BBE Sonic Maximizer

[11miles]

Can anyone in plain engish explain me what does this unit do!

Is it useful?
When?

10x

[11miles]

Re: BBE Sonic Maximizer

And also...

PArametric eq?
Any good, why parametric.
Ahat does it do, really!

And please, plain engish! facts and expiriences

10x again

[rodrigo_echeverri]

Re: BBE Sonic Maximizer

ok, if you got an equalizer, that gives you the ability to change the magnitudes of the components of frequency of a signal. You can add bass or take it away and play with the treble and so on... that's clear, right?

Well, in signals there is also something called "phase". The phase tells when a specific component of frequency is heard with respect to the others. In a guitar setup, you probably dont know it, but when you crank up your amp and play, you actually dont hear the treble and bass at the same time because they are "out-of-phase". Ok, so I repeat, the EQ does not much to the phase because that is not its purpose.

The job of the sonic maximizer is to let you adjust the phase to find what your ears like to hear first and what second. Most people find this makes a huge difference in their sound and claim that they couldnt live without a maximizer in their rack.

Oops... was that english?... sometimes I forget I have a masters degree on this ****.. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[ April 09, 2003, 03:54 AM: Message edited by: rodrigo_echeverri ]

[The Enema]

Re: BBE Sonic Maximizer

to put it simply eg is the bass, mid and treble you get on amps

you can get bigger eqs spread into many different bands (anything from 3 to 11 and probably more)

like having lots of controls to do bass mids and trebles that split them into smaller stages with everything inbetween

not too sure about sonic equaliser though, i dont think its the same as an eq but i could be wring
or the parametric bit..

David

[rodrigo_echeverri]

Re: BBE Sonic Maximizer

David... I am going to have to disagree. Maximizer and Eq are different things.

2nd: A parametric EQ is one that allows you to control the center-frequency of the component that you want to boost of dampen out. They usually give you about three components that you can tweak. At the end your EQ curve can end up looking anyway you like.

For instance, stand in front of a normal EQ. The things says: 400 Hz, 1000 Hz, and so on. In a parametric EQ you can tell the thing the frequency!... then tweak it. Parametric EQs are usually digital as far as I am concerned because their analog implementation is not very simple.

In my opinion I find parametric EQs hard to use. I think they make studio people quite happy because they are incredibly flexible.

As a guitarrist I like to have something like one of those Alesis rack units that are normal EQs and have LOTS of different knobs for all the different given frequencies. They are easy...

[ April 10, 2003, 02:35 AM: Message edited by: rodrigo_echeverri ]

[11miles]

Re: BBE Sonic Maximizer

Okey, Thanks Rodrigo!
especially for using plain engish like i asked
masters degree?

I'll ask something else!

So a maximizer is a must have, right?
What is more imortant then, a good eq or a maximizer.
Is BBE tho only of the best choice?
Some other manufacturers can name it differently, right?

PArametric eq, not good? HArd to use? What do you recommend?

I have a problem and do not know where shuold i start fixing the problem.

It goes like this and i think it mainly has to do with the eq of my sound, or maybe not.
You be the jugde.

Apart from power riffs i often play open string chords. And dubbing the bass up, the sound of my e-based pen strings chords sound fenomenal.
But when i swith it down to a i loose the bass and the solidness, know what i'm talking about?

I hope you do.
Now, for know most of the problems i fixed in a band with the bass player turning his bass really hard and doing all th e a's my guitar kinda lost somewhere.
But i really want to be ''independent'', you know what i mean.

To put it in englsih: the mids of my guitar sound are not as firm as i want it to be.

I have an ada mp1, it has 3 stages of eg.
Not how should i programm it not to lose the bass on e- string and to gain the firmness of a's.

My tuning is standard. EADGHE

Suggestions?

Can i fix the problem with some eq adjustments who are very ordinary and i, moron, dont know about, or i need some other peace of equipment, e.g. BBE, EQ?

Is there a standard and very useful eq setting for the sound that i want.
Hear and feel the bass, not lose the mids, and almost anoying high's?
And dont say just turn all the parameters to 12, because we all know that is not the real way to do it. What comes of that is just shi*!

And to be honest, you telling me and explaining me the setupps of eq would help me with the time finding the right setup myself. I wuold and still wil do it by meself, but if you can help me i say why not.

I really hope at least one of you experts, will help me and even try reading all i've asked you!

10x a lot for now

[rodrigo_echeverri]

Re: BBE Sonic Maximizer

hmmm... I am not the tone expert around here. I just know how things work because I am finishing a degree in dynamic instabilities in machine tools and that has to do with signal believe it or not.. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] ... that's just good old mechanical engineering but I sneak out in the electrical eng. department to take courses in signal becuase I like it.

As for your problem this is all I can think of:

What you are describing sounds to me like what people adjust when they tweak the presence knob in their power amp. Did you try that?... maybe it wont work but I tried... [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

One more thing some people do which doesnt seem to be popular around here (god knows why?) is to throw in your guitar one of those EMG EQ circuits that allow you to boost mids or bass of whetever... drop Rick Hunt at EMG an e-mail about that, he knows what he is doing!... nice guy too:

Rick Hunt: [email protected]

I did throw in an EXG cicuit on my charvel and my tone changed nicely!... cleans become CLEAN. In this respect I am kind of an EMG enthusiast.

Actually, I think you wanted to tweak your rack and not your guitar... [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] ... carried away there, eh?

Ok, I cannot tell you I would choose either a BBE or an EQ because I will always use both things together because of the reason I said: they are two different animals and COMBINED might give you what you are looking for.

Isn't the EQ in the MP1 just a three band one?... I thought it was bit weak. In this case maybe one of those Alesis things will make you happy:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=23788

I am buying one of those soon for myself... I miss having one.

