# ANyone use a sonic maximizer in their setup?



## transgressor_ad (Apr 21, 2011)

I am looking into possibly adding one of these suckers to my setup. I am just looking for a little bit of a boost to my sound. I have a couple questions if you have had experience with them.

I found a BBE 362 Sonic Maximizer. Anyone have experience with this? Are the newer 382,482,882i models far superior? Or would the older 362 work fine? 

Any input is appreciated.


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## Encephalon5 (Apr 21, 2011)

go for it. I'm not familiar with any models, but its a fucking fantastic addition to your rig.


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## theo (Apr 21, 2011)

I thought those things just cut your mids whilst boosting bass and treble?


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## angus (Apr 22, 2011)

That's pretty much all they do. They sound fine in the bedroom, but there are a lottttttt of professional players who have a thing against these because they actually sit you backward in the mix. They don't have a great reputation.


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## Kali Yuga (Apr 22, 2011)

No, they don't, and you can find Sonic Maximizers in many professional studios. 

But, dorks on the internet just don't understand how to use them.


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## eclipsex1 (Apr 22, 2011)

I don't know about models or anything, but I've heard them and they sound awesome. I would definitely go for one.


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## TemjinStrife (Apr 22, 2011)

Kali Yuga said:


> No, they don't, and you can find Sonic Maximizers in many professional studios.
> 
> But, dorks on the internet just don't understand how to use them.



Nah, for whatever they do, they end up just becoming a glorified mid scoop. And I have had to use them before as part of backline on a number of occasions. Always sounded and cut through much better with it off.


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## angus (Apr 22, 2011)

Kali Yuga said:


> No, they don't, and you can find Sonic Maximizers in many professional studios.
> 
> But, dorks on the internet just don't understand how to use them.



Not for bass tracking. It tends to be a guitarist-who-does-bass-stuff thing. 

I'm sure some have them, but all the old school guys I've ever come across hate them, and the all-digital guys don't see the point as it doesn't do anything specifically that's worthwhile. 

But hey, to each their own.


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## engage757 (Apr 22, 2011)

I use one in every rig I have, guitar or bass. What a Sonic Maximizer does is time-align frequencies. It is used in THOUSANDS of rigs. 

The 362 is more for a Guitar. Honestly, just go get a SOnic Stomp. Nice and easy.


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## transgressor_ad (Apr 23, 2011)

I bought the 362. He only wanted 20 dollars for it, so I figured what the hell.

I tried the sonic stomp once before, wasn't a huuuge fan. But, I only tried it out one time.


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## Scourge441 (Apr 23, 2011)

engage757 said:


> I use one in every rig I have, guitar or bass. What a Sonic Maximizer does is time-align frequencies.


That's the thing; I think the people who dislike aren't convinced that this "time-aligned frequencies" thing has any validity to it.

I'm not a physicist or a technician, so I have no clue whether it does or not.


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## Tapaska (Apr 23, 2011)

My own personal experience with the stomp box model is that yes, it sounds nice when you're playing alone. Also sounded nice with band, but I noticed that it also "eats" the dynamics if you're playing with a tube amp. My two cents. It's not bad, but I really don't think it's really either that good that you should purchase it. But thats just my opinion, eventually it's all up to you.


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## engage757 (Apr 23, 2011)

Tapaska said:


> My own personal experience with the stomp box model is that yes, it sounds nice when you're playing alone. Also sounded nice with band, but I noticed that it also "eats" the dynamics if you're playing with a tube amp. My two cents. It's not bad, but I really don't think it's really either that good that you should purchase it. But thats just my opinion, eventually it's all up to you.




Hmm... I never used it with a tube, ONly some GK Solid State heads. Now I think I should try it with a tube head and check it out. interesting.


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## JPhoenix19 (Apr 23, 2011)

engage757 said:


> Hmm... I never used it with a tube, ONly some GK Solid State heads. Now I think I should try it with a tube head and check it out. interesting.



Don't worry about that, with you wanting to use it for bass.


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## engage757 (Apr 23, 2011)

JPhoenix19 said:


> Don't worry about that, with you wanting to use it for bass.




