Controls and connectivity
The pedal's face is built around moving faders, the format Chase Bliss Audio uses across its Automatone series. Those faders carry the presets and MIDI control, and they physically move when a preset is recalled12. Alongside them, the pedal takes an expression pedal and maps it to all of the sliders, so a single expression pedal can sweep any parameter on the unit12.
On the rear panel, the CXM 1978 is stereo on both sides: stereo input and stereo output12. That makes it a candidate for players running a stereo rig, where a mono-in reverb would collapse the image.
The three algorithms
The pedal offers three algorithms, drawn from the Lexicon 224 lineage1:
- Hall
- Room
- Plate
Each is shaped with the moving faders, and any of those fader positions can be stored as a preset and recalled by MIDI12.
Where it came from
"a pedal adaption of the venerable Lexicon 224 studio reverb"
Price
Delicious Audio lists the street price at $899, as of its February 2025 product page1. That figure is consistent with MusicRadar's 2023 description of the pedal as the world's most expensive reverb pedal3.
The $899 figure is a street price reported by Delicious Audio in February 2025, not a current manufacturer's list price, and prices can change over time.
Videos
Pete Thorn
Ricky Tinez
Vintage King
Questions
What reverb types does the CXM 1978 have?
The CXM 1978 offers three algorithms: Hall, Room and Plate. All three are drawn from the Lexicon 224 studio reverb that the pedal is modeled on, and Delicious Audio describes the pedal as a modern take on that inspiration, taking guitars and synths into lush soundscapes. The sliders on top of the pedal shape the parameters of whichever algorithm is selected.
Is the Chase Bliss and Meris CXM 1978 stereo?
Yes. Both Meris and Delicious Audio list the CXM 1978 as having stereo input and stereo output, so it can sit in a full stereo rig or at the end of a stereo pedalboard chain.
Does the CXM 1978 have MIDI and presets?
Yes. The pedal's moving faders work with presets and MIDI control, a feature both Meris and Delicious Audio list. The faders physically move to show or recall the settings of a preset, which is part of the Automatone format the pedal is built on.
Can I control the CXM 1978 with an expression pedal?
Yes. Meris and Delicious Audio both list expression pedal control over all sliders, so a single expression pedal can sweep any of the pedal's parameters, not just one assigned control.
What is the Lexicon 224 that the CXM 1978 is based on?
The Lexicon 224 is a studio reverb unit that Delicious Audio calls venerable. The CXM 1978 is described as a pedal adaptation of it, bringing the hall, room and plate style algorithms of that rack unit into a pedal built on Chase Bliss Audio's Automatone moving-fader format.
How much does the CXM 1978 cost?
Delicious Audio lists a street price of $899 as of its February 2025 product page. MusicRadar, writing in October 2023, described the collaboration pedal as the world's most expensive reverb pedal.
Sources (3)
- Chase Bliss & Meris CXM 1978 Reverb, Delicious Audio, 2025-02-19
- CXM 1978, Meris, 2022-10-10
- Meris aims to shake up the ambient reverb pedal market with its MercuryX Modular Reverb System, MusicRadar, 2023-10-11
