 George
Shilling reviews:
t.c.
Wizard/M2000
The
M2000 is a 20-bit dual multi-fx unit in a shallow, lightweight, but
solidly-built 1U box, aimed firmly at the Project Studio section of
the market, in direct competition with units such as Lexicon's
PCM80. Previous units from this Danish company such as the 2290
delay and M5000 modular multi-purpose unit have been very popular
with high-end studios for their superb audio quality and features,
but they have been criticised by some for their somewhat unfriendly
operation. This new unit is clearly designed to overcome these
criticisms, as you might tell from the prominence of the computing
term 'Wizard' on the packaging. This is one of a number of 'helper'
features which characterise the unit, which almost gets itself out
of the box, plugs itself in then selects the program it thinks you
will like. (Well, almost!)
Buy TC Electronic recording equipment in our shop.
The
cheerful, clearly laid-out manual starts off by acknowledging that
most people don't read manuals: the 'ease of use' marketing concept
of Windows 95 hasn't passed t.c. by: "Plug and Play" they
say (although I'm not sure what Bill Gates' lawyer might say!) There
is a Help section built into the unit that displays a scrollable
summary of functions - a great idea that saves time spent hunting
for the manual when you are stuck. Now you can just pretend you are
adjusting the settings, when really you are trying to find out HOW
to!
The
M2000 has two effects "Engines", which are configurable in
six different routing options. This gives you the possibility of
combining two independent effects in series or parallel; using it as
two separate effects units with mono inputs and a shared stereo
output; a 'true stereo' parallel mode which links the edit pages of
the two engines (the 'combi' section also has its own edit page);
dual mono; and Preset Glide which cross-fades from one engine to the
other. Each engine comes with the basic 128 programs, and there are
also 128 'combi' programs combining different effects from the two
engines.
The
front panel has a large backlit LCD; a PCMCIA card slot for storing
and loading programs; six logically arranged rows each of four
John-Major-grey coloured switches, each with tiny legending beside
it, and infinitesimally small legending in blue underneath to
describe its 'shifted' function (none of which is very easy to see
in a dark studio); a Tempo Tap button (sets delay/modulation times
between 20 and 200BPM depending on tap rate); and a very satisfying
smooth-clicking Adjust knob. The back panel crams in the following:
IEC mains socket and power switch (although a standby switch graces
the front); stereo balanced XLR inputs and outputs; AES/EBU and S/PDIF
digital in and out; MIDI In, Thru and Out, (disappointingly only
program change implemented: no MIDI clock á lá PCM80); and a jack
socket for footpedal, which disappointingly only operates as a
bypass switch (no fast/slow switch for Leslie speaker simulation
program for example).
Setting
up is a piece of....Danish pastry?!. Press the I/O button to select
inputs and outputs, mix or 100% effects, digital clock rate and
dithering. One can mix digital and analogue inputs. Press the Levels
button to select -10dB or +4dB operation, and trim the levels.
Unfortunately the level trims have a very narrow range, e.g. in +4
mode you can only turn the inputs between -6dB and +16dB.
Unforgiveable, as there is no level knob on the front: in times of
trouble one might want to turn the input right down on the unit,
perhaps to locate a source of unwanted noise.
There
is a wide range of algorithms: Reverb, (Hall, Room, Plate, Ambience
or Gated, all of which can be switched to 'Expert' which has a full
set of parameters covering all reverb types); Chorus; Flanger;
Delay; Phaser; Multi Pitch-Shift (six independent harmonizers); EQ;
Tremolo; Stereo (Spacial expansion and Hi-Cut); Dynamics
(Compressor, Limiter, Gate and De-Esser).
The
Wizard is a feature to help you locate a program appropriate to your
needs. You select the type of effect you want, type of instrument
and intensity of effect and the M2000 presents you with a selection
of suitable programs for quick comparison. This is quite a useful
gimmick when looking for similar programs, although you might not
agree with the Wizard's choice. Four Snapshot buttons usefully store
edited settings for instant recall. Internal RAM gives you a
plentiful 128 store locations.
For
me, the best gimmick is Dynamic Morphing. This takes full advantage
of the two effects engines and as you might expect allows, well,
morphing between the two selected effects at a selected input level
threshold. This gives you the opportunity for example to send quiet
sounds to a long wet reverb and loud stabs to an in-yer-face phaser
with a very smooth join. Unfortunately, most presets don't have
anything as exciting as my example: generally, the programs are
somewhat bland, lacking some of the inventiveness of, say Eventide's
H3000D/SE's mod factory programs or Lexicon's PCM80's more wacky
offerings. Although most presets are useful, I found myself
twiddling about to get really juicy and inspiring stuff. This is
simply unimaginative software programming. Just my opinion of course
- others may disagree - and I am sure that before too long a PCMCIA
will appear on the market with some better programs. One cannot
fault the t.c. on a technical level: the sound quality is fantastic,
the reverbs very smooth, and the noise levels very low. Digital
compression and limiting is a long way off say, a valve Fairchild
660, but it is not unusable, and the pitch-changer is remarkably
glitch-free.
In
conclusion: a fantastic piece of kit and great value if priced
similarly to the Lexicon PCM80 - far more user friendly. I'll be
looking forwards to Version 2 with hopefully MIDI Clock tempo
setting, patchable footswitch parameter and some more exciting and
juicy presets.
Buy the Joe Meek TwinQ Studio Channel Strip in our shop.
Reproduced
with kind permission from www.George.Shilling.Com. Copyright ©1997
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