BBE MaxCom Compressor, Limiter and Gate with Sonic Maximizer

Bought this unit with the mindset of needing a master noise gate and a limiter, the sonic maximizer was an added plus.The Good: The MaxCom comes with BBE's sonic maximizer which is pretty good for having cleaner highs and lows, which i've always found useful when I don't want to have to mess around with EQ to get a clean tone. The noise get on this unit does a great job as well for filtering noise, more so than any other stereo noise gate i've worked with. The unit can also be set up for stereo where the left half is the controlling side which is useful for post-mixer chaining.The bad: The 1/4th inputs are all unbalanced so if you're running a balanced setup you have to convert to XLR to keep a consistent balanced line. Also there's no input gain knob which forces you to push whatever is before it in the audio chain to meet the idea levels for the MaxCom. The last thing i have to say about it is its not much of a compressor, even when used in what the manual has recommended as a limiter setting, the unit does not limit perfectly and offend the audio jumps to much high than the threshold is set to.Great unit for live when you need something to clean up the the sound right before a mixer and something to gate the noise in the setup. Its also good for studio when you need a gate with some cleaning up of the audio and a little big of leveling the sound. I'm giving it a 4 out of 5 purely because how weak it is as a compressor/limiter. Overall good unit if you're looking for something to gate noise and to clean up the audio a bit, just don't rely on it as a compressor or limiter because your speakers will be blown if you have any spike of audio.

I've had this in my home recording rack for a few days, and am very impressed. The compression is very transparent, much better than my old DBX, the noise gate also works well. It cleans up all the peaks (mostly from drums), allowing a higher overall perceived volume without distortion; I'm setting it threshold 0 dB, 1.5 ratio and 30 msec attack. The sonic maximizer effect sounds great, I am currently using it at around 11 o'clock, but settings for best sound vary with the source material' very powerful effect. I'm using it right before input into the power amp mixer. I'm still using an Aphex exciter for vocals, but the Maximizer further enhances clarity (both used sparingly). Definitely the most cost effective addition you can make to a home studio (or just your stereo, for that matter); it improves the clarity of the mix. Haven't tried if for live sound, but I'm sure it would help in most situations, especially smaller setups, to thicken and clarify the sound. I have tried the "auto" button, but opted for keeping things manual; very little difference if all settings and input volumes are reasonable, but it might be helpful if you had really weird situations. Suggested improvement: it's a little hard to see the position of the "channel on" and "auto" buttons, lights or toggles would be nice. In my rack, I didn't see the "channel on" button (of course, I didn't read the instructions, who wants to read when you have a new toy?), so I called customer support, was immediately connected to a tech (who had actually participated in the design of the box), who was courteous, knowledgeable and helpful, he took the time to explain the various settings for my set up. Very happy with this purchase.

I am not very knowledgeable about these devices and purchased this product on the recommendation of a local expert. I then got some advice from him about setup which I tried to follow with lots of reading in the instruction manual. After much flailing around part of it started malfunctioning, seemingly. So I called BBEsound Inc and talked to their expert. I explained to him that I was interested in using this not on a musical instrument but to limit the crashes and bangs of TV shows for my wife's sensitive hearing and other problems with my hearing. He then proceeded to give me the best settings for my intended use. His corrections immediately corrected all the problems I was having. I am very very pleased with the device and the very professional help I got in just a few minutes at BBEsound. The tech was courteous, worked with me for just a few minutes, and solved all my problems. He was not someone from India or elsewhere outside the US who is hard to understand. He knew his device well and is getting me and my wife the best possible solution to our various hearing difficulties. BY

Several decades ago I bought and used a BBE unit in my home studio. I had several people hear my recordings and state my sounds were the best home recordings they had ever heard (in terms of quality and not composition). I attributed the high quality to the BBE. Recently I decided to build another home recording studio, this time all digital, and start writing and producing music again. I had to have a Maxcom in the chain to make the studio complete. BBE has done a fabulous job with this unit. One might reason that combining all the features into one box would compromise the quality. They would be wrong... If you are into making music, you need this unit. You will be amazed by the sound. Like most things very useful, after using it on your first composition, you won't want to be without it...I highly recommend it...

I must say this is BY FAR is the most useful piece of equipment I own. I have a MXR Fullbore Metal and it mellowed it out to the tone I love. It also leveled out my Danelectro Cool Cat. The gate needs a little tweaking to get it where you need it and the auto function for the compressor rocks. Out of the box within 15 minutes i had it goin. The built in BBE Sonic Maximizer is killer too. For me price for quality is VERY important as a working class musician, and this is a GREAT value. Two noise gates, two compressors and two BBE Sonic Maximizers?! What more can you ask for?! Great product awesome value and price!