From: "ToddM" Anyway, the Vortex I bought recently for about $150 new and I found a neat
addendum to the owners manual that was sitting elsewhere in the music store I
bought it, so I grabbed it and it has all sorts of hints on using it as a
looping sampler among other things, it has several cascade loop effects which
is quite nice and in combination with tap tempo delays I like it quite a lot.
I intend on publishing that little manual addendum for loop-addicts soonly,
Lexicon willing (like they'd care, right? Maybe so...I like their stuff...)
The Vortex is a really neat little box. Basically, it's just two delays,
two modulators, and an envelope follower. Lexicon gives a number of programs
putting these effects in various orders, in heavily interactive ways. Many
programs feature cross-feedback for the delays, or series delays with feedback
loops going from one delay to the other. Tempo is tapped in, like the JamMan,
and the delay "time" is actually set as a fraction of the tap. So it's easy
to set up consistent polyrhythmic echoes with this thing. Some of the
programs also use the envelope follower to modulate delay feedback, either
fading out old sounds as new ones come in, or modulating the volume of the
echoes relative to the input signal. In other words, it's the most
dynamically responsive low-cost rackmount effect I've ever used.
Unfortunately, total delay time is limited to around a second. But there are
LOTS of cool things you can do with that! I really like using the Vortex to
build a short, complex atmospheric sound, and then feeding that into the
JamMan and letting it loop and modulate.
Here's a technique I use with the JamMan to get a more flexible,
improvisational feel from it. When I first got it, I tended to use it to
start a loop, then punch in more layers. But what I found was that things
just got bigger and louder and bigger and louder. It had a very one-way
dynamic. Now, rather than using the looping functions, I usually prefer to
just use its delay function. There are 16 delay feedback levels, controlled
by the knob on the front. Turn the feedback up high and start looping. At
16, you effectively have infinite repeat. As things build, you can turn the
feedback down and let a loop fade, then turn it back up and add more to the
loop while the older material floats in the background. This makes for a much
more dynamic and rewarding looping improv, I think.
I just have two problems now... first, I don't get to do nearly enough
looping. I don't have a studio space safe from my two toddler children, and
they like to play with knobs altogether too much. The only way I can play is
to go through my long setup process after the kids go to bed, and tear it
apart before they get up in the morning.
Second, I'm primarily an acoustic guitarist, not electric. I don't play
electric much and I'm not really comfortable on it. Hopefully, I'll be
getting a new acoustic with a pickup soon, and I'll see how that works as a
tone source. I rather like the idea of sending the warm, woody sound of an
acoustic guitar through my effects and seeing what comes out!
Maybe, if I can get my new guitar and build a safe studio space, I'll get
better at this. :}
DStagner said:
> The Vortex is a really neat little box.
Yep. > Basically, it's just two delays, two modulators, and an envelope
follower.
It sounds so simple, but there's really a lot to it. I also like that
ultimately, though it effects your signal, it doesn't ruin your tone or change
it significantly, it just effects what is already there. And the effects are
warm and organic sounding.
> Lexicon gives a number of programs putting these effects in various
orders, in heavily interactive ways.
I especially like the dynamic changes just the slightest touch
(in terms of guitar) can effect.
> Many programs feature cross-feedback for the delays, or series delays
with feedback loops going from one delay to the other.
This is one of the more powerful features - it's especially good for drum
machines since you can create powerful polyrhythms with it.
> Tempo is tapped in, like the JamMan, and the delay "time" is actually
set as a fraction of the tap. So it's easy to set up consistent polyrhythmic
echoes with this thing.
Yep. You can create pseudo "Discipline"-era King Crimson interlocking
guitar parts with just one guitar this way, too.
> Some of the programs also use the envelope follower to modulate delay
feedback, either fading out old sounds as new ones come in,
Especially good if you start finding that the building of your loop is
starting to generate tons of noise from the older signal and you want it to
evolve a bit. It's also great for drums since it takes older signals out as
new one comes in and makes it sound much more natural than drums going through
a delay unit.
> or modulating the volume of the echoes relative to the input
signal.
It won't get in your way, although you can shut the dynamic response
off and make it spew all over your signals too if you want.
> In other words, it's the most dynamically responsive low-cost
rackmount effect I've ever used.
I can't believe that Guitar Center was all but giving them away for $150 a
pop. They were selling about ten a day towards the end.
> Unfortunately, total delay time is limited to around a second.
Actually, 1946 milliseconds to be exact. Anyone who can modify this thing
to have longer delays will be practically deified. Any takers? What does
Lexicon say about that?
> But there are LOTS of cool things you can do with that! > I really like using the Vortex to build a short, complex atmospheric
sound, and then feeding that into the JamMan and letting it loop and
modulate.
Or, you could work it the other way around - take a long loop from the
JamMan and process it to death in the Vortex...
> Loopers are pretty esoteric; very few people know what they are, and
most of the few that do don't have the right combination of interest and
finance.
