AMS RMX RMX16 500 (2020–)

The reverb that made 1980s drums explode—now reborn in 500 series with the same magic, minus the fan noise and crashes.

Overview

Plug it in, power up, and there it is: that red OLED screen flickering to life with the bouncing AMS logo, like a digital ghost from a John Hughes soundtrack. The RMX16 500 doesn’t just evoke the 1980s—it *is* the 1980s, distilled into a three-slot 500 series module. This isn’t a reimagining or a reinterpretation. It’s a resurrection. AMS Neve took the original 1982 RMX16—microprocessor-controlled, full-bandwidth, the first of its kind—and rebuilt it from the ground up for modern studios, preserving every algorithm, every quirk, every bit of that unmistakable character. And yes, it still has the Nonlin program that made snare drums sound like they were detonating in a cathedral.

What made the original RMX16 legendary wasn’t just its technical novelty; it was how it sounded. At a time when most studios had to choose between the weight and cost of an EMT plate or the artificiality of early digital delays, the RMX16 offered something new: a reverb that felt both synthetic and organic, bright and lush, clinical yet musical. It didn’t simulate a space so much as invent one. And now, in this 500 series incarnation, it’s not just preserved—it’s improved. Gone is the whirring fan, the occasional reset toggle, the fear of scanning a barcode wrong and crashing the whole thing. In its place: silent operation, 32-bit DSP, 24-bit/48kHz conversion, over 100dB of dynamic range, and +22dBu of headroom. The sound remains faithful, but the reliability? That’s 21st-century.

This version includes all 18 original programs—yes, both the factory nine and the once-elusive second set that required a barcode wand and a steady hand. No more hunting for rare remotes or risking a system crash by scrolling past Program 9. You get Ambience, Room, Hall, Plate, Chorus, Echo, Reverse, Freeze, and of course, Nonlin—all intact, all tweakable, all storable in 100 user presets. And for the first time, there’s a wet/dry mix control onboard, a small but significant addition that makes it far more DAW-friendly than its auxiliary-send-dependent ancestor.

It’s not just a nostalgia trip. Engineers who’ve used both the original and this reissue report that the 500 series version sounds smoother, quieter, and more stable—less hiss, less grain, but none of the soul sacrificed. If anything, it integrates better into modern mixes. That said, some purists miss the slight roughness of the original’s converters, the way they added a faint digital grit that cut through dense tracks. This one is cleaner, more polished. Whether that’s an upgrade or a softening depends on what you’re chasing.

Specifications

Key Features

The Sound of the 1980s, Bit-for-Bit

The RMX16 500 doesn’t just emulate the original—it runs the same algorithms, bit-for-bit. That means the Ambience program still wraps vocals in a smooth, bright halo that somehow avoids muddiness. The Plate setting still has that dense, slightly chorused shimmer that made it a favorite for snares and hand percussion. The Hall programs deliver the epic, cathedral-like decays that filled out synth pads on countless records. But it’s the Nonlin program that still steals the show: a short, sharp burst of reverb that cuts off abruptly, creating the gated reverb effect that defined Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, and half of 1980s pop. It’s not subtle. It’s not natural. It’s *huge*. And now, with modern converters, it’s even more controlled—less noise floor, more punch.

Modernized Control Without Compromise

Gone is the single smooth-turning pot of the original. In its place: a stepped rotary encoder and a full numeric keypad, making parameter entry faster and more precise. You can nudge values up and down with dedicated buttons, or dial them in directly. The OLED display is a major upgrade—clear, bright, and always showing the active parameters. And while the original required patching through an aux send to blend wet and dry, this version includes a dedicated mix control, letting you dial in the effect level directly on the unit. It’s a small change, but one that makes it far more flexible in hybrid and in-the-box setups.

All 18 Programs, No Barcode Wand Required

The original RMX16 shipped with nine programs. Nine more were available—but only if you had the optional remote with barcode reader, and the patience to scan them in without crashing the system. That era of digital anxiety is over. The RMX16 500 includes all 18 programs from the start: the standard set (Ambience, Room A1, Hall C1, Plate, Hall B3, Chorus, Echo, Nonlin, Reverse) plus the second batch (Nonlin2, Reverse2, Freeze, Image P1, and others). No more hunting for rare accessories. No more fear of system lockups. And with 100 user presets, you can store your own variations—tweaked decay times, filtered echoes, custom gated reverb tails—without losing factory defaults.

Historical Context

When the AMS RMX16 launched in 1982, digital reverb was still in its infancy. Lexicon had the 224, a powerful but expensive beast. EMT plates ruled the high end. Most studios made do with spring reverbs or tape delays. The RMX16 changed the game by offering a programmable, microprocessor-controlled digital reverb at a fraction of the Lexicon’s cost. It wasn’t just cheaper—it was *British*, a point of pride for UK studios. And it sounded different: brighter, more aggressive, more musical in a way that cut through dense mixes.

It arrived at the perfect moment. Synth-pop was exploding. Drum machines needed space. Snare drums needed *impact*. The Nonlin program, with its abrupt cutoff, became a secret weapon. Engineers used it to make snares sound like they were cracking across a stadium. It wasn’t reverb as ambience—it was reverb as rhythm, as drama, as weaponized space. From Peter Gabriel’s “Intruder” to Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight,” the RMX16 left fingerprints everywhere.

By the late 1980s, the Yamaha SPX90 and Lexicon’s own more affordable units began to erode its dominance. But the RMX16’s legacy was already cemented. It wasn’t just a tool—it was a sound. And now, with the 500 series reissue, that sound is back, not as a museum piece, but as a working studio processor. It’s not competing with modern convolution reverbs or algorithmic monsters. It’s not trying to sound like a real space. It’s trying to sound like 1983—and it succeeds.

Collectibility & Value

The RMX16 500 isn’t vintage in the traditional sense—it’s a modern reissue. But it’s already collecting a cult following. New units sell for around $1,495 or £1,194, and the market hasn’t seen significant depreciation. Used units in good condition typically go for $1,100–$1,300, depending on the seller and included accessories. Unlike vintage gear, there’s no need to worry about capacitor plague, failing power supplies, or brittle circuit boards. This is solid-state reliability with vintage DNA.

That said, it’s not without quirks. The front-panel USB port is for firmware updates only—no computer control, no MIDI, no remote editing. If you want to automate parameters, you’ll need to do it via your DAW’s outboard control or manually. Some users report that the OLED’s bouncing logo screensaver is annoying and not immediately obvious to disable (it requires a specific button combo). The unit also runs hot in tightly packed lunchboxes, though not enough to cause failures.

For buyers, the main concern isn’t reliability—it’s fit. The RMX16 500 is tall and wide for a 500 series module, and some chassis (like the Radial SixPack) have tight clearances. Check your rack before buying. Also, remember it’s mono-in/stereo-out, so you’ll need to use both Slot 1 and Slot 3 in your chassis. Don’t expect stereo input processing—this isn’t that kind of reverb.

If you’re chasing the original’s slight digital grit, you might find this version a bit too clean. But if you want the RMX16 sound without the maintenance headaches, this is the closest you’ll get to a time machine.

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Related Models

• AMS DMX RMX-16 (1981-)