FL Studio 
Soundgoodizer is a simplified stereo maximizer and enhancer built on the Maximus processing engine. You pick one of four configurations (A, B, C or D) and use the big Amount knob to blend the Low, Mid and High compressor output with the input. That simplicity helps when a preset already nudges a sound the right way. It gets risky when extra loudness passes for a better mix.
To use Soundgoodizer well, decide on one goal, try all four modes at a modest Amount, match the level of the active and bypassed signal, and keep the setting only if the sound still wins at similar loudness. No reliable chart says A is for vocals, B for drums or D for bass. The official Soundgoodizer manual documents four Maximus configurations, and it doesn't tie any letter to a particular instrument.
What Soundgoodizer actually does
Soundgoodizer hides a complex dynamics setup behind five controls: the four configuration buttons and Amount. That hidden processing can change density, peak behavior, tonal balance and perceived loudness all at once. It's why one turn of the knob can sound dramatic, and why the result is harder to diagnose than a regular compressor with visible threshold, ratio, attack and release.
Think of the plugin as a quick way to audition presets. It answers one narrow question: does one of these four ready-made Maximus configurations improve this source with a small blend? It won't tell you which band is being controlled, how fast gain reduction reacts or whether saturation is involved. For those decisions, open Maximus.
What the Amount knob controls
Amount does something more specific than a generic wet/dry knob. Image-Line says it controls the same parameter as LMH Mix in Maximus. In the Maximus documentation, LMH Mix blends the plugin input with the output of the Low, Mid and High compressors before the final MASTER stage.
In practice, Amount sets how much of the preset's band processing ends up in the result. Zero is the clean starting point, and turning it clockwise brings in more of the selected A–D configuration. Don't read it as a percentage of some fully transparent parallel effect, because the preset can contain several kinds of level-dependent processing.
Start from zero each time you switch modes. Raise Amount slowly until the change you want is clearly audible. If the track gets exciting but loses its transient shape, low-end separation or vocal focus, back off. You're done when the problem is solved, wherever the knob happens to sit.
How to choose between A, B, C and D
Ignore mode charts that promise a fixed instrument for each letter. The source, the arrangement and the level going into the plugin decide how a configuration reacts. A mode that helps one vocal can flatten another, and a mode that tightens one drum loop can make a different one sound smaller.
Use the same short routine for every source:
- Loop the busiest passage where the problem is easiest to hear.
- Pick one target, such as firmer peaks, a steadier body or a more forward sound.
- Select A and raise Amount just far enough to hear the change.
- Set Amount back to zero, select B and repeat. Do the same for C and D.
- Keep the two modes that get closest to your target.
- Compare those finalists at a matched output level.
- Remove Soundgoodizer if neither mode fixes the problem without a bigger tradeoff.
This is quicker than memorizing labels nobody documented, because you decide based on the material in front of you. It also stops a loud first impression from cutting the comparison short.
Level-match the bypass before judging
Processed audio often seems clearer, wider or more exciting just because it's louder, and Soundgoodizer can spring that trap fast. A fair bypass comparison needs both sides at similar perceived loudness.
FL Studio gives you several places to make up the level difference. You can lower the Mixer effect slot's mix, adjust gain further down the chain or use another transparent level control after Soundgoodizer. The method matters less than the result: the active and bypassed versions should feel about equally loud before you judge which has better punch, tone and separation.
Listen for what the processing costs you, not for the wow factor. Does the kick still have a clear front edge? Does the bass keep its notes distinct? Can you still understand the vocal when the full arrangement comes in? Does the snare get more body without dragging the cymbals forward? If the one clear benefit disappears after level matching, the plugin isn't helping that source.
Using Soundgoodizer on drums
On a drum channel or bus, Soundgoodizer can make the kit feel denser and more immediate. The price can be smaller transients, louder room tone or exaggerated cymbals. Judge the kick and snare attack separately from the average loudness of the loop.
Start on the drum bus once the basic balance works. Try A–D at a low Amount and listen through a section with the loudest kick, snare and cymbal combination. If the bus starts pumping around the kick or the hi-hats turn sharp, lower Amount or remove the processor. A bus problem caused by one drum may be easier to fix on that drum's own Mixer track.
Using Soundgoodizer on bass and 808s
Bass benefits when its level gets steadier without erasing the differences between notes. It suffers when the extra density turns the low end into one constant block. Compare the quietest and loudest notes, then check the bass against the kick instead of in solo.
If the low end already clips or overloads the next processor, fix the level first. The FL Studio gain-staging guide explains how to make headroom before dynamics processing. Soundgoodizer should shape a signal you set up on purpose, not cover for a chain that's running too hot.
