I take back a lot of what I've ever said about the Sonic Stomp being unnecessary...

[KevinFinn]

...'Cause really, that just depends on what you're having to use. I learned today that keeping one around might just be a great idea.

See, with my own rig (Stratocaster mainly, through a '59 Bassman or a Blackface Super Reverb) I thought the Sonic Stomp offered very little. It was to the point where it just sounded like EQ I didn't need, and what the manual said the unit would accomplish seemed lost on me.

But today? I was attempting to get a personal tone out of an Orange Rockerverb 50, and that's always proved impossible for me... until I tried the Sonic Stomp and corrected the phase like it's for. The foggy, aggressive mids were not matched, but they were clarified and warmed at the same time. They remained characteristic and dominant, but the rest of the amp was allowed to shimmer and shine as well. Lovely tone.

Seriously, through the effects loop, the Sonic Stomp was a beautiful, glorious thing.

So I figure - keeping one around when traveling, when you aren't sure of what gear might be available - is a very good idea, even if I don't feel the need for it with my own rig.

 

[KevinFinn]

Completely unworthy of comment?

Okay then, folks, nothing to see here.

 

[doublee]

Love my Stomp with my various Fenders......

 

[zephaniah zion]

I love the Sonic Stomp period. One of those devices that always have a home on my board. This is not directed to the OP at all, but I see a lot of hate for pedals, amps, stuff in general that people either don't understand or don use correctly and then the gear is blamed. A lot of guys don't know how to EQ anything.

 

[lux_interior]

Interesting to see that through a clean Fender amp it didn't do much, but it improved a dirty Orange amp... were you using pedals with the Fenders? And did you notice improvement when placed after preamp dirt (in the effects loop) or even before it (before the amp's input)? I am more of a "clean machine with pedals" kind of player, although I wish I could have some space to crank an Orange AD amp (one of my favourites).

I also did not understand what you meant when you said that the mids were not matched...

 

[cram]

I've posted similar sentiment in regard to this pedal.
I have found that when I have an amp that has a great sound, no need.
It dynamically alters/eq's/overlaps the sound from what I gather (non technical explanation there...) and for a bad amp it does great things.

case in point -
my jcm800 2204 no need.
my jcm900 4104 is an entirely different story.

I'll try to find the recent threads I've posted to to cross ref this one.

 

[cram]

BBE Sonic Stomp,,,,,really?

Great information on the BBE Sonic Maximizer and "process" here: Radio-Flier's BBE Data page

Edit 2: A thorough explanation with nifty graphs at dogsonacid, this is probably a better link since it is all thoroughly explaining the schematic from the breakdown above. I used to know where to get a daughter-board that emulates the BBE circuit for aftermarket replacement since they don't like to give the proprietary ICs out, but I've forgotten

Adding sparkle to a dull amp?
BBE pedals...what do you think
Using High Output and Low Output guitars together...HELP!!!
Boost pedal that actually fattens a strat?

This pedal was actually given to me to hold for a while with a friend's amp 5150 head and 4x12 cab that he had no space for during a move... He said the GC sales guy said that for this type of amp, the sonic stomp is something he recommends to people.

Going to my local GC to get strings and picks.. and to check out anything else of interest, I asked my guy there who's the only one I'll really engage in conversation with because he's someone who has a technical background and be explained the dynamic nature of this pedal and the history/evolution of the chip.


In the first link I included above, there's a link to a very similar explanation of the history of this pedal.

 

[KevinFinn]

Interesting to see that through a clean Fender amp it didn't do much, but it improved a dirty Orange amp... were you using pedals with the Fenders? And did you notice improvement when placed after preamp dirt (in the effects loop) or even before it (before the amp's input)? I am more of a "clean machine with pedals" kind of player, although I wish I could have some space to crank an Orange AD amp (one of my favourites).

I also did not understand what you meant when you said that the mids were not matched...

I meant they were still present and characteristically Orange-sounding. The entirety of the amp just sounded more fixed up. Like it had been recorded and then tweaked in the studio. That's a good way to say it. A well engineered STUDIO Orange sound, as opposed to the raw, live variety.

When I used it with a Fender, it was a Blackface Super Reverb. I always use pedals, and had the Sonic Stomp last in my signal path. It offered nothing - it was either too discreet to be noticeable, or I turned it up to be noticeable and it sounded terrible - boomy and brash at the same time. Just awful.

I think focusing and phase-correcting the ranges of an amp that mostly does a good job with those very ranges is the issue. The Blackface family already excels at what the Sonic Stomp might improve. The beefiness and the bright, glassiness - that's already there.

With an Orange, though, you have an inherent eq curve that looks like a mountain. It's the opposite. And it's very limiting unless that's the ONLY sound you want. The Sonic Stomp can make it a lot more versatile. Clear the Orange Fog, so to speak.

 

[puckhead]

that certainly explains why people either love it or hate it.
there really is no middle ground.

 

[lux_interior]

Thanks for the answer, Kevin... good points. So you saw improvement when placed in the effects loop of the Rockerverb. Did you notice any improvement when placed before the amp's input (therefore before the preamp section that as I understand you are driving quite hard)?