Meris MercuryX - First Look
A reverb pedal from the future.
Meris is one of the most exciting pedal builders in the world. They only have a handful of pedals but all of them are so well thought out and built with maximum quality so when a new pedal from Meris is announced we know it’s going to be an amazing one!
So their latest pedal is the MercuryX. A modular reverb pedal that builds upon the beautiful Mercury7 and provides you with all the tools to create any kind of reverb. And from the first videos, it sounds fantastic. It has the exact same form factor and workflow as the LVX which is their modular delay pedal which was released last year.
Specs
MercuryX has 8 custom Meris reverb algorithms to use as a starting point to design your reverb. It has the Ultraplate & Cathedra that you can also find on the Mercury7 and on top of that there is Room, Plate, and Hall that can be also found on the CXM 78 that was made in collaboration with Chase Bliss and three new ones - Spring, Prism, and Gravity. It is, of course, Stereo, it has MIDI implementation, and you can have a crazy amount of presets.
Just like on the LVX, the pedal leads you to create your own presets by giving you all the tools to design a reverb exactly as you want it. Both pedals are made for people who love sound design and are willing to put in the time to dial in their sound in detail. Although the presets that are already onboard sound great and can be further tweaked to your liking.
On the front panel, there are a few knobs like Decay, Mix, Mod, Pre-Delay, and your Preset Selector alongside two Parameter knobs that control different things depending on what’s on the screen. The screen is definitely the highlight of the pedal. The MercuryX has a huge screen (for a pedal) where you can clearly see everything so you can visualize your signal flow and what you’re doing with the knobs.
Modular Reverb System architecture
8 Custom Meris Reverbs: Ultraplate, Cathedra, 78 Room, 78 Plate, 78 Hall, Spring, Prism and Gravity
Expanded 2.54 secs of Stereo Predelay with modular Feedback Routing Location
Advanced ARM Processor
Configurable Reverb Structures, Types, and Processing Elements for the ultimate customization in reverb processing
Intuitive Color Screen-based User Interface
Expressive Hold Modifier Switch for on-the-fly control
99 Preset Locations in 33 Banks
Favorite Preset Bank for instant access to your 3 favorite presets
Instant Access Tuner with configurable Reference and Output mode
Deep Modifier Section lets you route control signals to processing parameters
New Independent Stereo Freeze alongside reverb
Gate Envelope Controls for every reverb type
All New Processing Elements including 79 Chorus, Vibrato, Vowel Mod, Tremolo, Hazy Lo-Fi, and more
Selectable Note Divisions for each side of the stereo Predelay
Digitally controlled Analog mix bus
Stereo input and output with separate jacks for each
Switchable input/output headroom level for Instrument or Synthesizer / Line levels
MIDI In and Out over standard MIDI Din Jacks
Assignable Expression Pedal control for multiple parameters simultaneously
Dedicated Expression Pedal Jack
MIDI implementation for Continuous Control Parameters
MIDI Preset Send and Receive
MIDI beat clock synchronization
Premium analog signal path and 24-bit AD/DA w/32 bit floating point DSP
Premium Analog Devices JFET input section
Dimmable screen and logo light
Initial Thoughts
Since we don’t have the pedal on our hands, it’s hard to do an actual review. But from playing with the LVX for a while, I can assure you that the MercuryX also requires some time to get to know it and take full advantage of its features. It’s not a pedal for people who want a plug-and-play reverb. It’s a pedal where you’ll have to dedicate time to understand it, go through the options it gives you, and design your effects just the way you want them. If you are willing to do all the above, the MercuryX is probably going to be the only reverb pedal you’d ever need in your life.
The sound quality is impeccable and its flexibility is unmatched. If you have the budget and looking for a studio-quality, ever-lasting reverb I think you can’t really go wrong with this one. The MercuryX is a sound designer’s dream pedal and it’s an investment that will pay itself since you’ll never have to get another reverb pedal again.
Hopefully, we'll get one soon to do a full hands-on review and let you know of all the details and applications of the exciting MercuryX!
Videos
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