BBE Sonic Maximizer

[Kid Metric]

Any experience with one of these? I've read good things, but only The Forum knows the truth!

[guitarzan]

I used to leave it on when I was using a conventional pedalboard (now I use the M13 for everything and use other effects to emulate the same effect). I always felt like the BBE made the highs more sparkly and the lows more "feel-able". It was like converting your guitar tone to HD. :)

I'd be careful, though, because it's possible to have too much of a good thing. I had my "sparkle" settings up a little too high from time to time and brighter guitars would come off sounding piercing.

[Suriel Zayas]

I had my "sparkle" settings up a little too high from time to time and brighter guitars would come off sounding piercing.

however, they probably cut through the mix better considering who your neighbors on stage are (bass, keys -heavy left hand, drums, perc) who reside in that low frequency range. most foh engineers i work with prefer a brighter guitar sound.

i had the same results as corey with the bbe. many bass players were using it as part of their rig to kindda neutralize their sometimes muddy rigs.

[SonicGator]

Makes a nice addition to your setup. Generally, the idea behind these it that the different frequencies of sound travel at different speeds through your signal path...the BBE syncs those frequencies up and gives the audible impression of a fuller, cleaner sound.

[guitarzan]

Is everyone talking about the stompbox version for these guitar rigs? Is there a tremendous difference in the rack version?

[Pietro]

I prefer the admittedly low-fi enhancer built in to my old Rocktron Surf Trem (for sale at The Gear Page, btw, for the right person and the right price). But I never used it on my Andersons, as they have a great "sparkle" built-in and don't need a pedal to "fix" their tone, imho...

I found there was an "enhance" fatigue on my old BBE that is not quite as bad as the old Aphex stuff, but still not a great thing.

My "Cut" knob on my Dr. Z Maz 38 gives me much better sparkle.

In short... I dislike them...