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New: Zoom B3n Multi-Effects

#3,081
Arei said:
let's just talk about arranging patch, no more talk about comparing zoom b3n to everything else.
what about the best sounding amp+cab sim combo?
Click to expand...

if you're looking for straight, simple amp/preamp and cab sim sounds, then it's self-explanatory and straightforward. For example, I use the SVT amp followed by the SVT cab. I may or may not engage the LMT 76 in front of the SVT. If you like SWR or Acoustic or Trace Elliot, just do the same with those amp & cab models, whichever you prefer.

I've just posted settings above for a fairly grindy, 90's grunge "TOOL bass" type of sound using the LMT76, Dark OD, and SVT. What sort of sounds do YOU like? Ultra-Clean? Vintage? Classic Metal? Modern Metal? There is no "best" combination universally for bassists, but only "best" according to what you prefer.

As we've seen with most mulit-fx modelers, factory presets and presets created by users don't always yield a good result for others. It's a crapshoot and too many factors go into why a random preset may or may not work for someone. My settings work for me, my bass, my playing style, my preferences tonally, and also very importantly, how they translate in my live gigging situation (rock/hard rock/metal). I've found that "sweet sounding" presets that sound great at low volume playing at home just do NOT translate well to the stage...again, for ME. YMMV.
 
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#3,082
Couple of questions for B3n owners! Looking to pick one up to try out but wondered what people's views were on the following...

How does the Darkglass model compare to the real thing? I've tried the one in the Helix and it's bang on, very hard to tell is not the real deal.

I've never liked any SVT or B15 sim I've ever come across, but I do like the VT DI. Does anyone have any opinions on Zoom Vs Tech21?
 
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#3,084
jimfist said:
LMT76:
IN: 35
RATIO: 4:1
REL: 10
OUT: 34

DARK OD:
GAIN: 9
ATTACK: BOOST
BLEND: 43
VOL: 75

SVT AMP:
BASS: -3.5
MID FREQ: 1.6K
MID: 10
TREBLE: 0
GAIN: 30
ULTRA: BOTH
VOL: 73
SOLO: 3

SVT CAB:
DYN 20: 55
DYN 57: 84
BOTTOM: 59
BAL: 70

I'm using this bass for those demo recordings: neck & bridge both on 50/50, B/M/T tone controls set flat (center dentent)

View attachment 2929110

bass specs here: Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...

Thnx mate!
 
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#3,085
jimfist said:
if you're looking for straight, simple amp/preamp and cab sim sounds, then it's self-explanatory and straightforward. For example, I use the SVT amp followed by the SVT cab. I may or may not engage the LMT 76 in front of the SVT. If you like SWR or Acoustic or Trace Elliot, just do the same with those amp & cab models, whichever you prefer.

I've just posted settings above for a fairly grindy, 90's grunge "TOOL bass" type of sound using the LMT76, Dark OD, and SVT. What sort of sounds do YOU like? Ultra-Clean? Vintage? Classic Metal? Modern Metal? There is no "best" combination universally for bassists, but only "best" according to what you prefer.

As we've seen with most mulit-fx modelers, factory presets and presets created by users don't always yield a good result for others. It's a crapshoot and too many factors go into why a random preset may or may not work for someone. My settings work for me, my bass, my playing style, my preferences tonally, and also very importantly, how they translate in my live gigging situation (rock/hard rock/metal). I've found that "sweet sounding" presets that sound great at low volume playing at home just do NOT translate well to the stage...again, for ME. YMMV.
Click to expand...
Any tones like Tool, Limp Bizkit, KoRn, Slipknot, NIN, RATM, Nirvana, Nickelback, and similar would be appreciated! I screenshotted the one you posted on the last page to try later :)
 
#3,088
FuzzFacetious said:
4 string: Epiphone Jack Cassady (yes, it really works for metal even though on paper it shouldn't! :p )
5 string: Cruiser/Crafter with active pickups
Click to expand...

