I got these before I even got the pedals and I’m so glad I did. By going into the settings it’s a great way to get a crash course on how the pedals works as well. Big fan of your work, thanks for giving me a jumping off point for my own tones!
What does the hold modifier do for these presets on the mercury x. Can it be easily set for freeze cause I’ve noticed some of the good factory presets in this pedal have all these LFOs on the hold modifier that drastically change the sound of the preset if you want to change the hold modifier to just freeze
It can be programmed to do any number of things. I didn't dive in to any of that for this batch of Presets of mine, I was more determined to accomplish some strong basics once I got the feel of all the reverbs dialed. Future presets I dive in to will likely be utilizing a lot more of the bizarre possibilities.
@@KenyonReed2 trying to find out - with your patches are we able to keep their original sounds and still use the infinite freeze hold with the modifier ..to then play over the top of, which is really fun and sounds kool or will we need to remove and turn off the lfo’s that are attached to each preset and modifier to achieve that ..which could drastically change the sound of yourpreset, just to use the freeze hold on the modifier?
@@Chadscooking doesnt seem like he added anything to the modifiers so im guessing you can add that infinite to any preset you would want. I dont have any but form what Kenyon's response was it seems like its not super complicated settings in the presets. just some good basic sounds like a "starter pack".
Watched this whole video from start to finish; seriously considering them both now eventually. I have the BigSky and the DD-500 and they’re both amazing but man these pedals are next level. Great vid 🔥
@@KenyonReed2 awesome! I figured you weren’t using a modeler, but if you were, I wanted to know where to get the patch! Haha. I knew it sounded too real! I’ve begun to notice that it seems modelers just get “muddy” with wet effects in front of the amps, at least for me!
Very good man! Been loving the presets. Obviously you added a ton of boost/ drive at times in the video but overall for the typical clean tone here were you adding anything except compression?
Thanks, and I’m glad you’ve been loving them! For this particular video and the other Meris video, I used my RX Overdriver set to a first gain stage volume and just left it on the whole time.
Wow do these ever sound so crisp! Kenyon, do you keep your pre-delay on your verbs quite high? Mind boggling how clear it sounds all while still having a lush long decay
Great vid! I love the comment about how people want a modulation version of the X series from Meris. What, so they want ONE categories section to be an entire pedal?? A few things I wanna point out after owning the MercuryX for a while now: 1. The “Feedback Loop” location is only applicable to the predelay section. It’s not possible to modify the feedback loop of the MercuryX’s reverb algorithms, which felt a bit limiting when I got it. However, there are lots of settings per algorithm that let you change how the reverb acts to where it’s not super limiting. 2. Most of the MercuryX algorithms both sum to mono and add stereo spread later. This is a fairly standard approach to reverb. I believe the Gravity and Prism algorithms don’t actually do this, but I’d have to check again to be sure. A few of the BigSky MX algorithms (5 out of all I believe) don’t sum to mono for the wet signal when used alone. The BigSky MX has the advantage to have a true stereo reverb with the split L - R feature. I think most people have been ignoring the BigSky MX; I use it because as a guitar player, it’s much easier to dial in a nice sound on the fly. Plus the MIDI implementation is better; no dropped MIDI messages when using an expression pedal to send MIDI CCs, and no audio dropouts when switching presets. You can do a few clever things with the BigSky MX that somewhat mimic the MercuryX since you are able to run two algorithms into one another, such as taking the swell from Hall and running it in series into any other algorithm. It also has a cab simulator, which is helpful since I gig with tube amps, and is handy in case my amp fails. The MercuryX is a perfect pedal for finely tuned, beautiful sci-fi spaces, which is why I still own mine. Plus it looks absolutely stunning!! The ability to put distortion after the reverb is also quite an amazing effect, though I can accomplish the same thing with my switcher, Big SkyMX, and LVX that lets me change the order of effects. When the Timeline MX comes out, I probably won’t consider it at all!! The LVX is just so much more powerful in my opinion. I've really been itching for a Mobius MX to replace the Neo Ventilator. I'm sure Strymon will revisit their rotary algorithm, plus I need to be able to use MIDI with it!
It’s actually just two tone press compressors thrown in to one box that I had my buddy do for me so I could swap between two different sets of settings
I would encourage it! It’s a great buffer to have no matter what you’re going in to. It’ll enhance your tone/signal. Make sure it’s the first thing your guitar goes in to!
