PIONEER EFX-500 Performance Effector
Mar 1, 2001 12:00 PM, By James Rotondi
Powerful real-time DJ effects.
As the manufacturer of the acclaimed DJM-500 DJ Mixer with built-in effects, Pioneer has a history with DJ-oriented effects units that precedes the Kaoss Pad. Similar in scope and intent to the Roland EF-303, Pioneer's sleek and handsome EFX-500 has a 20-bit sampling rate and a 24-bit DSP engine. Its output section includes stereo RCA and stereo ¼-inch I/O, as well as MIDI I/O jacks. The essentially 3-tiered device features an Isolator unit, a Beat Effect unit, and a Digital Jog Break unit, which has a saucer-size dial for real-time modulation of effect parameters.
BEAT SURRENDER
For starters, the EFX-500 is extremely well designed. It's very easy and fun to use right out of the box, and its front panel is logically laid out and not confusing in the least. The Beat Effect unit gives you five essential effects: Delay, Echo, Pan, Flanger, and Trans (a clever way of saying slicer — it cuts the signal into rhythmic pieces). For each effect, you can select the note value to which it will synchronize: 16th (1/4), eighth (1/2), dotted eighth (3/4), quarter (1/1), half (2/1), or whole note (4/1). Upon inputting a signal — say, a drum loop — you first input the tempo, either manually (using the Time/BPM knob), by tap tempo (on the Tap button), or automatically (by setting bpm to Auto with the BPM Mode button).
When I fed a drum loop into the EFX-500, the bpm counter computed the tempo with astonishing speed — almost instantaneously — something you can't say of the EF-303's counter. As soon as the EFX-500 determined the source signal's tempo, it instantly computed and displayed the effect time in milliseconds. You can also change the effect time manually using the Time knob.
The delays and echoes sound very, very good — a little creamier than your garden-variety digital sounds. The pans are smooth and well defined, the flanges are deep without too much high-end transience, and the Trans effects are highly detailed and adjustable. Exploiting the Beat Select options yields a wide variety of rhythmic delays; flanges of varying duration and depth; and cool, stuttering Trans effects, all of which can be tweaked using the Depth knob and the Mix knob to adjust the relative level of effect and original signal. As on the EF-303, you can choose to affect only the lows, mids, or highs; unlike the EF-303, the EFX-500 lets you exploit any combination of the three. The EFX-500 features two On switches for effects, similar to the EF-303's Grab function: a releasable On switch and a Lock On switch allow you to either drop effects in and out quickly or leave them on for a longer duration.
JOGGING ALONG
The same two On switches show up in the unit's Digital Jog Break section. Again, you have five effects: Jet (a wide, arcing flange), Zip (a pitch modulator), Wah (a simple filter), Ring (a ring modulator), and Fuzz (a distortion module). These effects do not cancel out the Beat Effects but play simultaneously — hence Pioneer's argument that in combination you're getting a total of 25 effects: 5 times 5. With the effects on, you rotate the jog dial to change the effect parameters in real time, tweaking the pitch, frequency, and oscillation depending on the effect.
The jog dial works well for filter sweeps and Ring Mod cascades, and by tapping the Fuzz effect in and out, you can approximate a “skratch” pretty convincingly. The Jog Meter LED displays parameter levels at any point in your jog-wheel maneuvering. If you wish, you can store up to eight seconds of jog-dial performance in Jog Memory and call it up again by pressing the Jog Memory's Play button.
The 500's Isolator acts as a kill or boost switch: set the three EQ knobs to the desired cut or boost, then flick on the Isolator switch to activate it. It's great for suddenly dropping the bass out of a dance track or producing a skritchy lo-fi effect by cutting highs and lows and leaving only midrange. Like the EF-303, the EFX-500 is MIDI compatible, and it receives and transmits timing-clock data, allowing you to sync the 500's bpm to an external sequencer, which greatly expands your options. All in all, the EFX-500 is logically designed, great sounding, powerful, and very fun to use. And it's really cute, too.
PRODUCT SUMMARY
PIONEER EFX-500
$629
PROS: Five beat effects, custom-assignable to varying note values, frequencies, and bpm settings. Five special effects, adjustable with an easy-to-use jog wheel. Frequency Isolator. Intuitive interface. MIDI compatible.
CONS: No reverbs. Limited number of effects.
Overall Rating (1 through 5): 4
Contact: tel. (800) 782-7210
e-mail info@pioneerprodj.com
Web www.pioneerprodj.com
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