Probably why Guitar Center was selling Vortex for $150 and JamMan for
somewhere in the $300 range....most musicians, despite their reputation are a
conservative lot and the marketing campaign for Vortex kind of made it sound
like a WACKY effect (BLEEN and AEROSOL and FRACTAL effects notwithstanding).
My theory is I'd bet most people didn't try it because of that.
Most people are reluctant to buy $478 (list) rack effects that don't do
anything useful for them..or are gimmicky. It's far from being gimmicky, but
the marketing was weird for that product. I'd bet a lot of musicians thought
it was a strange effect just in the descriptions.
I watch people test the VG-8 by Roland in Guitar Center and there are few
that seem to "get it". I see a lot of people using it to make goofy guitar
sounds, but few "get" the possibilities therein.
The person who wrote from France who was distressed due to the $150 price
tag on a particular rack effect (he thought it was the JamMan) was actually
distressed about this price on the Vortex.
The Guitar Center in Minneapolis was blowing out Vortex processors as fast
as can be this past month and I got mine for a ridiculous $149.95, brand new
in the box with footpedal and manual.
Now it's not the JamMan, but it's still very nice and I'll likely be
picking either that or the Echoplex up within the next year, now that I find
out the Echoplex was available from Sam Ash for $559...
All of this talk about Vortex units at rock-bottom prices has piqued my
interest, so would someone be willing to give a more in-depth account of the
thing? More specifically, what exactly can it do, how does it compare to
other single-rack-space units, how's the MIDI implementation, etc... One
personal interest question: How slow can the sweep rate of pitch-modulation
effects (i.e. phasing etc) be set?
Thanks in advance, and sorry if this is too off-topical for the list.
I don't think you can compare the Vortex directly to any other multi-effect
in its price range. All the boxes coming from companies like ART and Digitech
are basically a bunch of generic effects in series. Compression feeds
distortion, feeds chorus, feeds delay, feeds reverb, blah blah blah. The
Vortex is completely different. The "effects" are actually sets of controls
for various points in complex programs. Internal feedback loops pass the
signal in various patterns through the modulators and delays. It also has an
envelope follower that controls key parts of each program. And an assignable
expression pedal input can be used to control any parameter.
As far as MIDI goes, it has none at all. If you're MIDI dependent, forget
it. Controls consist of two stereo plugs for footswitches (a rather flimsy
dual switch is included, that I usually assign to tap and A/B switching), and
another input for an expression pedal.
But like I said, it's the most MUSICAL multi-effect I've ever used. Sound
quality is phenomenal, better than any reasonably-priced digital device I've
heard. And the effects are mostly musically useful (as well as a few really
weird ones).
If you can get one cheap, I'd highly recommend it. These days, the Vortex
is pretty much the only effect I use.
Now, about this Vortex thingy: Thanks to Dave for the very kind review. A
couple of notes about what it can do: It's basically a modulating delay. So
you've got chorusing, flanging, tremolo, rotary speaker-ish stuff, and that
sort of thing. (Gerneric useful stuff with odd names like Choir, Shimmer,
Aerosol, Orbits) But the hook is, as Dave noted, they're dynamic--they respond
to your playing. (or not, if you so choose) Then you have a whole host of
ridiculously weird effectoids. Bleen, Fractal, et al. These things do ring
modulaty or looping echoes with death flange that mutates into the oddest
sorts of things. Useful on a daily basis? You decide. On my first record
(Three if by Air) this kind of oddity is most clearly audible on the last cut
where an e-bow driven guitar is sent through a very odd pitch shift thing on
the LXP-15 (Evil 3rds in the V2 software, my program) then sent through this
bizzaro Vortex thing that I created from Fractal and Bleen. The sound will rip
your head off in headphones. Way twisted.
The beauty of Vortex is how easily you make the sounds your own. The
morphing thing is really happening, and some of the halfway points are really
fun. There's a bunch of oddities on my next record (due in Fuebruary, will be
mixed by Mr. Torn) from the Vortex beast.
Someone here suggested trying to put my Vortex into the feedback loop of
the JamMan manually, using a mixer. I tried it and it was interesting, but
hard to control. I couldn't get a good balance between looping and feedback,
and distorting the input on the JamMan is NOT pretty.
I'm hoping to rewire things tonight to split the output from the Vortex and
send it to the mixer and the JamMan separately, then mix the JamMan back in at
the output. That way, I could control the JamMan's delay feedback without
always sending signal into it. Ideally, I'd like to do this with a couple of
stereo volume pedals, so I can control both the input to the JamMan and its
output.
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!
Anyway, I'm posting here since there's been much discussion regarding
Vortex on the list as of late. I snatched one up at the legendary Guitar
Center "Trying Not To Lose Our Shirts Over This Fringe Technology" $150 sale.
(When I went in to pick it up, the guy at the counter grabbed one from atop a
very large stack of Vortexes and quipped, "So how many do you want to pick up
today?")
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.
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.
