I'll try to explain what it does as simple as possible... As musicians it should be understood that when we play a note on an instrument we hear not only the fundamental tone but also overtones of the same note. When you squish all that information together and push it through a speaker or cable to be duplicated and amplified, you lose many of those overtones that produce clarity and definition. When you record that sound, even at CD quality, it will still lack those overtones. A sonic maximizer will analyze the sound being processed and will artificially recreate overtones to reproduce sonic qualities lost in the recording stages. It was definitely more useful during cassette recording days but still makes a nice difference when added to almost any setup. BTW, great channel! Keep up the good work 💪
OK so my unit said in the manual ( my unit talks! ) that it separated the tone into THREE Bands Low, Middle and High The Bands are separated and go into a Delay. The Lows got no delay so you hear the Fat Lows First. The Mids hit a 0.5 Millisecond delay so that frequency is separate and clearer. And the Highs get delayed by 2.5 milliseconds. Again the Bass is pure source time, not delayed. The controls are subtle Gain structure tone boosters. The two boost controls you used are for Mid and High boosting, no real process bar the sound of the unit...and Volume. In essence I see it as similar to a Speaker Crossover into Woofer, Mid Cone and Tweeter. Only the crossover hits two delays on the way to the Mid cone and tweeter. And the 3 bands are way under the 30 Millisecond "Human Perception" Rule, around the speed of an FET compressor! It reminded my of Abletons' 3 Band Compressor, as I've gone digital but now I'm Hybrid like yourself..as soon as I service my Tascam 688's heads and capstan. But someone, in the DAW could make an approximation, but you'd lose the preamp sound and the inherent vibe machines add. I used to run my around 12 o'clock just like you Mr Cassette. I've got it out now from storage!! Lastly as it separates bands it is harder to tell on one instrument, especially bass as it's not delayed it's the main start tone in the Signal Path. Excellent on the Bus and for checking drums and making it fatter with way less Eq'ing as each Band hits the ears at a DIFFERENT but slightly Imperceptible delay. I've had a long day got a new desk for my studio! to sit the 688 next to my Audient Sound Card and My Push2. Take care, excuse typos long day.
@@MadeOnTape You're welcome, it was great watching it. I think like you said there is something more than those frequencies getting boosted... so now you got my manual info on the Delay times for the low mid and 5K band...you just Hear them later so they are clearer. It is fascinating.
That's interesting because I found this explanation in an old Sound On Sound review of the 262 from 1997, which seems to say the exact opposite to what your manual says, with regard to the timing of the bands: "signal processing splits the audio signal into three bands: 20Hz‑150Hz, 150Hz‑1200Hz, and 1200Hz‑20kHz. The lowest band is delayed by about 2.5ms through the action of a passive low‑pass filter. The middle band is delayed by about 0.5ms through an active band‑pass filter (thereby causing high fundamentals or low harmonics to exit the unit before the lowest fundamentals). The highest band is not delayed at all; it's processed by a voltage‑controlled amplifier whose gain is determined by the average loudness of both the middle and high bands, so that the high‑frequency harmonic content can be 'optimised'. In the case of the 262, all this signal processing is performed within a single dual‑channel integrated circuit." I know that there are approximately one zillion different iterations of the Sonic Maximizer, but the sound hasn't really changed (and they all seem to be based on the old dbx 3bx), so maybe that reviewer got confused about the bands. In any case, it's interesting to note the frequency cutoffs, and the dynamic element to the processing of the high band.
It's a growing thing! old cheap analogue gear is gonna go off. Greg Scott at Kush encouraged me to use my 688 Tascam as a giant preamp into my Daw. Get the sounds of the preamps, transformers the tape saturation. I'm just waiting to service my 688
I'm already a convert, but I guessed B. What I must say is that it was harder to hear because your original mix was already excellent. But once I picked it out I couldn't un-hear it! Obviously this wasn't a very scientific test, but you did a really great job proving this works in the right circumstances. Bought for $60 (ish) bucks 2nd hand, even a cheap studio setup can benefit from a BBE.
The trick with these is to never use them in parallel. Individual inserts or on the master is fine but the phase shift will cause comb filtering in parallel. So long as you keep that limitation in mind they’re a useful studio tool when not overdone.
