Pardon me if you've seen this on another forum.
I have a hardware Lexicon 224 that works. It occasionally gives me a fit and the problem seems to be a little oxidation on the PCB contacts where they slide into the chassis. Removing and replacing them seems to fix the issue. Never get any error codes. One fear that I have is that the thing will fail one day and I won't be able to afford repairs - there's only a few folks in the world who can work on these boxes. If it does fail, I certainly won't be able to get much $ for it as a parts unit and I'd be without a good reverb.
Here's my question: Would I be insane to sell the 224 and use the money to buy a software reverb like the Softube Tzar or the UA Lex 224 and then use the remaining cash towards some studio upgrades like maybe a UA Apollo for my front end? I'm currently using a 003 rack and 4 decent outboard pres (2 FiveFish X12s, 1 Joemeek VC2 and one UA 610) in the line inputs of the 003. I have a Focusrite Octopre in the ADAT input of the 003. The UA should give me better conversion and 4 good preamps. Would I be giving up much by switching to a software reverb?
I mainly track full rock and blues bands and occasionally a singer/songwriter-type project. I like the Lex but, not having the cash to do much in the way of upgrades, this seems like a possible way to get the most for the Lexicon while it is still functional and improve my studio setup - not that it's bad now, but it could be better.
So, am I crazy?
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If you do i know the senior engineer at my studio would probably
If you do i know the senior engineer at my studio would probably buy it LOL. he insists nothing good was made after the 80's (except the records he recorded of course). You should look into the pluggin version of your unit if you like it, they even have a control surface for it i think. If you were a studio where you could bring in clients based on your gears nastalgia, you'd be charging quite a bit. and have a lot more than one highly regarded verb unit. My diy side says keep it ya got something cool, and new stuff can be glitchy too. the practical side says you could have better overall conversion quality, and a bunch of instances of your beloved mostly working reverb for no cost. If i didn't have another studio to work at, and it was just my home setup i'd sell the thing that's not working right. it'd be annoying to lose something cool like that, but a bunch of tasty new UA plugins, and the software emulation of the unit, would help me forget pretty fast. Much more fun than blowing the 'it' take cuz my reverb stopped working. That crap happens enough w/ DAWS. Maybe your new gear would earn you enough money to buy a 244 that isn't acting up. If gear doesn't work i shy away, I've dealt w/enough 'heritage' type gear that craps out in the middle of a session, and modern stuff that is cranky. all set w/ that, i'll put an sm 57 in front of an inspired performer, rather than the 'works like a nintendo cartridge' vintage thing. Don't get me wrong i would love to have enough time/money for all the cool old gear, cuz i think alot of factors play into how cool they might sound, but i can't afford them, the repairs, or the cost of a ruined sessions, and lost inspiration right now. I'd much rather play than pay.