BBE 362 Sonic Maximizer.

C

cubanorocker316

New member
Opinions ?

I play in a melodic/hardcore metal band, and will be running this through a 50-watt crate vintage tube amp. Any idea on how this is gonna sound ?

any advice/opinions will be greatly appreciated.

thanks, Lou
 
The only thing more harsh sounding than a 'vintage' Crate amp would be a 'vintage' crate amp with a BBE.

The BBE is designed to fix a specific problem, you should make sure you are having that problem before pluggin the BBE in.
 
Farview said:
The only thing more harsh sounding than a 'vintage' Crate amp would be a 'vintage' crate amp with a BBE.

The BBE is designed to fix a specific problem, you should make sure you are having that problem before pluggin the BBE in.
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I dont quite understand what you're trying to say ?

please reply.

thanks again, Lou
 
The BBE was originally designed to add clarity to the high end of muffled sounding analog equipment. If the amp isn't muffled sounding (and I have never heard a Crate amp that had that problem), you don't need it.
 
well.

well thats the thing, i like the wa it sounds when i turn the mid all the way down, and although it sounds good like that when i play a power chord, when i play single notes it sounds really muffled, and also im not able to turn the gain all the way up, which is what i like because it gives too much feedback whne i turn it up loud enough to play with my band, get me ?

- Lou
 
i honestly hate sonic maximizers.
i think they don't do anything that you can't do without an eq.

they are like, i dont know, comparable to salt and pepper; when you kill a piece of meat on the barbeque, you just put alot of salt and pepper to cover up for it, and then it doesnt make it better anyway.
 
TragikRemix said:
i honestly hate sonic maximizers.
i think they don't do anything that you can't do without an eq.

they are like, i dont know, comparable to salt and pepper; when you kill a piece of meat on the barbeque, you just put alot of salt and pepper to cover up for it, and then it doesnt make it better anyway.
Click to expand...

ditto :D :eek:
 
The only thing more harsh sounding than a 'vintage' Crate amp would be a 'vintage' crate amp with a BBE.
Click to expand...

eh...i knew a guy who had a 70's crate 2x12 tube combo that sounded pretty fucking sweet

other than that and a blue voodoo, everything i've seen/heard/played of theirs was shit
 
You like the way it sounds with the mids turned down because you like a "smiley face" EQ on your stereo and it makes the guitar sound like a guitar coming out of your stereo.

Put your ear next to the speaker (like a mic would be) and you'll see (hear) why it sucks.
 
kinda dig-it-al. puts a bump on the bottom and shimmer on the top...turn it up too much and it sounds well...like crap. I'd sooner look into a nice parametric EQ. A bit more flexible once you get over the smiley face EQ curve.
 
I'm surprised nobody has actually explained what BBE even does.
It's circuitry is designed to prevent (or compensate for) the different audio frequencies from becoming misaligned during amplification. High frequencies are delayed, while lows are not...causing some gear to lose clarity.

I use a BBE unit to get much more clarity and detail out of one of my guitar preamps.
 
It's an aural expander,...In short, there's no straight answer. It's an all-in-one wonder. The problem is that there's very little tweakability in it. It's an EQ a comb filter it's a stereo widening effect, it's a quick fix for the high-gain amp. A little bit goes a long ways as is the case with most effects.

As far as delays in frequency..not...perception maybe but not. Audio is a composite signal when it enters the amp, the amp is what it is,...an amp...it makes things louder and during the process imparts characteristics which sometimes is pleasing and other times, not so much. Your amp doesn't delay one band of freqs more than any other. All the audio you pump in comes out at the same time. In our quest for distortion, we get it. Things muddy up. The amps (different amps do it differently), I prefer the sound of single ended amp for their imparting of even harmonics and how they sound so very sweet. The modern high gain push-pull amps...not as much and even less so with the transistor types. Yup...ask for distortion and over-drive and they do deliver. This processing of sound tends to "blurr" and we loose definition. So how do we get it back? A box?...maybe, sometimes.

So, where do I get off raggin' on this little box? Well, I don't rag on it, remember what I said, a little bit goes a long ways BUT, if you'r amp sounds like crap to begin with, that's the place to start. For what it's worth, I have one (picture upon request), I have the 482i. It helps out the trashy recto-monster but sounds like complete crap on the Uni-Valve. But to be honest, the recto-monster didn't sound so hot all by it's self in the first place. It's the one with all the pedals and effect. The Uni stands on it's own.

