradation (on some 
settings).
The Audio morphing facility lets you set up any 2 sounds and switch or 
pedal
seamlessly between them. This can either give you the ultimate in pedal 
control
(eg modulation depth & frequency & resonance all at the same time) or 
allow 
access to the bizarreness  half way between 2 totally different patches.
With a bit of effort some the possibilities are pretty astounding, I 
remember 
when talk of the Vortex first started on LD. People were pretty knocked 
out by
it's ability to create sustained textures

  
 

Andy Butler
<A HREF="http://members.aol.com/soundfnr/vortex.htm">Lexicon Vortex 
Database
</A>