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New: Zoom B3n Multi-Effects
- Thread starter CharlieC
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- b3n multi-effects zoom
I agree somewhat to the arguments discussed here, but not fully. Let’s perhaps focus on the B3n. This device came out with the notion that updates in form of additional functionality would be added on a regular basis. In particular since the B3n offered much less effects than its predecessor, the B3, it appeared to be a device that came to the market sort of “prematurely”, being not fully developed yet flexible for adding functionality in a modular fashion. This made many of us to expect that the B3n would evolve into a full successor of the B3 by having a similarly rich set of effects, amp and cab sims. Unfortunately this was not the case AFAIK. Yes, it was a next generation device for the effects that made it into the B3n, but never a full replacement on that “next generation” quality of sound level. Therefore some disappointment in what happened with the B3n I share. What Zoom offered falls a bit short of what it made the customer believe to expect for the device. I criticise Zoom only for that. IMHO this has little to do or only to a very limited extent much to do with the broader discussion that was launched here in this context (a topic that may indeed be worth discussing, but then in the context it really belongs). I would be interested to hear other B3n owners whether they share my take on this.
I had the B3 and B3n and by the time they added the ampeg B15 sim I didn’t feel it was missing much compared to the B3.
I think that they are producing a fairly budget pedal and there’s only so many rounds of updates they will do till it makes little Economic sense for them to keep adding stuff on as they simply won’t get more sales.
If they aimed at a larger market and more premium like Line6s helix then you get the user base where regular updates are worth it - but again aimed at the main player base who are not bass players and also they still have to do things like the HX effects and HX stomp to keep shifting units at a lower price point while they develop whatever is next.
An issue with doing that is you are losing the EQ from the amp. While you could modify the EQ on every patch for a gig, realistically you'd want to grab an EQ pedal too to run after the B3n. I have one of those. The other thing that may be useful is a limiter to tame peaks. I have one on my amp, and a rack mount one with four basic channels for my mixer, but not a standalone one.
Isn't the DSP the same between B3 and B3n? Perhaps there are differences in A/D, etc as well as the interface. I suspect the B3n was to overcome issues of the limited interface size, plus coding improvements that came after the B3 and through the MS60B that delivered more effects. It doesn't strike me that is was necessarily premature, although there's a time to launch to market. Upgrades seem to be a selling point pitching it against Line 6 in a prosumer market.
In terms of market I think it's the B1on that they expect to be used for six months by a sixteen year old then left in a cupboard. Ironically, it's the one I use the most, more than my B3n, as its form factor fits neatly on my desk and it offers much the same effects. Much the same goes for my B2 versus the mothership of a B9.
I bought a B1on and like it. After the B3n came out. I was waiting to see where it was going as far as updates.
I was kind of disappointed. Then the B1 fours came out. So I was lurking on those to see what would come of them. In the meantime, I saw that the B1ons were being discontinued so, I sponge for the B1xon. Using the B1on and the B1xon in tandem
I have no factual basis for this, just what my ears are telling me, but I think there may have been changes in terms of the analog hardware.
Regardless of whether it was analog, A to D or coding, something happened to take the blanket off the sound when they went from the B3 to the B3n. My beef with the B3 wasn't form factor or feature sets- it was that it failed the "is that live or Memorex" test when I compared it to my regular analog gear.
Shure, a global EQ that takes care of particular gig environment may be quite handy. Yet, in my experience, I preferred the better sound by using not two preamps in series. All the lack of clarity and quality in tone you seemed to be most worried I could get rid of with that arrangement. For me it was striking. As soon as I went for this signal flow, all sounds made a significant jump: I got the best out of my amp, which sounds damned good and I got the best out of amp and cab sims as done by the Zoom device. Why don't you try it out and check, whether you get a similar step in sound quality gain.
This improvement has little to do with analog vs. digital. The clear step forward in the sound quality from the B3 to the B3n is due to more sophisticated algorithms, i.e. improvements on only the digital side of things. Unfortunately, Zoom did those improvements not carry through on all parts of the software, but only on a subset. Fortunately they did this after a while at least for some of my favorite amp/cab sims such as the Flip Top. However, other of my favorite effects such as Bottom B, has never been added to the B3n. Therefore some of my favorite patches I carefully developed and tweaked with the B3, I could never reproduce fully on the B3n. Perhaps I spent not enough time to get the sound back I loved so much using my B3 by tweaking some other effects to fill in the gap. But I find it a bit disappointing, that the B3n did not allow me to reproduce easily a sound from the B3 I used and liked so much.
