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Is the Zoom B1X Four any good?

I haven't tried this editor, but I can't imagine an editor being much easier or more intuitive than ToneLib. I haven't tried GuitarLab, though.

After getting comfortable with ToneLib, I wiped all the presets and created my own patches. I'm loving this pedal!
im not talkin about tonelib, im talking abt editin firmware software
 
i believe you! i cant try it bc i dont own one :/ you mean it wont list them on the pedal menu? thats a bummer
Exactly. With 1Four pedals the effects list which is presented in menu is out of the firmware. So even if you inject effects there, they won't appear in menu until you add them to the list. We are lucky there is strong programer who did the magic and zoom doesn't have any crypto protection there.
 
B1/G1/A1 FOUR and their X versions share the same hardware platform, so their effects and the ways we can upload them are cross-compatible. To take it even further the format of the effects is the same as B/G3n or G5n/G11. So you can use most of the stuff from these pedals too. Except for the 2-slots amp and drive models.
Bit of a tangent, but do you happen to know if the Zoom A3 uses the same effects format? I'm thinking about getting an A3 to use for blending a mic and piezo on my upright. However, most of the A3 FX aren't super useful for (double)bass. It'd be awesome if I could load some other FX, tho, mostly for those gigs where I play upright and BG.
 
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I owned the A3 for a while to blend a mic & piezo I found it a little brittle sounding, the effects are not as good as the B1X series. It was passed on to me by my guitarist who bought a baggs system. I sold the A3 and pickup a Radial Bassbone OD which I used for blending a mic & piezo though I did need an Impedance booster for the mic. It sounded better than the A3.

I have since bought the Zoom B1Xon and sold the Radial Bassbone as blending a mic and piezo is not critical for me. Now I use an fDECK preamp into my AMP and use a clip-on mic straight to the mixer, where both signals can be blended.

Apologies for the long-winded answer but as you can see I've been down this rabbit hole for a while. Your needs may be different to mine but just sonically speaking, if you have a good amp you only need a basic preamp (Fdeck) as far as fx go, the B1X beats the A3.

I get a great tone from my fingers and a well-placed mic with minimal eq needed, the piezo is used to add a little bottom end thump, most of my tone comes from the mic.

Hope this helps
 
I'm thinking about getting an A3 to use for blending a mic and piezo on my upright.
Looking on the Zoom website, it doesn't look like you can get the MAA-1 mic adapter separately from the A1 Four.
So if you need MAA-1 the adapter for the mic/piezo blend, you may have to get an A1 Four.
If the A1 Four doesn't suit, then get the B1 Four and sell on just the A1 Four unit.
 
Looking on the Zoom website, it doesn't look like you can get the MAA-1 mic adapter separately from the A1 Four.
So if you need MAA-1 the adapter for the mic/piezo blend, you may have to get an A1 Four.
If the A1 Four doesn't suit, then get the B1 Four and sell on just the A1 Four unit.
You're confusing the A1 Four with the older, now discontinued A3. The A3 has two inputs: one mic and one instrument input. No adapter needed. (Although, I do think Zoom should sell that MAA-1 independently. I'm sure lots of people would find that nifty.) The A1 Four only has the one input, so it's no use for blending two different signals :(

A3 Pre-Amp & Effects for Acoustic Guitar
 
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I owned the A3 for a while to blend a mic & piezo I found it a little brittle sounding, the effects are not as good as the B1X series. It was passed on to me by my guitarist who bought a baggs system. I sold the A3 and pickup a Radial Bassbone OD which I used for blending a mic & piezo though I did need an Impedance booster for the mic. It sounded better than the A3.

I have since bought the Zoom B1Xon and sold the Radial Bassbone as blending a mic and piezo is not critical for me. Now I use an fDECK preamp into my AMP and use a clip-on mic straight to the mixer, where both signals can be blended.

