New: Zoom B3n Multi-Effects

[jimfist]

Oh. The dude asked about it specifically and it was a major concern for me as well. So, that's the "reason"

True. You're right. Good luck with your search.

 

[SirMjac28]

Is the PC software the same?

 

[CharlieC]

Is the PC software the same?

New Guitar Lab software is used for the "N" series of multi-effects and is bare-bones at best.

Functionality at this time is simply to backup/manage one's patches and to download new models as available.

Cheers!

 

[jimfist]

New Guitar Lab software is used for the "N" series of multi-effects and is bare-bones at best.

Functionality at this time is simply to backup/manage one's patches and to download new models as available.

Cheers!

And, unfortunately, it's pretty uninspired software by today's standards. Gets the job done on a minimal level, but far from robust. Plenty of room for improvement there...again...hoping...soon. It's a good thing the B3n is designed to be very easy to use from the front panel of the unit. Maybe that's how they justify such bare-bones librarian software.

 

[Spblat]

Yep. I love my B3n but that software is...bad.

 

[andreas_flf]

Mine does not do this, but I believe what you are experiencing is the result of not yet having turned on "PRESELECT" (see page 24 in the user manual.)

Congrats on the purchase!

Thanks on this hint CharlieC. Will try it out.

 

[VonSledgehammer]

First a video of patches done by Ryosuke Korenaga who plays in a band called Ama no parade, second an explanation of the patches (use google translate) and third, download from Zoom Japan.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
B3n Multi-Effects Processor

Awesome! I added them to Link Removed

 

[andreas_flf]

OK, I ordered one. You are all now officially responsible for my future happiness or lack thereof.

How many of you are using the/a expression pedal with the B3n? How much does it add to the usefulness?
Which pedals will work best with it, is Zoom's own FP02M the best bet?

I would go for a Zoom pedal, which seems to day to be FP02M. But my older FP02 models work fine as well. I tested this.

As I wrote before, I typically use my pedal to have some volume control at the end of the effect chain, keeping unity gain at the minimum pedal position, which helps to have the right volume when entering a patch. I often change a patch between songs, so I have time to quickly move the pedal to forget the volume level from the previous patch and set it to the well defined pedal's minimum position. But I use the pedal also as a Wah, or for pitch bending (whammy bar effect on bass ) or, on the B3, to control the "intensity" of an effect, e.g. a heavy synth or distortion effect, by controlling the mix between the dry and effect signal or even a parameter of an effect (my experience on the B3n with the latter is currently still nil).

This is no surprise older Zoom models work well also, given the simple electronics the pedal has. The pedal contains basically only a potentiometer, of which your foot controls the resistance. The exact wiring is the following
(click to enlarge)

Thus, any pedal having these passive electronics should basically work, given the TRS (Tip Ring Sleeve) jack is connected correctly and in above manner when plugging the cable into the B3n. Of course what might matter a bit are the specs of the potentiometer, i.e. which range of resistance it is covering. Sorry, but here I cannot help at the moment and do not know what those specs are. For the time being I would guess this is a matter of testing with whatever pedal you already have. At worst the pedal does not work well, but I think no damage should result for your B3n as long as the wiring is correctly done according to above diagram.

if you wish I can do some measurements, e.g. what is minimal resistance, does it really go to zero, max resistance etc. I could then post those numbers here if you wish and you can compare with your pedal. Just let me know.

 

[Johno Dunn]

Yep. I love my B3n but that software is...bad.

I keep Preselect off as part of my patch switching scheme. I have never noticed the whine.

 

[CharlieC]

I keep Preselect off as part of my patch switching scheme. I have never noticed the whine.

Didn't you also not notice the other power-related whine as well?

What Andreas described recently is a situation that is easily replicated by navigating banks with Preselect "Off" (the default.) It is most evident when landing on a patch laden with effects as part of the bank change. With Preselect "On", bank changes no longer include a patch change, and the cause of the issue is then eliminated.

Cheers!

 

[Johno Dunn]

Didn't you also not notice the other power-related whine as well?

What Andreas described recently is a situation that is easily replicated by navigating banks with Preselect "Off" (the default.) It is most evident when landing on a patch laden with effects as part of the bank change. With Preselect "On", bank changes no longer include a patch change, and the cause of the issue is then eliminated.

