@@markjohnstonofficial if you broke this up into like 2-3 parts would the algorithm get you paid more? Cause I would watch all three. You dive through this stuff super methodically. It’s organized, straightforward, and you always land on USABLE tones. Go for 20-30 minutes then make a part 2. Release all at the same time!
I have a Polymoon…. I don’t need to be watching this…. But I am because , well, auto play….. but I stuck around because A: that INTRO = B: your unscripted ability to engage through sheer obvious passion + C:your ridiculously calming voice…. Super unpretentious - many thanks 🙏 super informative and well produced 😊
I've been in love with my LVX since day one! Definitely one of the best pedals in years. I love when companies don't make just the same boring tube screamer or lame delay, chorus or something that is just simple and sounds like everything else. I love it when the few step out of the zone and give us something unique and only a few companies do such a thing in this day and age!
I was waiting for your video on this, Mark! Incredible work! This is legitimately my favourite pedal. Something about the workflow and sound just clicks with me unlike anything else I've tried. Also, beautiful intro track!
I usually don’t like multi effects pedals - but the LVX is just so good - the U.I. The sounds , the convenience of having every possible sound you need - I run my guitar and synths through it- it’s super inspiring -
Interestingly I don’t know that I would actually call it a multi effect, but I don’t think I’m correct. It’s absolutely a multi but it feels like it has better focus than that and I deeply appreciate that.
@@markjohnstonofficial I think it’s better thought of as ‘modular sound builder’ than a ‘multi effects’, which explains the more intuitive, tweakable and focused nature of it. Thanks so much for your amazing rundown!
Fantastic overview Mark - really well considered - a properly balanced review of the LVX which matches my own experience - highlighting both its strengths and limitations - the Zoia mention is very apt too - I consider both to be table-top studio devices rather than live on-the-fly tweakable stompboxes ...
Wowza, what an intro. Very new to ambient guitar work, and it only took two of your songs/pieces to make you a favorite channel/player of mine. Can't wait to see the 3rd, 4th, etc, videos of yours.
The first time I tried the Mercury 7 was the moment I understood that writing algorithms can definitely be an artform in itself. The algos Meris makes are just so damn good! Btw, that pedalboard has some mighty fine pedals!
So excited about this video. 🙏👏👏👏👏 I'm just at the beginning to get to know my LVX, but it is already my pedal of 2022 (and more). It sounds awesome, and the user interface is a new level.
Mark I watched a video earlier today going through all the factory presets and thought Not for me! This has completely changed my mind. Amazing review.
I was very late in trying a Timeline. I got mine in 2020, but im heavily considering buying one of these to use in its place. I love how it can be a simple delay, but also can be soooooooo much more. Im not a fan of menu diving. I never had a problem learning how to deep dive in menus, but in my own experience it takes away from the moment of inspiration, hence why im not a big fan of them, but its GUI looks easy to navigate and definitely worth learning.
You present incredibly technical analyses but you always do so without condescension--like you're assuming that I'm either keeping up, or capable of keeping up, or I'm probably more into a direct intuitive approach and that's absolutely fine, too. Shows that some videos are just worth some extra work.
Thanks for the great video exploration of LVX Mark. And, thanks for going so deep into it. I'm a big fan of Angelo's work. Especially the Echo Park and Mercury 7 pedal and 500 series module. The feature sets are always a great blend of useful and creative. When it comes to digital delays, the number one thing for me is the overall sound quality and sound enhancement level they can add to the sonic picture. For this reason, I lean on the Strymon DIG as my digital delay pedal because I find that it does some very magical things sonically. It creates an extremely wide and spacious stereo image that envelopes you. The way that offset parallel delays sound with the deep modulation applied creates stereo delay magic that no other pedal comes close to sounding as good as. Only my pair of TC 2290 rack units have come close to the sound of the DIG pedal and my Fractal units have not been able to replicate the unique magic of DIG. Mark, can the LVX sound as good as DIG, if setup to do what DIG does best? Can LVX sound as wide? Can LVX's modulation sound as liquid and is the overall sound quality and feel of LVX as immersive and musical as the Strymon DIG?
Mate, outstanding job! Ordered my LXV today. You are one of the strongest contributors to my decision to purchase this unit 😉. Thanks, and keep going doing an excellent job! Thumbs up and subsribed to your channel.
Gorgeous! Just picked this up. Thanks for such a great review very thorough but you didn't get crazy and kept my attention. I'd be interested in what settings you have on your Ruby. Thank you!
That depends... did the H90 come out this year? Im going with that. It might only have 2 "blocks" but they are the best sounding blocks money can buy. Why not get BOTH PEDALS?! I'm headed to Sweetwater.
