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Zoom B2 just came in at my office...
- Thread starter Sundogue
- Start date
i already apologised for hijacking, but sorry again.
just checked out the zoom site and the sound clips for the B2 sound ace just very 'stereotype' bass sounds but that all depends on the user, no one settles for untweaked presets anyway so.
has anybody got any clips of the B2 in action? just i really would love to hear 'real world' bassists take on them, as i mentioned earlier ive been a zoom bass user since the 506 and loved the modulation effects (not so the drives tho)
just checked out the zoom site and the sound clips for the B2 sound ace just very 'stereotype' bass sounds but that all depends on the user, no one settles for untweaked presets anyway so.
has anybody got any clips of the B2 in action? just i really would love to hear 'real world' bassists take on them, as i mentioned earlier ive been a zoom bass user since the 506 and loved the modulation effects (not so the drives tho)
No biggee, but you might get more interest on that new effects coming out if you start a new thread on it. There appears to be some interest.
I think this is the link for a guy who recorded a bunch of B2.1u soundclips (same as the B2 but with the pedal and the USB and XLR out).
And I agree on the stereotypical stock prests, though there are quite a few usable ones right out of the box. There are so many variables for each modell and effect, that I can't imagine anyone not being able to tweak them to their liking.
i highly recommend the b2.1u also. my favorite thing about it is the built in drum machine. well, it's not really a drum machine, but it's incredibly useful. and it's so much cooler than practicing with a metronome. and basically just alot of fun. it really makes you want to practice. and i find myself actually working on more important aspects of my playing instead of getting sidetracked into noodling and wasting time. i used to have the older BFX and i pretty much wore it out. the new metal casing is so much better. i have to say that even though i'm not really an effects kinda player, and i wouldn't use the zoom for recording, i still use this thing absolutely every single day. well worth the money.
Hi there, Just gotta say, I've got a Zoom PFX 9003 or something, it's mostly for guitar but it's pretty good what little it does for bass. The models are a little thin. I love the compressor and it's easy to tweak. I tried out the B2 in a store and I'm still deciding if I can rationalize the purchase. It sounded very nice from what I could figure without the owner's manual. I plan to test drive it again. I'm mostly interested in the overdrive and compression rather than modulation effects and reverb/delay etc.
although the drive modules are good on the B2...if you're ONLY interested in drive and compression....i'd suggest individual stomp boxes.
However, if you can put up with a really good easy to use tuner, mute function, great chorus and delays, programmable patches for - i don't know - let's say multiple variations of drive, all along with a flexible and useable eq and a miriad of other effects then you might consider delving a bit deeper into the B2/B2.1U.
for what it's worth, the drive modules can't be stacked and I use overdrive pedals in line to my B2.1U to boost the drive when I want to keep my underlying tone. (this eliminates the usefullness of the blend which I don't use much anyway)
oh cool, ihateusernames are you saying they (zoom) have put a dry blend on the drive section now? that makes me smile (and WHY is it NOT on the bass pod???? with out fiddling) that the 'budget' FX have it pretty standard and its a pain on the £££££ units
Hey, I was only looking for a compressor and ended up with the B2. I like the Zoom Tube Pre with compression and a bit of overdrive, so really I would be someone who falls into the "I only need a couple of dedicated stomp boxes" category.
But you know what? I've found so many great sounds to incorporate into "my" sound, that I now have a bunch of unique tones and effects for many different styles of music we play. It is so great to just click to a preset for any particular song and have my bass sound just how I want it, without any fiddling around with controls between songs.
I've never been an effects person, but since I play in a cover band that plays quite a wide variety of music, this B2 is, without a doubt, one of the single best equipment purchases I've ever made.
I have to agree that the little zoom b2.1u is surprisingly sturdy . I have gigged with mine for a year now and the ONLY issue is that if you need to change tone in the middle of a number, the pedal can get in the way . a couple of times I've turned the volume down when tapping the right button . I know you can re-assign the pedal but I do use it for volume occasionaly on the same patch.
I've been doing a bit more tweaking on my B2 and last night at practice, a lot of my new presets just floored the rest of the band.
We're doing that new Evanescence tune "Call Me When You're Sober", and the bass is either detuned or he's playing a five string. I only play a 4 string and some of the notes I play sounded rather wimpy normally for such a driving song.
I used the Octaver and got a very cool, driving low end that just fits that song perfectly. There are a couple of other tunes we do that use either a 5 string or are detuned and that preset will come in handy for those.
I've got some other new ones and I'll be trying them out live this weekend at two different gigs.
Yeah, this B2 is just what I've been looking for.
We're doing that new Evanescence tune "Call Me When You're Sober", and the bass is either detuned or he's playing a five string. I only play a 4 string and some of the notes I play sounded rather wimpy normally for such a driving song.
