BBE Sonic Stomp???

[mrfunnyman]

Could someone explain the BBE Sonic Stomp pedal to me. I was under the impression that this pedal helps enhance your tone and even it out, but I stopped by the music store today to buy one and I was told that if you dont use alot of effects then their is really no point in using this pedal. Is this true or is their more to this pedal than what I am being told?

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: BBE Sonic Stomp???

Could someone explain the BBE Sonic Stomp pedal to me. I was under the impression that this pedal helps enhance your tone and even it out, but I stopped by the music store today to buy one and I was told that if you dont use alot of effects then their is really no point in using this pedal. Is this true or is their more to this pedal than what I am being told?

The BBE is supposed to be a phase alignment device. The idea is that when a signal is amplified frequencies overlap and you get distortion. The BBE process is supposed to remove this distortion improving clarity and timre. It is not a compressor, limiter, expander or harmonic generator. The BBE like any other tool can be overused and much of an amplifiers distortion character can be lost with overuse. There are plenty of people here who would strap a bomb to their chest over this device without ever using one. The people who hate the BBE are often people with an amp fixation, who beleive the amp they own is so inherently perfect in every possible way that a BBE just makes it sound bad.

In my experience I have found the BBE is more useful after the tone generating sections, rather than in front of an amp and I would go with the rack mount, instead of the pedal. I prefer to put it dead last in a signal chain to clean things up. If not used in a guitar rig it is still usefull at the mixing desk for recording or live sound. I have used one for my guitar and stereo for nearly 20 years. There definately is something to it and it does work.

 

[glassman]

Re: BBE Sonic Stomp???

I have no personal experience with the sonic maximizers but several of my customers use them in thier effects loops (with no other effects) presumably to make the tone more percussive and boost the bass.

These guys play Marshalls with BBEs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRoFHbgqAKo&feature=related

The Youtube audio leaves a little to be desired

 

[dr. ad]

Re: BBE Sonic Stomp???

sounds great but it's picky about what else it's used with... not to be trusted.

 

[eschoendorff]

Re: BBE Sonic Stomp???

The BBE is supposed to be a phase alignment device. The idea is that when a signal is amplified frequencies overlap and you get distortion. The BBE process is supposed to remove this distortion improving clarity and timre. It is not a compressor, limiter, expander or harmonic generator. The BBE like any other tool can be overused and much of an amplifiers distortion character can be lost with overuse. There are plenty of people here who would strap a bomb to their chest over this device without ever using one. The people who hate the BBE are often people with an amp fixation, who beleive the amp they own is so inherently perfect in every possible way that a BBE just makes it sound bad.

In my experience I have found the BBE is more useful after the tone generating sections, rather than in front of an amp and I would go with the rack mount, instead of the pedal. I prefer to put it dead last in a signal chain to clean things up. If not used in a guitar rig it is still usefull at the mixing desk for recording or live sound. I have used one for my guitar and stereo for nearly 20 years. There definately is something to it and it does work.

This.

I have one and it really makes a huge difference when used in the effects loop of my Marshalls. Some will argue that an EQ will do the same thing... and an EQ will give you a bass boost, but it will not give the clarity that the BBE does.

In front of the amp, the Sonic Stomp is not very impressive. But in the FX loop, it brings a whole new dimension to the amp's tone and personality. It's like hearing your amp in 3D.

The other nice thing about the sonic stomp is that it works for other applications too.... not just guitars. I use one in the loop of my PA mixer and it really brings power and clarity into the mix. Very cool little machine!

 

[ken361]

Re: BBE Sonic Stomp???

makes your amp sound digital, mxr 10 band way better!

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: BBE Sonic Stomp???

This.

I have one and it really makes a huge difference when used in the effects loop of my Marshalls. Some will argue that an EQ will do the same thing... and an EQ will give you a bass boost, but it will not give the clarity that the BBE does.

In front of the amp, the Sonic Stomp is not very impressive. But in the FX loop, it brings a whole new dimension to the amp's tone and personality. It's like hearing your amp in 3D.

The other nice thing about the sonic stomp is that it works for other applications too.... not just guitars. I use one in the loop of my PA mixer and it really brings power and clarity into the mix. Very cool little machine!

If you are using effects like flange, chorus, delay, reverb and others a BBE really helps in cleaning things up. Part of the reason why the BBE gets a bad reputation is people stringing together poor quality components and then using a BBE as a cure all to improve the sound. However that really isn't a knock against the BBE, instead it is a knock against poor quality gear.