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BBE Sonic Maximizer- the horses mouth

#41
howdy mitch,

a stinger pedal, holy cow! that will be "vintage" someday.

i'll do the best i can here:

1) preamp out-power amp in is the right spot. of course if you have your preamp cranked then, yes, you will distort the input of many processors. with a handle like "metal mitch" i have to assume your are really opening-up the preamp gain to get some growly stuff happening.

of course, the effects loop is "buffered" because it also derives it's signal from the preamp stage and you'd overdrive anything you might put there unless there was some attenuation.

the changes made for the 482 and subsequent 482i include a bit more headroom; we're good to about +23dBu, as opposed to the +18dBu of the 462. if you can try a 482i or used 482 i'd like to hear how they fared.


2)you can't really "over-correct" it just means the signal will be more "corrected" when it gets to the BBE, which might then have little effect.

3)i think that is probably pretty accurate and yes, the 482i will sound better.

i really hope this helps and i really appreciate your support
 
#42
Dude, you rock!!! Where else can you get a question answered by the manufacturer in under 12 hours? I might even become a supporting member of talkbass.com because of this. :D

Ok, based on your response I'm very interested in trying the 482i. But you really didn't answer my first question, namely the gain matching. I can eat +5 dBu of extra headroom with a little tweak on any active bass EQ. Give me +25dBu (i.e. somewhere around +50dBu total) and now we're talking. Or at least +15... well, wishful thinking aside how about a simple input gain level control? I think that's realistic. That way you could crank up a buffered signal or attenuate your "wide-open" preamp signal if needed? Perhaps the BBE answer to that is simply use a BBE preamp?

Thanks again Judd and I really mean it.

Mitch
 
#43
djnylonpants, I don't mean to hijack your thread, (which by the way is awesome that you're doing it) but you mentioned an upcoming BP review. Out of curiosity, I was wondering if companies have to pay BP to do reviews of their products or if BP does reviews of interesting products in order to convince people to buy their magazines.

Kevin
 
#44
Howdy Kevin,

well, i know this is one of those subjects where perceptions are only half reality.

yes, no doubt having a relationship with the magazines is really helpful from a "networking perspective".

it's not necessarily about how much advertising is bought. we buy very little as compared to fender or swr or any of the "biggies" and yet, due to the great relationship we have with the guys at BP, one of the editors and one of the clinicians came to our facility and hung-out for a few hours with the us in my little studio here.

they listened to the BMAX and BMAX-T preamps as well as the DI-1000 and DI-100X...when it was all done they asked to have samples sent to their offices and they are doing the reviews.

so the answer is: no, we certainly don't pay for the reviews. those magazines review products they feel either bring something to the party or that they think the users (like yourself) will have great interest in (so they can sell more magazines, which draws more advertisers which brings more revenue and on and on...)

i hope this helps. i really appreciate the question because i think this is a little mis-understood.

we have, btw, sent one of everything to the basstasters.com guy, todd, and he'll be offering his own reviews pretty quick.


best as always
 
#45
howdy mitch,

when we did the facelift on the 482/882 to the new 482i/882i i was limited in what i could change.

we did not want to increase the price so any changes that required changing the circuit board layout (which adding an input attenuator would do) was frowned upon.

i don't disagree with your desire for an input attenuator, with 40 or 50 dBu of attenuation available, which would allow you to drive a very hot signal into the unit. Remember though that the signal to noise ratio will suffer somewhat.

i will definitely take this to heart and try to incorporate it into the next iteration of Sonic Maximizers.

of course your, "Perhaps the BBE answer to that is simply use a BBE preamp?" is the best answer i can think of! ;)

thanks for the support!
 
#46
hi pmkelly,

you're right regarding the 264. it uses a consumer grade BBE Process chip that has much less headroom than our pro units.

actually the 264 has gone back into the vault, kind of like those Disney videos, and i don't think you'll see anymore for a long tme.

thanks for being such a great supporter.


peace
 
#48
hi olie,

believe me, if i could've i would've.

the problem is not the voltage available, 48+volts is certainly enough, it's that the current is very, very low with phantom and it's not sufficient to run the BBE Processor chip.

sorry...how do like the DI-1000?


thanks for the support.
 
