BBE Sonic Stomp Maximizer Guitar Pedal User Reviews at zZounds

"Want a better sound? You need to get this box!" submitted March 4, 2007

By a customer from goofydawg.net

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Ease of Use

Quality

Value

Musical Background: Gigging Musician

Music Style: All sorts from Jazz Standards to Classic Rock to neo-Classical

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SPOTLIGHT REVIEW

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Sound: Just incredible! What it does is so subtle that you hardly notice that it's there, but you definitely miss it when it's not. It's not meant to create an "effect" per se. But somehow, it really improves the presentation of your sound. For instance, I was pretty happy with the sound my rig was putting out, but I wanted to get a little more clarity and reduce the ringiness of my highs, so I was considering getting a compressor. I got into a discussion about this with another musician who said I should consider checking out a Sonic Stomp before getting a compressor. He said it would even out my tone so my highs wouldn't dominate so much. Man, was he spot on! I am so happy with my sound now that I may never get a compressor - it's that good! I just set the Lo Contour to 50%, and set the Processing to about 1 o'clock, and the sound I get is so much more pure than before. I definitely suggest getting this box! NOTE: The user manual strongly suggests that this box be placed at the end of your signal chain. You need to heed that advice, otherwise you'll get all sorts of noise. I challenged this by putting the box behind my Tube Screamer going into the amp (I have two other boxes in the effects loop), and there was so much noise from the unit that I almost returned it. But after I placed it as the last box in my effects loop, there were no problems whatsoever! Ease of Use: Two knobs - that's it! How easier could it get? I didn't give a rating on features because this isn't a box where you twiddle with knobs until you get a particular effect. You turn the knobs until you find a sweet spot in your sound. Quality: Built like a tank. I gig a lot and though this box is new, I don't anticipate having to get a backup unit. Value: I have only a few stomp boxes because what I want out of my tone is fairly straight-forward, but I have to say that this was probably the best money I've ever spent on a stomp box. The Wow Factor: Folks, this is NOT a sexy product, nor is it meant to be. But the overall improvement of your tone with this box makes it absolutely someting you should have at the end of your signal chain. Overall: I don't give 10's across the board too often, but the improvement of my sound was so drastic, that I just couldn't not give it a 10. This is a box that will always be in my signal chain, no matter what I play, and it will be a box that will never go off.

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"The Holy Grail of Stomp Boxes" submitted October 4, 2005

By a customer from yahoo.com

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The Wow Factor

Musical Background: Professional Musician

Music Style: Alternative

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Sound: BBE continues to provide superior quality to musicians throughout. Guitarist should expect nothing less with the Sonic Stomp. The Sonic Stomp adds clarity and depth to the signal. This product will push you sound up front, similar to a compressor. In theory, the sonic stomp works like compressor. While similar to a compressor, it encompasses a much broader range than most high end compressors. I have used this, in conjuction with an optical compressor. This added no benefit to the overall sound. Without the compressor, this product truely excells. The distortion can be high at first glance, but a simple eq adjustment resolves this issue. None the less, superior to any stomp box effect, considering overall value, dollar for dollar. Feature: Who needs features? If your looking for features, look somewhere else. The only feature this product produces is the ability to broaden you sound, adding depth and clarity. Quality: BBE, need I say more? Value: Unbelievable Manufacturer Support: I don't know The Wow Factor: Pratical addition Overall: Been playing guitar for too long. I prefer to setup sound myself, rather than to have an engineer along. I enjoy it, oddly enough. Yeah, I have to get there a little ealier than the others, but I don't mind. Great piece of equipment. Try it out, you won't be dissapointed.

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"A True Must Have Pedal" submitted October 4, 2009

By a customer from att.net

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Features

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Value

Manufacturer Support

The Wow Factor

Musical Background: Hobbist

Music Style: Metal/Rock

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VERIFIED BUYER

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Sound: Add shape and contour to your amp. A must have regardless of your amp type or style of music. Ease of Use: No much to it. Quality: BBE makes great products and made in the USA not china. Value: Cant put a price on this. I'll buy one every time. But I haven't ever had to buy or fix any of my BBE pedals and I have many..for years now. Manufacturer Support: Dont need it cause the dont break. The Wow Factor: I got it so.... Overall: A real must have.

