BBE 262

This is a very no brainer effect. Use it in your amp or pa's effect loop. If your already using the loop for your effects, I think I seen somewhere to place the BBE unit first in the chain. I tried it both ways and it works the same. But you cant plug your guitar into it and then plug it in your amp. Your guitar doesn't produce enough impeduence for the unit to pick up. So you have to use it in your effects loop.
There's only two knobs on the unit, process and low contour. Very easy to get a great sound out of. Plus there's a button on the front of the unit that allows you to hear the unit on and off, you'll see real quick how muddly your sound was. This button is there so you dont have to turn to whole unit off and on to hear the difference.
Its a single stero unit, or dual mono. I have my guitar amp running through one channel, on my pa through the other.

Ive got a Marshall 80watt solid state combo amp. And I thought it was the best sounding amp Ive ever owned. Well it is now by far. This BBE unit could polish a dog turd up and make it look good enough to eat.
The unit is not noisy at all. But do make sure you turn it on then turn on your amp or pa. This will eliminate some feedback you might experience. Theres no boost from this unit so you dont have to worry about that. But I did have to redo my pa settings due to a feedback problem after running my pa through the BBE. After I got my pa setting tweaked, the vocals came out so much clearer.
This is a have to have effect, I reccomend it to anyone from singer, to guitar, to bass player. Everyone should have this effect or at least try it.

Ive had the unit for 6 months and have played quite a few gigs with it. It shows no sign of breaking down or anything. A very well built reliable unit and effect. Yes I would use it without a backup.

Not had to dael with them yet, thank God. One of my friends had one and it was about 2 months past the warranty for some reason the unit starting going in and out, so he called them and they wanted to see the unit. He sent it to them and they sent him a brand new one. They told him that they wanted to keep his old one to find out what caused it to malfunction. Kinda like doing an autopsy. So if they were that interested in finding out one of there shortcomings then they have to be a company interested in giving the best to you.

I love this unit. Now that Ive played through it for a while I couldnt imagine playing without it. My band plays anything from the Beatles, to Metallica, to Bob Marley, plus originals and this effect help on everything we play. Plus it really cleans up your vocals when running it through a pa.
This unit can really help you find your own tone. In a world filled with modeling and people wanting to sound like someone else. This unit stands tall by helping you find your OWN sound instead of copying someone elses. GET YOUR OWN TONE.
If this unit was stolen, broken, or lost, I would get another as soon as possible. Plus I would put a bounty on the head of the prick that stole or lost it!!!!

This unit is extremely easy - just set it and forget it. 2 sets of knobs (Contour and Process) and a bypass switch on the front panel, two sets of ins and outs plus a footswitch jack and AC jack for the included AC adapter on the back.

The weakest link in my home recording food chain was the final mixes. I had quality input, but my final mixes were coming out muddy and undefined. I tried new monitors (Alesis Point 7) and that still didn't help. Then along came the BBE 262 - I set it up to play back a mix coming out of my PC, and I could not believe the difference it made. WOW! The cymbals cut through, the bass was punchier, and you could hear each synth part clearly. Just go easy on the Contour and Process knobs- it is very easy to over-do it because it just sounds so much better.

A word to guitarists (of which I am one). I have seen the other reviews regarding using this device in your electric guitar setups. I don't think this device was meant to be used like a floor pedal. First of all, the Contour knob probably won't be very evident as it works at around 50 hz, and guitar usually has enough mids and noise already without this processing.

However, when used as an enhancer (I run my mic, bass, and acoustic electric through an ART Tube MP then into the 262 then to the PC) it is fantastic. This unit really shines during the recording and mixdown process.

Not sure - I've never owned BBE products before.

Not sure - I've never owned BBE products before.

I am in the process of upgrading some of my home studio gear and was planning on some sort of EQ to help my mixing problems, but with the 262 I won't need extra EQ. I have been playing and recording a variety of styles for almost 20 years and this is the closest thing to a "magic black box" I have encountered. Sam Ash (Nashville) told me this model was being discontinued, so if you're on a budget this will be the best $79 you will ever spend and I would certainly replace it and will never mix again without it.

2 knobs and a power button, if you cant get this go back to pre-school.

This thing sounds great. Only trouble is it requires a certain level input or higher. so if you wanna play guitar quiet it wont work. IF YOU PLAY GUITAR GET THE 462! This isnt really made for guitar, this model is more for mixing and stuff.

