New: Zoom B3n Multi-Effects

[khutch]

You can also turn on the tuner and then select the bypass mode rather than the mute mode. You can do this from any patch and while many of us miss the "one stomp" tuner activation of previous models, having the ability to select mute or bypass depending on the situation is an advantage.

 

[OldFunBass]

You can also turn on the tuner and then select the bypass mode rather than the mute mode. You can do this from any patch and while many of us miss the "one stomp" tuner activation of previous models, having the ability to select mute or bypass depending on the situation is an advantage.

Ok. Stu_Bass also mentioned the tuner bypass mode. So this gives a pure bypass? I will give that a try, thanks. I did not think of that.

 

[smeet]

The B3n seems like it should be simple to grasp, but some simple stuff just eludes me...

When switching to Stomp mode it briefly shows the effects chain, then switches to another display showing just a couple of effects. Then I can use the bank scroll switches to move through the effects chain. But it focuses on approximately two effects at once. Which is it really looking at? The Edit switch is supposed to switch between showing parameters and names. But when I scroll through the chain it loses the display mode and I have to hit the edit switch a couple of times to get back to it.

What do the three patch select switches do in Stomp mode? They seem to turn effects off and on but I can't figure out which effect is being toggled. The manual is no help at all. It says (in cute pictures):
"Press a button. That turns that effect off and on." Um. Which button and which effect is it referring to? The sound changes (sometimes) but there is no visual feedback I can see that tells me what is actually being toggled.

Am I being dense? The UI design seems very quirky. My old Roland S550 Sampler was more logical, and people complained about that one, and it had almost no display.

 

[smeet]

Ok. Stu_Bass also mentioned the tuner bypass mode. So this gives a pure bypass? I will give that a try, thanks. I did not think of that.

There is IMO no completely pure bypass. You will need to use an external loop/switcher to get that.

 

[lemueldave]

The B3n seems like it should be simple to grasp, but some simple stuff just eludes me...

When switching to Stomp mode it briefly shows the effects chain, then switches to another display showing just a couple of effects. Then I can use the bank scroll switches to move through the effects chain. But it focuses on approximately two effects at once. Which is it really looking at? The Edit switch is supposed to switch between showing parameters and names. But when I scroll through the chain it loses the display mode and I have to hit the edit switch a couple of times to get back to it.

What do the three patch select switches do in Stomp mode? They seem to turn effects off and on but I can't figure out which effect is being toggled. The manual is no help at all. It says (in cute pictures):
"Press a button. That turns that effect off and on." Um. Which button and which effect is it referring to? The sound changes (sometimes) but there is no visual feedback I can see that tells me what is actually being toggled.

Am I being dense? The UI design seems very quirky. My old Roland S550 Sampler was more logical, and people complained about that one, and it had almost no display.

What do you mean what effect is being toggled? The stompbox switch obviously turns the effect above it and is indicated by the LED light turning on/off below the screen.

The lower batches of switches scrolls to the effects to the left or right of the current effect modules selected. This is more obvious when you use more than 3 slots in a patch chain. I haven't even read the manual to figure this one out.

 

[ticol07]

@ticol07, should you be kind enough to send me one of these from France I will ensure that you receive your B3n from Thomann.de via overnight delivery.

Truth be told, this particular vintage is valued at $5K USD, so I will also include a fresh pack of bass strings as well.

Good to see you on this new thread, old friend!

Cheers!

It's the same colour as the b3n. They should be sold together

 

[smeet]

What do you mean what effect is being toggled? The stompbox switch obviously turns the effect above it and is indicated by the LED light turning on/off below the screen.

The lower batches of switches scrolls to the effects to the left or right of the current effect modules selected. This is more obvious when you use more than 3 slots in a patch chain. I haven't even read the manual to figure this one out.

Sorry to miss what is so obvious to you. There is not always a single effect directly above any of the three stompbox switches. I am looking at a chain of between 1 and 7 effects spread out over three screens, some of them overlapping two screens. So what is the obvious correspondence between three lights and a variable number of effects? Yes, I understand how to scroll through the effects, but I don't see how that is relevant to my question.

If there is a chain of 7 effects, and I want to turn off the 6th one, how do I do it? With three leds, how can I tell which of the 7 are currently on and which are off? The lights don't change when I scroll.

 

[Johno Dunn]

Sorry to miss what is so obvious to you. There is not always a single effect directly above any of the three stompbox switches. I am looking at a chain of between 1 and 7 effects spread out over three screens, some of them overlapping two screens. So what is the obvious correspondence between three lights and a variable number of effects? Yes, I understand how to scroll through the effects, but I don't see how that is relevant to my question.

If there is a chain of 7 effects, and I want to turn off the 6th one, how do I do it? With three leds, how can I tell which of the 7 are currently on and which are off? The lights don't change when I scroll.

So, with all the FX in the chain showing, three of them will be highlighted. You can scroll left or right (bottom row, far left 2 pedals) to highlight the three you want to have access to, the highlight will move as you scroll. When you have the three chosen, hit the far right, bottom row pedal to choose these. Once you do this, the three FX will then correspond to the upper rows of 3 switches to turn off and on as you please. Hit the far right (bottom row) switch again, and the parameters will show up for adjusting. Keep in mind that an amp sim, and various other FX, are two slots, so you will need to scroll L or R to get all of the parameters to show. All the extra work is worth it in the long run, and it really is easier than it sounds. It can all be done on the fly. Please feel free to PM me if none of this makes sense, or you have further questions. I love this box, and would like to see it work for everyone.
J!