Twenty nine years ago I walked into a music store in LaPorte, Indiana (Roxy Music and yes, it's actual name) and there was a side by side demonstration going on between the BBE Sonic Maximizer and a Behringer Ultrafex processor. The guy demoing was using a high end sound reproduction system and everything could be heard clearly EVERYWHERE in the store. I had went there to purchase a synth module but the sound permeation my brain drew me over to the sales guy and after about an hour of critical listening, I went with the Behringer unit as it sounded so much less artificial and full. It was my personal opinion and I used in on many tape recordings then but it still works fine now in the digital age on my computer recording all these years later.
I had the 422A nearly 30 years ago. I remember it making all my mixes sound great. Recently, I went back and revisited those mixes. Guess what? They STILL sound great. I miss that unit. I don't know whether it would make sense now since I do everything in the box, but dang whatever witchcraft was happening was amazing.
In your final mixes I really like the slightly duller kick on the version without the sonic maximizer - though I can imagine other tracks where the more present drum sound would be better. Another great video - Well done good sir.
I dont understand it but it for sure makes my stereo gear .....yes my stereo gear , im not a Musician, but do have high end stetro gear , sound far better then any other single Piece of gear at any price i have ever Encountered and could never even consider having a system without one, Now that I've had one.
I have the guitar pedal version of the maximizer. The best use case I've found so far is pairing it with a late 60s telestar guitar. The guitar only has one single coil pickup positioned right in between where a neck pickup and a middle pickup would be on a strat. Having the maximizer be the first thing the signal hits gives me a tone closer to a bridge pickup. I also use it on old grooveboxes.
Travis, you've left a comment at some point on just about every video that I've watched today! I guess that's just how it goes when you're into this stuff. All i think about is tape and tape recording everyday all day. Love both of your channels. Great stuff 👍🏼
I have it, a rack version, I'm a sinner and there's barely room for humans in my house :) I like it and agree, it is clearly a case where less is more.
Hahaha, You got the name right first time. We are still in lockdown in Melbourne, hopefully I can get my 688 serviced this week! And yes, I have the BBE 422A. I can let you know the basic version of what it does. I just wanna watch your video it first. I'm putting mine at the end of my Audient Card into my Monitors... tonight!! I'll be back later as the comments and opinions grow.
my problem with these type of audio things is that they are so subtle nobody except an experienced audiohead can tell the difference, and only when they expect there to be a difference, and only when listening at a loud enough volume on good enough headphones(let's face it, 99% of music is listened on really mediocre headphones), and only when the stars align. So is it really worth it in the end? For me, not really, but maybe I am wrong
you're not wrong at all! I've said it once, I'll say it again: art is subjective and you should never feel pressured to use something if it doesn't inspire you. For me as a bassist, I am not a fan of "modern" sounding instruments like Fodera or brige-pickup-heavy tones. I do like OTHER people when they use it, but it's just not my cup of tea! and I would say... the "99% of music is listened on mediocre headphones" is a dangerous rabbit hole to go down. Instead, just make music that YOU enjoy listening to, because with 7 billion people on earth, there's bound to be others who enjoy it! I always appreciate your comments! 🙏🤘
It's okay, there's no right or wrong answer here. However, as you delve into mixing you start to notice the differences. Sound is an air pressure wave. Technically, we only 'hear' part of the wave, but we can 'feel' other parts. That's where the BBE sits. Whether that 'feeling' is good or bad is a personal preference.
@@woosix7735 I agree. I'd even argue that there's a bit of a ritual about handling a cassette or a vinyl LP. With digital downloads, that went away. This is why vinyl sales are way up very year - and new vinyl records ain't cheap! It's like making a close connection to the artist, you get to enjoy it on a whole other level.
Yeah, it can be considered a glorified EQ. Yeah, it doesn't always improve the sound. And yeah, too much of it will sound lousy. But man, sometimes, it just hits the spot to provide clarity and separation. And on a bass rig it adds nice tight punch.
Nice, the BBE is definitely noticeable going from the 4-track right into Logic, but I listened to the reel to reel comparisons several times with different headphones and had a really hard time telling them apart. Probably wise to use it subtly though, I guess the snare sounded a tiny bit different...? You should definitely share this in the portastudio FB group, I feel like sonic maximizers have been a hot topic recently
yeah I definitely went subtle with the reels...probably because it's an old mix i'm familiar with...so I can hear minute changes that seem obvious, like the snare high end. Hopefully the rest of the video made the BBE clear!
