The use of Sonic Maximizer ?????

J

jerberson12

mucis procedure
Ok

I tried this sonic maximizer software version and what it does is add brilliance and make low freq a little punchy.

Isnt that you can do all of those by using just EQ and a compressor?

Why buy?
 
The use of Sonic Maximizer ?????
Click to expand...
To hold papers down and doors open.

Seriously though -- It's a little more than a simple EQ -- Usually, you're looking at harmonic content and distortion in certain frequency ranges. They occasionally came in handy with old tape and older bass strings. But they usually add what people recording digitally are trying to avoid.
 
maybe it's just me but i quite like it especially on, as massive said, old bass strings just to add a bit of punch and brightness to them that EQ just doesn't seem to do. i also sometimes chuck it across the master bus, but the big thing with doing that is subtlety. My understanding of it (and that's vague) is it has something to do with delaying a low and high band of frequencies (i think the low is around 50hz and the big is at 5kHz) to achieve phase correction.

Is it an essential bit of gear?; no, not by any stretch of the imagination but, like so many things, in the right situation i've found the sonic maximiser is the perfect tool for the job over EQ and/or phase correction plugins.
 
These things are really popular right now with the Nickelodean/Disney productions. The maximizer is all over these recordings along with autotune. I can't stand either anymore as they are so overused. However, I am stuck as my kids love the music and I am stuck with 1 TV.
 
I'll use it on something too dull that eq can't quite do. I don't think I EVER use the contour knob (low end). It adds a muddy low-mid mess. The process knob (highs), however helps with what I just said above. I try not to go past "1" on it though. I just added it to a guitar solo track yesterday at 0.6, and that was as drastic as I'd normally let it get. Helped it pop a LITTLE more AFTER I already compressed eq'd it to pop and live in it's own space. Keep tucked away like a swiss army knife and not a go-to within reach tool that you use almost everytime like EQ or compression.
 
Mo Facta said:
You can't add what's not there.

Cheers :)
Click to expand...

The Aphex Aural Exciter claims to add something that is not there. (The Exciter is similar to the Sonic Maximizer.)

Quoted from page 8 of the operator manual...

"The AURAL EXCITER is an audio processor that recreates and restores missing harmonics. Harmonics [that] are musi-
cally and dynamically related to the original sound, revealing the fine differences between voices and various instru-
ments. Reproduced sound is audibly different than the original live sound because of the loss in harmonic detail,
often sounding dull and lifeless. The Aural Exciter adds harmonics, restoring natural brightness, clarity, and pres-
ence, effectively improving detail and intelligibility."

I've used it. It works. Though, I think many users over do it. It took me a while to learn to lighten up on it. Like perfume or cologne, just a little goes a long way.
 
I've found more use with the harmonic maximizer plugin by BBE. It sounds to me like a sonic maximizer, but one where you can actually dial in the frequency where you want to add/restore more harmonics, vs the seemingly single-tuned LO and HI knobs on the sonic max. Most of the time I find the the sonic max adds too much harshness to the highs, probably because it's "restoring" harmonics in the +10kHz range for the HI knob, where that might not be where you want to use it on. I've used the lower harmonic knob on the harmonic max to add some beef to certain drums, particularly floor toms where I wanted a little more sustain/body/guts that eq, compression and plate reverbs couldn't fix for me.

Again, all of what I just said above, but don't go past "1" on any of the level knobs!
 
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