BBESOUND BBE Acoustimax Acoustic Instrument Preamp Pedal with Full Featured Sonic Maximizer

UPDATE:Still using these every time I plug my acoustic in. A couple of killer features that I use all of the time aren't usually mentioned. First is the dead-quiet dedicated tuner out. So easy to mute the unit with the left button, and then tune up when needed. Never a pop or noise FOH. The second is the effects loop. Quite nice to add a lush reverb and/or subtle delay within the loop. Sounds great.Lastly, I'd encourage all users to use the XLR balanced line out on the back unless you are running into an acoustic amp that does not have that capability. FOH guys love this unit since they don't have to worry about noise or EQ. I tell them to set the channel EQ flat at the board, and I send them an EQ'd signal. Be sure to set your gain right (far left knob) first (play hard till the red clipping light comes on, and then back off a bit), and then set your output volume (far right knob). Also, this unit takes the place of a direct box. It IS the DI. Just plug the XLR into the back of it, figure out if you need the 12db pad or night etc, and be sure to run your unit POST. This means the signal to the house (or your acoustic amp) comes after (post) all of your EQ-ing and the sweet Sonic Maximizer feature. If you run it PRE, then it bypasses all of those controls and just functions as a DI. I have accidentally bumped that button and wondered where my adjusted tone etc went! Run it on POST and you are good to go.PS - Can't believe these are now $150. The first one I bought was close to $400, and I was thrilled to have it (8 years ago), The last one I bought was in 2015, and they are all still going strong. This is a hidden gem in the acoustic world and worth twice the price. Thank you BBE! I never run my acoustic gear without one of these.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I have 4 of these at our church. They are perfect for acoustic, mandolin, violin, classical guitar . . . ANY acoustic instrument with a pickup. Works BEAUTIFULLY with an LR Baggs Radius on any of these instruments. We demand perfect tone, and I've not found any other preamp this flexible, this high quality, and this consistently beautiful. I could go on for another 1000 words, but the fact remains that if you buy one, you may well end up buying another one, or two, or three. With the famous BBE Sonic Max. technology, and wonderfully easy controls, I don't know why these aren't everywhere. No Aura can compete with it. No Para DI, and nothing from Fishman. I have bought every option of these other units and keep coming back to this every time. It's so natural sounding, and we get comments all the time on our tone. I assure you that you won't be disappointed. We began using them 5-6 years ago, and keep adding them as our church band increases. They will do it all. It's not just a preamp for acoustic guitar, though it is fantastic in that application. I use a 5k Breedlove with an internal mic and Baggs M1, and a Taylor 12-string with Baggs M80 and I get comments on the beauty of the tone every week. No feedback. This is just right. This is the one device that both tone-junkies as well as FOH techs will love. Get one. Get four. And enjoy!The only question I have is why doesn't everyone playing live know about these? It's the best-kept secret in live acoustic sound without spending ludicrous money on an uber-complex system. At the current price, they are a steal. I was grateful to get my first for $300+ and thought it was worth twice that then. Our 4th now costs less than $200. Wow. Get them while you can.

