aural exciter versus sonic maximizer=?

[steelhead2]

i understand the principal(s) of what these do and they appear similar(on paper),any clues/recomendations?

[bassbrad]

There are several different circuits that are considered exciters or enhancers or maximizers and there is a lot of contention about the effectiveness of their use. I have a BBE unit that gets some use in the studio for mixing but it is not an essential and dunno if I'd ever want to use on one bass but some players do. I mainly use it to bring something out or forward in the mix and use it very sparingly.

[Swift713]

Similar to the difference between placebos and snake oil IME

[Bassmike62]

I have a BBE, which works well for me, especially with my small practice amp at home, but I also use in the band studio, just 'cause I like what it does. I did a fair bit of reading on the BBE and the Apex and most things I read on the exciter hilited cheap build (jacks and knobs falling off, noisy on and off clicking and hissing). I was disapointed because I was really seduced by their website demos. It would be interesting to know if the new generation is still plagued with the same problems. Mind you, there's also quite a few TBers who have a very positive opinion of the Apex.

[NKBassman]

In my opinion and experience, if you already have a quality head and cab, you probably won't see enough of a benefit from adding one to your live rig to justify the cost.

I could see it being a useful tool for mediocre rigs, but I didn't even bother keeping my Autal Exciter for my home studio setup.

[bassbrad]

Originally Posted by NKBassman

I could see it being a useful tool for mediocre rigs, but I didn't even bother keeping my Autal Exciter for my home studio setup.

So are Eden and SWR amps mediocre since they both feature enhancer circuits?

[NKBassman]

Not at all. All I meant to say is that if you already have a high quality head and cab setup and you're happy with your tone, the exciter may not add any real value to your rig. As a glorified EQ, I could think of a list of other things I'd rather spend $200 on that would offer more value for the money.

If all you're looking for is a bit of "icing on top" to an awesome tone, and you've got the money to spend, then by all means check it out. But if you're looking to take your tone in a completely different direction these units probably won't do that for you, or at least not as easily as a new preamp would or whatever.

Maybe that's going against what I said earlier about them being for mediocre rigs. And the Aphex certainly has a pretty amazing track record when it comes to studio use. At any rate, I was disappointed with mine after about a week.

[Zooberwerx]

I use both in our FOH / PA rig. The Aphex 104 is in line with the mains / subs and the SM processes the monitor signal which is marginal. With either unit, a little goes a looooooong way! I would use neither in my bass rig as it stands on its own.

Riis