So please offer some hints if you have any, preferably by e-mail so as to
avoid taking up more bandwidth with non-topical material.
Thanks very much, and sorry for the non-loop content.
I'll put a transcription of the looping specific stuff from the manual
addendum that only I seem to have here on Monday, in the meantime I'll give
you some general VORTEX thoughts which may or may not help since I've only
owned the unit for a bit more than a month. The looping specific stuff,
especially in the manual addendum are rather complex and specific where my
stuff tends to be more general.
Andre:
> 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!
The device loops in at least two of the programs, I'd say it's on topic.
1946 ms is nearly two seconds of recording time, David Torn said it was a good
place to start so it's good enough for me.
> Anyway, I'm posting here since there's been much discussion regarding
Vortex on the list as of late. I snatched one up at the legendary Guitar
Center "Trying Not To Lose Our Shirts Over This Fringe Technology" $150 sale.
(When I went in to pick it up, the guy at the counter grabbed one from atop a
very large stack of Vortexes and quipped, "So how many do you want to pick up
today?")
Heh. In a way I wished I'd picked up another since I'll probably shelve
the SGE I have (well, I may keep it just for the compression, EQ and harmonic
exciter but it's heavy [to carry] and I'm not sure I want to keep it around
just for that - half the fun of the Vortex is the dynamic control [like a fine
tube amp] and a compressor just quashes that kind of fun, plus the Vortex
audio quality is significantly better than that of the SGE, putting the SGE at
the front end just "coldifies" the sound [sucks the warmth out]).
> 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.
Use the fractal, duo and shadow (shadow is more like a long tape echo patch
than anything else) programs for looping porpoises: the fractal B program is
especially interesting in that if you play a broken chord (or sound the
individual notes that comprise a chord individually) you'll find that it
starts feeding on itself and the notes sound faster and faster until you have
a chord that comprises the notes. It's a neat effect for human voice and
guitar.
I've used duo to create pseudo King Crimson discipline interlocking guitar
parts. Dynamic control can be a help and hindrance here. Experiment. Drums
with this can be kind of disorienting but cool with the tap tempo. If you have
a drum machine, you need the tap tempo feature to give you on the fly
polyrhythms that do not sound robotic.
Since I don't have an echoplex yet, this is my main looper for now. I'll
probably use it as a treatment inducer for loops I create on the big boy when
I get one.
(Does anyone have a phone number and/or contact person for Nadine's
music and do they ship? A $500 echoplex I could deal with.)
How do I control this Vortex thing anyway? The way the unit comes stock where your instrument is very prominent in the
mix and the effects can be too subtle... I've mentioned that I want a live,
swirling whirligig frenzy of sound when I play, so you might want to up the
ante with regards to the echo level in the mix. There's also a mix parameter
that allows you to adjust the instrument/effect ratio.
These have been key for me to making more prominently noticeable loops,
or to have a instrument prominently audible on top of a loop.
Also, the knob is expression pedal controllable so that's real nice too.
But I'm not sure what kind of expression pedal I should get or what's
available. Suggestions anyone?
But I should talk about the dynamic control: > 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 looks like a petri dish that happens to be a very deep ocean when you
jump into it. I'll show you on Monday.
> 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.
I'll be forwarding more practical and useful info on Monday...
> So please offer some hints if you have any, preferably by e-mail so as
to avoid taking up more bandwidth with non-topical material.
It's on topic, trust me!
> Thanks very much, and sorry for the non-loop content
It's on topic!
hi all, so, with that said comes the next stage. I spent 4 days in a brooklyn
recording studio with lots of hi end gear and etc. Started working on a tune
that had acoustic guitars atop reggae bass and socha drums with a guitar
ambience pad.
tow of the acoustics were 12 strings(one being ebowed) and the other was an
old martin six string. in the mixing things were very subtle and smooth but
with very small testi-cleez. so as a last resort we patched in the lonesome
and barely used vortex (they probably got a blowout deal on it too) and began
tweeking and found a few surprises in almost reverby non linear and detuned
areas. it's like the thing is almost this and almost a that, but not much of a
real person. But, I did use it to do a rotovibe/leslie/hammondy thing to one
of the 12 strings and it sound fairly smooth and natural. For 150 it's cool.
I'll wait till I find one in a pawn shop for 35-50 clams and then pickit up.
Just push the function and start jerkin' o the knob (no MAX programming
skills needed). It's a neat box, but the jamman is more valuable to me and
it's not satisfying either at the momentum.
I found that when you start tweeking, the interaction between functions was
interesting. and the AB neat is a quick way to do things that I've been doing
with 2-3 processors. So, use it(or you can give it to me anad I'll find a use
for it). LEXI shoulda just put vortex, jamman, and one of the reverbs and sold
that. I woulda bought it.
WOAH!
Many thanks to all for contributing some recommendations on the Vortex,
especially Todd Madson. I do have one question for right now, though:
> Use the fractal, duo and shadow (shadow is more like a long tape echo
patch than anything else) programs for looping porpoises
Wouldn't this constitute unusual cruelty to aquatic animals? Is PETA going
to raid the Lexicon lab in protest?