Ahhh....we've had this conversation before, I believe? Anyway, with respect to the Jack Casady, it is a bit of an odd duck in general by virtue of its design. Sure, I suppose you can take that fish out of its native waters and it will still swim, but I have no idea how a preset that I've made to work on fairly traditionally configured basses would translate worth anything, honestly.

Is the Cruzer bass a standard configuration and sounding bass, compared to something like a Jazz bass, or what exactly? My presets do translate across my lowly, cheap, passive Ibanez Mikro basses (P/J configuration), so I suppose you could try my settings on that one and see what happens.
 
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#3,089
Richardpm38 said:
Question ..I now have a Zoom B3N as well as a MS 60B and plan to use both pedal when playing live,as there are a couple of presets I want to use on the ms60... if others have done this , is it better to have the Ms 60b after the B3N or before it ?
Click to expand...
It all depends on how you are using them. I run my 60b first and have my always on gate>comp>amp>eq settings, going into the B3n set to various pedal boards. YMMV.
 
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#3,090
jimfist said:
Ahhh....we've had this conversation before, I believe? Anyway, with respect to the Jack Casady, it is a bit of an odd duck in general by virtue of its design. Sure, I suppose you can take that fish out of its native waters and it will still swim, but I have no idea how a preset that I've made to work on fairly traditionally configured basses would translate worth anything, honestly.

Is the Cruzer bass a standard configuration and sounding bass, compared to something like a Jazz bass, or what exactly? My presets do translate across my lowly, cheap, passive Ibanez Mikro basses (P/J configuration), so I suppose you could try my settings on that one and see what happens.
Click to expand...
Yeah it’s basically a budget 5 string from 14 years or so ago, pickups are like a jazz b but active. The presets should work I'd imagine - I can make the adjustments necessary if need be. Anything that helps me learn how to set up bass presets is good to me. I can set up into-amp presets but setting up for frfr/monitors is something I'm not yet good at, especially where gain/drive is involved!
 
#3,091
jimfist said:
LMT76:
IN: 35
RATIO: 4:1
REL: 10
OUT: 34

DARK OD:
GAIN: 9
ATTACK: BOOST
BLEND: 43
VOL: 75

SVT AMP:
BASS: -3.5
MID FREQ: 1.6K
MID: 10
TREBLE: 0
GAIN: 30
ULTRA: BOTH
VOL: 73
SOLO: 3

SVT CAB:
DYN 20: 55
DYN 57: 84
BOTTOM: 59
BAL: 70

I'm using this bass for those demo recordings: neck & bridge both on 50/50, B/M/T tone controls set flat (center dentent)

View attachment 2929110

bass specs here: Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...
I tried this out today - was very clean for me so I made a few adjustments (including increasing the gain quite a bit) and it sounds nice!
 
Last edited:
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#3,093
lamandrion said:
Cool Sounds!
Could you share your "Dark Pre SVT" patch?
Click to expand...

Use the same settings for everything in the previous patch I posted (New: Zoom B3n Multi-Effects ) for the DARK OD, but swap out the DARK PRE for the DARK OD and use these settings:

Bass: 50
LoMid: 50
HiMid: 67
Treble: 74

Blend: 57
Gain: 20
Volume: 48
Boost: Lo+Hi (switched off for my default sound, switch it on for a louder, more aggressive drive tone)

The tone should be pretty close/similar for both patches using the 2 types of Darkglass drives (DARK OD & DARK PRE). Honestly, unless you find the addition of the BOOST switch for the DARK PRE beneficial, I was surprised to find the DARK OD works pretty well by itself, and using only one slot.

I actually like the Darkglass sounds for the tone shaping more than the over-the-top distortion, so my patches using them have a pretty low gain setting. Without much gain and working the balance more toward the 80-100% Darkglass (wet) blend, I like the bite it adds that helps the bass cut through a hard rock/metal band mix. The SansAmp BDDI does a similar thing, but just a different flavor or tone and drive distortion.
 
