Lexicon PCM60 (1984)

The PCM60 is a digital reverb from a company whose gear usually sat behind a studio's glass, priced and packaged for people who didn't have a studio's budget. It's a single-rackspace digital reverberator built around two programs - Room and Plate - with rotary controls for input gain, dry/wet mix, and output level, and pushbuttons for program, size, reverb time, and bass/treble contour. The manual is dated 1984, which is the year to go by.

What's actually inside the box is modest by later Lexicon standards but well-specified for the time. The converter stage is 16-bit — Mix (February 1985, p.111) noted that the choice of converter was what kept the price down without, in the reviewer's assessment, sacrificing sonic quality. Room reverb time runs 0.3 to 3.8 seconds; Plate runs 0.2 to 4.5 seconds. Frequency response is quoted at 20 Hz–10 kHz ±1 dB for the reverberant signal and 20 Hz–20 kHz ±0.25 dB for the direct signal, with dynamic range of 80 dB on the reverb path. THD and noise are ≤0.05% at 1 kHz full level for the reverberant signal and ≤0.025% at 3 V out for the direct path. The rear panel offers a balanced/unbalanced mono input, two unbalanced stereo outputs, and an effects loop, all on 1/4-inch phone jacks, with sensitivity pushbuttons for high- and low-level in and out. A bypass switch can be foot-controlled, and the unit defaults to bypass when powered off.

The contour controls are where the PCM60 earns its keep. Bass in increases low-frequency reverb time by roughly 50% below 800 Hz. Treble in shortens high-frequency reverb time by about 25% above 800 Hz and adds a gentle rolloff above 2 kHz to mimic room absorption. The combinations differ between Room and Plate, so the two programs aren't one algorithm at two settings. Mix (February 1985, p.110) described the bass contour's effect on Room mode in similar terms. The one criticism came from the same Mix review: the Plate program at very short decay times sounded odd to that reviewer. Otherwise the reception was warm. Lexicon's own advertising in Studio Sound (April 1985, p.39) framed the PCM60 as "a Lexicon for those who always wanted a Lexicon."

Physically it's a half-rack-width box: 1½ inches high, 11 inches deep, 20 W maximum consumption, switchable between 100/120 and 220/240 Vac via an internal changeover switch and matching fuse. It'll sit on a shelf or go into a standard 19-inch rack with the right ears. The service manual is unusually thorough for a budget piece, with full schematics, a log page for writing down settings, and a one-year warranty.

Surviving units are common enough that they turn up regularly, and the PCM60 has held a modest following as a character reverb rather than a clean one, the Plate especially. If you find one, check that the bypass relay works and that the headroom LEDs behave. Those are the parts most likely to have drifted after forty years.

Type: Digital reverberator, single rackspace (1½ in. × 11 in. deep)
Programs: Room and Plate, with size, reverb time, and bass/treble contour controls
Reverb time: Room 0.3–3.8 s; Plate 0.2–4.5 s
Frequency response: Reverb 20 Hz–10 kHz ±1 dB; direct 20 Hz–20 kHz ±0.25 dB
Dynamic range: 80 dB (reverb path)
THD + noise: ≤0.05% reverb, ≤0.025% direct
I/O: Balanced/unbalanced mono in, two unbalanced outs, effects loop — all 1/4-in. jacks
Power: 100/120 or 220/240 Vac switchable, 20 W
Manual dated: 1984

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Lexicon PCM60 (1984)

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