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New: Zoom B3n Multi-Effects

#1,041
lemueldave said:
Should I just swap my VT Bass DI for another preamp like a Mesa Boogie? Or is there a possibility Zoom will release a Mesa simulator? I'm thinking of a lot of ways to mix-and-match my Zoom B3n with preamps.
Click to expand...

Only you can make that determination, but I would go even further in suggesting elimination of the VTDI and no replacement for it ;)

I believe Zoom will be offering more and interesting models for download in the months ahead!
 
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#1,042
BassikLee said:
Currently have it running off the same power bank, fully charged overnight. Going to let her run six hours, and see what the meter says. That little USB through meter thing was a few bucks, and measures draw. At first I was surprised it was drawing 650mA. Then it occured to me that that is at 5V. Power isn't free. Looks like the B3n really draws somewhere around 300mA, if you do the math, and leave a little for losses in the boost converter.
Click to expand...

Are you running anything on it, or just leaving it on? I would think that it would draw more power when switching between patches and processing a signal.
 
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#1,043
Just leaving it on. I might run a trial with the B3n being fed a part from a looper. I'd run the looper off separate power tho. I don't really suspect running signal thru it will change the draw that much. It's not like this thing is pushing any current.
 
#1,044
Current situation, no pun intended. That, into a passive DI.... Me likey
 

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#1,045
BassikLee said:
Just leaving it on. I might run a trial with the B3n being fed a part from a looper. I'd run the looper off separate power tho. I don't really suspect running signal thru it will change the draw that much. It's not like this thing is pushing any current.
Click to expand...

As an alternative to making the B3n sweat under load, I suggest running both a Rhythm track and the Looper on the B3n itself.
 
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#1,046
I'm not that knowledgeable with these electronics, but just anecdotally, my cell phone, laptop, etc. definitely drains a lot quicker when it's doing a lot of processing and thinking. Not just from the screen and speaker. So I would try to put it through some real rigorous processing before you trust it at a gig with that battery.

Anyone try this with a guitar? I know hardly anyone has any experience with these yet, but just thinking about picking one up and partly using it for a pit show coming up that needs some guitar.
 
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#1,047
Ok, after this test, i'll use the looper and the drum patterns in the B3n, and see how she does. At present, with both it and the G10 running, almost four hours in, the zoom has pulled roughly 2700mAh. The G10 is running right off the bank, without a meter. That being said, the meters on the bank itself have not slipped into the 75% range. Just four LED to show charge. I do have one with an actual % meter on it. Maybe I'll try this test with that one. I have several of these banks, as I use them for video camera stuff too. As an aside, even my battery case for my i6 will power the B3n. It claims to be 10,000mAh as well, and has a USB port on the side. Good time to be a nerd!!
 
#1,049
So, after doing a rehearsal and church service with the N, I must say I am very pleased. I got away from the Zoom products because of the user interface. It was never about the tones I was able to draw out of them (I've owned several 60b's, a B3 and B1on). The sounds were there, the ability to get around the units in a live setting was not.
This has all changed. Getting to the patches is easy, getting to the individual pedals is easy, and life, is now easy. I'm a happy camper.
J!
 
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#1,050
Hey all,

I just received my B3n this morning and was super pumped... but I feel like I may have a defective unit... I have tried with both active and passive basses and multiple cables as well (that work fine if I use them otherwise).

What happens is when I play a note passed a certain volume there is a cutoff that mutes everything until the volume gets lower than a certain level. (much like a limiter would do) Problem is even with my passive bass I had to lower the volume level around 50% to have it work when I play as heavily on the bass as I can... the active bass was at around 10-15% volume for it to work... I cannot work like that.

I tried to look for an "input level" setting and tried with many different patches and I get the same results every time.

EDIT: I also restarted a few times, and even reset to original settings with no luck

Any thoughts?

Thanks!
 
#1,051
Dels said:
Hey all,

I just received my B3n this morning and was super pumped... but I feel like I may have a defective unit... I have tried with both active and passive basses and multiple cables as well (that work fine if I use them otherwise).

What happens is when I play a note passed a certain volume there is a cutoff that mutes everything until the volume gets lower than a certain level. (much like a limiter would do) Problem is even with my passive bass I had to lower the volume level around 50% to have it work when I play as heavily on the bass as I can... the active bass was at around 10-15% volume for it to work... I cannot work like that.

