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Zoom B1 Four - better sounding than Zoom B1on?

fourstringbliss

fourstringbliss

Supporting Member
Oct 5, 2003
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Puyallup, WA
#1
I have a Zoom B1on pedal and it works fine for my uses. I don't really use it for effects - just amp modeling.

Does the Zoom B1 Four sound better than the B1on or B3?

Does it sound better enough to buy the new one if I've already got the older one?
 
#5
dave_bass5 said:
I have the B3n, B1-On and B1-Four. The Four is the best of the lot IMO. The added buttons make it a lot easier to us over the ON, less menus to navigate, has the global EQ and volume on knobs on the front, and the runner is really well thought out. The sounds are on par with the B3n.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Done deal!

I liked the sounds I got with the B3n but the lack of battery power killed the deal. I'm definitely getting myself a four.
 
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#6
fourstringbliss said:
Thanks! Done deal!

I liked the sounds I got with the B3n but the lack of battery power killed the deal. I'm definitely getting myself a four.
Click to expand...
Yeah, i love the portability of the B1 range. I wish it had an on/off switch though. I would like to leave my Xvive Wireless receiver left in, but it will drain the battery. Thats the only down side that i can find.
Should add i have a Helix Stomp which has taken over from all my Zoom pedals, but the Four will be my travelling pedal.

Good luck. You will love it compared to the ON.
 
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#7
I used to have Zoom b1on and now I have the B1 four. I'm still learning the new one and I sold my b1on and can only go by memory . Honestly the B1 four has less it appears . Less amp sims and the effects differ. In exchange it has software editing features and theoretically can received updates.

I'll reevaluate once I've used the b1 four more however.
 
#8
Mechayoshi said:
I used to have Zoom b1on and now I have the B1 four. I'm still learning the new one and I sold my b1on and can only go by memory . Honestly the B1 four has less it appears . Less amp sims and the effects differ. In exchange it has software editing features and theoretically can received updates.

I'll reevaluate once I've used the b1 four more however.
Click to expand...
What’s missing from the Four? I know you said you don’t have the old one but you must have noticed something missing?
 
#11
dave_bass5 said:
Ah, I hadn’t noticed that. Ironically that’s what i mostly use with Helix Stomp. Don’t think i ever noticed it in the B1-on.
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The B1 Four has the same amp sims of the B3n. Ampeg,SWR, Trace Elliot, Fender, Acoustic, Aguilar, EBS, Markbass. I feel like I'm missing one? No GK though.
I have a B1 Four. Its nice for practicing. I dont think the casing is as sturdy as the B3n. I do wish Zoom had put those little paddle footswitches on the B1 Four. It would have been easier to select pedal mode or the drum machine or looper. Ironically things they changed due to complaints about using effects slots for the drum machine or looper on the B3n! :) i liked it. To have the pedalboard button attached to the edit button that you have to push with your finger doesnt seem to be well thought out.
But hey for $99 its hard to complain.
Hope this helps,
Brent
 
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#12
Yeah, the B3n and Four are based on the same processors, and the B1-On and B3 the older version.

I still have my B1-on/B3n and Four (and 60B) but I just stopped using them the moment i got my Helix.
Ive struggled with Zoom menus in the past. I did have a B3 but got rid of it, then missed it and got the B3n as its a bit easier to use. Then stopped using it. The B1-on was only ever for bedroom practice, but then the Four came out and it was so much easier to use. I love how easy the drum machine is. I dont think i ever used it on the B3n, as it has to be programmed in to a patch IIR.

Can’t say I dived too far in to the Zoom pedals prior to the Four, but i do still use my Four every now and then as its a great practice tool. Even better than my Helix as it has the drum machine in it.

But i can can hear a difference in quality between my ON and Four. The Four just seems more solid and ‘there’. The ON to my ears sounds great, but a bit more digital and with less depth. I do all my playing at home on headphones so i tend to hear everything quite clearly.
 
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#13
I have the B1on which, as people have mentioned, essentially the B3 in a different casing. When I bought a B3n I noticed that my favorite Hartke B3 amp model was missing and was pleased to see it was back on the B1on. My B1 Four is coming in the mail on Friday, and I'm going to give it another shot since it's essentially the B3n. We'll see how it goes.
 
#14
dave_bass5 said:
I have the B3n, B1-On and B1-Four. The Four is the best of the lot IMO. The added buttons make it a lot easier to us over the ON, less menus to navigate, has the global EQ and volume on knobs on the front, and the runner is really well thought out. The sounds are on par with the B3n.
Click to expand...

Hi there! Since you've had all 3... I'm looking to buy one of these but I don't really care much about the effects. I want it to practice at home with headphones. I need something compact, that has drum programs / metronome, and is easy to carry (travel a lot) and not too expensive... Would you say the cheapest version would do for me? (B1-On, I believe).
Thanks!
 
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#15
carliuxdelgado said:
Hi there! Since you've had all 3... I'm looking to buy one of these but I don't really care much about the effects. I want it to practice at home with headphones. I need something compact, that has drum programs / metronome, and is easy to carry (travel a lot) and not too expensive... Would you say the cheapest version would do for me? (B1-On, I believe).
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Definitely get the B1 Four. Sturdier, better sounding, and more compact than the B1on. Editing is easier and more intuitive, and the overall interface is more refined.
 
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#16
Don’t know if a HPF is a big deal or not, but the FOUR has both HPF and LPF.
There are shenanigans you can do with the b1on that are HPF-ish, but nothing on the b1xon effects list says HPF outright like it does on the effects list for the FOUR.
 
#17
I use a B3n as an always on preamp shaper for my dirt. Really it's just the SVT model and a few bands of PEQ. I'm thinking of switching the b3n out for the b1 four for the smaller, lighter enclosure and lower noise floor. If I already only use 5 effects at a time is there any reason NOT to go to the B1 Four?
 
#18
BunchyMutt said:
I use a B3n as an always on preamp shaper for my dirt. Really it's just the SVT model and a few bands of PEQ. I'm thinking of switching the b3n out for the b1 four for the smaller, lighter enclosure and lower noise floor. If I already only use 5 effects at a time is there any reason NOT to go to the B1 Four?
Click to expand...
No reason at all - you'd have the same effects. I just discovered that the Markbass sim into the DI5 sim into my fx return sounds super good!
 
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#20
B1 Four arrived. I was really hoping it would replace my B3N since I use the B3N as an always on dirt tone shaper. Cutting down on pedal board space and weight would have been *chef's kiss*

But darn it all if it doesn't sound and *feel* very different and I think I know why.

On the B3N I run the SVT model with the Solo boost on 7-9 depending on how spicy I'm feeling. I don't know what the solo boost does exactly, it can't be much more than boosting post-gain, but it gets me somewhere that the other boosts in the zoom can't. There's a fullness and chest punch to the bass that I tried replicating with a combo of a boost and PEQ but I can't get it as close as I want. It either feels thin or mushy.

I like the b1 four's global eq feature, I don't like the interface as much as the B3n but for an always on pedal I don't care at all. To me the b1 four sounds thinner and more digital. I'll experiment for a few more days but initial impressions make me think I'll stick with the b3n unfortunately


EDIT: After playing with it more I'm don't know if I'm full of bs

POSTI EDIT: I am more confident that I am, in fact, full of bs
 
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