Cheers!

Some how I knew you'd bring that up. I'll listen closely to my in ear mix tonight at practice.

 

[viclobocga]

I have loved and used my Zoom B3 going on 5 years now and I plan on getting even more enjoyment with the B3n.

Based on the sounds of the new DSP alone, I believe they knocked it further out of the park and simultaneously eliminated the shortcomings of the B3 for which we never did receive a firmware update for.

Hi there, I am a newbee here, can I use the B3 with the B3N ?

 

[CharlieC]

Hi there, I am a newbee here, can I use the B3 with the B3N ?

Yes, both devices can be used together.

 

[smeet]

OK, the B3n arrived today, thanks to Amazon Prime's superfast free delivery.

I ran through a bunch of the presets, and they sound OK. I'm guessing that tweaking them will help a lot.
But playing through the "Empty" patch was a bit disappointing, as it sounds quite different from plugging straight into my amp. As people have noted, it's not objectively better or worse, but... The attack is softened, and the highs and extreme lows are attenuated. To my ear, playing solo, it's not all that subtle.

I'm willing to believe that my ears and biases are fooling me. So I'll try to make some recordings playing a few licks on the bass, and maybe send some pink noise through the unit too. If the recordings contradict what I'm hearing, I'll be back on here to admit that. If they show anything of worth, I'll upload them.

I'm sure I could make it work, but the jury is still out as to whether it's worth it to me. The question is, will those differences be inaudible when I'm playing with a drummer, or will they be that much more obvious? That is always hard to judge. The rounded-off attack is the most bothersome thing for me. I can eq highs and lows back into the signal, but the attack can't be recovered once it's gone.

I have a decent passive bypass looper by Loop-Master, but once I have to have multiple boxes and put things on a board, it loses a large part of the appeal of an all-in-one box.

I don't want to sound too negative. As I said, I'll evaluate it both at band practice and through recordings and report what I find, and what my bandmates think.

 

[BassikLee]

Looking forward to your report, good or bad.

 

[jimfist]

So it seems the B3n obviously wins on versatility. But how about sound quality? When bypassed, does the B3n change my sound at all? I want my bypass to sound exactly the same as not using any effects.

You should also try comparing an "Empty" patch to the actual bypass of the pedal when in TUNER mode (you can select Bypass or Mute as tuning options). I've no idea whether there is any significant difference between the two, other than the an Empty patch has a variable LEVEL control assigned to it IIRC.

My initial guess is that basses with hot output -and/or when bassists play extremely aggressively on an instrument, thus producing radical dynamic peaks - are kept in check at the input stage of the B3n. I've never heard mine overload at the input, though I'll give it another try tonight to see. This would indicate some sort of limiting scheme to keep the signal clean, which could explain the "softening" of the sound.

Speaking for myself, when gigging it's never been an issue to the point where I had to think about it during a performance. JMO, though.

 

[Johno Dunn]

Not to get to far off topic, but I REALLY don't want to run 2 wall warts to power my N and my 60b. Does anyone have any suggestions for an easy way to deal with the whine issue?

 

[smeet]

I'll check the tuner mode, good idea.

So just curious - how does the B3n compare to other multis - the GT-10B, the Digitechs, the line6 helix, etc? I know some are much pricier, just wondering how people think it matches up.

 

[kasbrey]

But playing through the "Empty" patch was a bit disappointing, as it sounds quite different from plugging straight into my amp. As people have noted, it's not objectively better or worse, but... The attack is softened, and the highs and extreme lows are attenuated. To my ear, playing solo, it's not all that subtle.

.

Could this just be the impedance difference between the buffered sound and direct pickup loading? Or perhaps the extra lead? I've noticed the difference before when plugging direct into my Quilter head even when use true bypassed pre's. I have no idea though if you were using a passive bass etc.

 

[smeet]

Could this just be the impedance difference between the buffered sound and direct pickup loading? Or perhaps the extra lead? I've noticed the difference before when plugging direct into my Quilter head even when use true bypassed pre's. I have no idea though if you were using a passive bass etc.

It's an active bass, but it has a passive mode, not sure if that acts the same. I'll try it with a passive bass today.