Definitely, I'll have to dust off my BBE today.... Your videos always motivate me to play more music, I've been writing/recording some stuff lately but so far nothing has fully materialized into a "real song," I always enjoy the process though
Matt, you're spot on. You got it 100%. The track was purposely chosen because it was already mixed very well and very flat. You were supposed to have a tough time hearing the difference. If you started to get confused it means the mix was pretty optimal. The low end wasn't much different, but adding presence with the BBE to the top end opened it up and made the mix jump out a little.
@@FantasticF113 yeah, since I wrote this comment I've used my BBE on a 4-track recording and it made the mix sound very noticeably better, which made me realize that my first mix was just 💩 to begin with lol, at least the BBE makes it sound less 💩
I like this thing. Even if it seems like a gimmick to some, and a few people even seem to hate it, I love the idea and how simple it is to use. Could easily give some low end boost to a kick for example, or add some sparkle to a drum kit. Although if I had to pick between this and an analog EQ I'd pick the EQ, those typically cost a LOT more though!! Definitely gotta be careful with it because of course it can sound tinny and artificial with too much. That's true of a lot of gear, tho.
Hey! Love the channel but could I ask? Your melody on your opening music is it inspired by the film Running man? I watched it recently and when fireball took to the stage, his song and melody was a fragmented version of yours. Hope it was a little easter egg. Great channel and great film
It's a MUST HAVE tool to sweeten any average sound. Use sparingly because you can overdo it. Give your ears a rest during long sessions. Listen through different size and quality speakers if possible. Another awesome tool is the SPL Vitalizer, which is available now as a plug-in. I have both the plug-in and the rack hardware versions! The Secret Sauce used throughout the recording industry!!!
Very, very cool video and channel in general, it's really engaging. Apologies if this has asked before, but have you used the deq2496 before? It has so many incredible functions and would probably pair very well with this.
@@MadeOnTape Correct, that's the one! It has EQ and a bunch of other functionality too, look for the PDF manual out there and check out how much it can do. I think most people use it for the automatic room correction EQ. Third party user created software even enables crazy stuff like controlling the device UI over MIDI. Doesn't have very good quality DAC inside but when kept in digital only domain with e.g. toslink, it sounds great. The primary thing I use it for is the stereo widening effect which is similar to the BBE in that it subtly enhances the perceived details/complexity of the music.
i use bbe on my power amp for sub purpose the difference is big. less temperature produces by the amplifier. preamp is big lots of headroom less distortion.
i was worried I didn't make it obvious enough, but it's really the main reason I got it! just a little high end sweetener... although I DID love what it did to the drum machine, so I might track drum machine with it down the road. Thanks for watching 🙏
Makes my helix sound amazing but people keep warning me that it will sound good at first and then it will give the audience listening fatigue ?? It sounds so much better idk how?
I'm looking to use a Sonic stomp (mono) with my Helix. I really don't need a brighter sound, but I have good experience with BBE's, only downside it can tame the mids a little on lead sounds... FWIW
that’s right! i think it’s mono, not stereo, which is why i went for the desktop version. let me know if you get it and like it! guitarists are super torn on it 😂
The relentless door-stopper and boat anchor jokes in gear forums make me want one more. No thanks, Dave Gearman, I don't want to sound like SRV or get "tight pants chicks" to dance.
BBE phase-fucker….IN PARALLEL!!! I had to let mine go for want of rack real estate. Maybe I should have kept it in the closet for experimentation? You get good results! Keep up the great work!
ah yes! some other folks commented that, and to anyone reading, i definitely wouldn’t recommend using it in Parallel. i’m sure you put something nicer/better in its place! good news is if you really want one, they are inexpensive. thanks again for watching Hunter! 🤘
I don't understand how this thing works but it has hugely improved my stereo system.
Always leave the BBE ON!!!! I love the instrument separation it enhances
it’s pretty coooool
I'll try to explain what it does as simple as possible...