I used the Octaver and got a very cool, driving low end that just fits that song perfectly. There are a couple of other tunes we do that use either a 5 string or are detuned and that preset will come in handy for those.
I've got some other new ones and I'll be trying them out live this weekend at two different gigs.
Yeah, this B2 is just what I've been looking for.
Cool song to do, 'dogue. Who does the singin'? I dig that chick's voice (like a rockin' Sarah McLaughlin -- sp?), but I've never been ready to dive into an album of theirs. So quasi-goth...
Our keyboard player (who is also the drummer's wife) sings it. She nails it. I mean she sounds just like Amy Lee when she does the tune.
It's such a hard driving song that without a 5 string bass or detuning the song just blows. But with the B2, it not only adds the low octave (which forced me to stay off the E string on that song), but my preset adds some really tight distortion to it as well, so when the guitar player plays some of the melodic stuff over the top, we don't lose the driving sound (we are a 4 piece band). I sing the harmonies in the chorus.
I'm not at all familiar with the whole album. Our keyboardist suggested the song and had it on a CD she played. We normally don't play a lot of harder rock songs like that, but "Call Me When You're Sober" is just too cool of a song to pass up. I think it's at No. 7 on the charts, which is good for us as a cover band to be playing some more contemporary hits.
The lyrics are great (especially if you've ever known someone who's had an alcoholic ruin a relationship) and it's a big slam to her former boyfriend. Very cool song and simple to play.
So I was playing with the B2 again today and I'm pretty sure I'll get one. The amp models were all usable. I liked it better than my friends bass POD. It seemed to me that the POD was kind of dark and emphasized the flaws of the modeled amps while the B2 was clearer and less unnecessarily complicated.
I'm finding the B2 incredibly easy to program, and very easy to alter on the fly. At practice, since I was using a completely different rig in a completely different room, I needed to alter the 6 band EQ to make it sound the way I had it setup for my stage rig.
It took me all of 30 seconds to get it dialed in. The knob on the left controls all of the modeling and effects. So you simply click to a preset, turn the left knob to the model/effect you want, and then use the other two knobs (or all three depending on the effect selected) to dial in the sound you are after, and then adjust the output with the third knob on the right. If you like it, you simply press the "store" button, then click up or down to get to the preset number you want to save it to and press "store" again.
There are 40 user presets you can save to. I'm using bank "A" for testing purposes. Once I like a preset, I save it again to a different bank. That way I have two of each preset in case I want to go back to the original for additional tweaking without changing my "live" preset.
I also have written down all the settings in an Excel spreadsheet in case I ever lose my presets. Then I can put them all back in without having to play around and check them.
YIKES! So, I just got the B2 home this evening and I'm having two problems....
1: noise, there's always noise at my house and never at the music store. I don't know what to do about it. Sometimes using batteries instead of adapters helps.
2: clipping, my bass seems to be clipping on the way into everything but my amp these days. It's my first 5-string, a stingray copy and I have to turn it down to avoid some real nasty clip. I tried using the limiter but it just makes the overall signal quieter including the clip. I don't think the clipping is happening in the bass because it hasn't done it with my amp that I've noticed. Anybody got any suggestions or insight?
1: noise, there's always noise at my house and never at the music store. I don't know what to do about it. Sometimes using batteries instead of adapters helps.
2: clipping, my bass seems to be clipping on the way into everything but my amp these days. It's my first 5-string, a stingray copy and I have to turn it down to avoid some real nasty clip. I tried using the limiter but it just makes the overall signal quieter including the clip. I don't think the clipping is happening in the bass because it hasn't done it with my amp that I've noticed. Anybody got any suggestions or insight?
im sure zoom have an input level adjuster....hold on ill dig out the book for the B2 (i got a book for every zoom unit with my G9.2tt)
nope couldnt see anything about input level, you could try using the zoom in the amps loop as the input gain would be regulated by your pre amp. other than that just make a patch with the gain set low and build up around that adding the settings from your chosen pre 5 string days or the settings you like with another bass
nope couldnt see anything about input level, you could try using the zoom in the amps loop as the input gain would be regulated by your pre amp. other than that just make a patch with the gain set low and build up around that adding the settings from your chosen pre 5 string days or the settings you like with another bass
There are a bunch of places in the B2 for setting volume and/or gain, check your manual, learn where they are, and try cutting back those settings. Remember, some of the amp models are meant to distort, so you'll need to back off the gain on those for a clean sound. You can also blend the amp models with the dry input. The unit is pretty flexible, you just have to dig.
Too bad about the noise, I haven't had that problem.
if you get noises, try using a stabilizer before connecting the adaptor to your wall socket, or put batteries in it 
Thanks, actually it turns out it may just be my bass. I noticed the same clipping going straight to my amp a little later. The noise may be in part the bass as well. I don't think it's adequately shielded. Do you ever get a bee in your bonnet about some little thing that no one else notices but it's driving you nuts?
