Yamaha SPX990

The Yamaha SPX990 is a multi-effects processor that I've used in a professional recording studio. While I know that most people will get their effects in the box, the SPX990 is an older piece of gear that was designed well before the days of plug-ins. It is a digital piece of gear and I don't know the types of connections that it has since the one I used was racked in place already. I didn't need to check out the back as it was hooked into the patch bay so I just made the connections to it there. It is a rackable piece of equipment and will only take up a single space in a traditional rack casing.

UTILIZATION

The only thing that I don't really like about the Yamaha SPX990 is navigating through the screens. I wouldn't necessarily say that it is hard, it just isn't all that user friendly in my opinion. There is definitely a lot that you can do with it in terms of storing your own sounds and all that, but I haven't really delved in that deep with it since I haven't really had to. The manual would be a good idea to have for someone looking to learn all the ins and outs of the unit.

SOUND QUALITY

The quality of the effects found on the Yamaha SPX990 is pretty impressive. While perhaps not the warmest sounding effects, for a digital piece of gear it definitely sounds good. The reverb is definitely the best sound on it, but it nice to have the other effects like delay and a variety of modulation effects as well, as you never know when they might come in handy. I've mostly used the SPX990's reverb on vocals, but the effects on it will translate well for pretty much anything that you'd like to use it for. Most of the effects on here are very respectable sounding, but where this makes its money is with the reverb.

OVERALL OPINION

While I don't think I'd recommend the Yamaha SPX990 for home studio owners since I wouldn't recommend using outboard multi-effects processors in general, I would recommend it for professionals who are looking to add to their palette of sounds. Of course this could be used in home studios as well, I personally would just invest in some good sounding plug-ins to save the hassle of having outboard in a home studio, as I don't think that this sounds good enough to warrant it. All in all, the Yamaha SPX990 is a very solid multi-effects processor for usages of all types.

Multi digital effects
- Offers an effective engine surrounded by two treatment choices, a front and an output
ex: comp / Rev / Eq
- Ability to recall snapshot of 4
- Users of internal memory and PCMCIA card
- Analog inputs and outputs only
- Delay with tap

UTILIZATION

Very easy to use, it appears to be the Swiss Army knife of the effects processor, simply live, all the technicians used a live one time or another, see every day!
routing, utility functions are fewer than one million TC in 2000 and especially no digital output only appears behind.
and digital consoles still in radinnes analog inputs is a shame not to use the SPDIF or AES EBU for effects returns.

SOUND QUALITY

Blah blah blah!
is effective but not pretty, easy to include in a responsible mix live, because less hot and a lexicon modulated and less rigorous in the medium than in TC!
it's the digital application, a task result is a bit of clothing for sound engineer,
"There is a group, we want a snare drum reverb, bam you put a snare plate, and go to charley"
it's really not a machine artistically captivating, but this is not its purpose!

OVERALL OPINION

Listen to a rack instead of the outdated and not really a mythical good old PCM70!
Anyway, if you buy a 990 SPX not too expensive you would have your money, but no more!
(It already!)