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Sonic Maximizer

pineapplerobot

pineapplerobot

Jul 23, 2012
289
12
Omaha, NE
#1
Who uses one and why? What do you like/dislike about them?

I have a BBE 882i Sonic Maximizer in the rack mount of my older Fender Bassman 400 Combo amp. I've had it in there for a couple years now and took it out the other day because something was rattling on the amp and I thought that was the culprit. It was not. Either way, I liked the sound a bit more, it was more clear but the volume was a bit lower. I had used it more often when my rig just wasn't loud enough. Tell me your stories of them! I had a sound guy get pissed I was using one once, called me a "loser with a glorified boost switch." Not sure if I need it, so I'll be selling it... or maybe see how I like it with my current rig.

What does TB thing about these things?
 
#2
pineapplerobot said:
Who uses one and why? What do you like/dislike about them?

I have a BBE 882i Sonic Maximizer in the rack mount of my older Fender Bassman 400 Combo amp. I've had it in there for a couple years now and took it out the other day because something was rattling on the amp and I thought that was the culprit. It was not. Either way, I liked the sound a bit more, it was more clear but the volume was a bit lower. I had used it more often when my rig just wasn't loud enough. Tell me your stories of them! I had a sound guy get pissed I was using one once, called me a "loser with a glorified boost switch." Not sure if I need it, so I'll be selling it... or maybe see how I like it with my current rig.

What does TB thing about these things?
Click to expand...

Hate to say it but do a search. There are dozens of threads on this particular subject.

Riis
 
#4
pineapplerobot said:
Ahhh, newb here, been a while since I have been on forums. My bad!
Click to expand...

No problem. The Sonic Max controversy has been going on for years here at TB. One camp thinks they're the greatest thing since sliced bread...the other feels they're better suited as doorstops.

For God's sake, don't go over to the Repair / Set-up forum and mention "shims".

Riis
 
#6
The Sonic Maximizer is basically a high frequency expander. The more highs you have, the more it boosts them. Kinda like the highest band of the old 3BX expaqnder. Because there is so much high boost, it also has a fixed bass boost to help the sound stay somewhat balanced. It can create up to 26 dB of boost, so you must be careful of clipping.

If you like the sound of extensive high boost - go for it.
 
#7
Bassamatic said:
The Sonic Maximizer is basically a high frequency expander. The more highs you have, the more it boosts them. Kinda like the highest band of the old 3BX expaqnder. Because there is so much high boost, it also has a fixed bass boost to help the sound stay somewhat balanced. It can create up to 26 dB of boost, so you must be careful of clipping.

If you like the sound of extensive high boost - go for it.
Click to expand...

I disagree with this. It appears to boost highs because there is more clarity but there are actually more lows as well, but the lows are tighter.
 
#10
I'm a day late and a dollaar short on this but I use one and I think a lot depends on the music you play. I play Funk and R&B and some Smooth Jazz. For these Genres the Sonic Maximizer works well. Even if I play with a guitarist I can still use it and it sounds good in the mix. In a rock setting it may be a different thing as you have to deal with guitars in the mix in a much different way. In Funk, the guitar is playing chords but they just add sparkle and flavor to the mix. In rock, guitars provide walls of sound, and some guitarists are rather bassy in their setup. In contrast, with funk, I'm competing with no one with the exception of a keyboard player who grew up in church and has a bass heavy left hand. And then of course there is the kick drum. To date I have not had a problem and the sonic maximer I use adds sparkle, and sizzle to the top as well a nice tight and still somewhat warm bottom to my mix. In a nutshell, in works for me in Funk, R&B, and Smooth Jazz. IMO bass players in rock groups have it harder in terms of dealing with stage sound, house sound, and the final mix. Much more mid-range is needed to cut through.
 
#11
The SM actually has two crossover points with subtle delays added to the mids and lows. BBE actually sent me the freq points and delay times but darned if I can find them. This is why you never want to stick them in an aux send / return or any configuration which blends the SM processed signal back into the main mix. It creates some very freaky cancellations...this I've heard firsthand.

Riis
 
#12
Bassamatic said:
The Sonic Maximizer is basically a high frequency expander. The more highs you have, the more it boosts them. Kinda like the highest band of the old 3BX expaqnder. Because there is so much high boost, it also has a fixed bass boost to help the sound stay somewhat balanced. It can create up to 26 dB of boost, so you must be careful of clipping.

If you like the sound of extensive high boost - go for it.
Click to expand...

Based on BBE's own published specs, the Sonic Maximizer is a 2 band, boost-only shelving eq with a fixed (not adjustable) delay on the highs.

If you turn up the "lo contour", you're just boosting the bass shelf. The "high process", simply boosting the high band shelf!
 

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