BBE MaxCom Compressor ?

Wurly_b · 24th March 2006

Does anyone own, or has used a BBE MaxCom Compressor ?
http://www.bbesound.com/products/maxcom/index.asp

I was thinking it might work for me as a guitar / keyboard channel. Does anyone have any thoughts on the “Sonic Maximizer” effect ?

I’m not to sure about the Sonic Maximizer idea. I know “sweeteners” can sometimes mess things up really bad. At first they sound really good, but a year later when you hear the effect on the recording you get a tooth ache/ ear ache. You know what I mean - The “I wish I would have left well enough alone” effect. Still I’m thinking if I use the Sonic Maximize effect at only 20% max it might thicken the guitar track a bit.

The BBE Opto Stomp Optical Compressor Guitar Pedal looks like it might be a nice as a guitar effect and it doesn’t use any “Sonic Maximizer” . I know this is a guitar effect rather than a studio effect, but still if it works good why not,
http://www.bbesound.com/products/sto...tomp/index.asp

.

Beezoboy · 24th March 2006

There was a review in TapeOp that was positive and said it had a similar sound to a lower end Drawmer. I can look it up for you if you would like. I have been eye ing one of these as well.

Beez

peeder · 6th November 2006

I figger I ought to post this review here in case the retailer censors it. (Looks like they at least mangled it.)

Short story: I sent it back.

The promise of this box is that you get a free 882i Sonic Maximizer along with a dbx166-style compressor/gate. Unfortunately, it fails in its promise because of miserable implementation.

The compressor actually works OK on program material, and the Sonic Maximizer can help a dull track, but only up to a setting of 4 or so before it gets too harsh. Running the sonic maximizer in the effects loop of a guitar amp or after some ribbon microphones may be more beneficial.

The compressor was fairly dismal on most individual instruments, including voice. Whether auto mode or hand-set attack and release, it wasn't very pleasant to listen to. Both the RNC and the Drawmer MX-30 (what I have on hand to compare it to) worked far better for those purposes.

Even worse is the gate. It has a very severe release curve, and this means that it pops in and out loudly when it's set to the area of the noise threshold. The gate on the Drawmer MX-30 is vastly better.

There is no individual limiter, but the compressor can be set to limit. There is no individual bypass per channel: if you want the Sonic maximizer, you have to also have the compressor in line, but you can turn the sonic maximizer off.

I/O is 1/4" unbal and XLR plus sidechain TRS loop. The metering has ladders for both input level and gain reduction, but oddly, the gain reduction ladder is all ON by default and the lights turn OFF as gain is reduced. The knobs and build quality is poor, but the chassis is very solid and a pretty shade of red.

What finally got the thing sent back is the 60 and 120 cycle hum it generates internally! Putting the hamonic generation of the sonic maximizer on this hum makes it far, far worse. It hummed with any powercord, in any position, with any set of inputs and outputs I tried. The hum would get louder or softer based on the output (makeup gain) setting (only unity didn't hum...turning output _down_ actually increased hum!) and whether the sonic maxmimizer was on.

I bought a blemish unit, which I understand to be cosmetic flaws, but perhaps it was a bad one. In which case BBE has to get that unit off the market because I read similar reports on harmony-central. Apparently the wiring is substandard, but I didn't open it up to see. Since these units go for less than the 882i ($200 street vs. $250), but BBE claims it's the same circuit (and it has balanced i/o), they must have cut corners somewhere to also stick a compressor and gate in it.

Anyway this was a zero-cost experiment for me with a decent upside that unfortunately wasn't realized. If you are interested in one, see if the hum issue is present in it (crank the output gain with a silent input and you will hear it clearly with the channel enabled of course). Maybe my unit was defective.

24th March 2006	#1
Wurly_b Gear Head Joined: Feb 2006 Location: Canada, Alberta Posts: 43 Thread Starter	BBE MaxCom Compressor ? Does anyone own, or has used a BBE MaxCom Compressor ? http://www.bbesound.com/products/maxcom/index.asp I was thinking it might work for me as a guitar / keyboard channel. Does anyone have any thoughts on the “Sonic Maximizer” effect ? I’m not to sure about the Sonic Maximizer idea. I know “sweeteners” can sometimes mess things up really bad. At first they sound really good, but a year later when you hear the effect on the recording you get a tooth ache/ ear ache. You know what I mean - The “I wish I would have left well enough alone” effect. Still I’m thinking if I use the Sonic Maximize effect at only 20% max it might thicken the guitar track a bit. The BBE Opto Stomp Optical Compressor Guitar Pedal looks like it might be a nice as a guitar effect and it doesn’t use any “Sonic Maximizer” . I know this is a guitar effect rather than a studio effect, but still if it works good why not, http://www.bbesound.com/products/sto...tomp/index.asp .

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24th March 2006	#2
Beezoboy Gear addict Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 495	There was a review in TapeOp that was positive and said it had a similar sound to a lower end Drawmer. I can look it up for you if you would like. I have been eye ing one of these as well. Beez

6th November 2006	#3
peeder Lives for gear Joined: Aug 2006 Location: No longer participating here. Posts: 6,705	I figger I ought to post this review here in case the retailer censors it. (Looks like they at least mangled it.) Short story: I sent it back. The promise of this box is that you get a free 882i Sonic Maximizer along with a dbx166-style compressor/gate. Unfortunately, it fails in its promise because of miserable implementation. The compressor actually works OK on program material, and the Sonic Maximizer can help a dull track, but only up to a setting of 4 or so before it gets too harsh. Running the sonic maximizer in the effects loop of a guitar amp or after some ribbon microphones may be more beneficial. The compressor was fairly dismal on most individual instruments, including voice. Whether auto mode or hand-set attack and release, it wasn't very pleasant to listen to. Both the RNC and the Drawmer MX-30 (what I have on hand to compare it to) worked far better for those purposes. Even worse is the gate. It has a very severe release curve, and this means that it pops in and out loudly when it's set to the area of the noise threshold. The gate on the Drawmer MX-30 is vastly better. There is no individual limiter, but the compressor can be set to limit. There is no individual bypass per channel: if you want the Sonic maximizer, you have to also have the compressor in line, but you can turn the sonic maximizer off. I/O is 1/4" unbal and XLR plus sidechain TRS loop. The metering has ladders for both input level and gain reduction, but oddly, the gain reduction ladder is all ON by default and the lights turn OFF as gain is reduced. The knobs and build quality is poor, but the chassis is very solid and a pretty shade of red. What finally got the thing sent back is the 60 and 120 cycle hum it generates internally! Putting the hamonic generation of the sonic maximizer on this hum makes it far, far worse. It hummed with any powercord, in any position, with any set of inputs and outputs I tried. The hum would get louder or softer based on the output (makeup gain) setting (only unity didn't hum...turning output _down_ actually increased hum!) and whether the sonic maxmimizer was on. I bought a blemish unit, which I understand to be cosmetic flaws, but perhaps it was a bad one. In which case BBE has to get that unit off the market because I read similar reports on harmony-central. Apparently the wiring is substandard, but I didn't open it up to see. Since these units go for less than the 882i ($200 street vs. $250), but BBE claims it's the same circuit (and it has balanced i/o), they must have cut corners somewhere to also stick a compressor and gate in it. Anyway this was a zero-cost experiment for me with a decent upside that unfortunately wasn't realized. If you are interested in one, see if the hum issue is present in it (crank the output gain with a silent input and you will hear it clearly with the channel enabled of course). Maybe my unit was defective.