Finally, ask John Cleveland (I ended up calling him that)... he is known to know tone around here and maybe will disagree with me big time.

As for the sonic maximizer, I dont know of any equivalents but why bother?... the thing has been around for like 20 years and is cheap, reliable, easy to use... Look at the deom for the new one:

http://www.bbesound.com/products/maxim/882i.asp

I know these things are usually misleading but it doesnt hurt to check it out. In this case the base sound they use for comparison is so ****ty that anything will be an improvement. You can hear the kick of the thing on th treble though.

I will explore more on the mid boosting issue and let you know what else I think later.

[ April 10, 2003, 04:38 PM: Message edited by: rodrigo_echeverri ]

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: BBE Sonic Maximizer

Originally posted by 11miles:
My tuning is standard. EADGHE

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">[img]graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img] I'm not really good with musical theory, but what is H? I thought it only goes up to G... [img]graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

[Riffmeister]

Re: BBE Sonic Maximizer

Simply put the BBE adds punch and clarity to anything. It adds bottom end without getting muddy. This thing will make a huge difference in any rig.

Now there are a few people who do not like this difference, but the majority of people I know love this thing including me.

Although it adds bottom and crystal highs, it is quite differnt than an EQ, in that you can't select different frequencys to change. Take your gear to a store that has one and hook it up. They're awesome in my opinion. Hope this helps.

[11miles]

Re: BBE Sonic Maximizer

thanks rick, rodrigo.

Do have in mind please.
I'm from a part of europe that does not have, i repeat does not have a music store with an equipment that is not ibanez fender or squier!
Gibson's are in these parts very hard if not impossible to find. Maybe a les paul here and there so that young freaks go into the store just looking at it and ending up buying a garth brooks CD.

Believe me when i say things here are not setup for us musicians,
SO please have in mind that getting a sonic maximizer is not so tough(e-bay) but trying out anywhere is virtual impposible.

I would go and bet that if i ask the salesman if he could get my one, he would look if there was candid camera somewhere....

Okay enough with the reality check!

It's just so you know.

the eq on ada is yes, only 3 band! And te idea of a maximizer is very interesting at this point.

The only thing i dont understand (i am going to read it out on the i-net is how you setup this piece of equipment) any knobs, it differs from what (poweramp, preamp cabs, guitars..?)

Oh, Rodrigo about the EMG where dou you keep these thing.
I use an Gibson ES335 and thought i would go to a repair shop to fix it.
You know, the frets,neck adjustments and the thing you nail your gauge with, i dont know how you name it!

So i could ask the man about the eq, but need some details, is the link you added enough?

Oh, something else, my ''standard'' tuning!

We, from europe, apart from other languages use different characters in our writing,and so on.
Apart from english which is not the most frequent spoken language here(deutsch,german is) nobody uses Y or X or W for that matter!

So is in the music world.

For us the standard tuning is EADGHE.
The H is really B in your world!

Okey enough with the chit chat, on with the answers!

[11miles]

Re: BBE Sonic Maximizer

Sincemy rack is alltube, the hiss is also a very important part of my rig.
But like all of you guys i want to get rid of it also!

And since you speak so greatly of the BBE sonic maximizer, i was interesed how the BBE 362 NR is doing?

I wouldn't mind having two beasts in one rack unit if you know what i mean!

So is it any good?
Does the trick?
As the maximizer and as the hush unit or dou you recommend buying both?

[terrax]

Re: BBE Sonic Maximizer

it's not an eq.

high end and low end travel at different speeds, high end usually wins the battle, and gets to your ears first, thus that is what you end up hearing. Think of when you are in a crowded room talking to someone, and you focus on who is talking to you, but you can still hear the people in the background.

what the bbe does is, it slows down (retards) the high end so the low end catches up, and they hit you at the same time. which makes it sound like more low end.

this is how it was described to me from one of the bbe engineers, and a rep.

in a nutshell, you will hear more bass.

Dave

[PowerTube]

Re: BBE Sonic Maximizer

Similar question: is the little palm-sized BBE Sonic Maximizer as good, or at least close, to the rack-mount unit?

[StuTDavis]

Re: BBE Sonic Maximizer

I used the little BBE 264 for a few years, just recently got a rack-mounted BBE because I got a different racking case that would have made the little non-rack unit hard to figure where to put hehehe. Otherwise, I might still be using it. It's the same technology, pretty much the same sound, as the more expensive rack units. It doesn't have seperate controls for each side like some of the rack versions do, but it does have 2 rights and 2 lefts for stereo sound...the controls just control both sides equally. I never considered that much of a limitation, and the rack unit I got is the same way...didn't see any reason to pay any more than I had to.

Aside from not being rack-mounted, the other thing to consider about it is the connections. That little unit has RCA type jacks instead of 1/4" regular guitar cable type jacks. It's no biggie, there are 1/4"-TO-RCA adaptors out there.
The other issue with those connectors comes into play if you move your unit around a lot. Being that this unit isn't really "made" to be used with guitar gear (it's more for stereos or TVs), those jacks aren't necessarily the most stable. They kind of wiggle up and down a little, and if your cables might get wiggled during playing for some reason, you might get some nasty BZZZZZ noises. And, if you're in a band, or would be moving the unit around a lot for some other reason, I might worry that the jacks might get damaged pretty easily. You might could open it up and reinforce those jacks somehow, I dunno.

Hope this helps. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Riffmeister]

Re: BBE Sonic Maximizer

I can honestly say first hand not to get the 362NR model. My brother has one and it does not compare to the 482.

YOu would run this thing between your ada and your power amp, or in an FX loop if you had a head. Teir is only 2 knobs on it, contour and process, I beleive, that's what they are called, basically just lows and hi's.