I have the Eventide H90. Got it 9 months ago. I will let erbody know when I figure out everything it does. 😆 I'm very interested in the Merris X, though. Seems like the ultimate reverb pedal. The H90 is a wonderful jack of all trades for studio work.
Yeah the H90 has been interesting to me, I bet it sounds amazing. Though it looks like one of the more complicated pedals to navigate which is what has held me off so far from wanting to dive in, but i'm sure its awesome. But yes the Mercury X is incredible.
@@KenyonReed2very interesting. I do know officially that the BigSky, and any tape pedals/tape modes in the timeline have to sum the stereo signal before processing it in the wet, which I’m sure effects your spread to some degree as well.
@@KenyonReed2 reverb algorithms get their specific stereo field from a variety of design factors like delay lines, diffusion networks, phase shifting techniques, etc. etc. etc. The idea that Strymon reverbs have a certain width to them just cus of some pan setting sounds way too simplistic. And also the notion that Strymon would spend all that time sound designing the stereo field then go ham and apply 75% pan at the end, why...? I don't think so.
I do think the mercury can do what it can do as well, but there is still something useful about an auxiliary box of tricks. And the secular tempus is so small for everything it can do. It’s fun to have a reverb running in to another at a different point in the chain.
Great vid that really highlights the flexibility and freedom the LVX and MercuryX provide. I've had a Timeline since the very first batch (2011) and a Bigsky (v1) since its release as well. I still like those pedals a lot, but for me these Meris units are just sublime and resonate with potential. Personally, I think any VS talk (whether that's BigskyMX versus MercuryX or...throw in any other brand) can get a little tiresome. I think the best thing for the discourse around which pedal you might choose comes down to understanding the architecture. There is not a best or worst in this case, only a preferable option for YOUR USE CASE. Although I like the option of (12) algorithms in the Strymon (with lots of routing options), I prefer the modular design of the Meris so that I can build my own sounds on a component by component level.
Exactly! I had the same thoughts. I also am not interested in doing a “why this is better than this”. Because reality is they all really do sound really good. But the meris offered unique things that I’d never considered that I knew lots of folks didn’t realize and I wanted to highlight!
The fact that having these 2 pedals could cover 3 major grounds (delay, reverb, modulation) makes them worth their price in my opinion. Truly you could really get away with not needing another modulation pedals
Had both the MercuryX and LVX, ended up replacing the MercuryX with the BigSkyMX since it does realistic spaces and spring reverbs better than MercuryX - the impulse responses on the Strymon really give it the edge. BigSky MX + LVX is amazing!
This is the review I’ve been looking for when it comes to the MercuryX. Thank you for putting it together, your insight is definitely helping me inch further toward selling a limb or two to afford it. I already have the LVX and some days I get overwhelmed by the options but then other days I remember how much I enjoy making the presets that I enjoy using - like actually using to make actual music 😮 I currently have a Specular Tempus as my main reverb and it’s incredible but I’m realising I get so much musical satisfaction from the creative freedom the LVX has that I’m wanting the same for my reverb.
I’m glad this helped. Yeah ithe LVX can absolutely get overwhelming. Personally I feel like I aced the stereo spread of my presets that I made and am selling. I spent hours trying to get them to *feel* right, which was the biggest thing. If you ever feel stuck, consider grabbing my presets. I’m certain it’ll kick start you in the direction to make things feel good. And you’ll be able to make countless presets off of those principles.
Why not have them both? They're both great companies & they sound beautiful. It's just a matter of personal preference. Personally, I can't justify buying one of these $700 pedals. I already have a lot of pedals that sound great & I'm perfectly happy with them. I use the Empress Reverb & Neunaber Immerse more than any of my other reverbs. I don't have a Big Sky, but I can say that I will never get rid my Timeline.
Yeah like @telorchid said. But, that being said, like I mentioned in the video, the strymons rule. I think their 10 year + track record shows that. And I’ll likely get the new ones at some point. People have a tendency to defend what they own when presented with something new, I get it. But this isn’t to say you should trash what you have. It’s to shed light on new things that people may have potentially not understood what all it offered. When I first heard about the meris pedals, I didn’t know they could do all these things I described. I’ve never seen another pedal do this to this extent. So that’s worth noting. And to your point, I asked myself all these questions since Strymon was in fact asking for about $700, when Meris was asking $600 for all these things. Many points that caused me to pause and make a more educated decision.
If I came into some big money I would definitely buy them both. Unfortunately I only have regular money & will be buying neither. The price tag can be justified if someone was looking to sell older pedals. I can see wanting to have one big reverb instead of two or three smaller pedals. Personally, I prefer having different flavors. My Empress & Neunaber combined cost about the same amount as one of these. Some people might prefer one $700 pedal instead of spending the same amount on two or three pedals.
