Jason Scott
Fractal Fanatic
While there are those who don't like the effect that the BBE Sonic Maximizer produces, I personally like it when it's used lightly. This post is for anyone who's interested in accurately reproducing the effect the BBE produces in the Axe FX. It's pretty simple, actually.
Regardless what the marketing literature says about it, the BBE Sonic Maximizer is nothing more than a set of adjustable EQ curves. You can prove this via EQ Matching. You'll find the EQ matched version is indistinguishable from the BBE processed track. After spending a bit of time analyzing EQ matches, performing multiple blind tests and creating EQ curves, I was able to accurately recreate the curve using a single PEQ block.
The Sonic Maximizer's controls consist of two knobs: Lo Contour, which controls the amount of low-end energy added by the unit, and Process, which controls the amount of high-end energy added by the unit. To replicate both controls we only need to use a couple of bands in the PEQ block:
For the 'Lo Contour' (bass) knob, enter the following values for each of the parameters in the first band on the first page of the PEQ block:
Freq 1: 50.00 Hz
Q1: 0.248
Gain 1: 1.50 dB
Frequency 1 Type: Peaking
For the 'Process' (treble) control, enter the following values for each of the parameters in the second band on the first page of the PEQ block:
Freq 5: 9000 Hz
Q5: 0.248
Gain 5: 1.50 dB
Frequency 5 Type: Peaking
In a nutshell, that's it. The gain parameter acts as the "knob" for each control and determines the level of the effect. A gain setting of 0.00 dB, for example, would unsurprisingly yield the equivalent of turning either knob on the device (or plugin) to zero. The gain values listed in the settings above (ie. 1.50 dB) would be the equivalent of turning either knob on the unit to "1".
Here are some other settings:
Boosting the Gain of Freq 1 (50.00 Hz) to 2.70 dB is equivalent to turning the 'Lo Contour' knob to "2".
Boosting the Gain of Freq 5 (9000 Hz) to 2.90 dB is equivalent to turning the 'Process' knob to "2".
Boosting the Gain of Freq 1 (50.00 Hz) to 4.60 dB is equivalent to turning the 'Lo Contour' knob to "3".
Boosting the Gain of Freq 5 (9000 Hz) to 4.60 dB is equivalent to turning the 'Process' knob to "3".
I never bothered trying to find the Gain equivalents for turning the knobs past "3" on the unit, however if you want or need more of the effect, just add more gain.
Regardless what the marketing literature says about it, the BBE Sonic Maximizer is nothing more than a set of adjustable EQ curves. You can prove this via EQ Matching. You'll find the EQ matched version is indistinguishable from the BBE processed track. After spending a bit of time analyzing EQ matches, performing multiple blind tests and creating EQ curves, I was able to accurately recreate the curve using a single PEQ block.
The Sonic Maximizer's controls consist of two knobs: Lo Contour, which controls the amount of low-end energy added by the unit, and Process, which controls the amount of high-end energy added by the unit. To replicate both controls we only need to use a couple of bands in the PEQ block:
For the 'Lo Contour' (bass) knob, enter the following values for each of the parameters in the first band on the first page of the PEQ block:
Freq 1: 50.00 Hz
Q1: 0.248
Gain 1: 1.50 dB
Frequency 1 Type: Peaking
For the 'Process' (treble) control, enter the following values for each of the parameters in the second band on the first page of the PEQ block:
Freq 5: 9000 Hz
Q5: 0.248
Gain 5: 1.50 dB
Frequency 5 Type: Peaking
In a nutshell, that's it. The gain parameter acts as the "knob" for each control and determines the level of the effect. A gain setting of 0.00 dB, for example, would unsurprisingly yield the equivalent of turning either knob on the device (or plugin) to zero. The gain values listed in the settings above (ie. 1.50 dB) would be the equivalent of turning either knob on the unit to "1".
Here are some other settings:
Boosting the Gain of Freq 1 (50.00 Hz) to 2.70 dB is equivalent to turning the 'Lo Contour' knob to "2".
Boosting the Gain of Freq 5 (9000 Hz) to 2.90 dB is equivalent to turning the 'Process' knob to "2".
Boosting the Gain of Freq 1 (50.00 Hz) to 4.60 dB is equivalent to turning the 'Lo Contour' knob to "3".
Boosting the Gain of Freq 5 (9000 Hz) to 4.60 dB is equivalent to turning the 'Process' knob to "3".
I never bothered trying to find the Gain equivalents for turning the knobs past "3" on the unit, however if you want or need more of the effect, just add more gain.
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