Just wondering...
> 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.
One way I use the Vortex is for rhythmic looping with the nifty little
feature of each delay line can be set to subdivide the tapped pulse evenly to
a different number such as one delay 2 ,the other 3, a nice simple polyrhythm
to generate a rhythmic loop improv, which can then be looped by Jamman or
(Echoplex), and soloed over. You can set the echoes to bounce around in really
weird subdivisions too ( each delay can be set from 1-64).The max delay time
for one echo is 923ms , but you set a tap interval which Vortex then keeps
dividing in half until it comes up with a valid delay time. Try presets 9-
Deja vu and 13 -Shadow. Its tricky to recreate some of the rhythmic things you
come up with. Preset #10 Choir is a great starting place to tweak a really
nice Chorus /Delay sound (one of the best I've heard).I really love the warm,
lush sound it has. Lexicon recomends using Vortex inline and adjusting the
dry/effects mix in Vortex but have any of you Vortexers tried using your
vortex through the effects loop on mixer? Guitar Player Magazine generally
liked Vortex but they did say it probably sounded best in stereo and unless
you have a stereo rig it might not sound as good live. To me one of the best
things about its' sound is its use of the stereo space.
Figured I'd add my 2 cents on the Vortex....which just arrived last night!
:-)
My initial response was on of disappointment. "Does this thing do
anything?" I soon realized that it helps to have it patched into the mixer
correctly!!!
With a nice ambient loop looping in the JamMan I set about spinning the
dials on the Vortex to see what it could do. Two hours later I concluded that
the Vortex is a nifty little box (can't beat it for a 150 bucks). My favorite
patch is the Deja Vu (b)....which is a looper. When used in conjunction with
the JamMan (set in Echo mode) you can get some really cool loops happening
that are always changing. Nice. The Reflexion 1 patch (when tweaked) is cool
too.
Someone asked where in the signal chain we place our looper of choice and
various processors. Here's what I'm doing.... My Digitech GSP-2101 pre-amp
feeds my Rane SM-82 mixer. The right effect send of the Rane feeds the JamMan
(which is routed to channels 1 and 2) and the left effect send feeds the
Vortex (outputs routed to the effects return). In this way the Vortex can
process both the guitar and the loop simultaneously.....or one and not the
other.
Anyway....back to looping.....
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.
Thanks again to everyone who's contributed advice on the Vortex. After
having spent a couple of evenings putzing with the programs in a clinical
headphone environment, and about five hour's worth of live ensemble playing
this afternoon with the Vortex in a stereo guitar rig, I can safely say that
this is one of the *wierdest* boxes I've ever run across.
It's almost like the bastard child of an Eventide Ultra-Harmonizer and a
Delta-Lab Effectron II. There's a certain analogish funkiness to the sound
and its responsiveness remeniscent of the latter (at certain settings you can
even hear the pitch-mods hissing in the absence of a singal), while the
morphing options and delays place it in a more modern context. Very odd. No
wonder Guitar Center has to practically give them away.
I must say that the presets don't even hint at the possibilities of the
unit. Using the presets as a jumping-off point, I was able to come up with
some extremely bizarre (and highly effective) patches that elicited no
shortage of raised eyebrows from the other musicians I tested it with today;
the factory presets may be designed for subtle studio orientation, but there
are some obscenely blatant and eye-popping possibilities for live performance,
particularly in a stereo rig with wide separation.
One thing that surprised me was the way you can *play* the box in a very
musical way. I spent much time in rehearsal today setting up a loop and then
tweaking the Vortex for a minute or two. Some of the tones that came out of
the amp were not only hair-raising, but more importantly, they were dynamic
and animated -- they made the loops sound less like loops and more like a
constantly evolving texture. I may be something of an anomaly among loopists
in that I tend to like loops that don't just replay the exact sound over and
over, but which constantly mutate in unpredictable ways. I've been wanting a
processor that would do that for a while now, and the Vortex fits the bill
perfectly.
One other thing that I was taken aback by is how "familiar" some of the
sounds in there are. Feeding one ambient loop through a chorus-and-delay
patch, I suddenly found myself thinking, "God, this sounds *exactly* like _A
Blessing Of Tears_!" Other patches bore a strong resemblance to
_Polytown_-era Torn. This (along with other considerations) has raised some
odd philosophical issues for me, but that's another post altogether.
At the current Guitar Center rate of $150, it's an absolute steal -- for
about what you'd pay for an average stompbox you get an utterly bizarre thing
that seems pathologically incapable of functioning in any predictable way.
(And yes, Olivier, I'll send you the phone number and address for Guitar
Center very soon.)
