Bureau Publication RMX-G2. Issued for the benefit of operators still running the smaller unit, of whom the Bureau is quietly fond. Technical content is accurate and derived from the manufacturer’s operating instructions.
The RMX-500 is a three-section remix station: RHYTHM FX, SCENE FX and RELEASE FX. Its defining feature is that the RHYTHM and SCENE controls are PRESSURE controllers — they respond to how hard you press in, not only to how far you turn. It also contains an integrated sound card / USB audio interface, headphone output, a 4-BEAT SEQUENCER, and a bundled VST/AU/RTAS plug-in that turns the hardware into a controller for a DAW.
Power down before patching, and use the supplied power cord, AC adapter and USB cable. Typical placements are the mixer or controller’s MASTER OUT, or the mixer’s SEND / RETURN loop. Set the rear signal level switch to match the connected device.
Connected to a computer, the Unit works as a sound card / USB audio interface. If it detects the RMX-500 Plug-in it switches to plug-in controller mode, and effects processing is then performed by the computer rather than the hardware. Headphones must be 32 Ω or higher; lower impedance models are not supported. Level is set with HEADPHONES VOL.
BPM can be detected automatically from the input or entered by tapping TAP in time. QUANTIZE analyses beat positions in real time so that effects and triggered sounds land in tempo even when you play the buttons roughly. NUDGE (+/−) fine-adjusts the cycle and timing of internal sound sources.
Press a RHYTHM FX button to select a type — internal sound sources are preset at KICK, SNARE, CLAP, HI HAT and CYMBAL. Turning the RHYTHM FX control sets effect strength (fully counterclockwise is dry). Pressing the control in applies an additional processing or sound-adding effect that varies with how hard you press. Dedicated buttons adjust internal sound source volume. Press a lit RHYTHM FX button again to turn it off.
While the sequencer is on, RHYTHM FX effects only sound while the corresponding button is held. This surprises everyone once.
Select a SCENE FX type, turn the control for strength, and press it in for an additional effect scaled by pressure. Separate buttons set the volume of the NOISE effect. ECHO+ layers a beat-synced echo on top of whatever SCENE FX is running: choose the beat multiple with the BEAT (▲/▼) buttons, then press ECHO +. Press again to disengage.
Choose the type with the RELEASE FX type selection button — VINYL BRAKE, ECHO or BACK SPIN — then hold the RELEASE FX button. Releasing your finger turns the effect off and also cancels any RHYTHM FX and SCENE FX that were running. Same doctrine as the RMX-1000 lever: it exists so you can get out cleanly.
Signal runs INPUT → RHYTHM FX → SCENE FX → RELEASE FX → OUTPUT, and the SIGNAL FLOW button swaps the order of the RHYTHM and SCENE sections. Rhythm-before-scene and scene-before-rhythm sound genuinely different; this is the cheapest new sound on the box.
Holding CUSTOMIZE SHIFT and pressing a lit effect button switches that effect’s type and beat, live, with no software required. Unlit buttons cannot be customised. For RELEASE FX, the beat cycles each time the button is pressed.
The bundled plug-in runs the Unit’s effects inside a DAW, with the hardware acting as a controller. It also runs standalone, without the hardware connected. When the Unit detects the plug-in it enters plug-in controller mode and stops processing audio itself.
Never cut power during an update. Errors are reported through the BPM display and the number of lit SCENE FX indicator segments.
See also the RMX-1000 Reference Guide and the Schedule of Penalties, and PUBLIC ADVISORY RMX-A-001.