EMT 250 DIGITAL REVERB UNIT EXTREMELY RARE & WONDERFUL The one and only, Really from a Neve SSL studio! EX++! Start Price USD 10,000.00 Current Price USD 10,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Sunday, November 30, 2008 End Time Saturday, December 20, 2008 Location Orlando, FL See more about 'EMT 250 DIGITAL REVERB UNIT EXTREMELY RARE & WONDERFUL' Description Here is the Holy Grail of ALL reverbs, the EMT 250. Often imitated, NEVER duplicated! Not even a modified 251 comes close, so much of the sound is the discrete digital circuits, never to appear like this in another piece of gear This is one item we absolutely hate to part with, but as they say, "ya got to do what ya got to do" These originally sold for around $20,000.00 and have consistently fetched more than that second hand (if you ever got a chance to buy one). Now is your chance to get this one in excellent working condition for a fraction of its worth. Extremely rare, only some 250 made, there is a reason it has stayed the most desired reverb unit of all times, it has to be the best sounding reverb ever. When you hear it on snare, you will know why you have not got the perfect sound yet. The use of these on so many hit records by the best engineers in the world is well established. Yes, ownership of one of these puts you in an extremely exclusive club. Here is a little info about it: The first commercial digital reverb, the EMT 250 still maintains its value in studio production more than three decades after its debut. Considered one of the pioneers of digital audio, Dr. Barry Blesser helped launch Lexicon in 1971 and developed the EMT 250, the first commercial digital reverb, in 1976. EMT (Elektromesstechnik) was no stranger to reverb, having created the classic Model 140 plate system back in 1957 and the gold foil Model 240 in 1970. As Blesser had designed a number of EMT analog products in the early 1970s, the collaboration of EMT and Massachusetts-based Dynatron made sense. Barry Blesser and Karl-Otto Bäder designed the algorithms (U.S. patent #4,181,820); Dynatron's Ralph Zaorski designed the digital hardware; and EMT built the converters, I/Os, power supply and the unique user interface, with its large upright chassis and rocket ship-style control levers for decay and delay. This unit is in nice cosmetic condition, working wonderfully and was most recently serviced by StudioElectronics (one of the best places in the world for servicing your gear, check them out). Here is what they have to say about it: In 1976 though, EMT blew a lot of minds by introducing the 250 Electronic Reverberator Unit. Not only was it the first digital reverb,but it sounded fabulous, and looked like something from an alien spacecraft! It was a free standing unit about 3 feet tall with black “radiator” style heat sinks wrapping around 3 sides, and a large, bright red power supply assembly. On the top mounted control panel 4 oversize levers resembling aircraft controls adjusted main delay/decay time, LF and HF decay times, and added delay to the send. It also had delay, phasing, chorus, slap, and “space echo” programs. The 250 really has a beautiful sound. Its design was a joint effort between EMT’s engineers in Germany and a small firm in Massachusetts called Dynatron. EMT designed the converters, I/O, and power supply, while Dynatron designed the main digital/processor board. The Dynatron effort was led by Dr. Barry Blesser, then a professor at MIT (and later an AES President). The finished unit had nearly 500 IC’s, and 3 cooling fans. About 250 250’s were built, and they sold for about $20,000 each. I’m not sure whether EMT recouped their investment, but the machine was a huge milestone in recording technology that heralded a real turning of the corner for the audio industry Wow! Beautiful warm, natural sounding reverb, with a touch of menacing rumble in underneath. What a sound Today, there are a lot of great sounding reverbs that sell for a fraction of what a good one would cost just ten or twenty years ago, and plug ins offer an even better value. In some cases older is better. This is certainly true of products like Neve preamps and equalizers, the great dbx limiters, and the beautiful Neumann microphones. Often these classics are the result of a product line that has “matured”, and reached a design plateau. The EMT digital reverbs were something else. They were “Manhattan projects”, the result of intense efforts in a short period of time. Despite their high costs they were very successful, and remain one of the few digital technologies that stand the test of time, for one simple reason - the sound. This one has it's own custom ATA flight case, and is ready to be shipped anywhere. We can ONLY accept cashiers check, bank transfer, or money order for this. If you wish to use ANY other payment method, please contact me BEFORE making any payment.  All funds must clear before shipment. FREE SHIPPING in the continental US with "Buy It Now" ONLY, any other situation buyer will pay actual shipping, to be quoted after auction ends. Any insurance will be extra. I reserve the right to end this auction at any time. The unit is in perfect working condition, sounding fabulous, and will be when it ships.     Place a Bid!