PreSonus Bluemax

I found the unit to very very easy to get a good, professional sound especially if you have no prior use with compressors. You have your choice of presets or manual mode. I have an extentsive background with compression and found all the presets good-some exceptional. The manual is almost like a course text book in compression, well written and a good reference for how to use a compressor period. It's free and downloadable from the presonus website. My unit maybe an older one. It's made in the usa and seems to use high quality parts.

respectfully,disregard the last review. It's the only negative review I found for the bluemax online. I read it before I purchased the unit, and I have to admit I was a little nervous. But, proceeded and based on my experience with the presonus blue max I would align myself with all the positive reviews for this little compressor. I have a degree in broadcasting, played music all my life-worked in studios and have a project studio. Worked as a FOH engineer. So, I know a little bit about processing. The presonus blue max is what it is. It's a half rack compressor in the $500 and under category and you should not be comparing it to Fairchilds or UREI. For normal project studio applications, small venues and home recording it's as good or better than anything out there. I've had an RNC and Joe Meek C2. I would put the blue max in that category and say among the three it wins. I cannot think of a single rack mount compressor in the $500 and under category that sounds any better than the blue max (I've tried or used them all.) Behringer, DBX, Alesis are a bunch of digital junk and your better off using free shareware downloads on your computer than tracking with those. I don't like the Presonus tube preamps though and I would try the ART ones with this unit. That seems to be a winning combination for budget users. The blue max is all analog. I didn't find it especially noisy considering it is vca compressor. You do need to use have it set properly (see manual) and use a preamp in front of it. All the settings are solid, this unit would also serve you well if your just looking for a pedal alternative to boutique effects (i.e. Ross, Boss, Ibanez) This will do the job. I've had every-EVERY compressor pedal there is vintage or currently offered and they are vastly overated noise boxes that mostly mangle your sound rather than actually compress. Most act more as limiters (not the same as compression-two different things.) Buy this, it's as good as Ross gray box. I found the blue max to be transparent-though when you do process you can hear it. I like this over RNC because the two sound almost identical but the bluemax is way cheaper. I prefer this over the Joe Meek C2 because the bluemax seems to do a better job on vocals. All I can say about the last negative review on blue max is either this guy is a novice user who blames the equipment because because of his lack of musical ability, or he doesn't know how to use a compressor. I found his review belonged more in a creative writing workshop than a user forum as I totally disagree. I found the blue max a totally professional product for what it is ($500 and under category.) In addition, you shouldn't really be doing an A/B test with this and a Presonus Eureaka strip with an FET compressor. In the $500 and under category the Blue max rocks and you should buy this with confidence and security. Hell? It's all analog and made in the USA. It's better than most small studios were using in the 80s and early 90s. I'd like it's sound on bass/guitar to an Ashly SC-50 (very under rated vintage compressor) I give it a 10 for sound quality-this an informed opinion. EXCELLENT

Zero problems. Built very solid. Great support

solid. go to their web site more reviews of the blue max by major industry magazines.

I would give this compressor a 9.5 but since there is no such rating. I will give it a 10 for what it is. "Best of" category for compressors for under $500. I would buy it over any Behringer, DBX, Alesis, or ART compressor. The sound of this and the RNC are so similar I am surprised no one else has really picked up on this yet. All I can assume is that few people have had both units to really do side by side comparison. I like the Joe Meek C2 and it would be an excellent companion to the blue max-as you would have an analog and an optical compressor. But, I like the blue max better on vocals and it does everything well respectfully. Joe meek kicks but on drums that's for sure. Blue max is very good on kick drum and snare. There both good but would chose the Blue max because it seems to be the more "all in one" choice instead of special applications. I like the blue max on vocals with a art tube pre-amp. For a budget processing choice this will give you a professional studio sound for not much money. One of the best choices out there. As I've said-I've used or had everything at one time or another (like a lot of people.) Compressor is what it is. It is somewhat dependent on your skill set. If you know how to process sound and use a board you can do a lot with little. If you are a novice user like the last review you can have a 1176 and still not track decently. The nice thing about the blue max is that all the presets are there so if you have no background-and just stick to those you will get professional sound quality. Or, if you have a little bit of a background can find the sweet spots manually. Either way it's a winner and very much recomend this compressor. Presonus Blue Max is the BEST! :) Professional sound for a very affordable price. Buy without hesitation!

It's not easy to get a good sound out of this unit as all the presets are unstable.

The sound quality is quite effected. What you put in comes out in many shades...all unmusical.

Very dependendable...unfortunately...

Presonus is helpful and responsive. I just wish they didn't jump from pure crap to greatness without middle ground.

My sugestion, if you want a compressor insert in your hard earned music. Don't buy this one. Instead, put your money where your mouth is. You get what you pay for...

