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BBE sonic maximiser

Old Ozzie Guy

Old Ozzie Guy

Supporting Member
Mar 5, 2023
940
1,695
Surfers Paradise Qld Australia
#1
Hi all, IV used BBE plenty of times recording, vocals, heavy distorted guitar, accoustic gtr, and bass. Even L/R mastering.
IV got a pedal version and are trying it for live bass.
Dose anyone still use these, it's 80s tech.. what are your experiences with??
I "think" I like the sound I'm getting, but I do tend to "over produce" (more is always better!!)(not always!!)
I have a hofner Beatle Bass, driven by tech 21 VT pedal,10 EQ ped, analogue delay,BBE . Ampeg Micro VR thru Hartke HiDrive 1 12.
All thrown together second hand bargins..to play in a trio..
Any thoughts regarding BBE much welcome
 
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#3
I've got two of them. One is a rack mounted unit, the other is a small thing that looks like a flat stomp box. Use an Aphex Aural Exciter with Big Bottom now. Pretty much the same type of thing, but I'm too lazy to hook and unhook gear without a good reason. I like them for cleaning up the sound. They work great for recording and for mixing vocal microphones. The bass will sound more focused through one, but that may not be what you're looking for. It's a matter of taste. Compressors are a lot like that, too. Some people love 'em, others loath 'em.
 
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#7
jamro217 said:
I've got two of them. One is a rack mounted unit, the other is a small thing that looks like a flat stomp box. Use an Aphex Aural Exciter with Big Bottom now. Pretty much the same type of thing, but I'm too lazy to hook and unhook gear without a good reason. I like them for cleaning up the sound. They work great for recording and for mixing vocal microphones. The bass will sound more focused through one, but that may not be what you're looking for. It's a matter of taste. Compressors are a lot like that, too. Some people love 'em, others loath 'em.
Click to expand...
The VT pedal driving fairly hard od,but not distorted fuzz, hofner gets very woolie bottom, using a delay set single fast slap back..then BBE to tighten all back up..(trying for Jack Bruce with a Beatle Bass!!nuts)
 
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#8
Zooberwerx said:
I'm constantly hitting the active button on & off to balance the affected signal. To my ears, it re-shuffles the mids sometimes to the detriment of the signal path. Mine are all rackmount.

Riis
Click to expand...
My understanding is they(BBE) add even harmonics and play with phase of bottom..
In my trio I hit it and slap back during guitar solos, to fill in rythem parts ...
 
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#9
Old Ozzie Guy said:
The VT pedal driving fairly hard od,but not distorted fuzz, hofner gets very woolie bottom, using a delay set single fast slap back..then BBE to tighten all back up..(trying for Jack Bruce with a Beatle Bass!!nuts)
Click to expand...

Hey, works for me! Actually, the SM uses a couple of crossover points and very short delays (...one is 0.7 ms) to produce the affected sound. Bonus points for the dedicated delay as I find it provides a more natural "air" than a reverb. Same holds true for FOH vocals. Appears you gave a lot of thought to this!

Riis
 
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#11
Zooberwerx said:
Hey, works for me! Actually, the SM uses a couple of crossover points and very short delays (...one is 0.7 ms) to produce the affected sound. Bonus points for the dedicated delay as I find it provides a more natural "air" than a reverb. Same holds true for FOH vocals. Appears you gave a lot of thought to this!

Riis
Click to expand...
The delay is Analogue cheap Chinese micro.. works fine for slap..(typical vocal type slap back) fills a little, with out flattening..
 
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#13
I am using one with a small stereo home sound system with a micro amp that has little bass output. I used it with my bass rig once about 3 years ago and I guess I just didn't need it. It's a rack unit a friend owned that was used on the pa in 1990s and early 2000s. I had an aphex that I used in the 80s on my rig that I also used to brighten up cassette copies of band recordings. I loaned/gave it to a friend.
 
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#18
I have two BBE Sonic Maximizers, one rack mount and one pedal unit.
I love this thing!! Lol

Granted, I don't use it on everything.
I just love what it does to the low end, I keep the lo-contour knob usually around noon, or a little higher. It thickens up wimpy sounds nicely.

Beware the mids can get shifted or scooped out if your turn the process knob too much...the hi-mids can also sound phasey...if you overdo it.
I just start with the process knob all the way off and turn it up a little at a time until things stop sounding muted or dull...then stop or back it off a little.
I try to never go past 10 o'clock on that one.
All in all, these are fun units, some people hate on them but they can improve your sound if used judiciously.
 
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#19
Old Ozzie Guy said:
Hi all, IV used BBE plenty of times recording, vocals, heavy distorted guitar, accoustic gtr, and bass. Even L/R mastering.
IV got a pedal version and are trying it for live bass.
Dose anyone still use these, it's 80s tech.. what are your experiences with??
I "think" I like the sound I'm getting, but I do tend to "over produce" (more is always better!!)(not always!!)
I have a hofner Beatle Bass, driven by tech 21 VT pedal,10 EQ ped, analogue delay,BBE . Ampeg Micro VR thru Hartke HiDrive 1 12.
All thrown together second hand bargins..to play in a trio..
Any thoughts regarding BBE much welcome
Click to expand...

No, I sold mine after a brief audition. Low mid scoops are not for me as a bass player when playing live. The more “wet” you make the signal, the harder it is to hear the bass in the ensemble. I never considered its value in the studio as a production tool.
 
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#20
Years ago I bought a BBE 383 bass preamp because it was cheap and I was poor.

The BBE process does significantly improve the sound coming out of the preamp. However the sound seems intentionally degraded when the BBE process is bypassed. Even with BBE engaged and maxed, the sound is usable but not great. So I don't see the preamp as a net positive. Pretty much any basic bass preamp is likely to sound better.

I have observed quite a few comments from people who made similar observations about BBE gear. Essentially it seems many of them degrade the bypassed sound so you notice a big difference when BBE is engaged.

Not all BBE devices process the sound in the same way. So maybe some of the better processors actually enhance the sound overall. I know some big name audio techs used to be fans of some of the high-end rack units.

Also, the reviews of the last generation of BBE bass preamps (BMAX and BMAX-T) seemed to be fairly positive.

I don't recommend buying BBE. But if you have one, it doesn't hurt to try it. Just make sure you are not fooled. Compare the bypassed sound to the sound with the BBE completely removed from your signal path. Also compare the processed sound to the sound you get with the BBE completely removed. Bypassing the BBE is not the same as removing the processor from the signal path.
 
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