As a piece of hardware, I understand that it can help a bass guitar in a live situation. As a plug-in, I have yet to read anyone with any credentials that uses one.

It's magical trickery! Basically does some not-too-drastic phase-manipulation to realign frequencies that some speakers may normally get out-of-align...time-wise...between lower and higher frequencies...to make it appear to have more punch and sheen. Almost like a very short, EQ-split adjustable delay. Kind of...I think...maybe might possibly be... :roll:

http://www.bbesound.com/technologies/BBE_HDS/

Anyway, I've used them live, and you can tell when you mess with them. Whether it's necessary or good, or not, is up to your ears.

Kapt.Krunch

Yup. They are a form of exciter I suppose. They sound great on most things, but I find that they really shine when you put them somewhere in the FX loop for your amplifier/guitar rig. They can beef up a guitar sound amazingly live or in the studio when used in this manner (post preamp, pre speaker cabinet).

i don't think "beefs up" is a good definition of what a sonic maximizer does. It adds an airy, liveliness to your rig; it also adds some extra hiss to your rig. Live, I have no use for it. But, I use it for my recordings, specifically the vocals and the bass. The sonic maximizer really compensates for the fact that I'm using a Jay Turser bass through a Crate combo amp :D . The sonic maximizer helps the vocal track sound more lively and cuts down on the EQing I need to do. It's a handy gadget for home studios. That's my take on it, anyway. God bless.

Agreed on the airyness. I use one on my live guitar rig and FX loop in the studio. The overall control adds alittle more in the way of highs to the mix, and the bass control adds of course bass. The same result cans be produced using an EQ, however I like to run the Maximizer at the end of my FX loop so the entire overall sound is cleared up a little.

Also very good for vocals as stated above. And my final mixdowns are usually ran through it at a very light setting, since the tracks before were probably already altered with it.

On my Behringer DSP2024, the 'exciter' does the same thing... so I always called it an exciter.

I have one, I never use it anymore. I used to use it when I made quick tape transfers for clients, when people still had tape decks in thier cars. They could listen to the rough mix that way. It adds a some sparkle and thud ;)

They use a phase shift circuit inside,thats all I know...

oh and if you want mine for $50 plus shipping its yours;)