Just wanted to say great video. I can’t wait to try this pedal! I don’t even want to call it a pedal as it’s so much more. I really dig that low strings preset you made from the vinyl strings. Great demo and overview. This is right up my alley for the ambient stuff I do. First thing I’m going to do is get some of these presets you mentioned. Great stuff!
Orchestra in a box, sweet. I would like to hear how you incorporate it with your other pedals, or if your just using the looper and midi, and not layering with other crazy pedals
The intro jam itself does a lot to showcase its use in a greater effect context. All the tracks in that part are making use of the big sky, Gen loss, and drives. The samples portion, for a pedal like this, tends to be a place to strip a lot of that away because there is already so much going on with it.
Torn between this and a Walrus Sloer to compliment my PRS w/ Quad Cortex, hardware synths and Ableton. Eventually plan to get both but can only afford to pick up one right now. Curious, which would you choose as the more essential pedal to start with? Outstanding videos, by the way! Definitely earned a sub.
Honestly, I can confidently say that this is not the pedal for me, for what I am trying to achieve with my board, and especially not my budget. However, I was (and rightly so) hyped for the exquisite demos that were surely coming of this beat of a pedal. Between you and Zachary Rizer, I surely got my fill...
This is the first pedal that's caused me to reconsider my ban on menus on my board, so I found your analysis about using it live particularly useful, and ended up wishing this was a piece of rack gear with an app to control it instead....
Haha I had a years long ban on screens as well. My feeling these days is that a bad screen implementation will ruin your life but a good one will make your life so much better. Something like the big sky or the LVX offers a lot of great in the form of a screen.
The comparison with Microcosm is interesting. LVX definitely strikes me as a much more daunting pedal despite offering ridiculous amounts of control (or maybe because of it). With the MC, I was using it on a gig a week after getting it - there are a lot of settings that just sound good almost no matter what you do, and are easy to tweak live.
The thing I hate most about pedals like this, of which I have a few myself, is that they cannot make up for a lack of talent. Videos like yours, the introduction especially, make the pedal seem incredibly amazing. However, once it gets into the hands of someone like me, it can feel disappointing to realize that it'll never sound as good as these amazing videos make it sound. That doesn't take away from how amazing of a pedal it is, nor how amazing your presentation is, for which I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to watch. :D Not a complaint, just an observation.
Hi Mark, I was watching your great "How I build an Ambient Tone" class and noticed you are actively changing parameter settings during a loop when you add layers. So, it seems like having fairly easy access to parameters via knobs, like with the Polymoon, Enzo, Thermae, etc.,is important to what you're doing. For you personally, do you do you see the LVX as a practical option that could replace, say the Polymoon and Enzo on your board? Or is more of a "one knob per function" system (understanding there are still secondary functions on many of those knobs) too important in your music-making? Maybe a simpler way to ask would have been, is it going to find a permanent spot on your board like the Microcosm?
So having just gotten the LVX for my birthday, and having had my first proper hour long dive into it with the manual pulled up, I’m pretty into it? My normal litmus test for any “do it all” delay is to try and clone the sound of my Moog MF-104, which is amazing but impractical for so many reasons… and I definitely got in the neighborhood in like 15 minutes. I’m sure I can get closer when I explore the LFO options more. It’s a bit menu divey, but I actually feel like it’s a bit easier to use than either the Microcosm or Echosystem, both of which I’ve used a lot and love. Excited to fiddle with the LVX some more and get it tuned to my taste.
@@markjohnstonofficial Dude Vangelis is a grandfather of amazing epic synth music. Blade Runner soundtrack is his for example. Definitely give him a listen.
Vinyl strings and your Dark Strings settings are absolutely stunning! Sounds Ive had in my head forever! Question though. Can Vinyl Strings be created without downloading the patch? Thanks for another killer video, Cheers!
41:30 Thats good to hear because man the Hedra has awwwful unacceptably bad tracking. Returned that thing so quick. Although hearing it in this demo I think I much still prefer my EHX Pitchfork. No tracking is great but that thing does the best Ive heard. Rather run that in series into a delay along with other effects than this one pedal I think. More flexible and sounds better. Great demo though this helped me understand the pedal better than any other out there
This is a god damn powerfull monster. A delay focuses multi fx unit really. However it doesnt replace my empress echosystem which is still my baby for being a monster of stereo focused delay and running two algorithms at once in multiple different options.
I’ve got an echosystem. Thinking about LVX. What do you think echosystem can do that LVX can’t? LVX does dual delay too. It’s not 100% equivalent but in terms of constructing stereo soundscapes - seems like the LVX can outstrip the echosystem.