Apologies for the long-winded answer but as you can see I've been down this rabbit hole for a while. Your needs may be different to mine but just sonically speaking, if you have a good amp you only need a basic preamp (Fdeck) as far as fx go, the B1X beats the A3.

I get a great tone from my fingers and a well-placed mic with minimal eq needed, the piezo is used to add a little bottom end thump, most of my tone comes from the mic.

Hope this helps
Interesting, thanks for the input. I used an fdeck for a long time before I started using a mic. Now I'm using an LR Baggs Mixpro to blend the mic and the piezo. Most of my gigs are too loud to only use the mic, unfortunately. I like the Mixpro a lot, but it only provides 9v phantom power. It's working for me now, but even with the mic gain maxed and the piezo gain all the way down, the piezo is still hotter than the mic, which makes the blend control really touchy.

I take it that you're using a dynamic mic?

Edit: I've completely derailed the thread now. My apologies
 
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Interesting, thanks for the input. I used an fdeck for a long time before I started using a mic. Now I'm using an LR Baggs Mixpro to blend the mic and the piezo. Most of my gigs are too loud to only use the mic, unfortunately. I like the Mixpro a lot, but it only provides 9v phantom power. It's working for me now, but even with the mic gain maxed and the piezo gain all the way down, the piezo is still hotter than the mic, which makes the blend control really touchy.

I take it that you're using a dynamic mic?

Edit: I've completely derailed the thread now. My apologies
Yes, Dynamic mic, That's why I'm running the Mic and the Piezo separate, so I can get the max vol out of the piezo. Which is best for running into fx anyway. It's an interesting dilemma that only the most expensive Preamps solve.

Back to the thread, once you get some good vol from the piezo, the zoom B1 is a good fx unit. I don't use any compression on Double Bass, just fx.

I just found the A3 limiting and you'll have the same blend problem juggling input volumes between the mic & pickup. The Radial was much better for blending mic & piezo but you need an impedance booster for the mic into the jack input. Which works quite well. I got lucky and found a Radial OD for $115. Eventually, I went back to separate channels instead of blending on stage.

Some preamps that would be excellent for the job, Basswitch, EBS Stanley Clarke Acoustic Preamp, Headway EDB-2, all pretty pricey.
 
Bit of a tangent, but do you happen to know if the Zoom A3 uses the same effects format? I'm thinking about getting an A3 to use for blending a mic and piezo on my upright. However, most of the A3 FX aren't super useful for (double)bass. It'd be awesome if I could load some other FX, tho, mostly for those gigs where I play upright and BG.
The A3 is the same gen as the B3 and is NOT the same effects or input section of the A 1 four.

I have a Zoom GCE-3 that emulates all the current devices and use the A1 four efx with my EUB & ABG. The effects do a satisfying job.

The A1 four is an interesting device but it is trying to be too many different instrument solutions in one box IMHO. But I may have to get one for my wife if she starts playing her alto sax again since she always wanted to add effects.
 
Sorry but the difference between b1 four and b1 x four is just the expression pedal? thanks a lot!
In terms of hardware, yes. However, there's also a difference on the software side. In order to use the expression pedal you must set one of the FX slots to a relevant effect (e.g, wah, volume, etc.). The problem is that there is not quite enough memory to load all of the expression pedal effects AND all the effects from the B1 Four. The X Four comes with all of the expression pedal effects loaded and a few of the B1 Four effects missing, but you can use a desktop computer to pick and choose whatever effects you want
 
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In terms of hardware, yes. However, there's also a difference on the software side. In order to use the expression pedal you must set one of the FX slots to a relevant effect (e.g, wah, volume, etc.). The problem is that there is not quite enough memory to load all of the expression pedal effects AND all the effects from the B1 Four. The X Four comes with all of the expression pedal effects loaded and a few of the B1 Four effects missing, but you can use a desktop computer to pick and choose whatever effects you want
Thanks a lot!
 
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