Sonic Maximizer question

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proclaim

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What does the Sonic Maximizer do for the sound and which model is the best?

Thanks
 
It changes the phase relationship between the highs and the lows. It's good for resurecting an old cassette that turned muddy sounding. It's also useful in live PA applications. I've used it to pull badly recorded tracks out of the toilet. (Every once in a while, someone comes in with something that was recorded on a cassette 4-track, and they want me to mix it)

If you have any control over the source, you should fix the sound there, not with this.
 
Seems like we talked about this recently...

Edit: lemme see if i can find it...
 
Ecxiter

I use old Aphex Aural Exciter 103A on electric guitar and PA. I would not reccomend using it on a final mix though. It does nice job with amp modeller ( POD, Guitar Rig etc.) sounds. I could not achieve same results with mere EQ but that's me. I like aggressive sharp old school heavy metal sound I can get with it.
 
i would never use one in a p.a. system. it plays too much havoc on the low end. i like it when recording heavy guitars through an amp and thats about it.
 
That's funny. I use a BBE Maxcom that has a maximizer circuit - all the time - in my live rig. The unit works well as an optical compressor / limiter at the end of the vocal chain - on the mains right before the amps. It has saved my butt more than once. The maximizer is a bonus as it can lay a bit of sparkle over the whole mix. But it's like building a salad dressing. A little variety is good; too much gives you instant garbage.
 
It should be a "last resort" item......but if you really NEED it, then its nice to have one to plug in while you figure out why you need it in the first place!
 
As Farview indicates the BBE (an I suspect any other maximizer) units alter the phase to effect the timing of when you "hear" highs vs. lows which in turn can impact the percieved level of lows & highs. It is more smoke and mirrors than substance and does not replace proper recording techniques, etc.

I have a BBE that I bought several years ago, thinking I could use it in my recording chain during stereo mix down to "make my mixes sound better". I quickly learned what so many have said about maximizers - they should not be in the "control room recording chain.

They can have some value when used to dub cassettes etc. in which case I find I roll off the lows and enhance the highs more often than not.

However, I have found they can be very useful in the instument signal chain. I worked with a guitar player who had really great tone - he claimed that the BBE was his secret weapon.

I dug my BBE out of the "old gear closet" and put the BBE in my guitar chain and I started to find that I could achieve a more defined tone - in particular when going for the crunch humbucker type sounds - I could get the low end crunch and still have more clarity and definition. It also helps if I need to add a little "meat" to the thin Tele single coil sounds.

I also use the BBE often in a keyboard chain with certain thike pad sounds to add clarity to single stacatto note lines.

Whatever the use the key (much like with any processing) is to use as little as possible.
 
fmr rnla?

seems to fit my needs. looking for a unit that does vocals and bass well. any users? thumbs up or down. OH! and who has the best price while im at it.
 
Thanks for the help, I think.

I guess it all comes down to who you talk to or what you expect it to do. I had seen it being used at a concert and the group had a really super sound.

I just thought the experts on this board would know how it works and what it does for a group.

So, now I know lots of opinions, but no definitive answers. First of all, I am not an expert or I wouldn't have even asked the question. However, after summing up all the answers, they look like this:

1. Seems to fit my need...
2. It is all smoke and mirrors...
3. It is a last resort...
4. It saved my butt more than once...
5. I would never use one in a P.A. system...
6. I use old Aphex Aural Exciter 103A on electric guitar and PA???
7. It ***** it up.
8. It pulls badly recorded tracks out of the toilet....

Final summary: If you can afford it, buy one and see what it can do for you. However, it's evil and can't be trusted! Ha! Ha!

It never hurts to add a little humor!
 
BBE's are most often used by people who are new to audio. People who are dazzled when things are 'brighter' or louder. Alos by people who are constantly looking for that illusive and undefined 'better.

The more experience people get, the less they use these things (in the studio). They do what they do, if you need that, great, if you don't, it will make it bright enough to peel the paint off of anything.
 
"Final summary: If you can afford it, buy one and see what it can do for you. However, it's evil and can't be trusted! Ha! Ha!"

Proclaim - I think you have a complete understanding!!!

I believe the question or what they do (alter phase) has been addressed. What that does for a live application or a recording - as you indicate it depends on what you want it to do. You can get what sounds like sub bass or get so much high end your ears will bleed (neither application is ideal). Or you can use it to efffect subtle amounts of highs to add some clarity or brightness to an audio source (the most common application). Again it is really a perception based on the time delay of when the sounds hits you.

Most people bash maximizers mainly as a device in the recording chain - vs. a live sound application. As Farview indicates often people buy a maximizer hoping it is a magic cure and eventually learn that engineering skills can be more effective.

gemsbok in my opinion a maximizer is not a solution for vocals or bass (although is a bass rack it may be a tool to add definition to a bass part in the instrument chain vs. the recording chain).

I have not priced them in a long while but a new maximizer must be under $200 and used can't be much more than $50.
 
proclaim said:
I had seen it being used at a concert and the group had a really super sound.
Click to expand...

My guess is that they had good instruments, had a good FOH engineer, and that he had MUCH more to do with the great sound than the maximizer did.

Also, (don't know if this is true or not, but I wouldn't put it past them.) I heard that when you "bypass" some of these maximizers, they are actually running through a dulling circuit, so that the processed sound is even more brilliant.
 
proclaim said:
I guess it all comes down to who you talk to or what you expect it to do.
Click to expand...
Precisely!

Contrary to commentary here, there are a few well known (experienced) guitar players who use the BBE as part of their live rigs. Whether or not they may in fact be compensated endorsers of the product is irrelevant. The fact remains that the BBE is just another tool that can be used to shape the tone of what the player thinks of as a less than perfect sounding guitar amp.

I use the BBE 482 and a dual channel Behringer :eek: compressor/limiter in a rig for one particular guitar amp that I have. Does that mean that I'm an idiot or "new to audio"? No, it doesn't. All it means is that I eventually found a purposeful use for two pieces of gear that I perhaps bought on impulse as a result of GAS.

I use an additional BBE 482 as part of my half assed home theater TV system too! :eek: You're thinking.....holy crap....he has two BBE 482s! Actually it's 3. I use the 3rd unit as part of the signal chain in a secondary stereo system with less than great speakers. I could buy new/better speakers, right and pull the BBE from service? Maybe one day I will. Until then..... I'll use it.

If you think (or know) that you could use it to use as a bandage...go for it. It works out to your advantage, fine. If it doesn't, that's fine also. You can always unload it on Ebay.

I suspect that there just might be a few closet BBE users hereabout. ;)
 
I have never tried using mine in a mixing application, but I use one in my guitar rig, and I find it is a nice feature to have for playing live, it allows me to quickly adjust my guitar tones to compensate for different guitars and/or room acoustics without having to tweak all you main eq. settings.
 
I think they're great tools for people who are treble deaf.

.
 
chessrock said:
I think they're great tools for people who are treble deaf.

.
Click to expand...
They're also a great tool to use on a stereo system that resides in perhaps a less than acoustically perfect room. Could you go so far as to perhaps agree with that?
 
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