I am back to using this box full time, because I like the sound. It has the best and easiest user interface and gets me the best sound. I'm not saying that there are not other pre-amps that sound good.I had a big problem in one gig, and stopped using it for several months, but the problem did not recur when I began to use it again in situations where a failure would not be a disaster, and I kept a backup box handy. I conclude that the problem I had was an unidentified electronic gremlin. I never figured it out. My local repair guy looked the BBE pedal over thoroughly afterward and found nothing wrong.*********************************Previous review, now shortened*********************************I leave my previous five star review intact below.We purchased this in April '18 and I used it for seven months for four gigs a week plus, and as reported in my original review, liked it a lot. Recently in the middle of a gig it began to emit a high-frequency squeal which certainly ruined the musical moment, with the clip light on the right side flashing. I had not dropped or abused it, and all the setting were as they had been for several months. When I unplugged the guitar, it continued to squeal and the clip light kept blinking. So - quality control? Random failure? I don't know, and it isn't really my problem since I have something else that works...**************************************************ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW**************************************************I like it and am using it to gig regularly with a nylon-string guitar and piezo pickup without internal electronics, run directly into this box with a regular 10' instrument cable, and output to a mixer using the XLR DI output. It has just the capacities I need for a nice, clean acoustic guitar sound, and nothing more.1. The BBE Acoustimax processor is housed in a metal box with metal knobs, except for the small plastic switches in the back, and feels like it could be banged around and not suffer. It is a little larger than most stomp boxes, and a little bit heavy, but no complaint here.2. It has a very clear user interface, without too many bells and whistles. Each knob is clearly labeled, and does just what it does; they are large, knurled and easy to turn. I was able to dial in the sound I wanted very quickly, and had no trouble understanding the procedure. The Zoom A3, by contrast, has a nightmare of a user interface and squirrely little multi-function knobs, although it has a very good sound and many more effects than this box. The Boss AD-2, which I have also used, does not produce as nice-sounding an output and requires additional signal processing.3. There are three basic components: EQ, a notch filter, and the proprietary Sonic Maximizer, which has only two knobs and a foot switch. The notch filter, essential for acoustic guitars, works very well and is adjustable for both frequency and amplitude, with a knob for each. The EQ has a nice sweepable mid so that you can cut or boost any part of the frequency range.4. Mute switch is a very good feature.5. Although I have read criticisms of the Sonic Maximizer, it really does improve the sound. I see no drawback, and it can be turned off.Criticisms:1. It doesn't yield as hot a signal as the Zoom A3. The volume knob has a very narrow range, and apparently only works by attenuating the full signal of the output, judging by the result of using the switch on the back which bypasses the volume knob.2. Proprietary wall-wart power supply. By contrast, the Zoom A3, thinking state-of-the-art, has, besides batteries and wall-wart, a USB cable to plug into any USB power supply, very handy; this ought to be easy to add nowadays, and our mixer has a single USB power supply output which eliminates one wall-wart nine-volt transformer.3. It doesn't have any other effects. However, this probably makes it better at what it does do.4. It doesn't have a boost switch. Now, I don't need this, because I am perfectly happy just playing softer or louder as necessary, but I observe that the Fishman box has a boost switch and that this seems to be important to some guitarists.5. If there were one additional effect I could wish for, it would be a simple reverb, but this is unreasonable since I could run another pedal for that (as it is, I use the mixer, which has an effects bank).However, I still give it 4 stars for doing its job well, having a simple, clear interface and a great sound, and dock it one star for a still mysterious and inexplicable failure, and for the fact that I still nervously carry another preamp for backup.

I've been searching for a good preamp/DI for my acoustic sound for a while now. I've tried a few other options all with good results, just not great ones. I ordered this when I saw the price drop figuring it's worth a shot. I am really glad I did!Cannot express how impressed I am with the sound. I typically run through a DI (I've used/tried run of the mill whirlwind, a Zoom A3, Ultrsound acoustic DI, Fishman Aura and a couple other straight DI's) to the PA. I set this up the same way and with just a little bit of EQ and adjusting the sonic maximizer (via the Process and Lo Contour) I got probably the best sound I've heard out of my gear plugged in. It really was that easy. Really rounded out the low end and gave a nice chime to the top without being harsh. I have no doubt over the weeks that as I get a little more dialed it's going to be even better.Has really all the features I wanted - DI out, tuner out, pad, ground lift, EQ (really like the sweepable mid), notch, mute and can bypass the maximizer if needed. Really a great piece of gear. Looking forward to getting even more out of it.The only gripe I have at all is the use of a 12V power supply. A 9V would be preferred as I'm sure most guitar players have a spare 9V PS laying around somewhere if the stock one decides to go out. I will likely purchase a spare 12V wall wart just to have in my bag should this ever happen. For the quality of sound provided by this piece I'll take this minor inconvenience!

I didn’t see a huge difference in the overall sound although there are several knobs to customize your sound with.