As musicians it should be understood that when we play a note on an instrument we hear not only the fundamental tone but also overtones of the same note. When you squish all that information together and push it through a speaker or cable to be duplicated and amplified, you lose many of those overtones that produce clarity and definition. When you record that sound, even at CD quality, it will still lack those overtones. A sonic maximizer will analyze the sound being processed and will artificially recreate overtones to reproduce sonic qualities lost in the recording stages. It was definitely more useful during cassette recording days but still makes a nice difference when added to almost any setup.
BTW, great channel! Keep up the good work 💪
excellent explanation: thank you so much! and thanks for the kind words 🙏
😂🎉❤
OK so my unit said in the manual ( my unit talks! ) that it separated the tone into THREE Bands Low, Middle and High
The Bands are separated and go into a Delay.
The Lows got no delay so you hear the Fat Lows First.
The Mids hit a 0.5 Millisecond delay so that frequency is separate and clearer.
And the Highs get delayed by 2.5 milliseconds.
Again the Bass is pure source time, not delayed.
The controls are subtle Gain structure tone boosters.
The two boost controls you used are for Mid and High boosting, no real process bar the sound of the unit...and Volume.
In essence I see it as similar to a Speaker Crossover into Woofer, Mid Cone and Tweeter. Only the crossover hits two delays on the way to the Mid cone and tweeter.
And the 3 bands are way under the 30 Millisecond "Human Perception" Rule, around the speed of an FET compressor!
It reminded my of Abletons' 3 Band Compressor, as I've gone digital but now I'm Hybrid like yourself..as soon as I service my Tascam 688's heads and capstan.
But someone, in the DAW could make an approximation, but you'd lose the preamp sound and the inherent vibe machines add.
I used to run my around 12 o'clock just like you Mr Cassette.
I've got it out now from storage!!
Lastly as it separates bands it is harder to tell on one instrument, especially bass as it's not delayed it's the main start tone in the Signal Path.
Excellent on the Bus and for checking drums and making it fatter with way less Eq'ing as each Band hits the ears at a DIFFERENT but slightly Imperceptible delay.
I've had a long day got a new desk for my studio! to sit the 688 next to my Audient Sound Card and My Push2.
Take care, excuse typos long day.
your manual is better than mine! thanks for sharing this is all fascinating
@@MadeOnTape You're welcome, it was great watching it. I think like you said there is something more than those frequencies getting boosted... so now you got my manual info on the Delay times for the low mid and 5K band...you just Hear them later so they are clearer. It is fascinating.
so the BBE SM reverses the time order of playback between low, mid and high.
That's interesting because I found this explanation in an old Sound On Sound review of the 262 from 1997, which seems to say the exact opposite to what your manual says, with regard to the timing of the bands:
"signal processing splits the audio signal into three bands: 20Hz‑150Hz, 150Hz‑1200Hz, and 1200Hz‑20kHz. The lowest band is delayed by about 2.5ms through the action of a passive low‑pass filter. The middle band is delayed by about 0.5ms through an active band‑pass filter (thereby causing high fundamentals or low harmonics to exit the unit before the lowest fundamentals). The highest band is not delayed at all; it's processed by a voltage‑controlled amplifier whose gain is determined by the average loudness of both the middle and high bands, so that the high‑frequency harmonic content can be 'optimised'. In the case of the 262, all this signal processing is performed within a single dual‑channel integrated circuit."
I know that there are approximately one zillion different iterations of the Sonic Maximizer, but the sound hasn't really changed (and they all seem to be based on the old dbx 3bx), so maybe that reviewer got confused about the bands. In any case, it's interesting to note the frequency cutoffs, and the dynamic element to the processing of the high band.
this channel is gonna be huge in a year
you’re too kind 🙏
It's a growing thing! old cheap analogue gear is gonna go off.
Greg Scott at Kush encouraged me to use my 688 Tascam as a giant preamp into my Daw.
Get the sounds of the preamps, transformers the tape saturation. I'm just waiting to service my 688
He is awesome. Analog gear is already a huge thing, just look at Bad Gear lol.
Easily my favorite channel on UA-cam. Golden nuggets of wisdom and inspiring me to get into analog!
