Some gear becomes famous. The Lexicon 224 became mythology. In this episode, Chris and Jody cannonball straight into the digital reverb that drenched the ’80s in shimmering glory and, honestly, made half of your favorite songs sound way cooler than they had any right to.
They kick things off with the “how the heck did this thing happen?” history lesson because the 224 didn’t just show up; it crashed the party and told every plate, spring, and echo chamber to scoot aside. Suddenly studios had huge, glossy halls and silky plates without needing, you know… actual halls or plates.
Then the boys take you on a tour of the 224’s delightfully bizarre controls. Some make perfect sense. Others feel like they were designed by a caffeinated time traveler. But Chris and Jody break it all down, how each control shapes your sound, how not to accidentally “blast your vocals into space,” and which settings make drums sound like Thor is doing sound design.
They share the tricks they keep coming back to classic vocal treatments, impossible-sounding ambiences, drum magic and yes, the inevitable nonsense that sneaks into every episode. Plus, the weekly Friday Finds, because what’s an episode without a new toy to crave?
If you’ve ever wondered why producers still chase this reverb like it’s vintage Pokémon, this episode will answer it… and probably make you want a 224 of your own (hardware or plugin, we won’t tell).
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Gear we used:
Jody’s Mic & Voice Chain: Telefunken C12 – Groove Tubes Vipre – Apollo – UA Neve 1073 – UA LA2A – UA Studer A800
Jody’s Channel Strip: iZotope RX Spectral DeNoise – iZotope RX Mouth DeClick – UA Neve 1073 – UA LA2A – UA 1176E
Chris’ Mic & Voice Chain: Slate ML1 – Apollo – UA – Slate VMR (FG12, FG73, API Eq, SSL 4kE) – iZotope RX Voice – DeNoise
Chris’ Channel Strip: Eventide Precision Time Align – iZotope RX Spectral DeNoise – iZotope RX Mouth DeClick – UA Neve 1073 – UA LA2A – UA 1176E
Master: Oek Sound Soothe 2 – iZotope Ozone Imager – iZotope Ozone Maximize.
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