Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in?

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johnnyV
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2014/11/01 19:14:49 (permalink)

Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in?

http://www.lexiconpro.com/en/products/mx200
 
I just can't live with the built in EFX on my little Yamaha MG82 mixer. Your sort of stuck with what every they thought you would need. The Reverb is OK, but the Delay is Labeled Karaoke which say's it all.
So this starts yet another quest for the perfect solution. 
 
Yesterday I brought home a TC Helicon Voice Live Play to try out. Same issue where the reverbs are excellent but the delay is out of your control. The tap tempo option is a bad idea for a person who is trying to sing, play the guitar and not fall over. Cool harmonies but another distraction from my quest for good delay. 
So I took it back and traded even for a Lexicon MX 200. Just a quick demo at the store and ,,wow, what a difference.  Lexicon certainly wrote the book on good reverbs. I've used the Sonar version since day one. But this is sounding even better. And the good news is the Delay is logical to operate. Ya! quest over .. So I think I'm well equipped for live now. I might even go back to midi sequencing for song by song patches. 
Meanwhile back at the studio- 
I bought this primarily for live audio, but if it does turn out to up the ante on the Lexicon Pantheon then why not use it instead.  
It has both SPDIF and USB connectivity. 
The SPDIF would allow inserting it as a hardware effect unit without conversion. 
The USB allows the unit to interact with your DAW as a VST plug in via software you download. I'm on the road so will be a few days before I can try this.
So my question is, has any body successfully used this unit, or any hardware effects for that matter, inside Sonar as a vst plug in?? . it's 32 Bit   ;(    
I won't be disappointed if the USB system is a bomb as I would be just as happy to link it with SPDIF which I already understand how to initiate.
I seem to remember a Lexicon audio interface that had bad drivers from years past. 

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    Living Room Rocker
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    Re: Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in? 2014/11/01 23:01:38 (permalink)
    I have not tried this unit, but sounds cool.  The idea of allowing a hardware processor to work as a VST in a DAW is something I had wished for a long time ago.  To bad that software or something like it isn't available for universal use.  That would allow the focus to remain on a monitor rather than stretching, leaning or moving to the hardware rack just to make some or one tweak of the dial.  Awesome!
     
    Kind regards,
     
    Living Room Rocker

    Kind regards, Living Room Rocker
    #2
    johnnyV
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    Re: Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in? 2014/11/02 00:23:25 (permalink)
    Well actually reading the manual it say's it shows as a regular vst plug in,
    All parameters can be tweaked and stored as a pre set too.
    Only the USB cable connection makes this different than ITB effects. All processing is done with hardware relieving your CPU. It all sound good on paper, so I'll cross my fingers untill I get home and can fire it up.  
    What this will mean to me is if I use Sonar as a playback DAW for my live show, then it will automatically recall the pre set for each song. 
    There will be no latency issues either. 
    I will also use it for tracking vocals. Not only can I add some reverb without printing it, There is a compressor which I'm crossing my fingers is good enough to work to buffer overs from clients who have bad mike habits. 
     
    So looks like your dream came true. A few years ago. The manual was printed in 2005. This is old technology, that's why I bought it..       :) 

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    #3
    The Maillard Reaction
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    Re: Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in? 2014/11/02 09:12:44 (permalink)
    You may wish to seek out some of the interviews with Michael Carnes.
     
    He's the former head of effects programming at Lexicon.
     
    In one of the interviews he tells an anecdotal story about having spent a career assuming that dedicated dsp hardware would always outperform Windows OS or Mac OS based CPU processing... until he finally made the time to compile some of his favorite algorithms for desktop processing. He explains that he was more than surprised to learn how much power a desktop had, and he realized that his most intensive hardware based processes only took up a tiny fraction, often less than 1%, of a desktop's resources. He explains how this has been liberating and that he has been able to use desktop CPU implementation to further advance his craft while compiling processes that are beyond the capability of the dedicated dsp chips found in hardware reverb units.
     
    The point being, the idea of using hardware dsp for reverb to supplement DAW has become an anachronism.
     
     


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    johnnyV
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    Re: Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in? 2014/11/02 11:19:23 (permalink)
    Thanks Mike that's good to know, I'll be interested to compare the Panthleon to the hardware Reverbs latter this week and I'll post what I find. Like I say, I didn't buy it for the studio initially. I bought it to use live.
    I'm trying to retire my Yamaha 01v from the studio. It's pretty old.  Mostly for adding reverb to the cue mix while tracking vocals. I was using the compressors up until like a fool one day I realized that any compression added after a A/D is pointless. 
    I am going to buy this next spending spree. 
    http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/threeQ
     
    It is interesting how forgiving the Yamaha's pre amps are. I've been using them for 25 years and have rarely had an audible clip in any input running through them.  I find the Focusrites pre amps are way to picky. They are super prone to clipping with a very nasty artifact.  So I use the Yamaha and SPDIF. 
     
