I noticed you’re using past tense, so I’m curious what you’re using now instead?
Bam’s Room and Plate algos are my favorite too, well, plate was until I got Soundtoys Little Plate for free when it was released and found maybe there are better alternatives in software.
I’m very pleased with the reverb on my Virus TI2 and the reverb on my TR-8S is usable. I have been considering picking up the BAM again though.
The Ventris and the Nemesis reside permanently on the Cue Outs of my OT. They are the Main FXs of my PERfourMER. The 4 individual Outs of the PERfourMER go in the 4 Ins of the OT. Perfect setup.
The Ventris is a fantastic Reverb. You can get tremendous results from its Dual engines. The Ventris has it all : superb algos, MIDI IN and THRU, deep editing (if you want to), full MIDI CC’s, all sort of routings and very affordable.
lol, you may be right there, gonna sell some soon
I might wrong but the CXM 1978 seems to have gone up in price in the UK, by £100.
This was going to be my caveat purchase, within the NoGear NewYear thread.
Not now though.
Where are you looking?
When it was released, many places listed it as £899, but some sold it for £799.
It looks like that is still the case - a mix between places selling for those two prices.
Soundgas, hotrox, guitarguitar are listing it for £799. Whether they have stock is another question, I didn’t check that.
Ah ok. I don’t remember seeing it at £899 before.
I was mainly checking Andertons, and i was sure it was listed it at £799.
Maybe not though. But I have this recollection of thinking that they had it priced higher than some others.
Either way, I won’t pay £899.
yeah it went up in price here too (999 euro)
I don’t think its worth it. its beautiful, and the EQ is interesting to say the least (the way it does EQ + reverb/decay time at the same time, with the crossover freq also to kinda bandpass it all).
it sounds good, but not double as good as e.g. meris m7, empress reverb
(don’t own the UAD golden reverberator, but seems very good aswell)
also, there is some clipping with hotter line signals (many pedals have this, but some less), and when you slide the mix knob, sometimes there are some crackles. this seems to be normal behaviour (the guy from chase bliss answered on a forum: “This is actually normal behavior. It has to do with how the mix is digitally controlled and was the best option for making the pedal remember mix positions cleanly. Many pedal companies use a similar method for this type of mix control, Meris included, which is why it appears here on their algorithms in the CXM.”)
I fear i’m going to return it.
and so the search for the best reverb pedal remains neverending 
as a CBA fan, what do you think about the dark world? and what do you mean with sound design tool? how do you use the CXM?
Dark World’s quite specifc and don’t do classic reverb so much as it does … well, darker stuff 
moody, atmospheric, suggestive and haunting, which is typical of Chase Bliss, I’d say. I don’t mind the Chase Bliss mono thing, but some effects just don’t benefit from not providing me with the choice. Reverb is one of those. I can definitely dig the mono vibe in a reverb and prefer it, but not always and it’s just not an interesting choice to be restricted to mono only when it comes to bread and butter stuff like reverb and delay. So I don’t use one, but it does sound very good for what its name implies.
I never use my outboard stuff as fx on channels, but as tools to create patches or textures which I then use in my music. The CXM, I use to run almost anything through it when appropriate - pads, leads, field recordings, sequences, whatnot - and then record the results as a complete take. There’s so much going on in the CXM that I always aim to create something new with the results, not just the source with reverb added on but just a new sound all together, and when I run the results through samplers and my outboard gear, the nuances present themselves even more. The level of detail in the CXM really lends itself to that kind of sound design, which truly shows itself when you work with the results in the stages after having recorded it.
Generally, this is why I stick with Chase Bliss stuff - not only do they sound great on their own, but the high quality level of their output also means that when you elaborate on the captured results, even more stuff comes out.
So overall, when people compare the CXM to other reverb, I get why that’s relevant. It’s a reverb unit, after all. It’s also missing at least part of the point with the CXM. I mean, you can use it for so many things. If you’re just looking for a great sounding reverb, get a Meris and you’re done. If you’re looking for something that can add to your arsenal for sampling and resampling, texture design, complete coloring of the master output or stuff … that’s where the CXM becomes really interesting.
It’s way too pricey to get just as a great reverb. Because if that’s all you need, you get equally great units for much less.
thanks mate, interesting analysis!
few remaining questions
I’ve used synths from normal TS cables into the CXM in Balanced mode with no problems. Just turn you synth down a little, as you’ve found, it can clip - thats mostly with really long settings on the bass/mid/treble. Its not as bad as the DBA Rooms though! but a little beyond me why a Line In setting is still easy to make clip… Give me a level meter at £800 please. just a little dot that flashes when its too hot. anything.
the stepping/clicking on the mix fader is a known problem, you mentioned it earlier. is what it is.
Sounds like this ones not for you, return it if you can
I’ve been told by chase bliss that using TS cables in to the CXM balanced mode is useless
Hey,
I use it separately, but not in a mix but as a tool to design new sounds. I sometimes use it on the master from the SSL SiX before the mix goes into the SSl Fusion, to very satisfying effect.
I use the balanced mode from time to time, local dealer even threw me a set of separate cables for the purpose when he learned I had a CXM and he got pissed that I had cheap cables, so he threw them after me. However, I use it mostly for resampling and mixdowns through the SiX.
I have not encountered the mix fader issue, which is interesting because I use the mix slider quite a lot in real time when I record longer sequences, to move between complete reverb tails to totally dry. I will say that the CXM can produce some harsh and distinct overtones, that cuts my ears from time to time, and they show their face with some frequency when I work the mix slider. This usually tells me that I’m not quite where I should be in the bass and mid sections of the CXM, and once I get that right and use the treble to settle it, it’s not a problem.
I should say, while I loved the CXM right from the start, it took me some time to learn where it’s truly useful for me. In the beginning, I just used it as a reverb. If I’d stayed there, I would’ve traded it by now.
thanks, you made me curious, what cables did he throw after you? nice dealer!
I played with it again last night. I’m starting to see what you mean, its more than a reverb and you can really sculpt new / special sounds with it. the mix fader noise is almost not present when you move the mix fader very slowly, so its manageable. Also not an issue if I’d put the CXM on a send/return in my mixer (which is balanced, so I could also use balanced i/o mode then). So in conclusion, I think its a keeper.
Yeah, I mean, if you compare it to say a Meris which I see pop up in this thread with some frequency, the Meris one sounds fantastic and also exactly as you expect it to, and it takes you the places you already know in your mind.
But the CXM, that one is a guide to some new and alien worlds, at least for me, and that’s where the real fun begins. I think we’re past those Vangelis tails now anyway, they’re lovely and you def want those sometimes, but you don’t get the CXM because you want to sound like Blade Runner. You can do that for far less these days. You get one to get in the mindstate that helped a gent like Vangelis come up with the Blade Runner sound, but do your own journey and see where your destination takes you.
yeah very beautiful. Only thing I dislike is this crackling sound that you hear 50% of the times when moving the mix fader up and down during playback (in the example, i first play some notes, and then move the mix fader from 70% to 30% and back. can you hear it? anyone else recognize this? or is it a faulty unit?
