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On the upper right, just below the program name, is a status area with indicators for the system (sample rate, clock source, clock lock), machine (number of the currently selected machine, configuration in effect, global or program-determined mix, and I/O) and joystick. The joystick area features an X/Y field showing the joystick’s positions; the joystick must be enabled to have any effect, so both the physical location and the last active position of the joystick are shown. To the left of this are two fields with labels and values for the two parameters assigned to the X and Y axes.
The Software
Because my review unit contained one DSP card, all of my comments will pertain to that configuration, except where noted otherwise.
The 960L can be run at sample rates of 44.1, 48, 88.2 or 96 kHz. As with other digital audio devices, running at the higher sample rates takes twice the processing power, halving the available resources.
As mentioned earlier, the unit operates as two or more machines, depending on which configuration is running. At 44.1 or 48 kHz, there are nine available configurations: four 2-in/2-out reverbs, one 5-in/5-out and one 2-in/5-out, two 2-in/5-out, two 4-in/4-out, Stereo Cascade 1 (four stereo reverbs with reverb 1 feeding reverb 2, while reverbs 3 and 4 remain simple 2-in/2-out), Stereo Cascade 2 (four stereo reverbs with 1 feeding 2, and 3 feeding 4), 5-in Cascade (a 5-in/5-out feeding another 5-in/5-out), a 4-in Cascade (like the 5-in Cascade but with four channel reverbs) and, finally, four 1-in/2-out reverbs. There is also an 8-in/8-out configuration for diagnostic use.
When running at 88.2 or 96 kHz, there are six configurations (plus the diagnostic one) available, essentially one-half of each of the other configs: two 2-in/2-out, one 5-in/5-out, one 2-in/5-out, one 4-in/4-out, a Stereo Cascade (a 2-in/2-out feeding another) and two 1-in/2-out reverbs.
Selecting a configuration is easy: Enter Control mode by pressing that mode button, then press the Configs button on the V-Page. The display shows a list of available configurations on the left and a graphic illustration of the highlighted configuration to its right. A small comments area below the list gives a little extra detail about the highlighted configuration.
With a configuration selected, you’ll then want to choose which machine to edit. Naturally, you’ll press the Machine button. Unlike the 480L, which only had two machines to toggle between, the 960L’s ability to run up to four machines (up to eight with a second DSP card) requires that you step through a list by successive presses of the Machine button, the up and down arrow keys, the increment/decrement buttons or use the shortcut of pressing the machine number; nearly every function has an equivalent shortcut. Just as the top line of the display reflects each mode button you push, the currently selected machine is shown in large letters as you step through the list with the program it is running shown to the right. The list shows complete detail for each machine, including the category and name of the program it is running, mix and I/O settings, mute status and reverb configuration.
Having chosen a machine, it is time to pick a preset. The Register button takes you to the 100 internal user preset banks (each bank holds 10 presets) stored on an internal hard disk or the 10 user banks that can be stored on a floppy.
The Program button takes you to the factory presets. There are 12 banks of Programs: two of Halls plus a Stage+Hall, one of Chambers plus a Stage+Chamber, one of Rooms, two of Plates, one Ambience, one Wild Spaces and two of Programs designed for post-production use (mostly small spaces). There are versions of all the Programs for each configuration, and the versions you see are always the appropriate ones for the configuration of the machine you are working with. If you are choosing a preset for a 2-in/2-out machine, then surround versions will not be displayed.
In Register or Program mode, the banks are shown in a list on the left and the contents of the highlighted bank are shown in a list to its right. The left and right arrow keys navigate between the two lists, and each list has a comments field below it. Again, with a shortcut, programs can be loaded 480-style; that is, Bank button, #, Program button, #. For Registers, you can enter comments in either of these fields, which is where the PS2 keyboard port comes in. It is possible to edit names and comments using the LARC2’s arrow and increment/decrement keys, but if you’ve spent $15k for this reverb, you’d be nuts not to spend another $15 for a keyboard.
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Reprinted with permission from
Magazine, June, 2001© 2000, Intertec Publishing, A Primedia Company All Rights Reserved
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