     
     

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    fireberd
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    Re: Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in? 2018/04/02 17:24:17 (permalink)
    This is an old thread, but I just purchased a (used) MX200 (being shipped today).  Does it really work like they say, "plug in USB and use like a VST?  Or, is it better used as a "reamped" style device?
     
    Thanks/Jack

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    jimmyrage music
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    Re: Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in? 2018/04/03 01:13:44 (permalink)
    I still have one that I bought several years ago for live gigs. I remember hooking it up to my DAW just to check it out and it worked as expected but I really can't remember much other than that. It does have some very usable reverb and delays when used in a live situation. May I'll dig it back out one of these days.
    #7
    Jesse G
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    Re: Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in? 2018/04/03 03:12:12 (permalink)
    I have the Lexicon MX200, however, I used it as a Hardware insert within Sonar Platinum.
    I mainly wanted a way that I could change the reverb (in the headphones) for vocalist when recording their songs.  It works well and I even have it saved as a template for my VOXCUE bus.
     
    I've had the unit for several years now and it works great.    I have to say that I never tried the VST approach, however, their was a Sound on Sound article about the MX 2000 and about using VST.
     
    Read the SOS article here.   LEXICON MX200

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    Jesse G. A fisher of men  <><
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    fireberd
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    Re: Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in? 2018/04/03 10:40:48 (permalink)
    Thanks for the SOS link.  I'll have to work with it after I get it. It will be great if I can get it working as a VST.

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    ptheisen
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    Re: Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in? 2018/04/03 17:15:59 (permalink)
    I have its bigger brother the MX-400, and it works the same way. I haven't used it as a VST within Sonar for quite awhile, but I did in the past and recall that I thought it was a good implementation and worked as expected.
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    Jesse G
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    Re: Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in? 2018/04/03 23:17:57 (permalink)
    fireberd
    Thanks for the SOS link.  I'll have to work with it after I get it. It will be great if I can get it working as a VST.




    It's a great reverb using and I like using it as a hardware insert within Sonar.  No delay whatsoever.  You will enjoy using it.
     
    One note, assign both of the processors to the same logarithm for a better reverb sound.  See  ~~> HERE
     
     

    Peace,
    Jesse G. A fisher of men  <><
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    fireberd
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    Re: Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in? 2018/04/04 21:47:49 (permalink)
    Got the unit.  I installed the driver and then MX Edit program.  Connected via USB and Windows detected and installed it.  Its communicating with the MX Edit program.  But, Sonar (and Studio One 3) do not see it.  What else do I need to do????
     
    I see an option in the manual of connecting via S/PDIF but that is not USB/VST.
     
    EDIT: I found the MX200 VST and added it to the Cakewalk/VST Plugins and Sonar picked it up when it scanned the VST's but I still don't see it.
     
     
     
    post edited by fireberd - 2018/04/04 22:12:15

    "GCSG Productions"
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    Cactus Music
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    Re: Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in? 2018/04/05 01:07:07 (permalink)
    I see I was using my other log on. 
    Anyhow,, I never did get this to work. The reason was the VST was written for XP 32 bit and reports were it never ported over to W7 and above. They just never put any effort into it. So XP 32 only. 
     
    I still use this for my Live effects. 
    Funny reading this I forgot about trying the TC voice live.. But I ended up buying a TC Voice Live Play acoustic just this fall. Main reason is for my acoustic guitar with the Body Rez feature. I have the Effects shut off. Compared to the MX 200 they sound dull.  
    I guess the word I would use for the sound of the MX200 live is "musical" 
    Most effects suck the life out of your sound and just muddy the waters. It has a nice shine it put on things. 
    I guess I could patch it in as analog in/out. 

    Johnny V  
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    fireberd
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    Re: Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in? 2018/04/05 10:44:18 (permalink)
    That sounds like what is happening, the 32 bit isn't working in Win 10 64 bit.  Looks like I'll just have to use it as an external patched in unit.  

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    fireberd
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    Re: Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in? 2018/04/07 10:44:57 (permalink)
    I'm in luck.  The buyer I purchased the used Lexicon from has agreed to take it back.  It really is of no use to me as I bought it to use as a VST, but since it won't work on Win 10 (64 bit OS) I was stuck trying to make it work as an external effect until he agreed to take it back.  Will just cost me the shipping.
     

    "GCSG Productions"
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    Jesse G
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    Re: Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in? 2018/04/07 15:53:39 (permalink)
    Sorry to hear that the VST option is limited to 32bits.   You could use it as an external insert within Sonar as I am currently using it, but again it is only being used to add reverb in the singers ears while recording.

    Peace,
    Jesse G. A fisher of men  <><
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    fireberd
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    Re: Lexicon MX 200 as a VST plug in? 2018/04/07 17:14:18 (permalink)
    My MOTU 896Mk3 Hybrid has reverb capability built in to send to singers, so I didn't need it for that.  Just thought it would be a nice to have Reverb (and Delay) option as I've always like the Lexicon reverbs.  Too bad it didn't work out.

    "GCSG Productions"
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