For an 808, watch the transient and the pitch envelope. A dramatic setting can make the tail louder while softening the attack, which feels powerful on its own and less defined in the arrangement. If you need separate control over the low sustain and the upper harmonics, Maximus or a clearer split-band chain is easier to steer.
Using Soundgoodizer on vocals
On vocals, a small Amount can bring the voice forward, but the preset may also lift breaths, room noise and sibilance. Make the call in the chorus or the densest section, where consonants and tone have to cut through the instrumental.
Soundgoodizer won't clean up the recording, control obvious peaks or tame harsh esses for you. The vocal-mixing workflow covers the full order of corrective and creative decisions, and the FL Studio de-essing guide deals with level-dependent sibilance directly. If Soundgoodizer brightens the vocal and the esses jump out, fix the sibilance itself instead of piling on more broad processing.
Using it on instruments and buses
On synths, guitars, keys and sample buses, Soundgoodizer works best when you can name what's missing. A thin sustained part may need a steadier body. A layered synth bus may need firmer peaks. A rhythmic part may need to stay present at a lower level. Those are goals you can test.
Don't drop it on every channel out of habit. Four different hidden dynamics setups spread across several tracks can make balancing unpredictable later on. If a source already goes through compression, limiting, clipping or heavy saturation, check whether Soundgoodizer adds something distinct or just makes the processing stack taller.
My rule is simple: keep the number of opaque stages as low as you can. When a result needs explaining, swap the mystery layer for a tool whose controls show you the decision.
Where Soundgoodizer belongs in the chain
Where it goes depends on what you want to trigger its preset processing.
- After corrective EQ: useful when unwanted rumble or resonances should not drive the dynamics.
- Before creative saturation or clipping: useful when Soundgoodizer should stabilize the source feeding that color stage.
- After sound design effects: useful when delays, reverbs or modulation are part of the signal you want to densify.
- Before a final level control: useful for level-matched bypass and predictable gain into the next bus.
Treat these as starting positions rather than fixed rules. Move the plugin only when the change answers a clear question: should the reverb tail trigger it, should the distortion get a steadier input, or should corrective EQ remove a problem before compression reacts?
Should you use Soundgoodizer on the master?
You can audition it on the master, but there's much less room for hidden tradeoffs there. The preset now reacts to the whole mix, so a strong kick, a bright cymbal or a loud vocal can sway the entire result. Keep Amount modest, compare at equal loudness and check the loudest section as well as a quieter verse.
Don't use it to rescue a balance problem. If the vocal is buried, the bass masks the kick or the top end is harsh, go back to the mix. The broader FL Studio mastering guide shows how final dynamics fit together with headroom, tonal balance and export checks.
If the master only improves because it gets louder, remove the plugin. If one frequency range needs different treatment, move to Maximus so the decision is visible and adjustable.
Signs that the processing is too strong
Back off Amount or remove Soundgoodizer when you hear any of these:
- Kick and snare attacks shrink even though the average level goes up.
- Bass notes blur into one sustained mass.
- Hi-hats, breaths or room noise come forward faster than the part you actually want.
- The track sounds exciting in solo but takes up too much space in the mix.
- The active version only sounds better until the two versions are level-matched.
- A limiter, clipper or bus compressor further down starts working much harder.
None of this makes Soundgoodizer a bad plugin. It means the chosen preset and amount are solving the wrong problem, or the source needs a more specific processor.
When to switch from Soundgoodizer to Maximus
Image-Line supplies the four Soundgoodizer configurations as Maximus presets A, B, C and D. When you like the direction but need to understand or tweak the process, open the matching preset in Maximus. It's the cleanest route from a quick one-knob choice to deliberate control.
Switch to Maximus when you need to change crossover bands, compression curves, attack, release, look-ahead, saturation or output behavior. The complete Maximus guide explains the signal path and starts with a controlled single-band setup before adding multiband processing.
Soundgoodizer is the right tool when a modest preset works and the result holds up in a fair bypass. Maximus is the right tool when you can describe the problem more precisely than “make it better.”
A practical Soundgoodizer checklist
- Define one audible goal before inserting the plugin.
- Start Amount at zero for each of the A–D modes.
- Audition all four modes on the busiest relevant passage.
- Keep the two closest options and compare them at similar loudness.
- Check transients, low-end separation, vocal clarity and noise.
- Judge the result in the full mix, not just in solo.
- Use Maximus when the hidden preset needs a specific fix.
- Remove the plugin when level matching wipes out the benefit.
That's the whole method: use Soundgoodizer for speed, and make the final call with the same care you'd give any dynamics processor.
