Strymon Lex Rotary Pedal V2

The Strymon Lex is a faithful recreation of the legendary vintage rotary speaker system, perfectly capturing all of the character and huge, three-dimensional sound of the originals. From the low-frequency bass rotor to the rotating treble horn, the tube-driven amplifier to the finely tuned microphone placement, the Strymon Lex puts the iconic rotary speaker sound at your feet in a convenient pedalboard-friendly package.

New for 2022, Strymon have updated the original Lex with a number of improvements and technological advancements, making it even better than before (if that is even possible)! The new V2 model features full MIDI implementation and a premium analogue JFET input circuit, as well as a new and improved user interface, whilst boasting all of the same great features that made the original Lex so popular.

Key Features

• MIDI - The Lex's full MIDI implementation allows to you control every parameter remotely via MIDI commands, giving you complete control over the effect.
• True & Buffered Bypass - Chose between an electromechanical relay switched true bypass, which will keep your bypassed signal 100% untouched, or a high-quality buffered bypass that gives your signal a boost when using long cables runs.
• JFET Input - A high impedance ultra-low noise discrete Class A JFET preamp input delivers uncompromised dynamics and feel with a super-responsive touch.
• Stereo In & Out - Lex features full stereo in/out capabilities allowing you to experience the legendary, three-dimensional sound of a rotating speaker in your stereo rig or recording environment.
• Line/Instrument Level - Lex’s adjustable input signal level makes it versatile option on stage and in the studio, for a number of a different instruments including synthesizers and keyboards.

Here's what Strymon say about the Lex Rotary V2

Tone Controls

Our goal with Lex was to create the most realistic sounding, flexible rotating speaker effect ever fit within a pedal. As part of that, Lex features a full suite of practical controls to help you shape your rotary tone to your heart’s content. A major part of that is Lex’s dedicated Horn Level control, which adjusts the output level of the high frequency rotating horn. Turn it up for added output that will help your rotating effect cut through the mix, or dial things back to mellow out Lex’s higher frequencies.

For this new generation of Lex, we’ve added a Dry mix control, which allows you to add more dry mix to your signal for a cleaner, clearer tone — or go full wet, and truly immerse your signal in rotating speaker goodness. For added flexibility, we’ve also included a Volume knob for control over Lex’s significant +/-6dB boost/cut — perfect for dialing in the best level for a live or studio mix.

Mic Controls

The smallest changes in how a rotary speaker is mic’d can have drastic changes on its tone. Lex’s offers you all of the flexibility of different mic setups without ever needing to worry about setting one up. Want a more pronounced rotary effect? Bring Lex’s stereo mic setup closer for more prominent modulation, or back things up a bit for a further mic setup that brings more ambiance and space to your sound. A dedicated mic position switch also lets you choose between miking the partially covered front of the rotary speaker for a more diffused tone — or mic the open rear of the cabinet for a cleaner, more direct tone.

Speed

Our new generation Lex makes it easier than ever to dial in the speed you need. Seamlessly shift between a slow or fast rotating speed with the dedicated Slow/Fast switch. Want to bring things to a full stop? Press and hold the Slow/Fast switch to gradually brake the rotary system — and let go to ramp back up to your chosen speed. Lex’s dedicated Ramp switch lets you choose how fast things slow down and speed back up when changing speeds or when braking the rotary system.

Dialing in your individual slow/fast speeds is simple: press the Slow/Fast footswitch to select your desired setting. From there, adjust the Speed knob to the desired speed for this mode. Press the footswitch again to go back to the other mode and set the Speed knob for that mode. Now Lex will smoothly transition between these two speeds when you alternate Slow/Fast modes.

Rotary Brake

Press and hold the Slow/Fast switch to put the brakes on. The Lex rotary will wind down and stop. When at rest, the horn and drum “brake angle” is
optimally positioned for consistent results. Release the Slow/Fast switch and the rotary system will begin to spin again.

Preamp Drive

At the heart of Lex’s rotary speaker is a tube preamp, ready to be pushed to add some grit to your tone. Lex’s Preamp Drive knob lets you control the drive of the rotary cabinet’s tube preamp and phase inverter stages. Set it to lower settings for a sparkly clean tone, or push things up a little bit to add some tasteful texture to your rotary tone.

Secondary Functions

In order to keep Lex’s user interface as simple as possible while giving you as many powerful features as we can, we’ve included some unique Live Edit secondary functions for added tonal flexibility for just about any possible setup.

Cab Filter

Want to run Lex directly into an audio interface, mixer, or full range speakers instead of a guitar amp? Lex’s Cab Filter Live Edit setting lets you do just that by tailoring the speaker cab filter response for use specifically with those types of systems, giving you a fuller tone when not using a guitar amp.

Bi-Amp Mode

Need to split things up? Bi-Amp Mode splits the output of Lex’s woofer and horn signal by sending only the horn signal to the left output and the woofer signal to the right output. This handy Live Edit setting works great if you want to apply specific effects to just the lower frequencies of Lex, or individually track or mix Lex’s two distinct speakers.

Specifications

Ins, Outs, and Switches

• High impedance ultra low-noise discrete Class A JFET TRS stereo input.
• Low impedance independent TS stereo outputs.
• Expression pedal input allows the connection of a TRS expression pedal, MiniSwitch, MultiSwitch Plus, or TRS MIDI connection.
• USB jack for controlling via MIDI from a computer or for performing firmware updates.
• Dedicated Slow/Fast rotary speed & On/Off footswitches

Audio Quality

• Premium JFET analog front end
• Ultra low noise, high performance 24-bit 96kHz A/D and D/A converters provide uncompromising audio quality
• 520MHz ARM Superscalar processor
• 32-bit floating point processing
• 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response
• Audio Input Impedance: 1M Ohm
• Audio Output Impedance: 100 Ohm

More

• Strong and lightweight anodized brown aluminum chassis
• 9V DC power supply included
• Power requirements: maximum 9 volts DC center-negative, with a minimum of 300mA of current.
• Dimensions: 4.5” deep x 4” wide x 1.75” tall (11.4 cm deep x 10.2 cm wide x 4.4 cm tall)
• Designed and built in the USA