Secret Sound Adds All Digital Lexicon 960L To Complement Extensive Pro Tools System

(Lexicon | Posted 2003-02-21)

Secret Sound, the personal recording facility of composer/producer Chas Sandford, installed a Lexicon 960LD Multi-Channel Digital Effects System in January. The 960LD, purchased from Professional Audio Design in Rockland, MA, is the perfect match for the facility’s massive Digidesign® Pro ToolsHD® 7 system, which features 48 channels of 192 I/Os and a 32-fader ProControl® system with Edit Pack. Only the Lexicon 960L could offer classic reverbs and other audio effects yet also match the performance of such a sophisticated all-digital environment.

Sandford, who has produced tracks for artists including Chicago, Stevie Nicks, and Roger Daltrey, as well as penned hit songs such as John Waite’s “Missing You,” says he has been an ardent fan of Lexicon reverbs for many years. Throughout the many iterations of Secret Sound, both in its original location in Los Angeles as well as several versions based in the Nashville area, “I’ve always loved the way Lexicon reverbs sound,” Sandford says. “No other outboard processor sounds as natural as a Lexicon. So as my recording system evolved and grew, I knew I wanted a 960L to keep up with it.”

Sandford is well versed in all-digital recording, and notes that, while the evolution of plug-in type DSP devices for systems such as Pro Tools has come a long way, they still can’t touch what a device like the Lexicon 960L can offer. “A lot of plug-ins are great, but on any digital audio workstation system it’s hard to allocate the processing power needed to make great, dense-sounding reverb effects,” he explains. “The 960L is a digital box that does exactly that, and since they made a version without the analog I/Os, I can access that kind of DSP quality at a more cost-effective price.”

Dave Malekpour, President of Professional Audio Design, concurs, adding, “The Lexicon 960L is the culmination of years of experience in designing digital signal processing. No other system has ever achieved what Lexicon algorithms have. Engineers and producers can spot a Lexicon reverb on a record in a second. So it makes sense that when you’re working in an all-digital environment, especially one as complex and large as what Chas has at Secret Sound, you’d want a 960L, which can give you both the digital interface you need and the great-sounding effects that you want.”

The addition of the Lexicon 960LD at Secret Sound also had something of a back-to-the-future effect for Sandford. “I plugged it in and used it on some older recordings and it just brought new life to them,” Sandford remarks. “It’s just an awesome machine.”

With a rich history in the audio industry, Lexicon has been responsible for many industry-leading innovations. In 1971, Lexicon was the first to offer a production digital audio product, the Delta-T. This was followed by the first commercially available digital reverb system, the Model 224. The tradition continued in 1981 with the introduction of the first digital time compressor, the Lexicon Model 1200.

This legacy of innovation has led Lexicon to the forefront of the digital audio industry. Today, Lexicon digital signal processing is the world-recognized standard for quality and versatility in time domain effects. In fact, Lexicon processing is incorporated in the audio production of over 80 percent of all major motion pictures, as well as live and recorded music.

Secret Sound Adds All Digital Lexicon 960L To Complement Extensive Pro Tools System

$310

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