I think even if you tried to you could not get a bad sound out of this. Awesome compressor. It really is the best one out there for under $600 for non-sound enigneer musicians. It's analog, the presets are there. If you only had money to buy one piece of gear I would make it this. You can use this for playing out and home demos. I'd even use it in the studio. The manual is well laid out, easy to understand and good reading. You don't need it. Maybe just to read the present descriptions. Nice thing is if you don't have one you can download it for free from there web site. The unit is made in the USA and it's a damn good product

In a word: GREAT! Other compressors I have tried and use: Art tube optical compressor levelar, Fostex rack mount, Ibanez CP9 and CP10, Boss CS2. I had a bunch of vintage tube compressors and limiters (gates, limpander and home brew) I could never figure out how to use. Of all these this would be my desert island one. Why? You can use it for playing out. Does just as good as any pedal compressor and a lot quieter and simpler to use. Great for home demos. All the presents are there for whatever instrument you need it for. Even has a mix down limiter setting. All of the settings sound great and like have a sound engineer everywhere you go. I do not think the unit is noisey. It depends how you adjust the input/output levels. Even at full crank it's quieter than anything else out there. I really like this compressor for guitars and vocals. I kept it and didn't sell it off because I wanted to keep it for drums and use the optical compressor for vocals but I would use this for everything. Dispite the fact the Art levelar is an optical compressor with tubes and a built in limiter I reach for the blue max.

indestructible. If it was anymore indestructible would be called "peavey"

I heard there good I don't think I'd ever need it though very solid unit

You can use this compressor for everything: Originals, metal, hard rock, classic rock, country. Does it all. If something happened to it I would buy another in a heartbeat. I am not sure if these are still made but readily availible on ebay. I think the unit is perfect and I love everything about it. BUY IT

It couldn't get any easier!!! It has presets so no messing with perameters,values,thresholds....just stick it on the preset for the instrument that you are using and poof....great compression...

my ONLY beef with this product is unless you are looking at the preset knob straight on from an even level it's hard to tell which setting that you're putting it on.

I am a bassist.

my rig is currently...

Excel 8 space rack>
Furman rr15>
Presonus Bluemax>
Sansamp RBI>
two vent spaces>
Carvin DCM1500>
Avatar 410

This thing makes my sound VERY punchy and evens out the sounds very well. I haven't used it with anything but bass yet, but it serves it's job well...very natural sounding,No pumping or breathing,just great compression...

It's in my rack (via presonus Bluemax rack adapter) so it will be fine in there, but even before I stuck it in my rack it was fine...built VERY well!

I emailed them to find out about a manual/rack adapter...they emailed me back next day with a PDF of the manual and sent me an online link to purchase the rack adapter...very good support

I love it! I chose it over Behringer stuff,Alesis stuff,DBX stuff, and even compared it to my friend's Avalon(The avalon is INCREDIBLE but at $1500+ my Presonus holds its own)

great product...Presonus hit the bullseye with this one!

Not much to it. A trained monkey could figure it out.

If you are not familiar with compression this is probably the best choice to get your feet wet while getting some experience with compression. If you know how to set the parameters then buy a real machine.

No trouble, seems solid.

I bought this machine when I was starting up my project studio. It worked well until I started getting better. After that I had to get something else. Don't get me wrong, I still use this unit on almost every project (acoustic guitar preset is good for a lot of what I do. It is not, however, an end-all solution.

Very easy to use especially the preset. I used the preset on this unit most of the time because they work.

Very transparent, no apparent breathing and pumping in the sound. Most of the time you'll hardly notice its there but it is doing it's job. In fact I bought another one after a month of using the bluemax. I tried this with my bass rig, guitar rig,in my studio recording (drums, bass, guitar between the pream and the soundcard) this unit never let me down. The bluemax was first presonus product, since then I have bought a lot from them preamps, other compresors, limiter/gate.

I had it for 2 years now. The unit is still in good shape and sounds good.

Excellent customer support. I did not have to deal with customer support on this one.

Does what a compressor does with out the added discoloration in the spectrum.

The presets make it easy to use. Compression is ( or at least it should be) a SUBTLE effect. It should generally not jump out at you, but you should be conscience of it as positively effecting the sound. The whole idea of setting the Threshold, Ratio, Attack and Release controls to the exact setting, in relation to each other and to the recording application at hand, is daunting. The presets for various applications are a godsend. I haven't had the time to fool around with it in the manual mode, but I really don't want to be an engineer- I want to create and record.
I like the manual, because it gives a decent explanation of compression, and it gives the exact parameters of each present, which is an excellent education tool.

Sound quality, to me , is very good. I have had it about a week, and am just starting to appreciate it . I think it will be more valuable to me as I learn it better. It is only noisy if you turn up the input or output too much. Set them as hot as possible, but when you hear hiss, back off a bit.
I recently bought a Condensor mic (Samson SCO1 (??), a ART Tube MP, and the BlueMax. The combination of these has served to vastly increase the quality of recorded vocals, and acoustic guitars. Bass is my next target. Loud passages no longer can overwhelm the recorded track, but result in a usable emphasis. Its difficult to describe, but when you hear it, you'll know it. I did, and I would rate my ear as no better then a sophisticated amature.

