How to be Kevin Shields with the Stereo Memory Man w/ Hazerai

A short Tutorial on the Hazerai showing how to emulate the old Alesis reverse reverb algorithms on the midiverb and quadraverb units. These clunky rack units were one of the tools Kevin Shields used to effect with My Bloody Valentine on Loveless and other recordings. Gear used: CIJ Jazzmaster with duncan antiquity IIs into a Philosophers tone - Stereo Memory Man w/ Hazerai - Soul Food - Box of Rock - Hoof - Atomic Ampli FireBox - Direct into Motu Ultralite AVB. Recorded with OBS.

[@wanderin1898]

Here from the deafheaven rig rundown lmao

[@skyborax5159]

Me too

[@danielcarter3928]

same

[@ab8817]

its not this video, its the one from 2010

[@JulianA-tr6pt]

The clicky multi tap effect is actually quite similar to a real Yamaha SPX-90 set to the Early Reflections setting on reverse mode. This will get closer to Kevin's sounds than the typical modern "reverse reverb", which is more of an actual washy reverse reverb sound.

[@JulianA-tr6pt]

@Jw Nde yes, for sure. He has said it himself. In the many live recordings I've listened to, you can hear the very distinct clicking of the early ref on reverse, especially before the songs start and he is messing with his gear. He may have also used other settings live, but I don't know for sure. There is indeed a gated reverb which uses a reverse fade gate. Not amazing for shoegaze and nearly impossible to use 100% wet, but I can't remember exactly how it sounded. When you are on Early Reflections, in reverse mode, one parameter screen says "TYPE = REVERSE". Above this is the name of the preset that you can change if you are using one of the memory banks in which you can save your own presets (banks 31-90. Banks 1-30 are factory ones, which are editable and can be saved over 31-90). I did a search, and think I found the photo. It also has other units above it (one has an orange screen. looks like the very similar SPX 50D) with a setting called reverse gate. The bank number on Kevin's is 77. I just booted up my SPX, and it turns out, bank 77 has a setting called "Reverse Gate" and it is in fact the early reflection setting with the mode set the reverse. Kevin probably just chose 77 due to convenience. He doesn't have to change the preset name (takes forever, you have to scroll thru the whole alphabet + caps, numbers and symbols), because Reverse Gate is accurate, and he doesn't have to go through the process of modifying a factory preset and copying it over to a customizable memory bank. All he had to do was choose 77, bump up the settings to his taste, and hit save.

[@JulianA-tr6pt]

@Jw Nde Also, something interesting I almost forgot about - there are actually two different Early Reflections. ER1 and ER2. As stated in the manual "ER1 has fewer reflections, and is a LOW DENSITY early reflection effect, while ER2 has more reflections, and is a HIGH DENSITY early reflection effect." By default, the memory bank 77, which Kevin used in the photo, is ER2. I've compared the two, and ER2 definitely sounds way closer to what he uses live.

[@JulianA-tr6pt]

@Jw Nde very cool! I'll add you, I'm obseletist. Wasn't sure if you owned one or not. I also have read about the 3-4 liveness on the mbv forum, from a guy who apparently set up for Kevin in the 90s, but from what I hear, I've always assumed that it was set 6-10. The default liveness of bank 77 (and most ER banks, iirc) is 4, I think. The thing behaves a bit different when set low. I keep mine on 7 usually, size on 20. Kevin also said he used the random mode on the SPX, but I've never been able to distinguish it live or on a record. It also does the trick.

[@simorto]

@@JulianA-tr6pt so you have to use a spx90 to have the same sound? like how he used it with wich settings when in what songs and how i want to know more about it, he never used it live obviously, my dad was roadie with them and never told me this

[@simorto]

@@JulianA-tr6pt and how can i get it and how he did to do that sound live if he didnt had that that is a studio thing

[@ianernest2504]

Now I know why I got my memory man!

[@jessesk8777]

This rules! Thanks homie!

[@gloryxkid]

You can do this with the ehx canyon as well on the multi setting!

[@joekimberlin264]

I've got a grand canyon and while I was watching this I was like.. Oh snap!

[@rbee22]

So it does the whole reverse thing of muting the pick attack?

[@ab8817]

if you can manage to find out what mode you're in without a magnifying glass, yes

[@facundob.f8606]

hi mate, which do you think is better for the reverse MBV sound, the cathedral or the memory man?

[@ShakyVertex]

This one

[@maxonmendel5757]

here from reddit

[@andrewjohnlodge]

If you’re the same guy on Reddit, bless your soul!

[@briaratlas7451]

You probably dont give a shit but does anybody know of a tool to log back into an instagram account?? I was dumb lost the login password. I would love any assistance you can give me!

