DR and BBE Sonic Maximizer

[Malin]

Before I ask the questions...here is my rig today after my tweeking

Mesa Boogie DR 3 channels
Mesa Cab
Furman PQ6 (two PQ3 in one unit)
Furman Power Condionner
Behringer BTR2000 Rack Tuner
TC G Major
ISP Decimator ProRack G

I run one channel of the PQ6 in front of the amp on low level (-4DB) -> ISP Decimator (-4DB)

In the effect loop -> Behringer BTR2000 -> Furman PQ6 (+10) -> TC G Major -> ISP Decimator (+10DB) -> back into effect loop

I've heard that the BBE can clear up the frequencies and I can get one for cheap. People have suggested that I run it right after the G Major since the effect can affect the tone...bla bla bla. Also, its the rack unit and not the stomp box

I'd like to have your input on this.

Lets make this easy and constructive...

 

[Spewnz]

i hear a lot of people swear by the bbe but my personal experience is it didn't seem to do much beside boost the signal and in extreme settings make the amp sound awful. i think between your g major and PQ6 you probably have all or more than the bbe would offer you....just my opinion.

 

[fluff191]

In the loop it sounded like it cut off the amps nuts. In front of the amp did a little bit, but not enough to warrant actually having another piece of gear to haul around.

I found I got more results out of changing out all of my cables for high quality ones.

 

[Malin]

In the loop it sounded like it cut off the amps nuts. In front of the amp did a little bit, but not enough to warrant actually having another piece of gear to haul around.

I found I got more results out of changing out all of my cables for high quality ones.

Indeed my friend!

I had so much noise that the noise gate couldnt take off but I spent a good amount on cables and VOILA...the amp is dead quiet like you said with the ISP!

 

[Elixir]

The BBE sounded like absolute crap to me, i mean HOLY CRAP bad.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Didn't like it at all when I tried it with my old DR....

Eric

 

[Heritage Softail]

Buy beer with that money. Getting the BBESM will waste your money all at once in the instant you buy it, with a few cases of cold beer, you will be pissing your money away over time....getting some enjoyment out of it.... :lol: :lol:

I tried one at GC thru good cables and a new TR into a 4x12 cab. Really hard to say it did anything. Maybe someone farther away could hear the 'magical frequency corrections' but I could not.

 

[Elixir]

It seems to me that a growing trend of new players are coming from solid state practice amps, and when they get exposed to bands using high end gear they want to jump on it not knowing what they're getting into.

So, they get these amps expecting a particular feel because that's all they know, and so instead of enjoying tube amplification characteristics they attempt to (horribly in vain) adjust the tube amp to produce a somewhat solid state feel instead of adjusting their playing or tweaking.

I see it all the time now, mainly with young metal impressionable kids. They want this super saturated tight sound but at low volumes. Their playing reflects this and when presented with a tube amp they are lost and confused and so they try and supplement the sound by sticking solid state pedal after solid state pedal out front essentially killing the amps characteristics. This BBE seems to really boost the signal a lot, from my time with it at least that's what I felt it did. If this is what the OP is going for I suggest rethinking it and saving your money.

Anyways, there needs to be a more proper youtube Rectifier presence on the web detailing such pitfalls and assumptions. There isn't many good sounding youtube clips, and little to no informative videos on the net on the Rectifier.

I was meaning to get one done but since i don't have my dual rec anymore i can't. Someone should though, someone should. :!:

 

[Malin]

Well my tech said the same thing like all of you! F*** the BBE. My Furman PQ6 can handle way more than this small unit!

 

[Tekneek]

At the risk of inciting a riot, I will say that you might actually like the Sonic Maximizer. I have one in the FX loop of my RK II, and with MODEST settings it tightens things up a bit (i.e. both knobs on about 9 o' clock and definitely never past noon). If you turn it up much it definitely sounds like pure garbage. My other guitarist had a TSL head into a Marshall cab and it definitely did more for his sound than for mine. I actually have mine teamed up with a Maxon OD808 boosting the amp and get a really good metal tone. I would recommend just trying the pedal out, and if you don't like it just sell it. Everyone's got an opinion, but there is no replacement for experience. Best of luck.

