OPINION

Although Korg call the DRV2000 a 'digital reverb', it's much more than that. The nearest comparison I can find for this standard size rack-mounting machine is Roland's DEP-5 multi-effects processor, which we slobbered over in October last year. The DRV2000 comes in at around £150 less than the Roland, and is arguably even more versatile.

It works in roughly the same way as the DEP-5, in that it contains a number of different effects that are only combinable in certain specified ways. The Korg has 96 programs, 16 of which are non-erasable. These 16 presets define the possible combinations of effects that are available: there are eight reverbs (including two gated reverbs), three stereo echoes, stereo flanging, stereo chorus, panning, plus combined reverb and chorus, and combined reverb and delay. Each of these settings has up to ten parameters to fiddle with.

The Korg has three main effects stages; reverb, delay, and modulation; in comparison, the Roland offers those plus parametric EQ. But although the EQ is missed on the DRV2000, the Korg does allow reverb to be added to echo, unlike the Roland.

In general, the reverb sounds are intelligently programmed, with each of the various room or hall programmes living up to its name - Church and Stadium in particular. Although HF Damp is provided, some of the smaller room settings need a tweak on the desk's EQ to adapt them to specific applications, such as percussion and drums.

Panning on the DRV2000 comes complete with tremolo, which Korg seem very excited about. This allows a circular effect in headphones, as the sound moves both from side-to-side, and apparently nearer and further away, as the volume changes.

A big plus for the DRV is the Multi-Modulation Mode, which allows the use of footswitches, audio inputs or MIDI to control certain effect parameters. You can increase reverb or delay time by playing harder, alter the effect output level with a pitch-bend wheel, change the depth of chorus modulation with a rocker pedal while you play. It's comparable to the Roland guitar effects unit we reviewed last month. Such versatility is unusual, and it makes the DRV2000 particularly suited to live work.

DECISION

The look and overall feel of the DRV2000 is of a machine that is a little less professional than the Roland DEP-5. The excellent manual states that the Korg uses a 16-bit processor with a 12kHz top end, but the wooliness of some of the settings, and the slight muddiness of its longer reverbs (up to a maximum of only 10 seconds) make me sceptical of the importance of such things. That's where EQ is missed.

But so what? The DRV2000 does lots of whacky things in Multi-Modulation Mode that will make it very attractive to the MIDI-mad live performer; and its reverbs are plenty good for studio application. And it's a very good buy at this price. Thumbs up again.