Meris today introduced the MercuryX, a modular reverb system that they say “takes the heart and soul of Mercury7 and expands it far beyond sci-fi into the highest quality and most flexible studio reverb ever created in a pedal format.”
The MercuryX offers 8 reverbs, 2.54 seconds of stereo predelay, configurable reverb structures, stereo I/O, MIDI support and more.
Features:
- Modular Reverb System architecture
- 8 Custom Meris Reverbs: Ultraplate, Cathedra, 78 Room, 78 Plate, 78 Hall, Spring, Prism and Gravity
- Expanded 2.54 secs of Stereo Predelay with modular Feedback Routing Location
- Advanced ARM Processor
- Configurable Reverb Structures, Types, and Processing Elements for the ultimate customization in reverb processing
- Intuitive Color Screen based User Interface
- Expressive Hold Modifier Switch for on the fly control
- 99 Preset Locations in 33 Banks
- Favorite Preset Bank for instant access to your 3 favorite presets
- Instant Access Tuner with configurable Reference and Output mode
- Deep Modifier Section lets you route control signals to processing parameters
- New Independent Stereo Freeze alongside reverb
- Gate Envelope Controls for every reverb type
- All New Processing Elements including 79 Chorus, Vibrato, Vowel Mod, Tremolo, Hazy Lo-Fi and more
- Selectable Note Divisions for each side of the stereo Predelay
- Digitally controlled Analog mix bus
- Stereo input and output with separate jacks for each
- Switchable input/output headroom level for Instrument or Synthesizer / Line levels
- MIDI In and Out over standard MIDI Din Jacks
- Assignable Expression Pedal control for multiple parameters simultaneously
- Dedicated Expression Pedal Jack
- MIDI implementation for Continuous Control Parameters
- MIDI Preset Send and Receive
- MIDI beat clock synchronization
- Premium analog signal path and 24-bit AD/DA w/32 bit floating point DSP
- Premium Analog Devices JFET input section
- Dimmable screen and logo light
Pricing and Availability:
The MercuryX is available now for $599 USD.
I wish such stuff would also be made as normal desktop devices with normal knobs, instead of these floor models with on/off knobs that normally have to be pressed with your feets….
Kilpatrick Redox
19-inch rack was the perfect format IMO
Initially I was thinking of buying these as a duo when the reverb inevitably came out. But after the initial hype, I think it all dried up quite a bit. To me, it seems a bit too deep for hands-on tweaking and perfectioning. I am not a fan of deep editing on pedals, but when it needs to be done, just throw an app at it like Source Audio does… At least I get it over with more quickly. So I guess I’ll be happy to continue to use the Ventris and Nemesis.
These two Meris pedals, I think, are for people who actually perform, and want to do away with a lot of other pedals and control their song presets via MIDI. With these two pedals you could get everything you need from delays and reverbs. I am more of a pedal collector and I don’t run a pedalboard (due to not being a guitarist) so I chain up new configurations at every session, but these two could clean up a pedalboard and leave plenty of space for tons of other effects that would otherwise be stuffed with different delays and reverbs.
Fascinating sounds, features, and UI. The price seems about right for what it does.
For a person who really dives into lots of ambient kinds of tones, this seems like a pretty amazing device which brings something new to the table– or perhaps just a new combination of things.
Having a small display and the full editing UI in the unit is pretty typical of multi-fx– and with a feature set like this, they’ve done a good job of making the “diving” at least kind of fun to look at (cue bubbles).
I agree that Source Audio’s concept is great (theoretically) — put the basic controls and presets on the pedal, and allow deep editing via app. However, in practice, it isn’t always very tidy– as terms are often inconsistent or vague.
I’ll give a shout out to Fractal and the FM3, which for not much more dough than this, can give you really nice reverb, excellent amp/cab modeling, great effects, and superb tweakability. Not for the faint at heart, though.
Is it only me or does all new reverbs sound similar?
It seems they all have some shimmer algorithm that adds harmonics, have reverb tails that last forever, but they all sound super digital, artificial and are really bad at preserving the instruments original timbre.
I think it’s really only OTO Machines BAM and BIM that I have gelled with lately.
They have a nice warm sound and you can still hear all the nuances from the original instrument and not just a wall of effects when you use them…
Where are the reverbs for all of us that are not interested in creating a full ambient composition from one guitar chord only?
For us that want some more options than your standard plate or room reverb but still want it to sound natural, warm and most importantly enhance the instrument instead of adding a sound of it’s own?