@@phladjki as far as customizability LVX takes it especially on ease of use and the amount you can customize. My one echoystem wish was having a screen. That being said the one thing that the ecosystem does that I cannot give up is the dual engine delay. Having two entirely separate customizable algorithms going on on each ear. Or having them originate on each ear then bleed and crash into each other is perfect for my application. I like to make psychedelic rock and big ass floating stereo soundscapes so creazy delays crashing into each other sign me up The Meris wins on every other option though. Ease of adjustment, adjustment options, visualization. This is all based on what I have seen though. I have not gotten to try my hands on a meris.
dang it, now I'm going to have to figure out how to DL presets on this thing. Love that filter swell tone. Do you know where I left my midi/USB adapter?
Hey great video - I was thinking about getting this for a live setting. Couldn’t we create presets and access them through a foot switch instead of creating each effect from the ground up every time we want a different effect? I hope that question makes sense. Thanks for your video man!
Very interesting device but I m still skeptical about it. I feel that like all multi fx devices it will become obsolete in a couple of years, even with software updates. Back in the 90s when most musicians I knew, were selling their, rats,tube screamers,delays, flangers and so on, to purchase the newest multi fx device I just bought individual effects[ mainly analogue, apart from some digital delays and reverbs]. I never regretted this decision. I understand that the lvx is light years ahead from the multi fx I'm talking about,but with the rate technology is advancing and the amount of people developing codes and algorithms I think that I'm better off buying individual pedals and creating my own patches this way. I may be wrong...only time will tell.
Mark, do you know if the Meris LVX or any of the other Meris pedals can replace what the EHX POG2 does with 1+ Octave, 2+ Octave, 1- Octave, 2- Octave, a Mix control, and just as important, a Low-Pass Filter control? I actually have the EHX Nano POG on my board which does not have an LP Filter control. I usually run it before my overdrive section. I have been hunting for a MIDI-enabled POG2 alternative and was curious if you know of any of the Meris pedals (or any other pedal in that regard) that can replace what the POG2 does. I would want to use it to beef up lead lines with an upper octave, and then for ambient tones (i.e. swells, drones, etc.). Thoughts?
The EHX HOG 2 is what you are looking for, I believe. It’s like a POG2 that graduated with a PhD in quantum engineering. Not cheap but worth every cent (buy it used!) with full midi implementation. It’s a crazy box, and endlessly inspiring. It’s huge and expensive though, but there’s nothing else like it!
Great video, this is the first serous look I’ve had at this pedal and it’s definitely very interesting. Can someone tell me if the looper can be synced to midi clock, I’d love to run this parallel to my Infinty Looper and have the option to sync them. Second question is the overall effects architecture, from the video is appears you have a preamp section and looper that’s always available and then two main primary effects slots. Is that correct? I would love to build patches that are somewhat in the style of the Microcosm, delays and verbs, some pitch shifting on the delay lines and then into a looper plus ability to have some effects post looper so there can be njce trails when the looper playback is stopped. The Shallower patch example is very cool. It seems to utialize a lot of effects and then on top you’re adding the string machine thing? As I was watching this I was thinking this pedal would cost closer to the H90 price so I was very pleasantly surprised to see it’s much more affordable than I expected. Not cheap by any stretch but seems like a great value. Thanks for the in depth video and thanks in advance for the answers.
Unfortunately the looper will not midi clock sync (unless fixed in new firmware update) but delay will, 15:48, so in practice, yes, basically? Will send midi clock thru (out?) to the infinity looper, so can’t see why you couldn’t sync both loopers. Great idea!
I was wondering how you would manage LVX video. If Microcosm ended up being a feature film length, then I thought this would end up being like a several TV show seasons worth of runtime.
I've been hesitating over the Microcosm Hologram. But seeing this, it's difficult to decide which would be the better option? Naturally, I see the LVX is more expensive, however, would it be fair to say this is a (sort of) programmable Hologram?
I see the factory presets on basically every device as a means of showing you some proof of concepts to get your mind going, as opposed to the finish line itself. Except the Walrus R1. Those factory presets are perfect and require no notes.
@@markjohnstonofficial and about the R1... am I tripping when I say that the sounds aren't as high fidelity as one would expect? I love how the algorithms react but it just doesn't sound as clear and high fi as a mercury 7 or as a strymon ... like it lacks bit rate or something... at least to my ears that seems to be the case... but maybe I'm just tripping lol
amazing like an amazing movie score,,,,,,, I would like that to listen to as I drive or journry through life,,,,,, or on space flights to distant stars...... like the journry of life.....epic,,,,,,huge sound unreal
