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Zoom B3 As Preamp Part 2

#881
Hi, I’m very new in this world of effects and DI’s and sending your signal live. I only played live twice and I haven’t brought my Zoom B3 to a live gig yet. I thought I would have to, to use as a DI, but my combo has an XLR out so I was able to DI my signal to the mixer that way.

Then I thought: if I bring the B3 and use it as my DI (balanced XLR out) the signal will go to the mixer directly from there, ignoring my Combo EQ settings, so I’d be getting one “sound” from the PA and different one from my amp. But this is what I’m thinking now: if I use the B3, connect it to the amp (jack), use the amp XLR out and the signal going to the mixer will come odulated from the B3 and EQd by my amp. Would this work?

Thanks.
 
#882
J.Nuno said:
Hi, I’m very new in this world of effects and DI’s and sending your signal live. I only played live twice and I haven’t brought my Zoom B3 to a live gig yet. I thought I would have to, to use as a DI, but my combo has an XLR out so I was able to DI my signal to the mixer that way.

Then I thought: if I bring the B3 and use it as my DI (balanced XLR out) the signal will go to the mixer directly from there, ignoring my Combo EQ settings, so I’d be getting one “sound” from the PA and different one from my amp. But this is what I’m thinking now: if I use the B3, connect it to the amp (jack), use the amp XLR out and the signal going to the mixer will come odulated from the B3 and EQd by my amp. Would this work?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Connecting the B3 to your amp and then the amp's XLR out to the mixer would work as you described.

Cheers!
 
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#884
howlin said:
I've had a B3 for several weeks now and have to say that it's great as a 3-n-1 effects pedal. It offers effects that I would never pay to have otherwise and that's a cool thing.

I also agree with many of the comments regarding the much needed software/hardware updates. It's truly disappointing that Zoom [and several not to be mentioned Japanese companies] are so opaque in regards to their response to these types of requests.

Something that crossed my mind in regard to getting them to actually pay attention is to start a Kickstarter [or similar] program to collect funds and basically place an order with Zoom to get them off their duffs and address these issues. I know there's some sort of petition going on but, let's face it, money talks - all the rest is just shoe polish. How many of you would pay say $20 to contribute to such a program? I don't know how willing Zoom would be to this sort of approach but, if we show up in significant numbers with money enough, it might just get them to take us more seriously.

Anyway, it's a thought . . . carry on.
Click to expand...

As nice as it would be for updates, I don't like the idea of a kick starter to get them. It sets the precedent of having to pay twice for a product. Other companies manage to provide updates without any extra charge, this should be no different.
 
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#886
I've been having some trouble with some effects.
When I try to include some effects of the distortion department like distortion, boost, muff, etc the volume increases stupidly. I have to go the "Level" setting of the effect and turn it almost all the way down to get the effect in the signal but keeping the volume almost the same. What am I doing wrong?
 
#887
J.Nuno said:
I've been having some trouble with some effects.
When I try to include some effects of the distortion department like distortion, boost, muff, etc the volume increases stupidly. I have to go the "Level" setting of the effect and turn it almost all the way down to get the effect in the signal but keeping the volume almost the same. What am I doing wrong?
Click to expand...

Nothing is wrong, that is exactly what the Level parameter is for in these situations. Good going on keeping the volume almost the same.

Cheers!
 
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#888
I see. But it doesn't seem right. I followed your recommendations and chose and amp model for slot nº3, global and total to 100 and then I had to change the level just a bit to keep the same volume. Like from 60 to 50. But in these effects I have to turn the Level down to 5 or 10. Why are they so loud from default?
From what I've seen these pedals with their "Volume" at noon usually don't increase the volume that much.
 