 

[Benraldo]

I used a sonic max for a while myself and will agree that at extreme settings it sounds very bad. I personally used very very modest settings and found it took some of the woofiness out of my rec.

I've since sold it and replaced it with an mxr 10 band eq, which I feel does a better job of what the sonic max tries to do.

 

[endless_mike03]

I agree. Using a boost up front, and/or a nice EQ in the loop would do the same thing as a BBE only better, and with more tweakability.

 

[fretout]

I have a TR and purchased the rackmount BBE 882i. The only thing that I can say that it was that it seemed to give the TR a little more cut, but after a few days, ended up returning it.

I was given a BBE Sonic Maximizer Sonic Stomp as a gift about 4 years ago...



...I still haven't used it yet...

 

[kryho]

All these sound strange to me... I run my 462 in loop, it's bad idea to plug it to input of the amp. All the rest is tweaking - I cut the higher frequencies to about 10 o'clock and put the lower to 12 - and it does tighten the sound. Really adds kick!

 

[RectoStudioGuy]

Using the a 482i in the loop certainly doesn't seem to be optimum. I use one here and there at the end of the chain just before the power amp. (keeping the settings pretty mild) It's no be all end all, but nothing is. You can't just crank the levels way up and expect it to sound good, it won't. But with some tweaking it has it's purpose and helps tighten up a recto in places.

 

[kryho]

exactly right before the poweramp section. Using BBE in neutral pot positions does the best job. Too much treble will kill the natural sound.

 

[ibanezboogieking]

I think the BBE has its place in certain setups. For example, I had a Peavey XXX at one time. I ran it with the BBE and it really tightened it up and got rid of some of its awful mid range. I never went overboard with the knobs... maybe 9-12 and never past. Something that also helped was running into both channels of the BBE. Simply run the output of the first channel to the input of the second channel and then route to your next piece of equipment. It made a huge difference.

That being said; when I moved over to my Mark IV it was just unusable. It gave the overall signal a boost but it also made it less musical to my ears. It added a hi-fi sort of sound to it.. but it took away from some of the natural layers of the Mark.

With some amps, like the XXX, you need to color the sound to even make it listenable. I had to run a RANE midi eq along with the BBE before it started to become an amp I did not mind plugging into. It was seriously laughable to hear the amp with these two pieces of gear in bypass.

With the Mark IV it is completely different. When you dial in a tone on her.... less is better as far as equipment in the signal chain. It has this beautiful quality to it right out of the gate and gets even more amazing when you start to master the Graphic Eq on her.

So, in my opinion.. if you have an amp that is simply to brutal or harsh.. maybe the BBE will tighten it up like it did for my XXX. I would assume people playing the Dual Rec's could benefit from this. When it works, it works really well.

 

[YellowJacket]

A lot of the recto flub is the inherent nature of the oversized 4 x 12 they are mated with. For metal, get a Mills Acoustic cab. Probably a way better improvement than the sonic maximizer. I mean if you aren't happy with your tone, perhaps the problem is somewhere else in your signal chain. I found building my own cab helped me get 'my' tone much faster than processing my sound half to death. I paid less money and at the end of the day, I have way less crap to carry around.

Another interesting point: How many mods have you guys done on your axes? I just swapped out my Stock BB Pro PUPS in my Les Paul for Bare Knuckle Rebel Yells. These suckers are dirtier, phatter, raunchier, and they clean up far better. Lots of articulation and personality! I then swapped out all the stock electronics. I had heard they weren't very good so I put CTS 500k long shaft pots and paper in oil caps in my Les Paul and now I hear even more of the pups since they aren't being choked by the electronics anymore. $370 my axe sounds warmer and better, something that makes its way to the amp . . .