PSY Q

whiteseal · Post by **whiteseal** » Fri Dec 14, 2001 3:35 am

Anyone got an Aphex 204 and tryed out the psy q? How do they compare? I was thinking about getting the aphex, but if the creamware plug does a nice job then may be that. Any other alternatives (with big bottom type processing, not just high end exciter)?

ttfn,
Dan.

subhuman · Post by **subhuman** » Mon Dec 17, 2001 4:28 pm

Haven't had a chance to try the demos yet, but also curious how the PsyQ compares with BBE SonicMaximizer, etc, anyone who has that device and tries the PsyQ will hopefully comment here? Thanks in advance.

krizrox · Post by **krizrox** » Mon Dec 17, 2001 11:38 pm

I have the PsyQ and a BBE 462 Sonic Maximizer. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to try the plug-in yet but I can tell you a few things about the BBE.

It's an interesting piece of equipment. Especially if you have a shitty PA system. I've seen this thing turn a bad PA into a good sounding system. But it has almost no effect on a great sounding PA. At least, that's been my experience. I also tried it on my studio monitors but didn't care for the effect. Again, I think if you already have a great sounding system, this thing won't help and may actually hurt the quality.

I also have a small BBE direct box which I've used for bass guitar and again, it's OK. Nothing to write home about. As soon as I have a chance to try the PsyQ (soon I hope), I'll add more detail.

Nikibuzz · Post by **Nikibuzz** » Wed Dec 19, 2001 4:11 am

I have the BBE and the PSY EQ

The PSY EQ has a High end sheen and a bass compressor that the Bbe doesn't have.
The PSY EQ compares better with the Vitalizer.

The PSY EQ really opens up the mix.
However with all Sonic maximizers USE YOUR EARS!!

kensuguro · Post by **kensuguro** » Wed Dec 19, 2001 4:30 am

Any one care to explain what these things are anyway?? Exciters? what do they do?

dblbass · Post by **dblbass** » Wed Dec 19, 2001 7:26 pm

decent explanation of the basics here:

http://www.sospubs.co.uk/sos/1995_artic ... iters.html

and on how to use them here:

http://www.sospubs.co.uk/sos/1997_artic ... sors2.html

krizrox · Post by **krizrox** » Sat Dec 22, 2001 4:43 am

Well, I've had a chance to use the PsyQ on a couple of mixes. I have to tell ya, this is a nice tool to have. It came out just at the right time for me since I'm in the process of mixing and mastering a recording project for a local rock band.

I don't have a lot of experience with aural exciters so I can't compare it to anything except my BBE sonic maximizer.

This is a great tool if you have a rather dull sounding mix (would be great on some old analog cassette tape restoration I'll bet). I've been using it primarily on some vocal tracks and it's worked great! It really adds some nice - smooth sounding - sparkle. It can make a track sit in the mix a little better. I didn't notice much of a difference on the bass tracks. Similar to the results I get with the BBE. This thing is clearly happiest with a mid-range or full-range signal.

If your overall mix is already tight and bright sounding, you probably don't need this. But if the mix or track seems a little dull and lifeless, this will work wonders. Since I prefer to use things like this sparingly, I will probably pull it out only for individual tracks that seem to need a little spice. The vocalist I'm working with at the moment has kind of a lazy monotone-ish quality to his voice. It fits the music OK but sounded kind of dull. The PsyQ changed that instantly.

The Optimaster works great for the overall mix and mastering. Both these tools are worth the money IMHO.

dxl · Post by **dxl** » Fri Mar 15, 2002 8:38 am

BBE maximizer is aboout the same price as psyQ

Post by **garyb** » Fri Mar 15, 2002 10:39 am

the bbe and aphex effects are two totally different effects. the bbe does time alignment.(splits the signal into low mid and hi,then delays the low and mid freqs to compensate for the shift that occurs in a loudspeaker) the aphex adds harmonic content.(to compensate for the loss of harmonics when processing audio,a small amount of tuned distortion is added to the signal) don't know how psy-q works.

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Sat Mar 16, 2002 2:46 pm

hey dblbass, thx for the link we got a good introduction there