Glad to hear you've seen the light with Vortex. I've been slow in
responding, but it seems that there's a bunch of people on this list who
actually "got" the box. If a single dealer had people working for them who got
it, the box might have sold. Vortex was a major black eye for Lexicon, because
it was so badly misunderstood. My favorite experience was the day I walked
into a dealer in Nashville (I didn't tell them who I was) and asked for a demo
of Vortex. I knew they had been trained less than 2 weeks prior, so I figured
that it might be interesting. I asked what it was, I had seen some ads, but
couldn't quite get a handle on it, etc. The response was: "it's a trick
reverb". (There are no reverb algorithms in the box. Just delays.)
> There's a certain analogish funkiness to the sound and its
responsiveness remeniscent of the latter (at certain settings you can even
hear the pitch-mods hissing in the absence of a singal), while the morphing
options and delays place it in a more modern context.
This was *exactly* the intent of the box. Some of the effects were modeled
after analog effects--tape delays, vintage tremolo, etc. But then we weirded
them out. While the presets were being developed, the project manager kept
calling me downstairs to hear some new bizzarre sound and say, can you do
something with this? (which invariably I could, though nobody would want to
hear it!!!). In the end, though, we settled mostly on generally useful sounds
(choir, atmosphere, orbits) with a coupla weird ones to freak people out
(bleen, fractal).
Some critical pieces of the equation: 2: Morphing can occur between ANY two effects, so you're not limited to
morphing between the preset A/B pairs. Try setting up a register pair of
Fractal and Bleen and assigning the pedal to morph. Hold down a note (e-bow is
great for this) and morph. It's whippin cool.
3: When using a pedal to morph, you can stop anywhere along the way. I
happen to know that Torn's primary Vortex sounds are in between points from a
couple of tweezed effects. He watches til he gets to the magic 41 (or whatever
it is) and that's his sound.
4: There's so much to do in editing, you never have to feel restricted by
the presets. Every one can be as weird or normal as you want. And you can do
both, and morph between them as you need.
Andre, since I know some of your work, I can say with assuredness that
you're going to have tons o'fun with this box. I'm glad there are others on
the list who agree...
Here's something for all you loopologists out there.
(By the way, the Vortex loops in STEREO, short though those loops may be!
Think on that and be dismayed!) ...
Here's an excerpt from the Vortex Manual Addendum:
Vortex...it's a looping sampler!
Deja Vu B is a looping effect. In the present, the envelope is used to
create an overdub looper. Here's how to create a loop sampler that can be
controlled with the A/B switch.
Save a copy of Deja Vu B in both the A and B locations of any register
pair. For this example, we will use Register 3A and 3B. Select the preset
Deja Vu B. Push and hold the Store button. Turn the Preset Knob until the
display reads 03. While still holding the store button, push the A/B button
so the display LED is on A. Now release the store button.
Since you are storing the same effect in both locations, you can simply
push and hold the Store button and push the A/B button to select B. Deja Vu B
is now stored in both Register 3A and 3B.
In Register 3A, turn the Parameter knob to envelope and turn the value knob
until the display shows 01. Turn the parameter knob to morph and turn the
value knob until the display shows 64. Press store.
In register 3B, turn the Parameter knob to envelope and turn the value knob
until the display shows 01. Turn the parameter knob to morph and turn the
value knob until the display shows 64. Turn the parameter kob to feedback 1
and turn the value knob until the display shows 01. Turn the parameter knob
to echo fx lvl and turn the value knob until the display shows 01. Press
store.
You're all set to go! Use the A/B switch (front panel or footswitch) to
turn the sampler's record function on and off. When A is selected, the
sampler is recording - the input passes through to the output unchanged. When
B is selected, the sampler plays an infinite loop of whatever was previously
recorded. The size of the loop is determined by the tap. While the loop is
playing, the input is passed through the Vortex so you can play on top of the
loop.
Have fun!
Ever have one of those experiences where one of your loops takes on a life
of its own and becomes this THING that sounds like it was put together by
decisions you guided, but is now its own THING?!?!?
Saturday I started doing a loop based on single notes of a guitar arpeggio.
Then I started adding the added notes an octave below the root. Then I added
notes two octaves above the root just to add a smooth texture.
All of a sudden I had this very animated, interesting loop. I just kept
listening and listening and was amazed. Sometime this happens, but not
typically this amazing - I was like "this should be on an album or
something.."
I put my instrument down and just sat and listened. For a long time.
I walked off into the next room and my wife was saying "I really like that
..." so we just left it going.
My wife and I had some errands to do, instead of shutting the Vortex off, I
shut everything else off but the looper and came back about two hours or so
later.
When we came back it was still going...I figured if it was still
interesting that maybe it was worth recording.
I checked it out again to see if I still liked it and did. I figured it
was time to really mess with it. I then plugged my cheazo swell flanger pedal
into the effects loop of my 4-track's mixer, then added the Boss DD-3 pedal
after that set to maxdelay (800ms) and about 90% regeneration and added to it
and mixed it about 50-60% to the original signal.
I had the most amazing animated texture going......I was like "sheeeesh! I
need to get this recorded before it goes away..." shoved a blank tape into the
deck and started recording until the tape ran out, all the while neat little
variations on the main loop were occurring at the molecular level no doubt.
