Sounds like we're confusing three different things.spitface wrote:Maxi's compress, eq, add reverb, etc. to a mix. They aren't inherently bad (like communism and Bill Clinton); they are cheaply made and/or programmed and provide a one-size fits all for your mix. If your stuff isn't going to mastering, go ahead and try one. If you will be going to mastering, don't bother with them...they will only make the engineer's job worse because he/she will have to undo the damage.
Basically, they perform a quick mastering job and don't do anything weird that a mastering engineer wouldn't try.
I often use a TC Finalizer plug-in on rough mixes for the kids to listen to at home.
Spitface.
"Sonic Maximizers" like the BBE circuits do "creative" things to the phase of different frequency ranges to make a sound "seem" clearer, more detailed, and sparkly. I agree... it makes a whole mix sound a bit messy and thin, in the long run.
"Enhancers" like the Aphex units are designed to add a slight amount of harmonic distortion to a signal to "enhance" the high end without EQing.
Maximizers such as your typical plug in, the Finalizer, and the L1/L2 stuff, are variations on the limiter. They bring up the overall level of a signal, usually by "look ahead" limiting.
Similarly, Normalizing, which is related to the aforementioned Maximizers, is just the act of taking a signal and increasing it's volume so it's loudest peak hits 0db - no compression or limiting.
Roger