Meris LVX

What could possibly budge your favourite ‘big box’ delay off your pedalboard? Meris might just have the answer...

To some, ‘big box’ delay pedals can be mind‑bogglingly complex puzzles but for others, including me, they’re an essential component in their effects setup. A Strymon Timeline has sat on my pedalboard since 2013, and it has solved so many tonal quandaries for me over the years. I might supplement it with an analogue delay from time to time but, generally, it has covered pretty much all bases, meaning that while I do keep a keen eye on what else is out there, vanishingly few other contenders have really grabbed my attention. One that has piqued my interest, though, is Meris’ LVX, a stereo, digital ‘modular delay system’ with 24‑bit/48kHz A‑D/D‑A conversion and 32‑bit floating‑point processing internally.

On The Menu

Designed and built in California, the LVX is encased in a sleek, white box, its top panel adorned with seven knobs, four switches and a screen. I like the minimal look, which sees only the required information printed on the faceplate, and as well as looking spacious it feels so, with none of the controls being bunched up. Each main rotary knob is labelled and that’s it! Now, I know that this will have some users of Meris’ older pedals crying “does this mean the Alt controls aren’t marked again?!” Well, you need not fear. This time, Meris have opted for a menu system, on a well‑lit LCD screen placed front and centre.

Now, I do understand that people can be averse to ‘menu diving’ on a pedal, of course, but Meris have managed to make this side of things incredibly easy, and while the pedal includes a huge amount of options, surfing through them really does feel very manageable. It’s nothing like, say, the experience of programming an FM synth, and I’m of the firm belief that you could start using the LVX without so much as a glance at the manual.

Each collection of effect options is broken down into modules, which include Delay, Preamp, Dynamics, Filter and Modulation. Alongside new algorithms, Meris have included key features from pedals like their Polymoon and Ottobit Jr. There’s even an alternative text view option if the default graphical layout isn’t to your taste — although personally I found the graphic setting far easier!

The back panel has separate jacks for the stereo L and R inputs, full‑size MIDI in and out DIN connectors (there’s a full CC list in the manual too, which makes it clear how to control/capture which parameters), a quarter‑inch Exp jack and a USB‑C port, for connecting to a computer for firmware updates. Power (at least 300mA is required) comes in through a standard 9V DC centre‑negative connector. There is also a handy LED to indicate if the pedal is set to its instrument or line mode, something you can change in the global settings menu. The two knobs below the screen, C1 and C2, are your main editing controls: C1 is used to select parameters, while C2 edits them. These can also be used to adjust user‑assigned favourite settings for each preset. In short, it may add up to being slightly more involved than turning a knob on a Boss pedal with your foot, but everything does feel easy...