 

[smeet]

So, with all the FX in the chain showing, three of them will be highlighted. You can scroll left or right (bottom row, far left 2 pedals) to highlight the three you want to have access to, the highlight will move as you scroll. When you have the three chosen, hit the far right, bottom row pedal to choose these. Once you do this, the three FX will then correspond to the upper rows of 3 switches to turn off and on as you please. Hit the far right (bottom row) switch again, and the parameters will show up for adjusting. Keep in mind that an amp sim is two slots, so you will need to scroll L or R to get all of the parameters to show. All the extra work is worth it in the long run, and it really is easier than it sounds. It can all be done on the fly. Please feel free to PM me if none of this makes sense, or you have further questions. I love this box, and would like to see it work for everyone.
J!

Thanks a lot Johno, that makes total sense. The bolded part is what I was missing. I don't remember seeing that in the manual. So is there any way to tell which effects are on or off when looking at the full chain?

 

[Johno Dunn]

Thanks a lot Johno, that makes total sense. The bolded part is what I was missing. I don't remember seeing that in the manual. So is there any way to tell which effects are on or off when looking at the full chain?

I'll have to check, but I don't think so unless you have "assigned" them to the top row of switches. They may be a lighter shade if they are off, ie not as highlighted.

 

[Johno Dunn]

Also, on every Amp sim to the far right of the parameters, there is an adjustable boost that you can engage. Really cool feature. Has made my life infinitely better!

 

[Johno Dunn]

Did I mention I LOVE this box!
J!

 

[Johno Dunn]

The way I have mine set up is as follows; I have my main tone generators set up on all of the first three slots of bank one. On bank two, I have three corresponding FX changes. For instance, the first slot is a wah setting, slot two is an OD setting, and slot three is a synthy, Chameleon setting. I keep the Preselect of banks off, so I can use the two far left, bottom row switches to move between my main tone, and my effected tone, by toggling between banks. Might not work for all, but it's working great for me.

 

[jimfist]

I do like that you can chain up to 7 effects in the signal chain, but my least favorite aspect of executing this is the necessity of having to step on the far right bottom row switch after scrolling. Obviously, there's no way around this given the number of screens and switches, but that extra step is a bummer IMO.

This is why I was hoping for a B5n format pedal with the same design features as the G5n. With the G5n, you have the same "mode" selection for MEMORY or STOMPBOX, but once you're in stompbox mode, you only need to scroll left or right. There is no extra step to access the "off screen" effects that you are scrolling to, as is the case with the B3n (or G3n, which is the direct guitar equivalent to the B3n).

That said, it is a little bit of a learning curve to understand the procedures for scrolling/engaging stomps, but once you've wrapped your head around it, not so bad. I'll take this 10 out of 10 times over what was offered with the B3, which always felt extremely limited for live use. JMO

 

[David Sutkin]

use the tuner in bypass mode (not mute mode)

Are we sure that the sound will be completely uncolored using this method? ... I'm hoping so as it seems the easiest way. Just wondering if everyone is in agreement on this tip?

 

[Stu_Bass]

Are we sure that the sound will be completely uncolored using this method? ... I'm hoping so as it seems the easiest way. Just wondering if everyone is in agreement on this tip?

Since the audio is always passing through the A/D & D/A converters it cannot be completely uncolored. The graphs in a previous post show that through and tuner bypass are extremley close in frequency resonse but it does not compare them to a true-bypassed cable
Randy

 

[moles]

Are we sure that the sound will be completely uncolored using this method? ... I'm hoping so as it seems the easiest way. Just wondering if everyone is in agreement on this tip?

Nope. As Stu-Bass said above, it's still passing through (either) the converters (or at least the buffer - personally I'm not sure which) There is a huge amount of coloration versus not having it in the signal path, based on how the other effects in the series have performed.

 

[jimfist]

Nope. As Stu-Bass said above, it's still passing through (either) the converters (or at least the buffer - personally I'm not sure which) There is a huge amount of coloration versus not having it in the signal path, based on how the other effects in the series have performed.

Did you come to this conclusion based on listening, or how, exactly? I'm not saying your incorrect about this, but I've not seen any sort of comprehensive comparison between a true bypass signal graph and the tuner bypass from the B3n. If I missed it, point me. Thanks.

 

[Stu_Bass]

Nope. As Stu-Bass said above, it's still passing through (either) the converters (or at least the buffer - personally I'm not sure which) There is a huge amount of coloration versus not having it in the signal path, based on how the other effects in the series have performed.

Did you come to this conclusion based on listening, or how, exactly? I'm not saying your incorrect about this, but I've not seen any sort of comprehensive comparison between a true bypass signal graph and the tuner bypass from the B3n. If I missed it, point me. Thanks.

Perhaps someone can run their bass through a splitter then feed an A/B box with and without the B3n and do a comparison. Not really scientific but at least ones ears can tell if there is tone suck or not. Or maybe someone can do it it in a somewhat scientific manner. I just don't have the time right now, sorry

 

[kasbrey]

Perhaps someone can run their bass through a splitter then feed an A/B box with and without the B3n and do a comparison. Not really scientific but at least ones ears can tell if there is tone suck or not. Or maybe someone can do it it in a somewhat scientific manner. I just don't have the time right now, sorry

I've done this (unscientific only). I don't hear a difference between tuner bypass with a decent patch lead in the B3n out and direct into amp. I thought I heard a difference with the Empty patch though although I accept it could be other factors like patch volume.
I've tried preamps like the DHA Vt1, Fishman pro Platinum, Two Notes Le Bass and Basswitch DI (as well as the B3) A/B'd flat and direct and only the Basswitch didn't suck tone from my Quilter head IMO.
I prefer the B3n to all of these from a tone character point of view.