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Most Versitile Mutli Effects Pedal Ever
- Thread starter jasiu913
- Start date
I love my Zoom B3 both for messing around on my own and in the band setting. With the right tweaks I can get most of the effects to cut through the mix, even against two guitards with half stacks and a drummer that doesn't understand dynamics.
I never really think to compare the ratio of great to suck effects in a multi.
I love synth bass. Oftentimes I'll start there, seeing what the onboard synths can do. "Hmm... how much would any given one of these synths cost as a unit?"
Then I move on.
"Is this Muff tone usable for me?"
And so on.
It's always been my personal belief that the majority of people who try a new synth, multieffect, and so on never really just try one section of it. Instead, it's just stepping through the presets.
In contrast, I try to learn each part which interests me completely. If I can get an excellent VT tone from the B3, and at least one other item from it, then I've broken even *and* haven't taken up more space on my board.
And then, being able to slap reverb or delay or chorus on top of that is gravy.
But maybe that's just me.
I love synth bass. Oftentimes I'll start there, seeing what the onboard synths can do. "Hmm... how much would any given one of these synths cost as a unit?"
Then I move on.
"Is this Muff tone usable for me?"
And so on.
It's always been my personal belief that the majority of people who try a new synth, multieffect, and so on never really just try one section of it. Instead, it's just stepping through the presets.
In contrast, I try to learn each part which interests me completely. If I can get an excellent VT tone from the B3, and at least one other item from it, then I've broken even *and* haven't taken up more space on my board.
And then, being able to slap reverb or delay or chorus on top of that is gravy.
But maybe that's just me.
I assure you that the Law Of The Multi was not arrived at lightly. It was arrived at after decades of constant research, with personal experience, interviews with many other musicians, and with actually tweaking presets. Does anyone really not tweak presets when they use a multi? I don't know anyone who doesn't, with the exception of beginners.
Answering this seriously, many items have settings which are already there when you purchase them. Those pre-made settings are presets. In the case of a synth, it would be voices and performances, and in a mutieffect, it will be strings of effects with levels and other settings already made.
A lot of people complain because of what they view as problems with multis, especially if those multis have amp/cabinet modelers. "Why doesn't running one amp/cabinet combo through another amp/cabinet combo sound any good?" is a constant question on modeling boards... or, they don't even bother asking that, but talk about how a modeler sounds like crap. "I've owned plenty of gear, and this is just crap!" doesn't necessarily mean they have experience with a new piece of gear, but they themselves refuse to be classed as beginners.
There are also those who assume that the knob positions on a modeler should be identical to the modeled gear.
That's why I say, there are many who don't take the time to learn just *one* piece of gear out of their multieffect.
----
Anyway, all of this has nothing to do with your personal "Law of the Multi." If a $100 modeler comes out which nails the Akai Deep Impact, that one setting will mean I'll buy it. That's why I said I don't really pay attention to the ratios. (although, just glancing down the list in my notebook of ME-50B patches, I count that I use at least 37 distinct effects to build them. I find the same is true of my other multieffects, in that the more I understand each patch, the more I can find a great use for each effect.
Not that your law isn't useful for you, I just don't have a need for it... and I apparently have better results in terms of my ratios.
"Just remember JimmyM's Law Of The Multi:
---3 or 4 effects will be good
---3 or 4 will be usable but not great
---The rest will suck"
...as a person who went from individual pedals to multi-effect uints, I surprisingly agree. But if the "good" models are ones that you mostly use, then a multi-effect saves a fortune. I use a Zoom B2---I routinely use the tuner, the Sansamp model, the EQ, and noise gate.
Cost of Zoom B2 = 99 dollars; cost of individual pedals even cheap ones would be double that price.
---3 or 4 effects will be good
---3 or 4 will be usable but not great
---The rest will suck"
...as a person who went from individual pedals to multi-effect uints, I surprisingly agree. But if the "good" models are ones that you mostly use, then a multi-effect saves a fortune. I use a Zoom B2---I routinely use the tuner, the Sansamp model, the EQ, and noise gate.
Cost of Zoom B2 = 99 dollars; cost of individual pedals even cheap ones would be double that price.
I have a Boss ME50B and it is a very verstile pedal, I've had it for a year and still finding new stuff I can do with it lol
I used to be 100% on board with Jimmy's law of the multi, but I think it is becoming outdated as digital processing technology matures. The latest multis (IMO, of course) have a few really good sounds and a lot of decent, usable sounds, rather than '3 to 4 good' and '3 to 4 decent'.
My ME-50b, G2.1u and Digitech Vocal 300 definitely fit into Jimmy's law and my Zoom 607 was worse than that, but my M13 has a bunch of stuff that is decent to good and a few things (delay, reverb, and octave, mostly) that sound really good to me.