😳🙏🙌🤘thank you and hopefully i can help!
the MSG of audio engineering
now i know i can make ear doritos
I'm already a convert, but I guessed B. What I must say is that it was harder to hear because your original mix was already excellent. But once I picked it out I couldn't un-hear it! Obviously this wasn't a very scientific test, but you did a really great job proving this works in the right circumstances. Bought for $60 (ish) bucks 2nd hand, even a cheap studio setup can benefit from a BBE.
it definitely was tough because my original mix didn’t use it. will be interesting to try on fresh tunes!
I had BBE on an old Aiwa stereo system!
ooooohhhh i bet that bass was BUMPIN
BBE is awesome
i just used it on a rhythm section bounce yesterday 🙌🏻
The trick with these is to never use them in parallel. Individual inserts or on the master is fine but the phase shift will cause comb filtering in parallel. So long as you keep that limitation in mind they’re a useful studio tool when not overdone.
that’s one of the best pieces of advice i’ve seen on a youtube comment! i’m not kidding! thank you for watching 🙏
Made on Tape glad I could help!
Really?
Twenty nine years ago I walked into a music store in LaPorte, Indiana (Roxy Music and yes, it's actual name) and there was a side by side demonstration going on between the BBE Sonic Maximizer and a Behringer Ultrafex processor. The guy demoing was using a high end sound reproduction system and everything could be heard clearly EVERYWHERE in the store. I had went there to purchase a synth module but the sound permeation my brain drew me over to the sales guy and after about an hour of critical listening, I went with the Behringer unit as it sounded so much less artificial and full. It was my personal opinion and I used in on many tape recordings then but it still works fine now in the digital age on my computer recording all these years later.
very cool thanks for sharing!
I had the 422A nearly 30 years ago. I remember it making all my mixes sound great. Recently, I went back and revisited those mixes. Guess what? They STILL sound great. I miss that unit. I don't know whether it would make sense now since I do everything in the box, but dang whatever witchcraft was happening was amazing.
In your final mixes I really like the slightly duller kick on the version without the sonic maximizer - though I can imagine other tracks where the more present drum sound would be better. Another great video - Well done good sir.
thanks for that! yes, it’s hard to go back to something that’s already released and reimagine it. Definitely a fun tool! thanks for listening 🤘🙏
Always engage the BBE, ALWAYS
it’s a magic box
A great BBE my band (Psycho Echo) . Your video helped other people to explain friends. I have using for BBE its great. Thanks again.
appreciate that! it’s a cool tool 😎
I dont understand it but it for sure makes my stereo gear .....yes my stereo gear , im not a Musician, but do have high end stetro gear , sound far better then any other single Piece of gear at any price i have ever Encountered and could never even consider having a system without one, Now that I've had one.
I might have to try it out! Do you just keep it at the same settings or turn the knobs for different music?
Your channel brings me smiles everyday. Keep up the great work. Fun Stuff, GREAT STUFF 🍕
thanks again Marc! If anyone reading this needs some EXCELLENT pro mixing advice, I highly recommend typing in Marc's name into UA-cam search!
I have the guitar pedal version of the maximizer. The best use case I've found so far is pairing it with a late 60s telestar guitar. The guitar only has one single coil pickup positioned right in between where a neck pickup and a middle pickup would be on a strat. Having the maximizer be the first thing the signal hits gives me a tone closer to a bridge pickup. I also use it on old grooveboxes.
ooooh that's a great use of the pedal version! When your pickup choice is limited. thanks for sharing!
Have a 1992 Aiwa hifi amplifier with BBE circuitry inside. Amazing sounds to this day, thru a decent set of Polk Audio passive speakers 👍
Coolest thing I discovered today
very kind of you 🙏
this thing is just plain cool
very cool, very affordable 😎
Travis, you've left a comment at some point on just about every video that I've watched today! I guess that's just how it goes when you're into this stuff. All i think about is tape and tape recording everyday all day. Love both of your channels. Great stuff 👍🏼
I have it, a rack version, I'm a sinner and there's barely room for humans in my house :)
I like it and agree, it is clearly a case where less is more.
heck yes!!! 🙏🙌
Hahaha, You got the name right first time. We are still in lockdown in Melbourne, hopefully I can get my 688 serviced this week!
And yes, I have the BBE 422A.
I can let you know the basic version of what it does. I just wanna watch your video it first.
I'm putting mine at the end of my Audient Card into my Monitors... tonight!!
