BBE Sonic Stomp Sonic Maximizer Guitar Pedal
Subtly improve the sound of your instrument without the need for flashy, over-the-top effects. This pedal provides you with clarity, definition, and that punch you need.
Overall User Ratings (based on 46 ratings)
Submitted March 4, 2007 by a customer from goofydawg.net
"Want a better sound? You need to get this box!"
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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.
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.
Musical Background:
Gigging Musician
Musical Style:
All sorts from Jazz Standards to Classic Rock to neo-Classical
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Submitted October 4, 2005 by a customer from yahoo.com
"The Holy Grail of Stomp Boxes"
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.
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.
Features
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
Musical Background:
Professional Musician
Musical Style:
Alternative
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Submitted November 9, 2007 by a customer from gmail.com
"If you don't own at least one of these you're nuts."
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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.
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.
Features
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.
Musical Background:
Active musician
Musical Style:
Rock, jazz, alternative, roots R & B, funk, blues
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Submitted October 25, 2007 by a customer from hotmail.com
"BBE saved my life."
I have nothing else to say but, i've fallen in love already!
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.
Features
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!
Musical Background:
Active, Touring musician
Musical Style:
Screamo, Rock, Post-Hardcore
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Submitted June 30, 2006 by a customer from gmail.com
"Don't Crank Both Knobs Idiots."
i wll never use another amplifier without this pedal again. it has becoma as permenent as my guitar.
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.
Musical Background:
Active professional Musician
Musical Style:
Blues/Rock/Folk/Jazz
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Submitted December 14, 2023 by a customer from yahoo.ca
"Now I know"
I have owned a rack version years ago. I was not impressed with it. I was using a JCM800. I sold the BBE unit. My current amp is a '68 Ampeg VT-22. It is so loud that I must attenuate the beast quite heavily. The tone is affected obviously. I bought a BBE Sonic Stomp to overcome the tone loss. Wow. The bass is tight. The tone is clearer and the string definition is amazingly improved. I am very satisfied. It might not be for every amp, every setup. But for my setup, it is magic !
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Submitted August 7, 2022 by a customer from gmail.com
"Must own"
I do leave mine on all the time: it’s unquestionably the single most significant improvement I’ve ever made to my tone. What was once ‘fine’ is suddenly vivid, clearer, punchier. In so doing, all your other pedal’s sounds liven-up, sharpen-up. At the risk of overdoing my praise ( not sure that’s possible), the Sonic Stomp wakes-up your equipment and really re-starts your playing enjoyment.
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Submitted October 4, 2009 by a customer from att.net
"A True Must Have Pedal"
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A real must have.
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....
Musical Background:
Hobbist
Musical Style:
Metal/Rock
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Submitted March 14, 2016 by Kurt Holzweiss in Portsmouth, NH
"Sonic Stomp"
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awesome pedal, it likes to be at the end of the signal chain. I actually put it in my efx loop and it thrives there. Just adds depth and presence and a bit of gain, simple to use, i actually own 2 of them, one for each pedalboard!
Musical Background:
jam with friends, home recordings
Musical Style:
everything from blues to metal
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Submitted November 8, 2006 by a customer from peoplepc.com
"An incredible sounding product,..."
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I see using this for a very long time.
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.
Features
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.
Musical Background:
Guitaris, Recording engineer
Musical Style:
Rock, Classic Rock, Rockabilly
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Submitted November 4, 2014 by Bicky Raab in Niantic, CT
"Don't believe the hype, Lacks Integrity, This product is VERY Misleading (ACTUALLY READ THIS REIVEW)"
I'll start this review off with words from BBE Themselves, "The Sonic Stomp has a true hardwire bypass -- but chances are, this is one "effect" you just might want to leave on all the time."
This is a total marketing scheme, and nothing more. "True Hardwire Bypass" does NOT equal True Bypass. The only way to truly bypass this piece of gear is to actually physically remove it from your signal chain. Even when switched off, it engages a low frequency roll-off starting at around 300Hz. Then when you turn it on, it'll disengage that roll-off, but drop your signal by about 3dB. Hence why you'll probably "want to leave it on." The Lo Contour and Process knobs essentially act as nothing more than low-end and high-end filters centered around 50Hz and 5kHz respectively. So as long as the Maximizer is in your chain, it's going to give the illusion that it's enhancing your sound, but that perceivable enhancement is solely based on the fact that it's still coloring your tone, and sucking low-end when you believe it to be "bypassed."
In a nutshell, this piece of gear doesn't really offer any benefits to guitar players as it will do nothing more than boost your lows, boost your highs, and cut your mids. And the "phase correction" is really just a phase adjustment, simply just pronouncing your lows a split-second before your highs.
How this piece of gear became so popular would be a mystery to me, but a good marketing scheme is a good marketing scheme.
If you want something to adjust your frequencies, then save your money and buy an actual True Bypass EQ pedal.
Musical Background:
I play music.
Musical Style:
Lots.
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Submitted December 6, 2007 by a customer from comcast.ent
"Save your board real estate...and $100"
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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.
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.
Features
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?
Musical Background:
ex-clubber
Musical Style:
blues, rock, light jazz, alternative
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Submitted July 4, 2007
BBE Sonic Stomp Pedal Customer Review
This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
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.
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
Features
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.
Musical Background:
active musician
Musical Style:
metal
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Submitted July 20, 2006
"sonicless effect for the west."
unless your guitar and amp sounds that weak and horrible maybe this pedal will solve a miracle other wise dont use it.
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.
Features
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.
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