Axe Fx Ultra & The BBE Sonic Maximizer 482i

C

chopshop777

Inspired
Do you think it would be necessary or of any benefit to have the BBE Sonic Maximizer 482i in the rack chain ? would it improve the sound quality ? has anyone tried this ? I use a Diezel Herbert and the Axe Ultra, thinking of adding this to it cause I hear so many good things about it. cheers
 
I never thought the BBEs sounded much different than modest use of bass and treble EQ controls (that is to say - it can add something pleasing to the sound, but nothing that isn't already available to you in spades). Same goes for the Aphex Exciter units. I can think of no reason why similar, if not identical, results could not be attained using the Axe.
 
bbe's sound great for recording sometimes, but i've never had it make a guitar rig sound good live. bass rigs yes, but not guitar, mostly due to the complexity of distortion and its harmonics.

that's just me though.
 
I have an 882i and I would never be without one in my rack. It's like taking a blanket off the sound. I keep all the knobs at 1 o'clock and the punch, clarity and presence it adds is just unbelievable. If you A/B it with the bypass, the difference is huge and easy to hear. That's not just through guitar cabs either. It's great for recording as well. The best suggestion I could give you though is to find someone who has one you can borrow for a bit to try in your rig, or find a music store that has one you can try out, and give it a go. Set those knobs all to 1 o'clock and then A/B it with the bypass and see how it sounds to you.
 
javajunkie said:
If you want one, I have one for sale :D
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:lol:

I use the sonic plug-in on all my recordings (except when I'm doing just guitar samples), but when I tried the sonic stomp with my rig, it did nothing for me. Turning it up enough to actually hear an affect on the tone just made it brittle and razor sharp. I returned it before the 45 day period was up. Just my experience - others love it like DLM above. Best advice is try it with the ability to return if it's not for you.
 
I think it has a huge amount to do with your rig too. If you're running a frfr system, you may not notice the results as much as if you're using regular guitar cabs. Personally I think it improves the sound for both, but it's one of those things you should just try out in your rig and see how much it helps your sound. The 1 o'clock settings on all the knobs makes my rig sound killer. Turn it off and it just sounds lifeless and loses a lot of presence. Someone else's rig may benefit even more, while yet another person's wouldn't have much of a noticeable difference. For me though, it literally is like taking a blanket off the sound and it really adds a lot of presence.
 
Taken from the Wiki
http://axefxwiki.guitarlogic.org/index.php?title=BBE_Exciter

Here's a quick recipe for a BBE-type effect

Add a Parametric EQ, Set F1 to type shelving, set F5 to type shelving. Set F1 frequency to around 250Hz. Increasing the gain here is like the low countour. Set F5 to around 2500Hz. The gain will act as a "process knob".

Add a filter, set to highpass, set frequency around 2500Hz. Press ENTER on level to assign a modifier select envelope. Adjust the envelope and modifier curve to swing the level around 6 to 10dB (start: 50%, mid 55.1%, end:100%, slope:50%, scale 46.9%, offset: 35.8%, in the envelope use a 60-100ms release)
 
DLM said:
I have an 882i and I would never be without one in my rack. It's like taking a blanket off the sound. I keep all the knobs at 1 o'clock and the punch, clarity and presence it adds is just unbelievable. If you A/B it with the bypass, the difference is huge and easy to hear.
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Interesting:
I've had one of these in the loop of my gt-pro (before-axe-fx-time) and was also astonished by the huge difference A/B-ing it with its bypass.
I dumped it immediately after doing one A/B between its bypass and disableing the loop. :)
IMO the bypass of the BBE devices plays some dirty tricks on your sound to make you use the BBE all the time.

Maybe you should try some true bypass. Maybe my unit was broken, somehow. But no BBE for me anymore. Plus: It is not necessary with the Axe-FX
 
I'm a big fan of the Sonic Maximizer and before i got my Axefx i always had one in my rig. However since i got the Axefx i've NEVER felt the need to even try one with it because i feel everything that you can get with the SM can be achieved within the Axefx itself... ie clarity and punch. Infact, i have a feeling it could DEGRADE the quality of the Axefx. I could be wrong about tho ;)

Try and it see, will be interesting to hear the results.
 
They recommend you don't run the maximizer in the loop. Maybe that's why people are having issues. I run the outputs from the axe into the maximizer and then from the maximizer to the amp. The maximizer should be the last thing in your signal chain before the amp.
 
chopshop777 said:
Pretty cool , thanks everyone for your input, I am beginning to think that the Axe Fx won't need the BBE SM ,
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I have one, and in my opinion it doesn't need it at all, i stopped using it almost instantly, before that i was using the voodvalve with the BBE Sonic 482I which did need it YMMV.
 
I have a BBE 462 in my rack, and I actually like the sounds I am getting on some of the factory patches with it on. And like DLM says, put it as the last thing in the chain...

Everyone's ears and hearing is different. Mine may be subpar to you bat like hearing players but...,

I would suggest to you (and everyone else) that Axe-FX or no Axe-FX, tone is highly subjective and you need to try one in your setup just to see if "you" like it... ;)
 
I think a lot of people stick it in the effects loop and then aren't happy with the results. It has to be the last thing in your signal chain, otherwise it's not affecting the whole signal, it's only affecting part of it. If you stick it in last in the chain and take the time to dial it in, you'll get great results.
 
I think it's important to compare a BBE signal with an appropriately post-EQ'd alternate signal. Of course a BBE signal will sound more 'enhanced' than the flat (non-EQ'd) signal, but if you are wanting a truly representative comparison, you must provide an appropriately EQ'd alternate signal (DUH). Post EQ can add a lot, and that is exactly what the BBE is adding - compare Apples with Apples, not Apples with no fruit at all.

~Rad~

PS: I am a proud bass player as well! :cool:
 
I have a 482i. It was a really important part of my sound in my last rig, and I also like using it with recorded audio. They're great units, but it's easy to make them sound bad. I rarely turned the knobs up past 9:00. I used it more for the envelope distortion correction than for the harmonic exciter. I have yet to try it with my Axe-FX, though. I'm still tweaking it pretty constantly, so I probably won't want to try more outboard gear with the Axe-FX until I have a consistent set of tones.

DLM said:
They recommend you don't run the maximizer in the loop. Maybe that's why people are having issues. I run the outputs from the axe into the maximizer and then from the maximizer to the amp. The maximizer should be the last thing in your signal chain before the amp.
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Like a few other people said, I'm pretty sure the effects loop is where you're supposed to put it. Sonic Maximizers are generally supposed to be as close as possible to the end of the signal chain of any audio it's being used with. I had mine as the last thing before the power amp.
 
chopshop777 said:
Do you think it would be necessary or of any benefit to have the BBE Sonic Maximizer 482i in the rack chain ? would it improve the sound quality ? has anyone tried this ? I use a Diezel Herbert and the Axe Ultra, thinking of adding this to it cause I hear so many good things about it. cheers
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There's no need for anything added to the Ultra...what the BBE does, the Ultra already does.
 
Well, it makes a huge difference in the quality and feel of my sound. I wouldn't ever be without one, but hey, that's me. It sounds awesome to my ears and it's just my personal preference. :)
 
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