I haven't tried the B3 yet, but reviews I've read seem to indicate that Zoom is also moving beyond Jimmy's Law.
This isn't even getting into pricier units like the Roland Vbass stuff and AxeFx units, which by all accounts I've read are just great pieces of equipment.
Where the multi really fails IMO is when someone is searching for a sounds that require a large dynamic range, or require a specific set of features. My M13 is quite touch sensitive, but it only has a narrow dynamic range in which it's touch sensitivity is on display. With distortions and filters, this is often referred to as 'sounding like crap'
. Plus you aren't going to get a bunch of awesome routing and control options on a one size fits all pedal.
My recommendation: Get a B3 or M9 and fill in what you can't get out of those with a few singles. Most people don't like running with one multi only and I suspect you'll be in that same boat eventually.
IMO and shtuff.
My ME-50b, G2.1u and Digitech Vocal 300 definitely fit into Jimmy's law and my Zoom 607 was worse than that, but my M13 has a bunch of stuff that is decent to good and a few things (delay, reverb, and octave, mostly) that sound really good to me.
I haven't tried the B3 yet, but reviews I've read seem to indicate that Zoom is also moving beyond Jimmy's Law.
This isn't even getting into pricier units like the Roland Vbass stuff and AxeFx units, which by all accounts I've read are just great pieces of equipment.
Where the multi really fails IMO is when someone is searching for a sounds that require a large dynamic range, or require a specific set of features. My M13 is quite touch sensitive, but it only has a narrow dynamic range in which it's touch sensitivity is on display. With distortions and filters, this is often referred to as 'sounding like crap'
. Plus you aren't going to get a bunch of awesome routing and control options on a one size fits all pedal.My recommendation: Get a B3 or M9 and fill in what you can't get out of those with a few singles. Most people don't like running with one multi only and I suspect you'll be in that same boat eventually.
IMO and shtuff.
I think Jimmy's law is not far off but it depends how you approach the thing. If you want your B3 to sound just like a Q-tron or a Big Muff, it will come up short but if you're willing to explore and use what's available there's a lot to discover. I have days when I don't dig it as much as others. Each effect isn't quite as versatile or responsive as what it's modeling but overall the unit covers a lot of ground.
Oh, and I do know what a preset is. I was commenting on their relevance.
Oh, and I do know what a preset is. I was commenting on their relevance.
I purchased this rascal new in 93 and it is still the king in my book. There are so many crazy sounds that can be had it is unbelievable.
Yesiree that's exactly how I use mine, with separate filters as well. The M9 is an incredible pedal, the delays, reverbs, modulations are all wonderful - but the effects which are typically better when analogue hold true to form.
Can you use the VB-99 as just an effects unit or does it NEED the midi pickup?
Shep
Shep
You can use a VB-99 as an effects unit only but it won't do the Polyphonic effects or any of the modeling. That means no Synths, and the synths are good on the unit.
The pickup isn't a MIDI pickup it is a proprietary Roland pickup, any midi conversion occurs in the unit, and that is only if you are sending MIDI out to something else. In other words, MIDI has nothing to do with the Sounds in the VB-99.
The pickup isn't a MIDI pickup it is a proprietary Roland pickup, any midi conversion occurs in the unit, and that is only if you are sending MIDI out to something else. In other words, MIDI has nothing to do with the Sounds in the VB-99.
Cool. Shame that pickup mount looks rancid!!
Having just priced up the unit, floor controller, stand, pickup and pup-unit cable I'm a bit upset
I purchased this rascal new in 93 and it is still the king in my book. There are so many crazy sounds that can be had it is unbelievable.
My buddy runs a pair of these in his rig. Great units.
I'd like to humbly submit my own experience as empirical data towards said hypothesis in the hopes that it might in fact be accepted as immutable law of physics akin to gravity.
The way I look at multis is a giant bag full of tricks for cheap.
The GT-10b is a great unit (the cheaper VB-99) but lacks in synth. I put a EHX bass microsynth in the effects loop and all my problems are solved. I can manage a decent OD and fuzz that won't blow your socks off but certainly does the job live.
All this to say, I love having a $325 (used) pedal that does what 5 pedals can (and does them well).
All of this, of course, imho.
The GT-10b is a great unit (the cheaper VB-99) but lacks in synth. I put a EHX bass microsynth in the effects loop and all my problems are solved. I can manage a decent OD and fuzz that won't blow your socks off but certainly does the job live.
All this to say, I love having a $325 (used) pedal that does what 5 pedals can (and does them well).
All of this, of course, imho.