So call the Sonic Maximizer what it is...a band aide.

But hey, if it works for you, then it works. It works for me :)
 
many people hate the sonic maximizer but i bought one and it makes the guitar and vocals suond amazing . there so much more open loud and bright. dont maximize everything. i just use it strictly on 1 guitar and vocals. amazing piece of equipment. def. buy
 
I bought a 362 many years ago thinking it would be a mixing tool to make my mixes more "defined". I quickly learned that was not the solution for my mixes or the right use for the 362.

It became something I rarely used (other than when dubbing cassette tapes to "brighten" them up a little). Then a few years ago I filled in with a band (as the drummer - my main axe) who's guitar player had a great sound. He swore by his BBE 362 in his guitar rack.

I started to experiment and found the BBE could be very useful in a guitar signal chain, in particular to add some clarity to distorted guitar sounds (when you want a heavy crunch, but you still want articulation of single notes). Which may be what cubanrocker is looking for.

I also found the 362 useful in a keyboard rig to add articulation to lower frequency synth sounds.

While many people bash the BBE - like any tool, you simply need to use it for the right application.
 
cubanorocker316 said:
Opinions ?

I play in a melodic/hardcore metal band, and will be running this through a 50-watt crate vintage tube amp. Any idea on how this is gonna sound ?
...i like the wa it sounds when i turn the mid all the way down, and although it sounds good like that when i play a power chord, when i play single notes it sounds really muffled, and also im not able to turn the gain all the way up, which is what i like because it gives too much feedback whne i turn it up loud enough to play with my band, get me ?
Click to expand...

Hey whoa back up a bit there partner. If you're playing hardcore/metal, you're gonna want something other than a shitty crate man. Crate (in general) is pretty low-end. When it comes to metal, you've chosen a genre that requires a good amp. I'm not saying you have to spend $2,000+ on a head (although it helps), but you're not gonna get REAL tone from a CHEAP amp.

As for the "scooping the mids" thing, trust me: you'll get over that. You're not gonna be getting "bone-crunching, screaming, huge man-tone" without mids. You're gonna get "crappy trebley woofy shit tone" (a technical term) that kills all balls. Basically, you're castrating your tone. A Sonic Maximizer is basically a pretty box that makes your highs and lows more defined. If you were to add one to your rig as it stands, you'd be stupid. Period.

Now, as for what to do? Sell that fucking crate and buy a real amp. The cheapest real amp would be a 5150 (around $500 used). Get a decent 4x12 cab too (marshalls are good, mesas or framuses are better in my book. There's a hell of a lot of amazing cabs out there: crates and ampegs aren't them.).

If you're shit-poor and can't afford a damn thing, but want to get as close as you can get to real tone from the amp you have, here's what you do. Turn your gain to about 60-75%, your volume to 25-50%, your presence to middle, and your bass/mid/treble to 0. Start with the bass: roll it up while playing chugs until you get some nice bass, but before your cab starts to "woof". Then, go to the mids. Roll them up until it starts to sound nasaly, then back it down a SMALL notch. Your mids shouldn't ever go below 30-40%. Then add treble to taste. Once you have a mean, grinding, kill-everything tone going on (or as close as you can get with a crate), you'll start to notice hair growing on your balls and chest. You'll start to crave medium-rare steak and huge chunks of potatoes.

Put that McDonalds shit tone where it belongs: in the toilet. Then talk to me about "enhancing" your tone with a Sonic Maximizer.
 
BBE's have their uses. People that bash them, don't know how to use them. You CAN NOT do the same with EQ.

and, um....5150's are crap. Get yourself a Rectifier (dont' add a BBE to this), or better yet...a Boogie Mk IV (with a BBE). I"ve always favored the Boogie Studio Stereo Preamp (with BBE). Mettalica used this back when they were real metal, and Kurt Cobain used 'em. Can be found on e-bay for under $400.
 
Toker41 said:
BBE's have their uses. People that bash them, don't know how to use them.
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To clarify, I wasn't bashing 'em. I was saying that if you're playing through a non-good amp (crate) it's gonna make matters worse! :p

and, um....5150's are crap...[/QUOTE]
Wrong. 5150's are some of the best you can get almost anywhere for $500 flat. No, they don't hold a candle to *real* amps, but the tone you can get from a 5150 is a shit-ton better than some crappy crate half stack. You can't deny that man.

That said, my band uses MesaBoogie's and Framus', so it's not like I *love* the 5150's :D
 
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