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#3,094
thx @jimfist for the reply.
ive been trying to mix amp sim & cab sim into each other and didnt find a good combo yet.
and i dont understand the mic volume on cab sim.
SVT CAB always making my sound losing top end.
i honestly courious about your setting on AC370 clip from soundcloud, is that a default setting? sounds really good.
ohhh Dark OD SVT & Dark Pre SVT sounds really close to the real thing (base on darkglass youtube review & demo).
Best Regards.
 
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#3,095
Arei said:
thx @jimfist for the reply.
ive been trying to mix amp sim & cab sim into each other and didnt find a good combo yet.
and i dont understand the mic volume on cab sim.
SVT CAB always making my sound losing top end.
i honestly courious about your setting on AC370 clip from soundcloud, is that a default setting? sounds really good.
ohhh Dark OD SVT & Dark Pre SVT sounds really close to the real thing (base on darkglass youtube review & demo).
Best Regards.
Click to expand...

It seems to be something that a few people have also commented, that the SVT Cab sim is too dark. Perhaps a little, but I find that it's not too far off from the SVT Classic 8x10 that I had. Do you find that to be the case with the SVT amp & cab settings that I posted? To add more brightness in the Cab sim, back down the RE20 (which is a deeper, warm sounding mic emulation) and turn up the SM57 (less low end, more clarity/presence), and also don't be afraid to dial back the balance between the cab (100) and dry (0) to somewhere around 70-80, which will bring back some high end snap & sparkle to the sound. Of course, a lot depends on your bass, pickups, strings. I use nickel roundwounds (D'Addario XL), which are pretty bright. My bass is also on the bright side.

I'll take a look at the AC370 patch tomorrow and post the settings. I don't think the settings stray too far from stock, but I may have tweaked a few things.
 
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#3,096
Having looked at the preinstalled presets to figure out how certain sounds are achieved, it looks like you need to throw away understandings of real, logical signal chains, and put stuff in weird orders, like your filter and dirt pedals after your cab, and stuff like that.. Sometimes a logical high gain patch doesn't sound good but you can mess with it in ways that you couldn't do with real gear.

That's a huge difference between the Zoom and boss - on boss you can't really go beyond a logical chain, but you don't need to, while the Zoom let you do weirs freaky stuff and you can get weirder, cooler sounds by experimenting.

I still prefer the Boss overall but I find myself currently playing the Zoom more because I'm learning a lot!

Any more tips?

The dark glass preamp and bass Di, are they meant as dirt pedals of instead of amp and cab, or instead of amp but with cab? Haven't really figured those out yet.
 
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#3,097
jimfist said:
It seems to be something that a few people have also commented, that the SVT Cab sim is too dark. Perhaps a little, but I find that it's not too far off from the SVT Classic 8x10 that I had. Do you find that to be the case with the SVT amp & cab settings that I posted? To add more brightness in the Cab sim, back down the RE20 (which is a deeper, warm sounding mic emulation) and turn up the SM57 (less low end, more clarity/presence), and also don't be afraid to dial back the balance between the cab (100) and dry (0) to somewhere around 70-80, which will bring back some high end snap & sparkle to the sound. Of course, a lot depends on your bass, pickups, strings. I use nickel roundwounds (D'Addario XL), which are pretty bright. My bass is also on the bright side.

I'll take a look at the AC370 patch tomorrow and post the settings. I don't think the settings stray too far from stock, but I may have tweaked a few things.
Click to expand...

ive been tweaking SVT CAB for sometimes and didnt find any good setting, still losing top end whatsoever. the best cab sim i like is SWR CAB, very clear tone for filtering overdrive.
waiting for AC370 patch
 
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#3,100
darkglass simulator
znr : adjust to taste
dual comp : adjust to taste (any comp will do)
Dark OD : 100 flat/boost (depend on your bass) blend 20-40 vol 100
Dark Pre : EQ (50/68/62/50) blend 50 gain 50 vol 30 boost off
SMR Cab : dyn20 50 dyn57 75 bottom 50 bal 70-80 (i'll turn this off if i play thru a cab, on if directly to the board)

Best Regards.
 
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