I'll probably add some sparse synth or guitar bits to it, but it's amazing
how this technology can take something as mundane as a simple chord and make
it this eerie thing of beauty.
Now I'm really hooked on this loop thing. Let's just say the Vortex turns
out to be the best $150 I ever spent in terms of "best inexpensive musical
addition".. now I have to get some more stuff to make bigger loops.
Here's some more stuff from the Lexicon Applications Notes for Vortex.
I've also added these to my homepage and select [LOOP].
For the sick and twisted: Vortex also provides some very outside effects.
Bleen B and Fractal B are completely outrageous. Bleen B is an echo diving
into ring modulation. Play a melodic line and listen to how the effect takes
it over.
Fractal B is a looping echo that devours itself. Play a melodic line
through the effect, and as the echo continues, the notes stack up to form a
chord. This pair also makes for an amazing morph.
Set the two effects up as a register pair. Hold down a chord or single note
(E-Bows are great for this) and morph between the two! Also try experimenting
with Deja Vu A and B for Techno looping effects.
One great trick is to use Deja Vu B as a looper. An expression pedal is
very helpful here, though not necessary. Assign the expression pedal to adjust
the envelope. Then, with the pedal in the Up position you can capture a phrase
for infinite looping. By pushing the pedal all the way down, you can play over
the top without adding to the loop. In the middle you can add music at
different levels. This configuration can be saved in a register so that the
pedal is assigned within the register.
Todd said: [Todd's description of a cool loop from the ether]
Yes, I love that sort of thing! This used to happen to me sometimes at
g-wiz while testing new soft versions in the echoplex. Usually meant the
testing got delayed a bit while I enjoyed the loop!
A couple really stand out:
One time I looped a little sound made by scratching the sixth string of a
Les Paul with my fingernail, then letting it ring a bit. I reversed it, and
suddenly it was a completely beautiful, mesmerizing noise. Hard to describe
it. Sort of a cross between the om sound for meditating and a digeridoo.
People walking by my office were transfixed, stopping for a listen. I let it
go for a couple of hours while I did other work. Amazing how something so
simple could sound so perfect.
Another time I was testing midi sample triggering. I had a max patch set up
which randomly triggered one of the nine loops in the echoplex at some defined
interval, which was sort of a stress test to see if pops would appear or
anything would go awry after lots of triggering. I played a note into each
loop and started the patch off. Trouble was, I forgot to set the delay between
triggers, so MAX was sending the triggers at its maximum rate! The mac totally
locked up and I couldn't stop the damn thing. I think max clocks every
millisecond, so that's probably how fast the triggers were going.
And then I noticed the sound.....
It sounded like some strangely harmonic storm, with wind blowing and rain
on the roof. Always evolving, yet always in a similar sound space. Really
extraordinary, yet totally unexpected and quite beautiful. I'd like to try
that one again, but somehow I think it won't come out so well. Maybe its
better as a memory....
In case you're wondering, the 'plex survived all this. When I finally
stopped it, all the loops were fine, and nothing bad had happened. It probably
switched loops several hundred thousand times....
Spent my first hour with the Vortex last night. It's darn cool.
I was playing with the two delays set at, say, /2 and /3, feedbacks up at
64 (100% -> infinite sustain), 100% wet. You can build some pretty darn dense
sustained loops. One neat thing is that if you add some percussive sounds
(clacking the strings against the fretboard, say), and you get nice 2 against
3 patters (or whatever the ratio is), by dropping the feedback for one of the
two delays and then cranking it back up, you can control the level of the two
rhythmic parts of the loop.
Kim Flint writes: That's funny: the last few nights playing with the Vortex, I've spent quite
a lot of time looping sounds made by scratching the strings with my
fingernail, a very stiff pick, a screwdriver, muting the strings and banging
on them with a screwdriver, banging on the strings above the nut, etc.
I purchased the Vortex a while back and found out quickly that I have very
little patience for programming. I use the Vortex presets mostly.. I might
tweak them sometimes. Overall the sound quality is very good. I use the
Vortex,one of the channels of the Jamman, along with a direct feed from my
preamp and more or less process these in parallel. Anyway back to the Vortex.
I find that I use it to add color my sound. The unit itself is capable of some
truly unique sounds. Also the capability to morph into different sounds can
add subtle...or not so subtle sonic contrasts. Plus preset #16 (and other
presets) give you the ability to set up ambient loops. Considering that the
price has dropped to $150,(Guitar Center), it's worth some consideration.
Worse case --- You,ve got a tap-tempo delay line.
I would like to hear from other looper's about this box... maybe swap some
ideas or programs/programming tips?
You can see the looping sampler instructions for Vortex on my
web page.
Click on "[LOOP]" and you'll go right there.
On Mon, 14 Oct 1996, Rob Martino wrote:
> Is polyrhythmic looping something we might see soon on a future
version of the Echoplex or other device? The possibilities sound fascinating,
but I couldn't really afford multiple Echoplexi to do it (I'm still on the
verge of just buying my first one!)