I'll be back later as the comments and opinions grow.
thanks again for the suggestion!
@@MadeOnTape Loved it, you made me put the Cans on!
@@harrisfrankou2368 gotta have the cans for this one 😂
@@MadeOnTape It's day here I'm checking mail and stuff. Cooking and stuff.
I'll be back later tonight Melbourne time. Awesome post.
stuff.Cooking
my problem with these type of audio things is that they are so subtle nobody except an experienced audiohead can tell the difference, and only when they expect there to be a difference, and only when listening at a loud enough volume on good enough headphones(let's face it, 99% of music is listened on really mediocre headphones), and only when the stars align. So is it really worth it in the end?
For me, not really, but maybe I am wrong
you're not wrong at all! I've said it once, I'll say it again: art is subjective and you should never feel pressured to use something if it doesn't inspire you. For me as a bassist, I am not a fan of "modern" sounding instruments like Fodera or brige-pickup-heavy tones.
I do like OTHER people when they use it, but it's just not my cup of tea!
and I would say... the "99% of music is listened on mediocre headphones" is a dangerous rabbit hole to go down. Instead, just make music that YOU enjoy listening to, because with 7 billion people on earth, there's bound to be others who enjoy it!
I always appreciate your comments! 🙏🤘
Fair enough
Actually, I kinda enjoy listening to crappy fidelity music myself, that’s part of the allure of cassettes for me.
It's okay, there's no right or wrong answer here. However, as you delve into mixing you start to notice the differences. Sound is an air pressure wave. Technically, we only 'hear' part of the wave, but we can 'feel' other parts. That's where the BBE sits. Whether that 'feeling' is good or bad is a personal preference.
@@woosix7735 I agree. I'd even argue that there's a bit of a ritual about handling a cassette or a vinyl LP. With digital downloads, that went away. This is why vinyl sales are way up very year - and new vinyl records ain't cheap! It's like making a close connection to the artist, you get to enjoy it on a whole other level.
holly fuck, that's awesome!
Yeah, it can be considered a glorified EQ. Yeah, it doesn't always improve the sound. And yeah, too much of it will sound lousy. But man, sometimes, it just hits the spot to provide clarity and separation. And on a bass rig it adds nice tight punch.
agreed! thanks for watching!
Nice, the BBE is definitely noticeable going from the 4-track right into Logic, but I listened to the reel to reel comparisons several times with different headphones and had a really hard time telling them apart. Probably wise to use it subtly though, I guess the snare sounded a tiny bit different...? You should definitely share this in the portastudio FB group, I feel like sonic maximizers have been a hot topic recently
yeah I definitely went subtle with the reels...probably because it's an old mix i'm familiar with...so I can hear minute changes that seem obvious, like the snare high end. Hopefully the rest of the video made the BBE clear!
Definitely, I'll have to dust off my BBE today.... Your videos always motivate me to play more music, I've been writing/recording some stuff lately but so far nothing has fully materialized into a "real song," I always enjoy the process though
Matt, you're spot on. You got it 100%. The track was purposely chosen because it was already mixed very well and very flat. You were supposed to have a tough time hearing the difference. If you started to get confused it means the mix was pretty optimal. The low end wasn't much different, but adding presence with the BBE to the top end opened it up and made the mix jump out a little.
@@FantasticF113 yeah, since I wrote this comment I've used my BBE on a 4-track recording and it made the mix sound very noticeably better, which made me realize that my first mix was just 💩 to begin with lol, at least the BBE makes it sound less 💩
I like this thing. Even if it seems like a gimmick to some, and a few people even seem to hate it, I love the idea and how simple it is to use. Could easily give some low end boost to a kick for example, or add some sparkle to a drum kit. Although if I had to pick between this and an analog EQ I'd pick the EQ, those typically cost a LOT more though!!
Definitely gotta be careful with it because of course it can sound tinny and artificial with too much. That's true of a lot of gear, tho.
I dig it too, and for the money I think a little can go a long way. thanks for sharing!
It sound less like a cassette with the thingy turned on
de-cassetter lol
Hey! Love the channel but could I ask? Your melody on your opening music is it inspired by the film Running man? I watched it recently and when fireball took to the stage, his song and melody was a fragmented version of yours. Hope it was a little easter egg. Great channel and great film
Good demo, thanks.
thanks for watching!
