Chase Bliss & Meris CXM 1978 - a reverb, that is

Nope, i sent the unit back and received a new one that also has the same. Contacted chase bliss and they say its normal behavior…

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This was the reply I got:

Hey there Oscar,

I listened to your clips. It appears that the noise you are referring to is what we call “zippering”. The faders are digital controllers so no audio is actually passing through them. Dust would not make them crackle.

This “zippering” is an artifact of the digital control, and unfortunately unavoidable. Depending on the power supply you are using and the clock setting, can make this more or less prominent.

Hope this answers your questions! Please reach out to me if you need any further assistance.

Dan Berndt (he/him)
Customer Support
Quality Assurance Manager

Which makes me wonder, which power supply are you using? I use a strymon zuma

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That’s interesting. Same for me with a Zuma here. Would never have thought about trying a different power supply

Its not that big of a deal since normally most of us probably don’t move the mix fader constantly, and some of us may even not move it at all if they use it as send / return via a mixer. But still, I have more digital reverbs and this one is the only one that exhibits this behaviour.

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I use a Black Sheep and don’t recognise this problem. Maybe we use our CXMs differently, but if power has something to do with it, that’s what I use.

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It is entirely avoidable. I’m struggling to think of a situation where they would not be able to smoothly change the mix without stepping.

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Yep my thoughts exactly, bit easy answer for a 1000 euro device. Guess it depends on how you use the cxm if its a big deal or not.

I often use the mix fader as a performative tool to litterally fade in the reverb, thats when I noticed it

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Anyone tried sending a midi cc to see if it still does the stepping? Just wondering if it’s to do with the type of physical controls used. Can’t think of a single pedal that does this, but they all use a normal pots rather than the sliders

I do this too. Why am I not getting this? Or maybe I am :slightly_smiling_face:

Thanks so much for sending - using a “one spot” power adapter here

If they used 8 bit ADCs…

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Yeah I wondered that they might use a low res signal to control an analogue gain to go from dry to wet. I’m sure they could have added a simple RC filter to smooth out faster changes though.

But my point was more like, at the design stage, it’s entirely possible to mitigate this. Especially on a high end product. Having zipper noise on a fader would simply not fly if I was making that product.

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Finally, I’m in.

Very much looking forward to combining this and the Meris LVX.

Think I’m covered now. So hoping to make 2023 my NGNY.

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Welcome.

Run a loop through the CXM. Use the lo-fi Pre-Delay setting, the Hall reverb and a fairly balanced setting of the lo and hi end. Then slam the mix to max, lean back and listen.

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This damn CXM has been haunting me since it was announced. Although I’ve never heard it in person, every bit of video/audio I have taken in online has proven it’s my absolute favorite modern pedal-based reverb. By a pretty big margin.

I have talked myself out of buying it about 20 times. I have other reverbs, but I just keep coveting this box of wonder. The price just has me stuck. I can swing it, but I’m a middle aged dad and this is something I’d love, but it’s quite extravagant.

I’m at a point where I am buying my final piece of gear for a long while and it’s completing a synth/sampler pedalboard.

If I again talk myself out of this pedal and buy a Mercury 7, will I always regret it? Possibly. The Merc 7 seems like it’s 65-75% of the way to the CXM, but just misses on the extra dimension. I also happen to hate shimmer, so that aspect of the M7 provides no extra value for me.

Do I give up on the CXM? It reminds me of the Transformers toy I always wanted most and never got.

It seems the CXM is my modern day Jetfire.

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Have you taken a look at the UAFX Golden Reverberator by UAD? For me, the CXM has one huge drawback (physical size) and a painful one (price). The GR killed my GAS for the CXM mainly thanks to its smaller size but also because it houses most songwriting relevant features and settings (AFAIU the CXM can go crazier, which I don’t need). Had the CXM been smaller, then it would have been a tougher choice.

I have and love the Golden Reverberator. It has not cured me of CXM-itis. The CXM just has more depth and air and I love the echoey/bouncy/cloudy sounds it can conjure.

The Mercury 7 algorithms are surely a first gen version of what they did in the CXM. It’s quite amazing they improved on the M7 that much.

I fear this is a debate against myself that cannot be won!

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The ultrasheer is another that will hold up well to the cxm for a good price. You could get the ultrasheer and the new delay they got for the same price as a cxm.

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Vongon is great stuff, but I have those bases covered.

This is all about M7 as an acceptable compromise to the CXM. The Golden Reverberator is ace and does everything except the super bouncy and airy sounds of the CXM. The M7 sort of does it.

The CXM is just special and unfortunately the price reflects that a bit too dramatically.

Maybe I need to try one of these again because my impressions were so much different. I had the OTO Bam, Golden Reverberator, Strymon NightSky, and CXM 1978 to compare with one another side by side. I was least impressed by the CXM 1978, but I was mostly interested in using them for percussion.

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