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"BBE saved my life." submitted October 25, 2007

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Musical Background: Active, Touring musician

Music Style: Screamo, Rock, Post-Hardcore

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Sound: It adds so much punch to my 5150 w. matching cab. i thought i was pretty much set, but this pedal definitely added a bottom and a punch i didn't think i could generate. Feature: there's pro's and con's on the simplicity of the pedal. I like it being simple, straight forward and easy to use! but on the other hand i would like to have a few more options. - even though, you CAN'T possibly do anything with it, that will make your amp sound worse. it only adds on. Ease of Use: extremely easy to use! 2 knobs. and it's really all you need! Quality: i've only owned it for a very short time, but it seems to be build extremely solid, and very reliable! i have a feeling it will last me many years!! Value: I would've gladly paid 50 bucks more! The Wow Factor: being very simple in use and in looks, it's just a great addition to any setup! Overall: I have nothing else to say but, i've fallen in love already!

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"If you don't own at least one of these you're nuts." submitted November 9, 2007

By a customer from gmail.com

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Musical Background: Active musician

Music Style: Rock, jazz, alternative, roots R & B, funk, blues

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Sound: The Maximizer is phenomenal at what it does. You flick the switch and you have space and clean power to do whatever you want with. No mud in your crunch, no fuzz in your muff, just purity however you want to sound. The Maximizer is not an effect. It's a process that takes your signal and straightens it out so that your amp and ultimately your speakers (crossovers) get the information the right way so it can sequence it the right way, so it sounds, the right way ... the way it sounds. Crazy huh? Well, I've been playing a long time and have had one or another of the incarnations of this machine. The only reason I've given it a 9 is that I don't know what 10 is and you have to leave some room for BBE. Feature: I can give this a 10 because it's perfect. Ease of Use: Plug it in. Quality: Solid and so simple that it should last a long long time. All metal. Value: The best $100 you will ever or have ever spent on equipment. Borrow the money! Manufacturer Support: No idea. Overall: This is a permanent part of my rig, as basic as strings or cables. And I'll tell you something, if you're thinking of swapping out your PUs spend a hundred bucks and then forget it. Eventually if you want to swap out your PU's it will even sound better. But you won't need to, you'll just want to.

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"Don't Crank Both Knobs Idiots." submitted June 30, 2006

By a customer from gmail.com

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Musical Background: Active professional Musician

Music Style: Blues/Rock/Folk/Jazz

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Sound: The sound of this product is directly related to the sound of your guitar rig. This product will not make a crate sound like a leslie or anything like that, but it will enrich the sound of you rig no matter what style you play. this cleans up your clean channel and makes your distortion sound fuller and more crunchy. i do not reccommend cranking both knobs and then expecting it to sound amazing. you have to analyze your sound and then adjust your knobs accordingly. Overall: i wll never use another amplifier without this pedal again. it has becoma as permenent as my guitar.

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BBE Sonic Stomp Pedal Customer Review submitted July 4, 2007

Overall

Sound

Features

Ease of Use

Quality

Value

Manufacturer Support

The Wow Factor

Musical Background: active musician

Music Style: metal

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SPOTLIGHT REVIEW

Sound: im running a crate gt3500h with a custom built 4x12 cab with eminence red coat manowar speakers wired parallel allowing max power through 1 amazing cab and i thought it sounded fantastic before. heavy as hell distortion, great tone shaping and no feedback other than bass resonance at extreme volumes. then i put this in the effects loop with a noise suppressor...its insane. all the punch i never imagined. super tight low end response for mutes and tremolo picking and the highs cut through better than anything ive ever heard and still retain dynamic pick attack, unlike traditional compression. ill never play without one again Feature: ill give this a ten because it does exactly what its supposed to do with simplicity, unlike compressors that take some tweaking. Ease of Use: self explanatory. just be sure to run it at the end of your effect chain, in line or in the effects loop. very important. Quality: no problems yet. and no plastic. Value: best signal processor ive ever used. Manufacturer Support: if it lasts me 2 years its worth 90 bucks. Overall: for what i expected this beats any signal processor i could ever expect. no wonder why studios all over use maximizers on multiple tracks of recordings time and time again. if i lost it or it was stolen i would surely get another immediately. ill never play without one again, unless im playing classical guitar.

