BBE Acoustimax

Excellent unit for price

Bought this having been a fan of BBEs Sonic Maxmizer for a number of years, the basis of which which is included in the circuitry for the Acoustimax. Unit is very well built and roadworthy and very straightforward to use. The only thing this lacks for an acoustic instrument is a dedicated circuit to reduce piezo 'quack'. The range of tone control coupled with maximiser controls compensate for this ommision to a fair degree and the unit is really usable in it's own right. Even adding somthing like a bodyrez to the signal chain would mean the overal cost is still less than most of the fancier pedals out there. Anyone after a versatile acoustic processor type pedal would be well advised to consider this.

All you need

The only downside is the large size, otherwise just perfect.

Perfect quality

I have not tested other pedals for my Yamaha guitar + Marshall AS50D, but needless to bother. I tested the BBE upon arrival, and I was convinced right away. The settings are easy to use. The quality of the knobs is very solid, as is the body of the pedal. It is quite heavy and that's a good feature for a floor pedal. Next to Bass/Treble/Mid you can also set the Sonic Maximiser level, and this is an amazing feature! When turned on, the original guitar sound opens up and becomes even more clear, and boosts the low/mid/high range sounds. With this tool you can easily go play live and have a professional sounding gearset. Another nice feature is the 'ground lift'-button and the 'notch'-settings. These can block out annoying feedback noises. The MUTE button is very nice as well. Best way to get convinced, is to buy one as well, of cource ;) .

Everything you need!

I had already decided to try the Sonic Stomp pedal for electric.guitar, when I noticed this. If you forget all about the enhancement processing and just consider the eq :- Bass, Parametric Mid, Treble - then the additional - Parametric notch filter - (just about the most effective method of preventing feedback from an acoustic instrument!), Then the balanced XLR output, (It's a DI box as well!) as well as line out if you have a dedicated monitor. Then notice that it all comes for around £145 - about half the price of anything really comparable. Then consider that you no longer need a dedicated monitor if you have vocal foldback. Then you have this additional sonic enhancement (phase correction) to experiment with. Is there really anything else needed to get your acoustic instrument coming through the mix FOH / recording / your own foldback? This is a REAL bargain!

Good surprise!

What a surprise! A simple and down to earth priced unit that really brings out the best in your good old acoustic axe! You can pack to the road with just this one and the guitar since it is a DI and the Sonic Maximizer effect is really a no brainer, brings life to any piezo harshness in a satisfactory way. I don't think I use the switch on that effect because it's always on.

More recently I tried it in combination with a new pedal from another brand (BodyRez from TC Electronic) and I realized that I couldn't live without both these days... Amazing!

Great Item

It does exactly what it says! Easy to use and built like a tank!.