Review: Bricasti Design M7M & M10 Remote Console

Back in Issue 59, Robin Gist reviewed the Bricasti Design M7 hardware reverb processor, remarking at the time about its pristine sound and exceptional build quality. I had the M7 myself for several weeks around the same time, using it on several mixing projects, and was amazed by just how beautiful these reverbs were. They sounded like ‘real’ spaces, the algorithms artfully creating the illusion of a physical environment – a place for an instrument to inhabit, if you will, rather than simply providing hissing tails for snares and vocals etc. In the wide world of mixing, this aural trickery is a great asset to have at your fingertips, and difficult for any hardware designer to achieve.

Back then, however, I couldn’t shake the feeling that, though admirable in a romantic kind of way, the main designers at Bricasti were pouring their hearts and souls into a hardware reverb that was destined for relative obscurity, despite how good it sounded. Even though the aim of its chief designers, Brian Zolner and Casey Dowdell, had been to trump every other digital reverberator ever produced – and arguably they succeeded – the old ‘hardware reverb unit and remote controller’ concept made famous by Lexicon in the early ’80s seemed like an outdated horse to be riding into the 21^st century. The idea of making a ‘cutting-edge’ 480L-styled reverb unit seemed to fly in the face of a future dominated by plug-ins and host-based reverb algorithms. Sure everyone likes a great reverb, and the M7’s sound was truly epic… but who would buy it?

As it turns out, lots of people. Bricasti has been struggling to fill orders ever since the M7 hit the market, proving that great reverb remains highly prized by engineers the world over, no matter what form it may take. Perhaps more importantly – and although at several thousand dollars they may seem relatively expensive compared to most plug-in reverbs – the price of an M7 is a relative bargain compared to older Lexicon and TC hardware systems that were often several times its price.

More recently Bricasti released the M10 – the long anticipated remote control for the M7 rack unit – along with a new ‘faceless’ version of the M7, the M7M (the latter ‘M’ standing for ‘Mainframe’). There’s also new v2 software that features an expanded preset list and additional algorithms. The ‘faceless’ M7M and M10 Remote Console combination is what I’ve had setup at my studio for the last couple of months…

MAINFRAME & REMOTE

Lacking the main LCD screen and adjustment controls, the M7M is designed to act primarily as a machine room dweller, with the M10 remote performing all the interactive functions via a standard (and lengthy) RS422 serial interface cable. If you’ve ever used a 480L it only takes a few minutes to get acquainted with the M10, although the tactile and visual differences are substantial.

The M10 Remote allows a user to maintain control over up to eight M7s at once – should you be so lucky – with stereo input meters for four units at a time clearly visible on the red monochrome display. Each M7 unit is easily selected and manipulated via a dedicated ‘Machine’ button, which can either toggle between two M7s (when only two are connected to the system) or scroll through all eight with the aid of the effortless jog shuttle wheel.

Like the M7 rack unit, the M10 Remote is built like a Ferrari. Its solid construction and stylised looks are as glamorous as they are robust. (Beside it, my 480L LARC looks like an old Holden Camira – complete with blown head gasket). The casing of the M10 is milled from a solid block of anodised aluminum; its exquisite build quality making you slightly paranoid (as a Ferrari owner might also be), for fear that its beautiful finish might get scratched or damaged, even though in reality it’s extremely hard wearing. The M10 is also designed to be “dead simple to use,” presumably quite <<unlike>> a 480L. Some argue the old Lexicon LARC is one of the most illogical controllers in the history of audio and not a device worth replicating in any shape or form. Like the 480 – though by no means to the same extent – the Bricasti M10 Remote is not the most intuitive device to master, and while the M10 obviously lacks 480L-styled fader controls, its scroll wheel is a simple and elegant replacement. However, for younger engineers raised on plug-in interfaces, the M10 may feel a little ‘retro’ at first. Once mastered, however, the M10 is a pleasure to use.

V2 SOFTWARE

As mentioned, all new M7 and M7M models come with the latest v2 software, which includes some outstanding new and arguably more ‘radical’ presets – some based on the original Bricasti algorithms, others based on new reverb and delay algorithms. These appear in the menu as new presets and programs banks, with names like Halls 2, Rooms 2, Plates 2, and Spaces 2. Generally speaking, these new preset additions are designed to be ‘heard’, meaning that they’re less subtle and more extroverted sounding than v1’s mainstays. There’s also an algorithm called ‘Non Linear’ that’s based on the classic AMS RMX 16 reverb from the mid ’80s, which sounds great.

Hardware reverbs don’t come any better than the Bricasti M7 system. If reverb is your bag you simply must hear it to decide for yourself.