I tried to look for an "input level" setting and tried with many different patches and I get the same results every time.

EDIT: I also restarted a few times, and even reset to original settings with no luck

Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I would hate to think the unit is defective from the box. I think something else may be at play here.

To simplify diagnosis try the following:
  1. Plug your passive bass into the B3n
  2. Connect only a set of headphones (and no futher audio connections)
  3. Navigate to Patch #28
  4. Advise of the outcome
 
#1,052
CharlieC said:
I would hate to think the unit is defective from the box. I think something else may be at play here.

To simplify diagnosis try the following:
  1. Plug your passive bass into the B3n
  2. Connect only a set of headphones (and no futher audio connections)
  3. Navigate to Patch #28
  4. Advise of the outcome
Click to expand...

Same exact behavior... when I hit the note if volume passed 50% it "limits"/cuts the sound until the note starts to ring on its own for a while and gets to a certain volume, then it starts tracking properly. If the volume on the bass is lower than 50%, it tracks properly, but is obviously way too low overall.
 
#1,053
Dels said:
Same exact behavior... when I hit the note if volume passed 50% it "limits"/cuts the sound until the note starts to ring on its own for a while and gets to a certain volume, then it starts tracking properly. If the volume on the bass is lower than 50%, it tracks properly, but is obviously way too low overall.
Click to expand...

With that said, I believe the unit may be defective.

... and you were using the supplied power adapter, correct?
 
#1,056
ChubbyJerk said:
I would be fairly surprised if they did not release a Helix Mini at some point. It's a standard move. (Although you could argue it usually goes the other way around...smaller product first, then a bigger version ("XL" or "Plus" or what-have-you) later.) We've got a good example here - Zoom's various form factors all based on the same basic software. B3 B1xon G3 G3x G5n B3n etc...whatever they're all called. (I know some share firmware and others don't, not sure off the top of my which are which, but you get the point.) Fractal has done it. Line 6 has even done it (or similar) with their M9 / M5 / Mwhatevers (I think).

If they didn't build the Helix firmware from the ground up with this thought in mind, they screwed up big time. Take of the expression pedal, halve the number of inputs and outputs, use 1 sharc instead of 2...and you can release the same type of killer thing at a price point that's much easier for people to buy in at.
Click to expand...
Helix LT
 
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#1,059
OK, so I got 6:28 out of it before the power bank died. I suspect they rated the mAh of the pack at the internal batteries' 3.7V. As such, their 10,000 was already down by the time that got bumped up to 5V for the USB out. According to my meter, 4600mAh went into the B3n in that time. My G10 was also on that same pack, though not on a meter. Just plugged it in thru the meter, and the G10 is drawing roughly 250mA. As such, that means I got about one and, or 1000mA out of that pack, for just shy of 6.5 hours. Certainly a gig worth. If the 10,000 rating was at 3.7v, that's 7,400 at 5V. Given that I got 6500 out of it, give or take, I'm happy. There are losses in the boost converters, and I'm going through two of them, first 3.7 to 5, then 5 to 9 Volts. I'll run this again tomorrow with the zoom processing audio and see if it changes.
 
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#1,060
BassikLee said:
OK, so I got 6:28 out of it before the power bank died. I suspect they rated the mAh of the pack at the internal batteries' 3.7V. As such, their 10,000 was already down by the time that got bumped up to 5V for the USB out. According to my meter, 4600mAh went into the B3n in that time. My G10 was also on that same pack, though not on a meter. Just plugged it in thru the meter, and the G10 is drawing roughly 250mA. As such, that means I got about one and, or 1000mA out of that pack, for just shy of 6.5 hours. Certainly a gig worth. If the 10,000 rating was at 3.7v, that's 7,400 at 5V. Given that I got 6500 out of it, give or take, I'm happy. There are losses in the boost converters, and I'm going through two of them, first 3.7 to 5, then 5 to 9 Volts. I'll run this again tomorrow with the zoom processing audio and see if it changes.
Click to expand...
I should have a 20k pack tomorrow with a 2amp 5-9v dc up convertor. I'll charge it up and see how she does
 
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