@@MadeOnTape I should have said, "it lifts and separates, like a good bra". Maybe better if I hadn't?
Loved this video!! Would be great to see one solely on recording drums with the portastudio
acoustic drums? yes! That's in the pipeline as we slowly reopen in NYC and my drummer friends return! great suggestion!
I use it for mix kick snare and toms and works amazing!
good idea!
It's a MUST HAVE tool to sweeten any average sound. Use sparingly because you can overdo it. Give your ears a rest during long sessions. Listen through different size and quality speakers if possible. Another awesome tool is the SPL Vitalizer, which is available now as a plug-in. I have both the plug-in and the rack hardware versions! The Secret Sauce used throughout the recording industry!!!
great advice! yes, you can absolutely overdo it!
Very, very cool video and channel in general, it's really engaging. Apologies if this has asked before, but have you used the deq2496 before? It has so many incredible functions and would probably pair very well with this.
is that the Behringer EQ? I have not used it! thanks for the kind words
@@MadeOnTape Correct, that's the one! It has EQ and a bunch of other functionality too, look for the PDF manual out there and check out how much it can do. I think most people use it for the automatic room correction EQ. Third party user created software even enables crazy stuff like controlling the device UI over MIDI. Doesn't have very good quality DAC inside but when kept in digital only domain with e.g. toslink, it sounds great. The primary thing I use it for is the stereo widening effect which is similar to the BBE in that it subtly enhances the perceived details/complexity of the music.
i use bbe on my power amp for sub purpose the difference is big. less temperature produces by the amplifier. preamp is big lots of headroom less distortion.
oooh that’s a fantastic use! thanks for sharing 🙏
Your music is so simple, but so good, and this mix sounds beefy. Btw. I guessed it was wat it was in blind test by nicer to my ears hi Freqs. Cheers!
i was worried I didn't make it obvious enough, but it's really the main reason I got it! just a little high end sweetener...
although I DID love what it did to the drum machine, so I might track drum machine with it down the road. Thanks for watching 🙏
I'm gonna guess B for the maximiser. B is especially clean in the way your prior tweaking of it was. Let's resume and find out...
Makes my helix sound amazing but people keep warning me that it will sound good at first and then it will give the audience listening fatigue ?? It sounds so much better idk how?
I'm looking to use a Sonic stomp (mono) with my Helix. I really don't need a brighter sound, but I have good experience with BBE's, only downside it can tame the mids a little on lead sounds... FWIW
What's the difference between a maximazer and an exciter?
the maximizer focuses on the low end, and the exciter focuses on the high end!
I just found out there's a guitar pedal version of this thing
that’s right! i think it’s mono, not stereo, which is why i went for the desktop version. let me know if you get it and like it! guitarists are super torn on it 😂
Are you using normal 1/4" cables in/out of the unit?
this one has RCA inputs and outputs, so i use RCA line cables with RCA-1/4” adapters
Keine Ahnung, is this a limited multiband compressor?
So wirkt das
nobody knows...it's a BBE secret 🤫
I had no idea the BBE Sonic Maximizer was English
that famous beautiful part: Los-Angeles-upon-Avon, Californiashire
The relentless door-stopper and boat anchor jokes in gear forums make me want one more. No thanks, Dave Gearman, I don't want to sound like SRV or get "tight pants chicks" to dance.
this is an A+ comment, thank you for making me laugh 😂🙏
Could we get similar result with the stock Logic Pro plugins ?
you can do a lot with stock plugins! 🙏🤘
BBE phase-fucker….IN PARALLEL!!!
I had to let mine go for want of rack real estate. Maybe I should have kept it in the closet for experimentation? You get good results!
Keep up the great work!
ah yes! some other folks commented that, and to anyone reading, i definitely wouldn’t recommend using it in Parallel.
i’m sure you put something nicer/better in its place! good news is if you really want one, they are inexpensive.
thanks again for watching Hunter! 🤘
I'm not familiar with that Cecil Taylor record.
neither am i as i haven’t spun it yet 😂 it’s a solo record
$60?? Where?
i got this on reverb.com !
Used BBE for years, less is more approach is best.
big time! that thing can get dangerous 😂