I don't know about the Echoplex, but you could probably do some short
polyrhythmic looping with the Vortex. Depends on what sort of
"polyrhythm" you're trying to get.
> I don't know about the Echoplex, but you could probably do some short
polyrhythmic looping with the Vortex. Depends on what sort of
"polyrhythm" you're trying to get.
King Crimson "Discipline" sort of stuff. Record a phrase in 7/4, then
overdub a phrase in 4/4 or 3/4, so you get a continual shifting effect.
Like someone just mentioned, I guess the best solution for now is to
record each phrase until they converge. In the 7/4 and 4/4 case, I guess
that would be 28 beats, if I'm picturing this correctly.
As has been mentioned here before, the Vortex has two independent delays,
which are programmed as subdivisions of a basic pulse rather than in
terms of milliseconds. Each delay can be subdivided from 1 to 64, which
lends itself to all sorts of wierd polyrhythmic possibilities. (At last
I can cop those chart-topping 17 against 33 polyrhythms. Get Glen
Ballard on the phone now!)
The one drawback is that the maximum delay time on the Tex is less than
two seconds, meaning that the higher-increment values tend to be less
discernible as much more than a slap-back type of effect.
One interesting application I've found is setting up a loop and then
altering the tap tempo subdivisions while the loops is spinning. It chops
the loop in all sorts of interesting ways, and sets up numerous
polyrythmic/odd metered possibilities.
Here ya go, kids.
Useability: Works for me. The first two patches concern Atmosphere 2. The third uses Choir 2.
Okay kids, this is it for now. If the formatting went to hell, I'll have to
find some other way of doing it, but this works for me, try it out.
When we say we can't trust these people.....
I've been buying since the extensive chat we had about the Vortex, an unit to
Guitar Center of Hallendale (florida, i think). This post is intended,
although off topic, to warn people like me that were stupid enough to buy
things in the states, but living elsewhere (I'm french). The price was really
interesting compared to french prices.
Unfortunately, the unit I received is dead. The knob that is supposed to let
dial between the programms only offer half of them (you have again 16 on
position 1, 15 on 2, 8 on 3, etc) Besides, if you use a pedal to switch
between registers, what you get is the unit jumping every 20 seconds from the
pedal set programm to the knob set programm. Complete disaster.
But the funny thing is Lexicon told they won't support any warranty in my
case. What i'm supposed to do is have someone repair it and pay. Just
nice. I've checked on my warranty card. Nowhere is written that the
warranty is void in such circumstances.
Of course Guitar Center claim no responsibility too, and they are...
sorry! So i'm stuck with a unit costing 234 bucks with shipping, and that
was dead....
Warning to all people who'd consider to buy in the states:
Olivier wrote about the Vortex,
> The knob that is supposed to let dial between the programms only offer
half of them (you have again 16 on position 1, 15 on 2, 8 on 3, etc)
Exactly the symptom my first Vortex had which I got 2 weeks ago!!
> if you use a pedal to switch between registers, what you get is the unit
jumping every 20 seconds from the pedal set programm to the knob set
programm.
Exactly what my *second* Vortex does !!! (Aaarrgh) It *is* still usable with
this symptom, but I think I should give this one back too because it just
isn't stable and might get worse anytime. I'm afraid though that they give
me a third Vortex which has the first (worse) symptoms again ... or both
:-(
Seems like when Lexicon decided to stop producing this thing, they didn't
feel like testing and controlling any longer.
Thanks for the warning Olivier, and good luck.
>But the funny thing is Lexicon told they won't support any warranty in my
case. What i'm supposed to do is have someone repair it and pay. Just nice.
I've checked on my warranty card. Nowhere is written that the warranty is void
in such circumstances.
International sales by US delaers is a subject of incredible controversy at
Lex land, and I'm sure at many other companies as well. The reason is really
quite simple: Every unit sold by Sam Ash or Guitar center is a unit *not* sold
through the distributor. Which means he's losing money. Which means he's
bitching. Which means they have to slap Guitar Center on the wrist. But wait,
Guitar Center is GOD. You can't slap them on the wrist. So, what to do? Well,
to cut down on trans-shipping, the company policy is just what you've stated:
They can't offer warranty service to a customer in France: only the French
distributor can. Which means if you bought it from a French dealer, you'd be
covered. But you didn't, so you're paying the price. Ugly, huh?
Ultimately, it boils down to an age-old problem: too many hands in the middle.
(This results in several issues, not the least of which is price.) I had
suggested that Lexicon do a Cambridge Soundworks, i.e. sell direct. Cut
everyone out of the middle. Yeah, it makes for a major shift in company
structure, but let's face it: your customer support doesn't change. Who goes
to their dealer with a question? No one. So why should they get 40 points
(plus another 8% rep comission)? To put it on the shelf and not have a working
unit? Then when they *do* demonstrate it, make a mockery of the product? (See
an earlier diatribe about my experiences in dealer hell...)
