I use mine around the house...I haven't gigged with it. Just wondering if anyone uses it in a real world setting.
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Anyone gigging with a Zoom B2?
- Thread starter countrybass5
- Start date
i was. there were a nice pitch shifting effect (not normal as a pitch but good for effect) and a kind or bit-crusher/ring-modulator. Mine was Zoom B2.1U.
2009. I have routed the signal in two ways - Harttke Bass Attack to Zoom and MXR M-80 to EHX Small Stone.
I haven't actually gigged with mine yet, because my band's not quite ready...but I bought a used B2 back in May and have been using it weekly at band practices since then and I really like it.
I found mine on the local Craigslist for $50. I'd been using a borrowed Line 6 guitar pod, v. 2.0, into a rackmount Peavey power amp, with a 4-string passive Squier P-bass...using the Pod's Marshall Plexi emulation with the gain pretty low for just a hint of grind. I also used the Pod's compressor on a pretty low setting. When I got the Zoom, I found its Marshall Superbass emulation to be a no-brainer to tweak into a similar sound, and the Zoom's bass-specific EQ was a definite improvement for what I'm trying to do over the Pod's basic 3-knob guitar-amp-type of EQ. The adjustable Zoom noise reduction is a plus too.
The B2 makes for a pretty tidy bass preamp for my needs, in other words. I run it off the AA batteries to save having one more thing to plug in, and I only use the one setting described above, assigned to the first patch memory location ("A0").
There are several "places" to adjust level even in my one simple patch...the amp model itself while in play mode, and while in edit mode you can adjust overall gain at the compressor output, the noise reduction output, and in the control output adjustment (which I think is intended for people who plug in an expression pedal to act as a volume pedal). I have tried a bunch of different combinations of settings (for instance, distortion character is different with a lower compression output level and slighty higher "amp gain" compared witih higher compressor output level into an amp model set with lower gain...I prefer the former. But either way, the B2 is capable of enough output level to light the clip LED onmy power amp and activate the DDT limiter without being maxed out. My Peavey power amp wants to see a 1V input signal; not sure how well the B2 would drive a power amp optimized for a 1.4V signal.
I don't use any of the other B2 features with bass, but I do like its Hartke model and may someday find a use for its brighter, tighter, cleaner character...like if I end up playing in a different band with it someday, or something.
I also play guitar and a little lap steel, and the B2 also does a pretty great clean guitar/steel sound (Hartke model, with a little compression, noise reduction, parametric EQ and reverb), midrangy Marshally crunch (Boss ODB-3 model, same additional stuff but different settings), and high-gain J Mascis soloing madness (Fuzz Face model, same additional stuff with different settings).
The only thing I'd change on this unit, if I could, would be to have the compressor's range extend a little more into the subtle side of things. It's not a timid/transparent compressor, but it suits my current usage well enough that I don't feel like bringing along an extra device and related patch cords, when set at one of the lowest threshold settings. In a playing situation calling for a more subtle tone than I use, this might be a bigger deal, but so far it does what I need it to do for fingerstyle slightly dirty rock P-bass.
I found mine on the local Craigslist for $50. I'd been using a borrowed Line 6 guitar pod, v. 2.0, into a rackmount Peavey power amp, with a 4-string passive Squier P-bass...using the Pod's Marshall Plexi emulation with the gain pretty low for just a hint of grind. I also used the Pod's compressor on a pretty low setting. When I got the Zoom, I found its Marshall Superbass emulation to be a no-brainer to tweak into a similar sound, and the Zoom's bass-specific EQ was a definite improvement for what I'm trying to do over the Pod's basic 3-knob guitar-amp-type of EQ. The adjustable Zoom noise reduction is a plus too.
The B2 makes for a pretty tidy bass preamp for my needs, in other words. I run it off the AA batteries to save having one more thing to plug in, and I only use the one setting described above, assigned to the first patch memory location ("A0").
There are several "places" to adjust level even in my one simple patch...the amp model itself while in play mode, and while in edit mode you can adjust overall gain at the compressor output, the noise reduction output, and in the control output adjustment (which I think is intended for people who plug in an expression pedal to act as a volume pedal). I have tried a bunch of different combinations of settings (for instance, distortion character is different with a lower compression output level and slighty higher "amp gain" compared witih higher compressor output level into an amp model set with lower gain...I prefer the former. But either way, the B2 is capable of enough output level to light the clip LED onmy power amp and activate the DDT limiter without being maxed out. My Peavey power amp wants to see a 1V input signal; not sure how well the B2 would drive a power amp optimized for a 1.4V signal.
I don't use any of the other B2 features with bass, but I do like its Hartke model and may someday find a use for its brighter, tighter, cleaner character...like if I end up playing in a different band with it someday, or something.
I also play guitar and a little lap steel, and the B2 also does a pretty great clean guitar/steel sound (Hartke model, with a little compression, noise reduction, parametric EQ and reverb), midrangy Marshally crunch (Boss ODB-3 model, same additional stuff but different settings), and high-gain J Mascis soloing madness (Fuzz Face model, same additional stuff with different settings).
The only thing I'd change on this unit, if I could, would be to have the compressor's range extend a little more into the subtle side of things. It's not a timid/transparent compressor, but it suits my current usage well enough that I don't feel like bringing along an extra device and related patch cords, when set at one of the lowest threshold settings. In a playing situation calling for a more subtle tone than I use, this might be a bigger deal, but so far it does what I need it to do for fingerstyle slightly dirty rock P-bass.
I did one time. It did not work for me.
I prefer to leave the effects to the guitar players and
vary my tone between 3 settings.
I prefer to leave the effects to the guitar players and
vary my tone between 3 settings.
