Gear Review: Without Mercy guitarist DJ Temple on his Vintage BBE Sonic Maximizer

Without Mercy guitarist DJ Temple has been busy working on a follow up to their self-titled album. DJ recently gave PureGrainAudio some of his time to tell us about his vintage BBE Sonic Maximizer and how this piece of gear help him become one of the most brutal guitarists in Canada.

What one piece of equipment do you use to obtain your signature sound?
DJ That’s so hard to narrow down! I’m really a huge fan of a natural amp sound. If I had to choose something, it would probably have to be my vintage BBE Sonic Maximizer.

What about it makes it so important to you?
DJ: It was turned on to me by my guitar teacher who used to rant and rave about how badass they were for extending your low end. It’s one of those subtle low end additions that you don’t really notice. But if you play with it for 10 minutes and then turn it off you almost dry heave at the difference. It has been such an integral part of my rig and has done nothing but amazing things for my sound / tone.

What are the major pros and cons?
DJ:The pros are easy!:
· Badass fucking low end addition that makes even high treble guitars sound sick!
· Tightens the low end so your “chunk” doesn’t suffer.
· It’s vintage! Hard to find that shit anymore!!
· It has adjustable settings for your process and low end.

Cons:
· It takes some getting used to. The overall sound gets to be different than you were used to playing when there wasn’t one in your chain.

How long have you used this piece of equipment and would you ever change it?
DJ: I’ve been using it live for around 3 years now and I highly doubt I would change it. Like I said, I really stand behind what the product can do for my sound and tone. As my education of pedals and tone enhancement gets more in depth, I’m sure there may be some new-fangled method to achieve the same result. But for now, that red and grey box is staying right where it is.

Any final thoughts or comments on the gear?
DJ: It’s my honest opinion that a pedal is just something that helps to enhance what you already have that you love and dig. It’s public knowledge about how much I dig the Krank Amplification product. I’m even lucky enough to be an endorsed artist with them. Krank is the shit and I have always believed that for as long back as I can remember. Now combine that with one of these BBE Sonic Maximizers, and you’re most likely going to cream yourself. BBE makes a damn fine product, and if you can get your hands on one of these vintage pedals………then you’d better stock up on tissues and tube socks.

Check out the song: “Chasm”