[@lucianomilo358]

@Briar Atlas Instablaster :)

[@jmginez7774]

is Memory Man Hazarai still worth it to buy at this year?

[@90mphsleep]

I bought one of these to try and get some reverse reverb MBV type tones but never tried putting it before distortion. how much of a difference does that make?

[@gloryxkid]

90mphsleep huge difference. I use a cathedral reverse reverb before my fuzz and it’s completely different compared to me using the reverse at the end of my chain. I just bought one of these memory mans and I plan on putting it in the front of my chain as well

[@facundob.f8606]

@@gloryxkid hi mate, which do you think is better for the MBV sound, the cathedral or the memory man?

[@JulianA-tr6pt]

@@facundob.f8606 if you want to simulate the SPX-90 used on To Here Knows when and Blown A Wish, and a few other EP songs, the memory man + settings similar to those in the video will get pretty close. Actually, this thing can get shockingly close to the SPX. Those string clicks you hear in the video sound extremely similar to my SPX. The washy, reverse reverbs that actually "reverb" rather than reflect get a great shoegazing sound, but it wasn't really anything like the SPX90s clicky early reflection that Kevin used. I use a Polara, and it can do it, and the cathedral has been proven to get the sound. It's a bit pricey and outdated, IMO though. Kevin also used a midiverb 2 patch, and it had a whole different sound, somewhat more comparable to the reverb wash you get on most reverse reverb pedals.

[@danielcarter3928]

do you think compression is important to emulating the my bloody valentine sound? considering a philosophers tone because of this video lol

[@leonardopuehler4899]

Can you achieve the same effect with and EHX Canyons?

[@gloryxkid]

Yes, on the multi setting. You need to go into the secondary controls though

[@khoio149]

But I wonder if I can do this trick with the normal Deluxe Memory Boy or Deluxe Memory Man?

[@ShakyVertex]

No the trick is the reverse decay which the normal man or boy can't do.

[@newmoonsamesun]

Can you do this on a Boss DD-20?

[@pstrokeslibsarctic]

no

[@regolithia]

Just tried- the Pattern delay can get sort of close but it doesn’t really get the same vibe. Still sounds great tho

[@pstrokeslibsarctic]

you are the same person as Zaphod1989 ???

[@pstrokeslibsarctic]

I bought Holy Grail Max and the reverse reverb does not simulate To Here Know When sound that great, but when I used multi tap in DAW program, it sounds closer, what if Kevin actually didn't use reverse reverb after all, or did he stack the reverse reverb and it might sounded close to multi tap delay ?

[@JulianA-tr6pt]

@@pstrokeslibsarctic The "reverse reverb" Kevin used was actually reverse "early reflections" on an SPX-90. Early reflections, according to a Sweetwater article are "sounds that arrive at the listener after being reflected maybe once or twice from parts of listening space, such as walls, ceilings and floor." Basically, it sounds like the sound you hear at 0:21 in this video. You can also hear it on the drums in the very beginning of the track Soon. It isn't really reverb at all. It does sound like clicky, multi-tap "reflections". There's also a setting on the SPX-90 called Random, and he apparently used that as well sometimes. It's similar, but the clicks are at random volumes rather than the reverse fade-in type. The closest you can get is either with an SPX or using SPX impulse responses. Really, it's only on like two Loveless songs. Some make it seem like Loveless' magic came from reverse reverb, and that just isn't true. To Here Knows when can be a hard sound to get due to the fact that Kevin recorded the guitar without the effect, then he ran the tape through the SPX-90 plugged into a distorted amp, and re-recorded it. That is likely what gave it that blown out super saturated sound.

[@JulianA-tr6pt]

@a w The SPX-90 would just go to the amps. Hard to say if/what other effects were used with it. The SPX was fed with a rack preamp, from what I've seen, and into cranked Marshalls, so there was plenty of distortion and the sound was still achieved. In some live recordings, you can tell that that the SPX's stereo outputs go to separate amps, for true stereo guitar, which further proves that no effects were put after the SPX-90. At least, it seems unlikely, especially in the 90s. Anything was possible though, especially with his ridiculous current setup.

[@JulianA-tr6pt]

@a w if distortion/fuzz was used, I'm fairly certain it was before the reverb, yes. The amps after the reverb are also going to be producing distortion too, so it all blends into a massive sound. If you use fuzz > SPX-90 > clean amp, it can sound a bit fizzy, clicky, and it's harder to keep the endless flow sound that Kevin gets. Fuzz after the SPX, especially with the rack preamp Kevin supposedly used before the SPX, would be extremely bloated, undefined, and noisy. The live performances of To Here Knows When have a good balance and the guitar is pretty clear sounding.