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BBE is great, I called them about my problem of the 262 clipping at low volume and they let me swap them for a re-furbished 462! Pretty sweet. They are awesome

Its great for what its intended for. And this in NOT a guitar model. get the 462 for guitar.

Simple 4 knobs and bypass. 2 knobs per channel. Contour knob effects the amount of bass and the Process knob controls how much the processor effects the original signal. Bypass lets you compare clean and processed signal.

Here's where I have to part company with most of the other user's comments. In fairness to the product, there is a chance that this unit, though purchased new, may have been defective. What I have discovered is that the input sensitivity is fairly low. So much so that I was not able to use it in an effects loop because the signal was not strong enough to overcome the input threshold and so it never kicked in. Next I tried it direct in-line where the input signal strength was adequate to engage the processor but there is a significant SHHHHH noise added to the sound. As I struck a note on the guitar and caused the effect to kick in and the noise becomes evident. As the note decayed the noise stops once the input level drops below the threshold and the unit goes back into a psuedo bypass mode. As for the added clarity and presence that the unit adds to the signal it's great. One other note of interest, the processor in the 462 and 862 are said to bebetter and should be much quieter. Due to the noise I chose to return it.

Except for the afore mentioned problems it appears to be well made and should withstand the riggers of daily use.

I e-mailed the company about the problems I was experiencing and got a reply the next day. Good support and knowledgable.

This was bought to enhance a simple 4 track, tape based system. I will be purchasing the 462 at some time in the future to replace this unit.

Pretty damn easy. Two knobs per channel.

As used in my guitar rack: 1 (HATED IT) As used in the studio on drums, vocals etc.. : 8
This thing melted me down when I ran it in my guitar rig. It amplified the low E sting so it was about twice as loud as all other strings. I tried adjusting the thing for a long time. However, it did sound awful cool in the studio on drums. If you are a guitarist I would strongly suggest you avoid this piece of equipment.

NC

NC

I bought this thing for $70 (new) at Guitar Center. It was one of those "Once in a Lifetime Super Sales" etc... Shop around if you must have one of these baby's

Unbelievable easy. Two knobs (lo contour and process) for each channel. Simple manual, but it explains the BBE process. As one of the owners of a BBE sonic maximizer here at harmony central said: set and forget. Couldn't agree more.

I use it in my main mix for my synths and drum boxes. There is some additional noise if you use old analogue synths (from enhanced or should I say maximized highs), but nothing a behringer denoiser couldn't fix... The sound is unbelievable. All that EQ tweaking and looking for the right sound is now obsolete.

I own it less than a month, so I can't really comment. But they are supposed to be very reliable.

Our local distributer is horrible. I won't say any names, but I hope elsewhere in the world people have greater luck. My saga began with a power supply. I was too happy to get this lovely box, so I didn't try it in the shop (warehouse/studio). When I plugged the unit in my mixer inserts there was a horrible noise and distortion. I checked the box and the PSU and found out the PSU was 9V DC and not 12V AC as it should have been. Okay, our local supplier said that BBE put the wrong PSU in the package. Here comes the fun part - they didn't want to replace the PSU, since they "didn't have a spare one". So I made the PSU myself and the 262 works fantastic since then. The distributor deserves grade 0 for buyer help and support. But that isn't BBE's fault.

The 262 BBE Sonic Maximizer is an incredible piece of gear. A must for any music artist or producer. Just try it, you won't be sorry. I hope other distibutors in ither countries are better and more user friendly.

2 controls for each of two channels, Lo-contour and process. There are also in/out and on/off switches, but I can't see why there would ever be an occasion to by-pass or turn off the unit. Just set each control to 12 O'Clock and tweak until you hear the best use of the process.

I am using this in the bus inserts in my mixer, so I'm processing the whole mix. At first, I was getting distortion, but a little experimentation fixed that. Now, I wonder what I ever did without this wonderful little unit. It's not really an effect, but a process. Using it is the differenbce between putting your speakers behind giant pillows and taking them away. I am now able to use patches that previously got buried in the mix. This little $129 investment was like buying all new sound modules. In short, WOW! ... and this is the cheap unit!

Too new for evaluation

Never had to deal with BBE for anything (never owned their product before)

Don't play another minute without one of these babies. I'm not kidding people. This will be the best $129 you've ever spent.