It's kind of a rhetorical question. I like to watch these videos from a hypothetical perspective where I have unlimited $ to buy anything I want. If I had to choose one the Meris would be the more logical choice. Someone mentioned that the Strymon can stack 2 different reverbs. That & the IR capability make it a tough decision.
Honestly, every video of these has overwhelmed me but this was so easy to watch, lovely to listen to, and perfectly informative of something rather deep. You’re raising the bar and providing the new standard for honest reviews as opposed to sales demos
Tried a blue sky a long time ago. Been using the Mercury7 since 2017. The LVX and MercuryX are incredible engineering marvels. The preamp feedback loop trick is one of my favorites very EchoPlex like
This is an epic video!! Secret hack if no one knew this, but Meris also helped build the “dynamic” verbs in the Line6 HX stuff. The plate, hall, room, shimmer and bloom programs are super close if not the same programs in Mercury X!
I was in between the Mercury X and the Bigsky MX for a couple weeks and eventually ended up pulling the trigger on the Bigsky. My reasoning was because I didn’t want to have to menu dive to get good sounds. It looks like the Meris is easier to sound design on than I thought. It sounds really good! The one big thing that the Bigsky MX has over the Mercury X is the ability to use and import impulse reverbs. I wasn’t expecting to be drawn in by them but they just sound so good (especially the spring reverbs). I feel like the reception for the Bigsky MX by a lot of people in the worship scene has been that Strymon didn’t do enough to justify it but I struggle to understand why. There are all new rebuilt algorithms + the old ones, you can stack two reverbs, run them parallel, or two different reverbs on left and right, impulse responses, easier to navigate screen, and the infinite switch. All that being said I still struggle to not press buy now on the matte black Mercury X 😂
Well said! Yeah I was drawn to a couple of very specific things about the Bigsky MX and had my finger on the buy button. One of those things being loading infinite IRs in to it. That sounds like you don’t need anything else. And I’m obsessed with the cloud algorithm. But with all that and those few other features you mentioned, it still didn’t quite feel like enough things to help me escape what I’ve been bound to in the Bigsky, if that makes sense. Its not necessarily that Strymon didn’t do “enough”, but more that I was for the most part getting more of the same and wanted to try something that was so different and engineered so well like these meris pedals with lots to offer. That being said, I’ll likely still get a Bigsky MX in the future and all the future MX releases
@@KenyonReed2 I think you summed it up better then anyone else I have heard from about this. Many people have been using the bigsky for 5-10 years and want to try something new. That makes total sense to me. The MX is my first Bigsky as I am coming from the Flint. If I had the original Bigsky I’m sure I would be feeling the same as the rest of the community about it. Both pedals are fantastic and we live in such a great time where we have so many amazing options for guitar pedals!
@@KenyonReed2 Who isn't obsessed with that cloud algorithm? It just sounds so good. I've been wanting to add a cloudburst to my arsenal. The Big Sky MX & Mercury X sound great & have incredible features. I'm just not in the market for such an expensive big box reverb at the moment.
After I bought the LVX I wrote to Meris and said, "If you do the same thing with reverb I will buy it sight unseen." Love the Mercury X and this video is giving me some fun ideas, thanks. There is one error, around the 25:00 mark you explain the feedback loop position incorrectly. It is not feedback of the reverb, it is the feedback loop of the predelay. If you are not adding feedback to your predelay, putting a modifier in that position will be underwhelming.
Thanks for the reminder. I'm going to have to check some of my presets! (That said, the first one I could find, where I had Hazy modulation in the feedback loop, and 0 feedback, still could definitely be heard.)
@@Telorchid Sorry to be unclear. You will hear it, but the point of putting it in the feedback loop is to have the effected sound go through the effect again, then that doubly effected sound goes through again etc etc. I actually just tried a couple of quick tests when I saw your reply. I am pretty sure that if you move your Hazy modulation from the feedback loop to the Pre position it should sound exactly the same. If you find an effect that sounds different in those two positions please let me know. I am always keen to find out when I am wrong. 🙂
Sadly I don’t have a written source. Mostly more of reading it from a few random places and hearing it from many people. Which was why I went with the word “allegedly”. I’m sure there may be folks out there who do have a guarantee of that fact. But comparing it to the meris pedals, I would believe that it’s possible. When I pan the LVX delays to 75% it sounds just about the same.
