Alesis NanoVerb 18-Bit Digital Effects Processor

by Chris Patton

The Alesis NanoVerb is a great-sounding, high-quality effects processor that fits in the palm of your hand. Three of them can fit into a single rackspace. Perfect for the space-conscious home recordist, it could sit on top of a monitor while you're mixing. It is also useful for live sound reinforcement; you can place it on top of your rig, mixer, keyboard, monitor, etc. When the gig is over, stuff it in your bag and you're ready to go.

NanoVerb's top-quality algorithms and new 18-bit converters combine to create a great-sounding digital effects unit. At $179, it is also clearly one of the least expensive. The NanoVerb is packed full of useful effects: three halls, three rooms, three plates, two chorus rooms, delay, flange, chorus, nonlinear and rotary-speaker simulation. I really liked the "dial-an-effect" aspect of this unit, where you have a rotary knob to dial up the preset effect and a separate control knob for each of the input, output and mix levels. There's also an adjustment knob to control the overall effect parameter and an in/out bypass foot switch jack on the rear panel.

Working with my songwriting partner, Todd Corleto, in our project studio, I demo'd each parameter suggestion listed on the program chart supplied with the unit. We tested the unit using a Fender Strat guitar, Korg M1 synth and an E-mu Proteus FX sound module drum patch triggered by a Dauz electronic drum pad, all patched directly into a Tascam 2516 mixer.

When you first hook up the NanoVerb, you can't help but notice how quiet the unit is. NanoVerb's 18-bit processor is noticeably quieter than that of any 16-bit counterparts that are out there. We began listening to the effects using the recommended level settings listed in the manual. The unit input was set at 75%; the Mix setting was set full, while the output was set as the input, 75%. I recommend staying below these levels, because instrument signal noise was significantly more noticeable after the 75% threshold. Though we did crank it up occasionally to test the audible noise on each effect, the NanoVerb was still quieter than many units I've heard.

Generally, the unit sounded superb, especially on guitar and synth. And though there are tremendous differences between a sampled snare, and a close-miked "live" snare with good condenser mic, the sound shaping for both is somewhat similar. In the case of the sampled snare, the NanoVerb's Nonlinear and Hall settings were very effective on the dry drum sounds we triggered. The chorus setting gave ample rate and depth control and did a good job with flanging and delaying. Chorus Room 2 was a highlight, as it really provided depth with funk guitar picking.

My favorite effect was the unit's rotary-speaker emulation. Most keyboardists would not venture to carry a Leslie speaker around to a small club today. As a blues organist, I was interested in how the NanoVerb's Rotary setting would work with a factory preset Korg M1 organ patch. With the M1 patched directly in the mixer to demo the effect, it sounded pretty good. Using the Adjust knob, I could control the speed and harmonics of the "Leslie." This ability to reasonably--and quite easily--emulate blues or gutsy rock organ was cool. I also demo'd the unit with the same M1 sound at a rehearsal with Zakiya Hooker's (John Lee Hooker's daughter) blues band. The band members liked it and favorably compared the effect to a real Leslie.

At a retail price of $179, you shouldn't expect NanoVerb to offer a lot of bells and whistles. The NanoVerb is a practical, everyday effects processor. So, if your audio needs include multi-effects processing, balanced +4 dB connections, digital I/O, EQ or MIDI control, NanoVerb is not for you. However, if you need a true stereo effects processor that's simple to operate, compact, reasonably priced and ideal in a variety of studio and sound reinforcement applications, you should check out the Alesis NanoVerb.

Alesis Corporation, 3630 Holdredge Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90016; 800/5-ALESIS; e-mail: alecorp@alesis1.usa.com.

Chris Patton is a composer, arranger and producer based in the San Francisco area.