One of the nice things about the Behringer V-amp was the live global settings (S1 to S3) offered various global EQ options. Ditto the Line 6 POD XT. On the Behringer S1 to S3 offers various options on where speaker simulation and/or EQ is applied, but I've never used the XT live as I never got round to getting the pedal board for it. In fact I got the Zoom B9 when they sold them off end-of-line as it seemed to offer all the same functionality for the same price via MIDI. In the end it just seemed simpler to use the B9 instead of the POD and the B9 as a pedal board. In fact I did try the Behringer in the B9's loop as I like the synth sounds on the Behringer.
That is exactly why I keep using my old in the tooth Zoom stuff, for the selection of sounds that are not included on the new. Plus the sound improvements are negligible for my uses anyhow.
Came in tonight! Woot! Haven't even demo'd it yet, too late tonight, but already upgraded the firmware to 2.2, installed the ToneLab software, etc.
Judging by the list that came with it, not really interested in the stock patches, going to zero out the first few and setup *my* sounds. Someone who knows this unit well, please correct me if I'm looking at unit in the wrong way.
Anymore, I really only use 3 pedals: OD -> Chorus -> Comp (in that order, bizarre to some I know, and they are always on). (well 5, deal with the extra 2 later).
My first patch I'm going to set up 1) OD, 2) Chorus, 3) Comp and just leave them always on. No amp sim, no cab sim, this is basically going to be instrument -> b3n -> my amp (di to house).
My second patch I'm going to set up the same 3 FX, leave them always on, but then add amp sim and cab sim (and maybe hpf/lpf/bla/etc?). This will be for shows where I'm entirely direct (external DI).
Does this make sense? Basically able to tap a bottom pedal and switch between rig modes (figuratively). Is this normal enough SOP for this kind of unit? I'll admit, I hit Buy It Now before I finished even reading the sales pitch on the website.. if not, guide me in a better direction?
TLDR, what's everyone's favorite OD Comp and Chorus effect?
Judging by the list that came with it, not really interested in the stock patches, going to zero out the first few and setup *my* sounds. Someone who knows this unit well, please correct me if I'm looking at unit in the wrong way.
Anymore, I really only use 3 pedals: OD -> Chorus -> Comp (in that order, bizarre to some I know, and they are always on). (well 5, deal with the extra 2 later).
My first patch I'm going to set up 1) OD, 2) Chorus, 3) Comp and just leave them always on. No amp sim, no cab sim, this is basically going to be instrument -> b3n -> my amp (di to house).
My second patch I'm going to set up the same 3 FX, leave them always on, but then add amp sim and cab sim (and maybe hpf/lpf/bla/etc?). This will be for shows where I'm entirely direct (external DI).
Does this make sense? Basically able to tap a bottom pedal and switch between rig modes (figuratively). Is this normal enough SOP for this kind of unit? I'll admit, I hit Buy It Now before I finished even reading the sales pitch on the website.. if not, guide me in a better direction?
TLDR, what's everyone's favorite OD Comp and Chorus effect?
Hey, thanks for reminding! I was really missing the B15 and didn't notice it was already added at some point. However it doesn't sound as sweet as the VST version (SVX?). I really miss the sweet resonation characteristic I'm getting from SVX.
I use this mainly as cab sim, going straight to desk and using in-ears most of the time. The cab/amp sims overall are a bit let down... SVT+8x10 is adding too much boom, while all others cabs sound too thin and or middle-heavy to me. I'm getting best results with mixed sets, such as fliptop or EBS/Trace into 8x10.
And aren't the amp eq's all the same?! To me the biggest impact of different amps is the difference in eq voicing and that seems to be completely missing here. This seems to be the case with all (bass) amp emulations I've tried so far, such as amplitube etc.
I’ll be honest - I moved onto HX stomp as it sounds better. I’m also into desk and using IEM and the slightly better quality and more headroom at the input stage means I upgraded
I'm contemplating starting my rack up again by getting a secondhand Line 6 Bass Pod Pro (for amp emulation mostly). Instead of creating more lifting though, how does this Zoom unit compare to the Bass Pod for people who have tried both?
