Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
I'm currently using the Zoom BX1On M80sim at home and its distortion sounds pretty good, so much it has me thinking about getting the real thing. Out of curiosity, is the M80s distortion its own thing or is it cloning something else ?
Last edited:
Hi there,
It's really its own thing. I have a Zoom B3 and the M80 sim comes really close. I've had several real M80s over the years and sold them for some reason. But it's a great box. It excels as a clean preamp but with fiddling with the blend knob you can get some good sounds with the distortion.
Have fun!
Brent
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,768
- 40,436
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
I agree with Brent...the M80 is kind of its own thing IMO. Most people tend to use words like hard-rock, metal, modern sounding when describing it and the tendency seems to be that folks either love or hate it. It's not a warm, over-driven tube sounding kind of voicing. I would say its more fuzz/Rat-like than anything else.
It's also worth noting that the color (midscoop/hi and low boost voicing) feature is automatically engaged with the distortion. The blend knob is your friend here and can IME really make the distortion a lot more pleasant/smooth sounding. Love it or hate it, the M80 distortion does sit well in a mix and allows the bass to cut through without overpowering other instruments.
Absolutely!
That's one of the plusses of the B3 and other Zoom bass pedals featuring the M80 sim. You can turn the color switch off on the distortion side!
It sounds great and gives you another option.Brent
The M80 sim in my Zoom MS-60B is what inspired me to try the real thing again. For clean tones, the Zoom is pretty much spot on with the real thing. But I think the distortion is much better in the M80 than in the Zoom sim, which to my ears is fizzy. Now I use the M80 almost exclusively. The Zoom sits in a drawer till I need its other effects.
I finally sold my M80. I never really liked it, just used it out of necessity because the eq section on my practice amp is shot. At long last I'll be upgrading to the B7KU, a preamp with a usable distortion.
I essentially use the M80 for the clean preamp, XLR & Parallel Output features. The distortion was never a selling point for me. Tweaking with the blend and the gain can get some decent tones however.
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,768
- 40,436
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
+1...captures and summarizes my feelings exactly. I think many folks who were looking for a BDDI option and turned to the M80 and would describe it the same way.
I could go either BDDI or M80 and be happy. The way both are marketed make them sound like they are meant to be distortion pedals which I guess could cause some confusion.
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,768
- 40,436
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
Actually, I own the BDDI (last version and newest), PDDI, and Tone Hammer pedals along with the M80. I think they all have the ability to get the job done, some are just a little better at certain tones/voices than others.
The M80 is one of the simplest for providing a clean tone and also giving an optional channel you can use on the fly to get a second tone/voicing...whether that be as simple as just the color circuit or color + some amount of distortion blendable with your dry signal.
Last edited:
Looking for something like the M80 that can do regular clean & also somewhat approximate a clean all-tube head with or without just a slight bit of clean tube OD.
Not really interested in distortion.
Can any of you with experience with multiple pedals of this type recommend a particular pedal?
I think I could get there with either a VT Bass DI or the Darkglass Vintage Ultra, but hoping to spend a bit less (or a lot less) money.
Thanks!
Not really interested in distortion.
Can any of you with experience with multiple pedals of this type recommend a particular pedal?
I think I could get there with either a VT Bass DI or the Darkglass Vintage Ultra, but hoping to spend a bit less (or a lot less) money.
Thanks!
VT Bass Deluxe. Program one preset with no drive which will essentially be clean and another with OD.
Although it's not particularly a cab sim, the M80 with Color engaged not only imparts a mid scoop around 800hz, but also a useful high and low pass filter as evident in this thread...
Invalid Link Removed
Partway down the first page shows a plot of the EQ curve with Color on.
I will admit the mid scoop is a little extreme for me by default but the mid knob is centred around the same frequency so you can counteract it to some degree by boosting.
I like the pedal as both a preamp, DI or distortion fir different occasions. I find it's quite versatile
Invalid Link Removed
Partway down the first page shows a plot of the EQ curve with Color on.
I will admit the mid scoop is a little extreme for me by default but the mid knob is centred around the same frequency so you can counteract it to some degree by boosting.
I like the pedal as both a preamp, DI or distortion fir different occasions. I find it's quite versatile
Reviving an old thread...out of interest I emailed MXR and asked if the bass and treble were peaking or shelving EQ. It doesn't state in the manual.
I received a reply - they are both shelving, which makes me think about this unit in a different way. You could technically use the unit as a high and low pass filter....60hz and 4khz are good EQ points for this I feel.
Just an FYI, but interesting to me!
I received a reply - they are both shelving, which makes me think about this unit in a different way. You could technically use the unit as a high and low pass filter....60hz and 4khz are good EQ points for this I feel.
Just an FYI, but interesting to me!
Last edited:
That's what I use the second channel for.
My rig nowadays is Sandberg TM4 SL > M80 > FOH. I use the M80 for the clean channel has it excels at making your instrument just more.
I use the distortion channel has a mute function for when I tune using my Peterson clip on tuner.
I am a fan of the distortion channel and do think it sits well in the mix. If I remember correctly, a lot of Strays was recorded using the M80. That bass distortion does sound familiar.