Just got it. Its not rack mountable so gigging with it could be trouble. Seems reliable enough in a home studio setting.

Don' know

Blues, classic rock. Have a few guitars, just bought a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp (very musical, very loud).
The combination I have described above as resulted in better recordings. But the presets on the Blue Max elevate it far above its peers, for the non-expert user.

As for a compressor's quite complex structure (understanding the interrelation of Ratio ,Threshold, Attack and Release) the Bluemax es Presets are a VERY good way of conserving precious time for those who are not fond of navigating multifunctional dialers in a "fantastic" multieffect black box that houses 1000 presets ,each with at least 25 different parameters to alter but forgot to mention that you need a computer AND some kind of editprogram to stand a chance of fiddling with the parameters with some basic overview. I simply hate the fact that i have to turn on the computer,waiting for programs to load, making the right Midi channel connections and stare on a screen watching tiny markers manipulating microscopic bars,buttons and sliders. It's a crime against humanity and should be punishable by law.
Here we have a small light box, transportable and with old-fashioned knobs that actually do what you expect.
I have not yet had the urge to outsmart the 15 presets in the manual mode of making my own settings for drums,bass and guitar. They are simply fine presets. Plug in whatever you want : It has a preamp good enough to amplify guitars and bass.
The simplicity is the award-winning factor and i myself feel releived and confident that it never can crush, has no latency at all and actually also comes in three fysical dimensions.

Presets for vocals are godgiven. There are three settings ,one for Ballads, a secound for a little more ratio for the "average" not used to microphone singers and a third for those who scream their lungs out. Can't be much simpler then this. On a livegig it would mean that you just with a click of the presetdialer can compress a loud voice in one song and compress a tiny voice in the next. try to do that with any software - attached miraclebox. or any overburdened "all in one" toy in ANY situation. Got it ?
I havent found any lame presets among the 15 and there are even 2 of them for special effects (A nice grungy pumping, and a glitzy stratocaster rhytm squashing)
I read a review where they compared the bluemax to a couple of other compressors in about the same pricerange. They labeled the Bluemax as the one that sounded most natural and transparant on compressed drums,basgitar and acoustic guitar.

Anytime,anywhere.

Havent had any experience.

I have a small analog studio and i dont have the time to keep everything as software plugins. The Blumax came as an opportunitybuy and first i was a little sceptical. But as i dont like to fiddle with buttons and sliders and play with 150 parameters around, i gave it a chance and i have no use for the manual mode yet.
The only thing i think is not so good is that i cant use different presets for each channel. i am tied to both channels doing the same compression algorythm. Maybe a Bluemax MkII with independent channel settings but with the same presets would blow away all other competition; like the Behringer's Autocomp ?

There are some well made presets on here to cover many applications of this product. it is easy to hit the ground running just by picking a preset you like and tweaking the input signal a little to dial it in. Once you get the hang of the units performance, editing in manual mode is a snap.
here's my gripe: the white marks on the knobs that point to your setting are on the tip of what is a very long knob. If you are viewing it from straight on, no prob, but from any other angle it is virtually impossible to know with certainty where you have landed. i suggest revising the knobs to the type with a stripe down the side or having the actual indicator mark positioned at the base of the knob rather than the tip. thats the only reason i put a 7 for this category. thanks for listening

i mainly use this just after my guitar before my preamp to narrow the dynamic range for more even tube overdrive. I find that it definitely colors the tone of my guitar, but i do not mind because it actually warms up the tone very nicely. even when the compressor is off, i like it inline to sweeten my tone a bit. Compared to other compressors i've used including the one this one replaced in my rack, this compressor works in a very subtle way. no need to have lots of squashing and breathing from high ratios, this compressor does exactly what i want it to do with what i feel is a very minimal amount of compression. the output LEDs let you see instantly how much signal is getting compressed. i like that. Noise is something you will always get with a compressor, but i am not bothered by the slight amount that is added. i use an outboard expander plus my preamp has a built in gate, so its no biggy.

it is new, and i hope i dont have any problems with it - prior to this purchase, i had never heard of Presonus.

i am using the unit in my rack rig for 80's type hard rock. i also take the blue max with me on my jazz gigs running through my Fender tweed combo. it helps in a band situation so you dont get lost in all that moving air. I will be using it to record tracks and am pleased that it has an instrument/line level switch, bravo!
i just kind of took a chance with this compressor, buying it solely based on the specs and literature. I must say i am very very pleased with its sound quality and performance.

My first compressor. Really easy to use. The presets sound great, especially on a clean electric guitar.

Manual is really helpful for showing you the settings for the presets. You can tweak it from there.

Very clean sound. Not noisy at all. Make sure the correct setting is selected for +4/-10. Makes a HUGE difference.

The effect itself really sounds pleasant. Brought a mix I had to life.

Its cheap an sounds great. What more does one need? I think I might get another one. 2 channel stereo compression for $300. NICE!!