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Is There Life After the Zoom B3?

#61
Zoom tends to do better with some effects than others. What I'd do is start adding individual pedals for those effects Zoom is weakest in. Order the real bass muff pedal from Guitar Center and compare. If you don't like it appreciably better, return it. The same goes for your other effects. Although I tend to think Zoom does great for chorus, flanger, reverb, and that sort of thing. Personally, I have a MS60B that I use in the effects loop of my Tech 21 VT Deluxe. Zoom can't touch the VT for distortion or amp sims, but it's great for the previously mentioned effects. Although I have a B3N, I prefer my VT - MS60B setup for live. The B3N is an amazing practice tool though.
 
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#62
I wonder...

Do any of the multi-effects pedals have an option to save multiple profiles, so that you can have effects settings specific to individual basses? My P-bass, J-bass and active bass all respond differently to various effects, so having an individual profile for each bass would be a game-changer.

EDIT:
Another way to do it would be to assign all the P-bass effects to the A-bank, J-bass to the B-bank, etc... but that would entail duplications of effects with small tweaks per bass, which could lead to confusion if, for example, you were accidentally on effect B1 instead of A1. Would be nice to change the profile to P-bass and all you would see would be effects that have been tweaked for that particular bass.
 
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#63
lat said:
I wonder...

Do any of the multi-effects pedals have an option to save multiple profiles, so that you can have effects settings specific to individual basses? My P-bass, J-bass and active bass all respond differently to various effects, so having an individual profile for each bass would be a game-changer.

EDIT:
Another way to do it would be to assign all the P-bass effects to the A-bank, J-bass to the B-bank, etc... but that would entail duplications of effects with small tweaks per bass, which could lead to confusion. Would be nice to change the profile to P-bass and all you would see would be effects that have been tweaked for that bass.
Click to expand...

They don’t do the profiles like you suggested but you can save the sbapshots set up for each bass like you mentioned in the HX FX and then name them for each bass to avoid the confusion.
 
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#65
lat said:
OK, now we're talking... ;)
Click to expand...

It has 32 banks of 4 presets for a total of 128 presets. So you could even gona step further and have 3 or 4 banks of the same 4 Bass specific presets further tailored to however many different amp setups you have. Such as:

Bank1: J-Bass SVT
P-Bass SVT
Ernie Ball SVt
Warwick SVT

Bank 2: J-Bass Aguilar
P-Bass Aguilar
Ernie Ball Aguilar
Warwick - Aguilar

Bank 3: J-Bass DI
P-Bass DI
Ernie Ball DI
Warwick DI

Etc
 
#68
I use individual pedals with a Helix LT. The Line 6 Helix platforms are smart and professional and any are an improvement over the B3 or B3n. The modeling is hard to beat and has replaced a few effects pedals on my board. You can still use your favorite pedals while being able to add-on to them. For example, you can place IR's after dirt pedals, add eq, effects, and so forth. In a sense make regular pedals more versatile or add what they might be missing. The routing, parallel signal paths, crossover capabilities, and everything else you'd need is readily available. Well worth the investment IMHO
 
#69
I think the B3 is great when I don’t really need effects because it does EVERYTHING. It was nice to have something that I could cram into my gig bag that was also an interface and had me covered for any effect I might want to mess around with. Seems like I go back to that kind of thing when I’m not in a band.

When I’m in a gigging band though, I realized I dump it for the few pedals I actually need (it’s happened a couple times). You can sell the B3 to offset some of the initial single pedals cost, unless you want to really go crazy with it with boutique stuff. Starting with a tuner, if you can’t find a deal on a good one, I’ve found the $30ish snark pedal tuner to be awesome (after factoring in the ugliness). Unless you want to make up for every possible B3 setting, getting started with the sounds you need doesn’t have to be too bad of a financial hit.
 
#70
Believe it or not, after buying the B3 when it was new, I very soon realized (for my tone) that my old B2 pedal was WAY more usable in the band context than the B3!
The B3 sounds ok when played alone or even while recording but in band situation... the B2 cuts through lightyears better than the B3. I think it depends on what you need a pedal for.
I don't need amp simulations - I do have a good amp. I just take my bass sound and put the effects on it that I need. So I only need some 2-3 different distortions, the softest one to be my basic sound. One or two crazy effects for special parts of a song and there you go. Life (live) after B3 for me means...B2. Bought a second unit and copied the sound to it. In my case live. All I need.
 
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#71
I scrolled through the comments and didn't see anyone mentioning the Fly Rig.

Tech 21 Bass Fly Rig ($300)
Tuner / Chorus / Octave (+/-Fuzz) / Sans Amp / Boost / Compression

The Sans Amp lets you go straight to the board too, if something happens to your amp. I've used one and the thing is pretty fantastic. I will say I ended up going a different route, but I also already owned a few pedals. I personally might pick up one later, even just as a backup. I've got a friend I've seen do shows with nothing but a bass and the fly rig.
 
#72
Not the direction I expected the question to go.
I thought you were looking for suggestions to replace your B3, and maybe you kinda were. If mine died I'd be really bummed, and possibly buy another one used. 90% of the time I'm playing clean, with a little compression from the B3 and a little grit on the amp. But when I am using effects they are a part of the song, and I've spent many hours crafting and fine tuning them in the B3, then backing them up. I wouldn't want to start over with a new setup.

I probably own enough single pedals to recreate the sounds close enough, but it would probably double my small board size.

I actually don't mind the tuner, I check mine between songs or if I see someone else tuning, and I use it to mute between sets.
 
#73
I'm still amazed at my MS60B after almost 4 years of playing thru' it. No bass multiFX I've owned sounded this good or was this practical. But if a followup to the B3n ever comes out which brings back the DI out I'll be all over the damm thing (moreso if it comes with an exp. pedal, but I'd still be OK with a jack for an external one).
 
#75
I have a really nice pedal board & amp rig which I use live but...thanks to you guys...I'm gassin' for a multi-pedal for practice & rehearsal to avoid dragging the gig-rig around needlessly. I don't need the more "extreme" options / effects as my primary focus would be on the better-sounding comps, OD, and perhaps reverb /chorus / delay. I'd like to stay below $200 as I still have to answer to Mrs. Zooberwerx.

Riis
 
#76
For $20 you can get a clip on tuner and just roll off your volume knob to tune and roll it back on when you’re in tune. And really, that should only need to happen once during a gig, MAYBE twice if it’s a long gig with a poor quality instrument, I don’t know anything about those basses. I have a simple (less is more) one bass, amp, no pedals setup of all high end stuff (maybe $6k Street value for bass/amp) and the little clip on tuner does a great job, no overpriced stomp box tuner necessary. And you’re not locked into standing in one place staring at the floor to tune.
 
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#79
I found the options of the B3 didn't fly with the sound I was looking for. I passed it on (for free) to a fledgling bassist to enjoy, under one condition, that if he couldn't find the love, well, he would pass it along for free as well. My first pedal for bass was an all in one Boss and that thing rocked, to the point where after 10 years, it didn't anymore (who knows how much dirt and grime were inside that unit. I went individual pedals and am very happy.
 
#80
I love my B3 enough that I bought another to just put away in case the one I use breaks. I don't use many of the effects, some fuzz, compressor and maybe a chorus but what I do use is the amp and cab sims. To me they are worth the price of admission. If I am playing a place with a house rig I know I can put that pedal in front of the rig and get what I want out of it.
 

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