Lexicon Model 200 Digital Reverberator
Photo by Grant White
BIG EGO Demo
Released in 1984, between classic Lexicon 224 and 480L units, the Lexicon Model 200 Reverberator is a classic, inspiring digital reverb.
Renowned for their lush plate, hall, and chamber reverbs, Lexicon units from this period boasted unique moving delay lines and nonlinear variations in reflection processing. I don't know exactly what all of that means. What I do know is that the Model 200 sounds unlike anything I’ve ever heard (the EMT 250 comes close).
The Lexicon Model 200 features a completely singular user interface which allows for a knob or button per function (almost unheard of then or today). Want to dial in some pre-delay? Just turn the pre-delay knob! Same goes for room size and reverb time. In fact, if you max out the reverb time on “Rich Plate” you get infinite sustain and hold. It’s incredible. Diffusion has a dedicated button with three LEDs signaling: HIGH, MED, and LOW. There is also a classic numerical keypad that was a big design feature of studio equipment in the 1980s (see also the Eventide Harmonizer H3000, AMS/Neve RMX16 and 1580). Eventually Lexicon would release the highly successful PCM series (60, 70, 80, 90) which, although sounding better than many of their competitors, suffered from a never ending series of menus and multi-purpose buttons. They also don’t have that “something” the Model 200 does.
Although only in production for three years, the Lexicon Model 200 has found a place in many studios as a secret weapon that has a rich, detailed sound that has few peers in the plug-in domain (although Sean Costello at Valhalla DSP is doing a damn fine job).