Well, I run it on my guitar rigs sometimes. I just wonder if it is screwing up my tone when it is one out of my Boogie. That would suck, never noticed it before, but now I want to see. I love the BBE, but now I am wondering...


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## tybro7 (Apr 24, 2011)

i have 2 BBE STINGER pedals.. which were made for one year in the 70's and what the sonic maximisers circuit was based on... gives you whatever you want!!! lots of beeeef!!


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## SirMyghin (Apr 25, 2011)

It doesn't cut mids, it delays treble response to match bass response to make things hit you more evenly (and yes, treble frequencies will move faster than bass frequencies, this isn't BS). Works with mic captures too. For those pooping on using it for bass, it adds a lot more low end UMPH to really fast runs on bass, as the attack is less over powering. This is good when doing captures (and I am a bassist, not a guitarist playing bass). 



Does nothing for my Mesa though, jives with my bass amp (a fender bxr, sue me, I like this amp).


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## TemjinStrife (Apr 26, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> It doesn't cut mids, it delays treble response to match bass response to make things hit you more evenly (and yes, treble frequencies will move faster than bass frequencies, this isn't BS). Works with mic captures too. For those pooping on using it for bass, it adds a lot more low end UMPH to really fast runs on bass, as the attack is less over powering. This is good when doing captures (and I am a bassist, not a guitarist playing bass).
> 
> Does nothing for my Mesa though, jives with my bass amp (a fender bxr, sue me, I like this amp).



Whatever it ostensibly does, the result in every case that I have tried it has been to bury me in a mix or give a similar sound as a mid-scoop.


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## SirMyghin (Apr 29, 2011)

TemjinStrife said:


> Whatever it ostensibly does, the result in every case that I have tried it has been to bury me in a mix or give a similar sound as a mid-scoop.



The problem lies in that delaying the upper frequencies may not be the best idea, given how powerful the lower ones are in comparison. Basses have a fair bit of fundamental, especially beside guitar. When you delay the upper frequencies, you are allowing the low rumble, that powerful fundamental to hit at the same time, and it can almost drown everything else out. As I said, I use it for fast runs for that reason, to give them some beef.


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## TemjinStrife (Apr 30, 2011)

I don't feel any delay with fast runs playing normally, although I am not exactly a 16ths at 240bpm player


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## TomAwesome (Apr 30, 2011)

There are about a hundred threads here about these things. Do a search, and you'll have more than enough info to work with. A few points, though: 


It can sound good or piss poor depending on how you use it and what gear you use it with.
It's not just a glorified EQ. There's some envelope distortion processing going on that is discussed in detail in other threads.
It won't necessarily scoop your sound. It's usually better to keep the knobs pretty low. At higher settings, yes, it will tend to crap all over the sound. If you want EQ, get an EQ.

If you're looking to add a "boost" to your sound, depending on what you mean by that, this might not do it for you. This isn't supposed to change your sound or enhance it in a dramatic way. It's just supposed to make what's already there more clear and coherent.


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## SirMyghin (Apr 30, 2011)

TemjinStrife said:


> I don't feel any delay with fast runs playing normally, although I am not exactly a 16ths at 240bpm player



When capturing with a condenser mic I have foudn 16ths at 130 onward to get much thinner sounding. I can't play much faster than 170 , too tiring, and I am not a metal head.


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## TemjinStrife (May 1, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> When capturing with a condenser mic I have foudn 16ths at 130 onward to get much thinner sounding. I can't play much faster than 170 , too tiring, and I am not a metal head.



Ahh. See, I just go DI, usually from the preamp of my WT400.


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## SirMyghin (May 1, 2011)

TemjinStrife said:


> Ahh. See, I just go DI, usually from the preamp of my WT400.



I did that last time too, much simpler I agree. Literally DI though, I sent a cable into my interfact from the bass (it has a built in preamp so signal is good enough).


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## Matti_Ice (May 7, 2011)

I honestly have one in my guitar rig and not enough of a difference to say you simply MUST buy it. If you have extra cash you are just looking to blow i would suggest it, but I wouldn't say its going to be what gives you a super rig


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