#49
Ah, the ever popular current problem.. Oh well.

I love the unit. I play my guitars (6 and 12 string Taylors) through it direct to the board for my church gigs. The sound is outstanding (and it wasn't bad to start!). I use unit on my bass gigs with my Ashdown EVO 500. I also record my bass direct through it in my studio...

I use the darn thing pretty much all the time. So far the battery life has been pretty good. I haven't used that darn wall wart yet!

olie
 
#50
we have, btw, sent one of everything to the basstasters.com guy, todd, and he'll be offering his own reviews pretty quick.
Click to expand...

I just have to say that that was way cool of you guys! Honestly, that is one of the most impressive gestures that I have seen from any gear manufacturer! That act alone may have just sold me on an 882i!

Nice to see a gear maker not only put their product where their mouth is, but also recognize a very excellent effort from a couple of "regular guys" and support their unbiased and most-appreciated work.

There's hope for this world yet!

Tom.
 
#52
Judd, I really think it's awesome that you are so active on this board. This is the only time I really feel like I can trust a company and it's products. So with my ass kissing aside ;) I have a simple question. I've never run an outboard preamp before.. I have an SVT-4 Pro, would I just run the preamp where my current 362 is? Post Ampeg preamp, pre-poweramp? Or do I just run it straight into the poweramp in? I don't want to lose the tone of the SVT.. I'd be stuck with a $1500 power amp if I bypass the pre.. And if I run both preamps, which one do I do first? What's the most common setup? I'm really interested in the T series. I hope I'm making sense here and not rambling too much! Thanks alot

doug
 
#53
howdy yarnboy,

thanks for the support.

i'm not clear exactly how you have the 362 but obviously you won't need the 362 anymore.

the only place i can see that you could have the new preamp connected would be the "power amp in" jack. that would be the best.


i know that doesn't help much. i looked at the back panel of the ampeg online and i can't see a better way.


good luck!
 
#54
Yea, I'd be taking the 362 out and hooking it up to my stereo or something. What I'm wondering is if people run two preamps or not. Like run the preamp about of the bmax to the input of my head, or would I just run it to the power amp in. Or run it preamp out of the svt to preamp in of the bmax then to poweramp in on the svt. Thanks for the quick reply!
 
#55
Technically, people with active basses are usually running 2 preamps - the 1 in their bass and the 1 in the amp. The only other setup I've seen w/ 2 preamps is when someone is running a stereo rig, 1 pre for left and 1 for right. Conventional wisdom say it's not a good idea to run 1 preamp into another, but I don't think it would damage anything, it just might not sound good.
 
#57
It is rare these days to see a company as caring of their customers as BBE. I learned about BBE through this site and i bought a 362 today just from all of the positive reviews and people swearing by them. I already know it will be in my rig for a long time.... I don't know how I did without it and i haven't yet even jammed with my band with it yet. It really lifted a blanket off of my tone, to say the least. How big of a difference is the 362 from a 482i, or even an 882i :confused: I'm probably buying a BBE for each of the other 3 guys in my band for christmas.... i like them that much. Keep up the good work!!!
 
#59
Judd,

Thanks for your responses to these questions. Can you tell me a little about the B-Max compressor ? I would assume that it is a fixed ratio, and the attack and release times are determined by the nature of whatever opto design it is, and that the knob when turned up lowers the threshold. Would you please verify, elaborate on or dispute my assumptions ? Also, is the compression set to peak or average signal ?

Thanks again,

Dave
 
#60
Originally posted by BlakeBass
Anyone know if the BMAX is capable of an overdriven sound or should I keep my RBI and have two preamps in my rack? I'm looking for an overdriven, bluesy, warmer type of sound. Any help/advice would be appreciated. I'm willing to get a pedal or other type effect if that's what it takes.

Thanks ;)
Click to expand...

Just get a sonic maximizer and put it in the loop of the RBI. I put a 362 on mine and its juicy! No need for 2 preamps really.
 

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