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"An incredible sounding product,..." submitted November 8, 2006

By a customer from peoplepc.com

Overall

Sound

Features

Ease of Use

Quality

Value

Manufacturer Support

The Wow Factor

Musical Background: Guitaris, Recording engineer

Music Style: Rock, Classic Rock, Rockabilly

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VERIFIED BUYER

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Sound: I have owned a rack mount unit - the 422A - forever, and have always loved it. I am so glad I purchased the sonic stomp, my recordings have taken a tremendous leap in quality. The differemce it makes through my amp is nothing sjort of astounding. It brings out the effects and little nuances that were lost before. Feature: The unit is great as is. Ease of Use: The ease of use could not get any easier, no brainer,...and the quality is the payoff. Quality: Wxcellent piece all around. Value: Worth every penny. Manufacturer Support: I had one experience with my original rack unit years back and it was great. Overall: I see using this for a very long time.

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"Save your board real estate...and $100" submitted December 6, 2007

By a customer from comcast.ent

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Sound

Features

Ease of Use

Quality

Value

The Wow Factor

Musical Background: ex-clubber

Music Style: blues, rock, light jazz, alternative

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VERIFIED BUYER

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Sound: For live play, a useless and superflous add-on. The higher-end versions of this device may find a use in a studio/recording situation, but for live use, good-quality equipment is all you need. This thing puts out a little added "clarity" or "presence", if you want to call it that. You'll hear a little more emphasized treble, and with the "Contour" at about noon to 1PM, a tad more defined bottom. Again, nuances that are more discernable in a studio situation. Feature: Nothing to say here, because there's nothing to make this thing useful. Ease of Use: two dials, a switch, and two jacks .... how do you spell "Duh" ? Quality: okay for what it is. Value: $100 can be spent in any number of better ways. Manufacturer Support: No opinion The Wow Factor: Don't want it now. Maybe eBay does? Overall: There's several other products out there....the Aphex Aural Excitor being one....that attempt to add clarity and definition to a signal after it's passed through other devices. If this is your aim, then i'd take a look at the Excitor, as it offers much more in the way of flexibility. It looks like BBE was trying to pull off an "end-around" with the competition with this box, making it 'simple' with two dials.....and appeal to the "plug-n-play" people who just want to punch-up a box and get cranking. IMO they failed.....this thing is more hype than substance.

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"sonicless effect for the west." submitted July 20, 2006

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Sound: it puts out this humungo bass boost with a little bit of clarity on top.but if you already like the sound of your amp it's useless it only gonna make your sound muddier unless you turn the lo contour knob down about 8o clock and turn up the process knob for a tighter sound but no major diffrence. Feature: lo contour knob to bring out the lower frequencies process knob to smoothen out the highs a little bit. i was more happier with the pedal turned off i was better off using some kind of eq instead. Overall: unless your guitar and amp sounds that weak and horrible maybe this pedal will solve a miracle other wise dont use it.

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Rating And Reviews: BBE Sonic Stomp Pedal

"Want a better sound? You need to get this box!" submitted March 4, 2007

"The Holy Grail of Stomp Boxes" submitted October 4, 2005

"A True Must Have Pedal" submitted October 4, 2009

"BBE saved my life." submitted October 25, 2007

"If you don't own at least one of these you're nuts." submitted November 9, 2007

"Don't Crank Both Knobs Idiots." submitted June 30, 2006

BBE Sonic Stomp Pedal Customer Review submitted July 4, 2007

"An incredible sounding product,..." submitted November 8, 2006

"Save your board real estate...and $100" submitted December 6, 2007

"sonicless effect for the west." submitted July 20, 2006

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