#889
Be aware that if you want a distorded tone to be well present in the mix, it has to sound louder than your clean tone when you engage it.
Once in the mix a good amount of the highs and mids generated by the distorsion will be really less apparent.
After experimentation, to get an interesting overdiven tone with an almost unity gain with my clean signal, I try to set the volume of the distorsion by focusing only on how I hear the low end. If I hear less low end when engaged, usually, it means that, when I'll engage my distorsion, my bass will vanish in the mix.
So, yes, I think you need to set your distorsions / overdrives with a percieved volume which seems bigger (in real, you mainly hear more highs and mids), and yes, the volume of some B3 effects is set very high, so you may need to set them lower than on real pedals. It doesn't matter once you get a tone you're satisfied with :)
 
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#890
J.Nuno said:
I see. But it doesn't seem right. I followed your recommendations and chose and amp model for slot nº3, global and total to 100 and then I had to change the level just a bit to keep the same volume. Like from 60 to 50. But in these effects I have to turn the Level down to 5 or 10. Why are they so loud from default?
From what I've seen these pedals with their "Volume" at noon usually don't increase the volume that much.
Click to expand...

I agree.

These are the times I wish Zoom Japan was participating in these threads! ;)
 
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#892
To give you something more factual to deal with, here are the settings I used with the BB preamp and the Squeak (each used as single dirt pedals, not together) :
BB PREAMP
Gain 31
Bass 0
Treble 0
Blend 56
Level 55

SQUEAK
gain 20
Tone 68
Level 97
Bal 23

Each of these settings, in my band mix, didn’t give a big boost in volume compared to my clean tone, but more of a different texture with a more cutting through tone.
On their own they sound like being more louder and not so nice.
You may not like my settings but you'll get what I mean volume wise.
 
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#893
.
After experimentation, to get an interesting overdriven tone with an almost unity gain with my clean signal, I try to set the volume of the distortion by focusing only on how I hear the low end. If I hear less low end when engaged, usually, it means that, when I'll engage my distortion, my bass will vanish in the mix.
Click to expand...

I do exactly the same thing ticol07!
Ignore the overdrive volume and just listen to the bass frequencies as I tweak the effects volume for unity gain.
 
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#894
On my own it took me time and a lot of bad sounding rehearsals / gigs to figure that :)

Off topic: I just got a source audio ofd2 and the drive models are amazing and way more tasty than the B3 ones. But it's less easy to tweak and adjust and it's possible to store only 2 settings while the B3 allows way more different tones to use easily during a gig.
 
#896
@CharlieC I’m halfway reading this thread's "Part One". It’s a bit overwhelming but very useful. In the meantime a few questions arose.

1- How often do you use any of the B3 compressor models and if so, what settings have you found ideal for you?

2- At some point you start mentioning the use of pre-amp/power-amp and head/combo setups. That part confused me a bit. In my situation where I only have a combo but that has an effects loop, what would I gain by inserting the B3 in the send/return instead of the Input?

3- Would you care to share your complete pedalboard on a live situation? Or do you only bring the B3 alone?

Cheers!
 
#897
J.Nuno said:
@CharlieC I’m halfway reading this thread's "Part One". It’s a bit overwhelming but very useful. In the meantime a few questions arose.

1- How often do you use any of the B3 compressor models and if so, what settings have you found ideal for you?

2- At some point you start mentioning the use of pre-amp/power-amp and head/combo setups. That part confused me a bit. In my situation where I only have a combo but that has an effects loop, what would I gain by inserting the B3 in the send/return instead of the Input?

3- Would you care to share your complete pedalboard on a live situation? Or do you only bring the B3 alone?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

1) I don't use them, but I am sure others here do and will share their settings

2) Going through the EFFECT RETURN of a combo will avoid the additional signal coloration that would result if running through the front input

3) My live rig is quite simply: B3 --> Power Amp --> Cabinet(s)

Cheers!
 
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#899
I think it's really a matter of personal taste and how your combo preamp is coloured.
If you plug the B3 direct in the Effect Return your signal will be : B3 -> power amp -> speaker
If you plug it in the input of your combo, you'll insert the combo preamp between the B3 and the power amp.
If your combo preamp's colour is neutral, it will not change a lot of things except that you'll have the opportunity to use its eq. If your combo preamp has a baked in a tone, it's up to you to decide if you like it or not combined with the B3 amps models.

Plugging the B3 in the effect return will only allow you to hear really how sounds a B3 amp model combined to your combo's speaker.

Hope what I write makes sense for you :)
 
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