Thinking about the EB-16

What up, peepoles. I just copped the EB-16 effects card for my classic. I've read on a few threads that it is not worth it. Haven't installed it yet but I would like to hear some pros and cons of it's efficiency. Wondering if I should sell it and just stick to Waves on the laptop for effects and filtering. And is the eq good on it?

Install and and test it yourself.....Other peoples threads come from their findings....Go get yours

Will do

RonDu - I have this FX board and I want to know if it sounds good.

BRAVO - Well, why don't you try listening to it?

RonDu - Good idea, I'll do that.



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RonDu wrote:What up, peepoles. I just copped the EB-16 effects card for my classic. I've read on a few threads that it is not worth it. Haven't installed it yet but I would like to hear some pros and cons of it's efficiency. Wondering if I should sell it and just stick to Waves on the laptop for effects and filtering. And is the eq good on it?

I'll gladly take it off your hands for a decent price if you're not satisfied with it.

just take your time installing it.....dont force nothing, and make sure you de-static yourself by touching metal before you touch the card.

I think it's trizzash, but if you ain't got a DAW or outboard effects w/ the 8 out card, then I would use it. I had that piece in the classic when I ain't have anything else, and it did me justice. Reverb sounds ass, but it's better than no reverb at all. Delay is too short, unless you only make beats over 95 bpms. But, better than no delay at all right? If you got a mixer and the 8 outs card, send that joint back and get the sony multiefx w/ 4 separate engines. New, it's like $100 more than the chip, and it kicks the eb's ass hard. Alesis quadraverb is another 4 channel multiefx, and bought used, would be like half the price of the chip, and much better as well.
But like I said, if you don't got the afforementioned goods, then get keep the chip...

I think it is a great card. It is the same time tested card that Akai used in all the S-series samplers. I use it all the time, and I also have outboard gear.

You do not have to buy 2-4 peices of outboard gear to match the number of effects you get the with EB. You get 2 multi-effects and 2 Reverbs. There aren't too many outboard pieces that match that. If they do, you would have to get the 8 out expansion to make use of them and have a more expensive mixer with additional channels/send/returns to handle it. How much is that?

You get true multi-effects with the EB, you can put mod, delay, reverb, dist, etc all on a single effect to really mangle the sound. I do not know of any outboard gear that can put all that in a single effect. Well, the Lexicon MPX-1 comes close, but it does not have distortion, is only a single stereo effect, and costs 3 times as much.

The DPS-V55 from Sony is still only hold two effects, but uses 4 channels. I has been some years since I owned the Quadra, but I only recall it having 2 inputs. The EB can hold 4 effects and use 8 channels and keeps your signal in the digital domain.

There is a sony w/ 4 engines. The quadraverb has 4 engines as well.
And the MPC chip is useable, but it does not have 8 channels. You can just mix it into any midi channel on the MPC, but they all come out the same output. Also, there's no prefader mixing, so your mixing everying in the card. No true prefader bussing. Which is annoying when you want to use an output or the stereo outs just for the efx, to get a real mix going, but you still got some of the dry signal coming out with it. You get phazing like that. Look, I have used it alot, I'm just sayin, if you got a mixer with auxs on it already, the chip is a waste of cash since you can accomplish a better sound with more options in an outboard piece. If not, go cop that.

Thanks for the advice. So far I think it's great. I just wish the Eq was a little more effective but it's still good. I also wish it had more busses for multi efx. But all in all it's a good buy.

Thanks y'all

I gotta admit, the eq is cool. It's like, you can finally get real filters goin on with that, and it q's in pretty tight on the frequencies. I forgot you already bought it...

I love my eb16! wouldnt know what to do without it. I dont use outboard effects though, i only use the classic 2000 to make my beats

"There is a sony w/ 4 engines."

This has been mentioned twice but without a model number. A name would help, else it smells like vaporware. I can only guess that your are referring to the DVP series and from page 8 of the manual:

'Each program can contain up two effects (FxA and FxB) depending on the type of effect selected. If a 2ch or Mono-Pair effects are selected, the program contains two effects. If a 4ch effect is selected, the program contains only one effect.'

"The quadraverb has 4 engines as well"

Nope. 'True dual channel operation' is what Alesis says. ARe you sure you are confusig it with what the Quadra calls 'effects blocks' in which you can pick what type of effects you want to insert into the chain and in what order to an extent (even the EB does this). The Quadra is even more limited than Sony's DVP since it only has a stereo input. Essentially you can run only a single stereo effect through the Quadra where as you can independantly run four signals to the EB.

"[EB] does not have 8 channels."

It does. Every effect can accept stereo. 4 effects x 2 = 8.

"all come out the same output."

You are correct, that the EB itself only has a stereo output and this exactly emulates the aux return system on an outbaord mixer. This is insignificant. If you are a hardcore multi-tracker then niether the EB-16 or an outboard unit does little good with regards to the MPC itself. I, like many others, am confident enough in my mixing ability to track down several tracks at once without worrying about paying someone else a lot of money to fix it. If I can't get it just right coming out of the MPC, then I do not need to be making it. Plus, nothing beats having one more piece of gear inside another when you are touring. Fewer cables to take along, tote a smaller mixer, and fewer power strips/midi/audio cables.

"there's no prefader mixing"

I do not understand. I have never heard of such a term and a search on Google turned up Zero hits.

"prefader bussing"

Again, I am not familiar with term, but your repsonse leads me to think you are talking about dry and wet signals. It is possible to split dry and wet signals using the MPC's mixer with the multiple outs.

"if you got a mixer with auxs on it already"

There was a cost to buying a mixer with the Aux's, regardless if you used them or not.

"you can accomplish a better sound with more options in an outboard piece"

Sure you could, but there is certainly a price to be paid for it, whether it is in money, time, or frustration. Most people have trouble getting their ASR/Trition/whatever to operate properly with the MPC, now add another piece of outboard gear? Would I say all this to someone that has been doing this for 20 years? Sure I would, but most of the people around here like simplicity and ease of use. That can go along way to building up work for something bigger and better. By that time, they can afford to spend whatever $$ is needed to get whatever is hot at the time. 90% of the people here are not even going to be doing this in 10-15 years and I am pretty sure that the burden of making a complex setup is not going to help them between now and the time their stuff is being sold.

Can these effects on the card be adjusted at all?

DaFunkDocta2004 wrote:Can these effects on the card be adjusted at all?

The eb-16 is very customizable. I have software effects AND eb-16. I use both. Whatever I can't get on the eb-16 I do with software. It's a good card when you have nothing. It's the little card that could.