As for the problems you're experiencing: The program select knob appears to be
slightly problematic. Apparently there's an issue regarding this knob, the
details of which I know nothing, but I experienced the same difficulties on my
Vortex, JamMan and Alex (all of which use the same pot). I thought it was just
my prototypes, but apparently not... Word is, it's an easy fix, and they turn
it around pretty quickly.
>Seems like when Lexicon decided to stop producing this thing, they didn't
feel like testing and controlling any longer.
Actually, they were all tested ages ago: they've been sitting in a warehouse
for many many moons...
Date: 10 Sep 1996 17:52:07CST6CDT
From: Dave Stagner
From: ToddM@LaserMaster.Com
Date: 11 Sep 1996 14:46:18CST6CDT
Indeed.
From: ToddM@LaserMaster.Com
Date: 12 Sep 1996 9:51:18CST6CDT
From: The Man Himself
From: Dave Stagner
From: Jon Durant <74074.1316@CompuServe.COM>
From: Dave Stagner
From: The Man Himself
From: "Todd Madson"
Well, the first thing you need to do is use the knob on your left (I forget
how its labeled as it's not here in front of me, it's the one directly to the
right of the input level control) and adjust your mix and echo effects levels
properly for looping, which will vary if you're using it instrument-
to-mixer-to-amp or in the effects loop of a mixer - the manual has a bit
regarding this.
As an example, if you use the choir-B program and strum and open E chord and
then silence your guitar strings, you get a heavily effected afterimage with
the delays - you probably want to make that swirly effectoid stuff come
forward somewhat. If you hit the strings harder, the effected image becomes
louder. The dynamic control is the key here. When looped, the dynamic
control becomes a very interesting aspect of this.
From: "Louis Collier Hyams"
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 1996 17:56:10 -0400
quick comments on the vortex...
I tried it out when they were introduced
and decided it didn't do enough of a great thing and left it alone. You're
right about the headphone mix... it sounds great and effective(put that in
quotes!) in a lab setting... but much of that gets lost in live situ's.
From: The Man Himself
From: ejmd@erols.com (Ed Drake)
Andre said:
From: finley@ecst.csuchico.edu (Matthew F. McCabe)
From: Dave Stagner
From: The Man Himself
From: Jon Durant <74074.1316@CompuServe.COM>
1:The Expression Pedal is the key to unlocking this box. (We always used the
Roland EV-5) Once you start working with it, it opens up all kinds of things.
For example, you can do simple, useful things like swelling in echoes after a
phrase, or even bringing the whole effect in from a pedal. Or you can morph in
real time. Which brings up point
From: ToddM@LaserMaster.Com
Date: 23 Sep 1996 11:02:22CST6CDT
From: ToddM@LaserMaster.Com
Date: 23 Sep 1996 13:21:36CST6CDT
From: ToddM@LaserMaster.Com
Date: 23 Sep 1996 17:26:49CST6CDT
From: kflint@annihilist.com (Kim Flint)
> Ever have one of those experiences where one of your loops takes on a
life of its own and becomes this THING that sounds like it was put together by
decisions you guided, but is now its own THING?!?!?
From: Ray Peck
From: Ray Peck
> One time I looped a little sound made by scratching the sixth string of a
Les Paul with my fingernail, then letting it ring a bit. I reversed it, and
suddenly it was a completely beautiful, mesmerizing noise. Hard to describe
it. Sort of a cross between the om sound for meditating and a digeridoo.
From: Joe Cavaleri
From: "Todd Madson"
From: Dave Stagner
From: Rob Martino
Date: Mon, 14 Oct 1996 13:35:41 -0700 (PDT)
From: The Man Himself
Date: 24-Oct-96 00:18 CET
Sb: Todd's VORTEX Patches...Free for the Asking.
From: ToddM@LaserMaster.Com
Caveat: If they don't work, don't say I never gave you anything.
Warning: Massive Processes.
ATMOSPHERE2 ATMOSPHERE2 CHOIR2 Wirey Clean Guitar Synthy Echo Guitar Burbly Mix 43 64 49 Output 64 64 64 Mod FX Lvl 50 64 45 EchoFX Lvl 55 64 45 Morph 64 64 20 Envelope 22 10 35 Echo 08 08 02 Echo2 08 06 06 Feedback 40 64 34 Feedback2 47 40 29 Rate1 04 30 28 Depth1 41 29 26 Rate2 03 08 34 Depth2 23 50 29 Res2 28 64 14
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1996 09:34:04 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Olivier Malhomme
Don't unless you are of course american
Date: 24 Oct 96 04:32:19 EDT
From: Michael Peters <100041.247@compuserve.com>
Fortunately, I bought it here in Cologne and could give it back to the shop,
where they gave me another one last week. Now, for my second Vortex ...
Date: 24 Oct 96 08:54:37 EDT
From: Jon Durant <74074.1316@compuserve.com>
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