BBE again!

After reading another long dramatic (hehe) RigTalk post about the pro's and cons of BBE Rack and Pedal sonic maximizers I decided to hook mine back up and give her a try with a different power amp. (Before i had only run it with my peavey 50/50) I hooked it up so that the output from the RM4 was going into the BBE 882I and then the output from the BBE was going into the EFX return on my RM100.. What A F*cking difference with the low contour at about 1/4 and the process at about a 3rd it adds a ton of tight bass and quite a bit of presence that actually sounds great. The BBE had been languishing unused plugged into the loop of my B52 at-100 where it was tested and sounded absolutely horrible so i put it up for sale but im having second thoughts now... As long as its running through a 6L6 power amp seems to sound great (the b52 is a 6L6 amp but for some reason the bass was farty and bloated)
-mp-

yeah i have to chuckle at all the "lazy man's EQ" comments that I see from the tonegods about the sonic maximizers.

I use a MaxCom (same circuit as 882i but dual channel and both balanced and unbalanced out) through A Peavey XXX and used to use it on my Peavey 6150 and it sounds great...I use a little more lo contour and just a touch of process for a little sweetness. I will be using one in my new rack mount system so I will experiment with switching from 6L6GC to E34L power sections in the RT2/50 while running the same preamp. Its weird though, after a long time of using it someone (usually a bassist) will always ask me to take it out of the loop and then the rig seems to sound better, but a month later I can put it back in and we are like whoa who unplugged this thing!

I think I common mistake is to try to use a SM and an EQ, they tend to screw each other up.

Yeah the 882I is 2 channel as well but lacks the XLR's I used to run it with the pre loop out from my rm4 into one channel and the post loop out into the other channel (the loop was jumpered so it diddnt make much difference but i was experimenting) and then one channel each into both sides of my stereo peavey 50/50 and it sounded good but added a little hiss that my NS-2 wasnt able to take away and the bass was a bit flubby but i guess through the 6L6's the bass is much tighter and running the process lower removed the hiss while adding some high end shimmer!
very happy with my rig
-mp-

I use an aphex aural exciter in my rig and really love it.

I think ive got the Sonic Maximizer syndrome... I was loving the BBE 882I for a couple of weeks sounded great and today when i fired it up it seemed to add a shitload of mud and fizz so it got taken out of the loop im sure in a few weeks ill try it again and fall in love again and then eventually hate it again... as are the symptoms of sonic maximizer syndrome!
-mp-

I should add to this by saying I swapped out my BBEs for some Aphex 104 C2 exciters and love them with the MTS stuff...I use them VERY VERY VERY sparingly live and never for recording...I need it to be transparent and the Aphex units are much more accurate here than the BBE..The BBE always tampered with the signal whereas you can make the Aphex sound like it belongs there rather than forcing itself in...

Does that make any sense? In the end, if you don't use too much- these units can add some flare to your tone...

The only real quality of the bbe is very small doses go along way with the process and the low contour at about 1/4 it adds a deepness to the bass that is cool for some stuff and the process knob tends to add a little extra cut and presence... but any higher than 1/4 and everything goes all to ****...
-mp-

I remember when they first came out and we all called them "Anal Exciters"...lol...anyway,..it seems that experienced users only use a small amount of them along with a dry signal..a little is nice, is the rule,it seems.
After a while, alot of people just decide its another thing to go wrong and it adds weight to the rack..and hence after a while they often go away.
Its all good.
I like it when people get their own sound..however its done.

GtrGeorge