Zoom MS-60B+ (a compact B2-Four?)

[GotGroove]

With the B2 Four, the latency varies between the different pitch shifters, and there's maybe a bit of trade off between quality vs latency. There's a difference amongst fast & artifacty, synthy, etc-- and whether you're going for a full octave vs just some half-steps.

True. And perhaps I should have clarified which one I use and why. There's 2 shifters. 1 polyphonic and one mono. I'm only using the mono one which sounds best to my ear and I have had no need to play chords while detuned yet. So I simply KISS. If I had to play chords, I'd really bring another bass.
As for the octaver, there's 3, but I prefer the Bass Analog octaver. Again it sounds best to my ear. Also, I have no need for a 2nd octave down. Again, KISS.
The harmony shifter is an entirely different beast. I've yet to try the 60B+ one, but if it's the same as the one on the B6, it's fun to play with, but I'd not use it below the low G/G#.

 

[Parzival]

Thanks. If I used, we only have one song in D and two in Eb, so it wouldn’t be used much.

 

[stubbsonic]

I agree, on the B2 Four, the BASS ANALOG OCTAVER is good for notes that don't go lower than A.

The BASS POLYPHONIC PITCH SHIFTER sounds better for octave down, but has a little bit of latency.

BASS MONO PITCH SHIFTER responds better for octave down, but sounds muddier. For octave up, it works OK, but requires very careful playing, and will glitch anyway.

The Super Low Preamp adds an octave down sine wave-- which barely counts as an octaver unless followed by something gritty.

 

[birminghambass]

Thanks. If I used, we only have one song in D and two in Eb, so it wouldn’t be used much.

I had the B6 for a while. Loved it overall but I'd never use it for what you're needing. I can't imagine the MS tracking better than the B6.

 

[Parzival]

I had the B6 for a while. Loved it overall but I'd never use it for what you're needing. I can't imagine the MS tracking better than the B6.

Good to know. Thanks!

 

[Vishyyy]

What is the chorus like on MS 60B+?

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

What is the chorus like on MS 60B+?

What is the chorus like on MS 60B+?

Clone Chorus, Chorus One, Tri Chorus, and Bass Stereo Chorus

All nice for my use.

 

[Johno Dunn]

Not to derail or anything, but…..my B+ wont be here till Monday, and I still have to play bass at church on Sunday. So I plugged my Bass into my Fermata compressor out to my CabZone, and ran my IE’s out of the CabZone. Only preamp was the onboard of my Ibby. Really nice tone! Can’t wait till Monday!

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

Not to derail or anything, but…..my B+ wont be here till Monday, and I still have to play bass at church on Sunday. So I plugged my Bass into my Fermata compressor out to my CabZone, and ran my IE’s out of the CabZone. Only preamp was the onboard of my Ibby. Really nice tone! Can’t wait till Monday!

i bet that sounds great - how are the power amps in the CabZone?

what bass?

 

[Johno Dunn]

i bet that sounds great - how are the power amps in the CabZone?

what bass?

Power amps are the secret sauce! Some are clean, some are overdriven just slightly, and they break up when you dig in. They react in a very tune like way. I keep waffling on this pedal, but I really think I need to keep it. My plan for the B+ is to run a comp and one of the preamps straight into the CabZone. I’m really hoping that the M Vave Chocolate will work with the new MS series for patch changes, and scrolling through effects!

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

Power amps are the secret sauce! Some are clean, some are overdriven just slightly, and they break up when you dig in. They react in a very tune like way. I keep waffling on this pedal, but I really think I need to keep it. My plan for the B+ is to run a comp and one of the preamps straight into the CabZone. I’m really hoping that the M Vave Chocolate will work with the new MS series for patch changes, and scrolling through effects!

if the ShiftLine free IRs are any indicator, that pedal has to be amazing.

i'l grab one eventually.

anxious to hear your opinion on the 60B+.

 

[Johno Dunn]

if the ShiftLine free IRs are any indicator, that pedal has to be amazing.

i'l grab one eventually.

anxious to hear your opinion on the 60B+.

I’m anxious to give it. I’m using the B15 cab sim, and one of the less overdriven PA’s (I’ll check which one later).

 

[Johno Dunn]

Betcha know what I’m going to be the rest of the day!

 

[Al Krow]

I picked mine up yesterday Is it just me, or is the on screen menu a lot more intuitive and easy to navigate compared to the MS-60B?!

Having 100 rather than 50 patch memories and 6 fx per patch (one more than my B1-4) instead of 4 fx on the 60B is going to be a treat.

 

[BassikLee]

Mine shipped from Sweetwater this morning. Don’t need it, but it’s so cheap I couldn’t help myself. I’m definitely looking forward to it, esp with some external control

 

[Al Krow]

So I've managed to get my head around the on-pedal patch editor and created a duplicate pre-amp patch to the one on my B1-4. Not hugely difficult to do and the patch copy function will be very useful for any core fx I want to have on a number of patches.

A/B'd the identical patch with the one on my B1-4. Not unexpectedly they sound very similar! There's maybe a pleasing more 'open' / slightly less blanketed feel to the sound quality from the MS-60B+ vs the B1-4, but it's subtle and I'm pretty certain wouldn't be noticed in a band mix. I'll have a listen out for it on other patches that I'm duplicating and also start working through some of the other fx over the coming weeks to see how the two units compare e.g. how the pitch shifters are on both in terms of latency and warble which is often a good test of a multi-fx's capability.

 

[Al Krow]

One point to be aware of if you are going from the B1-4 to the MS-60B+ is that the fx order is from L --> R i.e. FX1 -> FX2 -> FX3 etc on the B1-4 but from R --> L i.e. FX3 <- FX2 <- FX1 on the 60B+

 

[Testing123]

I just stumbled upon a page on the Zoom site that may be of interest/help to some here. In case you haven’t seen it, it’s in the Zoom Help Center with a title of, “Multi-Effects MS-60B+ For Bassists That Like Big Bottoms.”

It has a list of PDF pages detailing Accessories, Application, Compatibility & Optimization, Firmware, Operation Manual, Quick Tour/Guide, Specifications, Tutorial Video and Version History.

Within the Quick Tour/Guide section are two PDF’s with info I couldn’t find elsewhere, Effects List which shows the effects types and parameters and Patch Memory List.

Here’s the URL of the Help Center page: MS-60B+ - Help Center | ZOOM

 

[Al Krow]

If anyone is trying to figure out where the fx on the pedal editor are in relation to those listed in the manual then they seem to have been "inverted". I guess following traditional Japanese script?
To explain: there are 11 effects categories listed in the manual
The last category in the manual is Bass Amps - but this appears as left hand column [1] of the fx on the pedal. There are 11 bass amps fx types listed in the manual. If you want to find e.g. the Ampeg SVT which is the 2nd one in the manual, this is the 2nd from last scrolling down on the pedal i.e. 10th one down
Filter is the second category but appears as column 10/11 etc.

 

[Johno Dunn]

I must say, the B+ is a pretty amazing unit for its price and size. I got a really nice sounding Filter sound that I really like. The amps are pretty amazing with the cab sims to zero going through my Fermata and the CabZone. I am very impressed. Still working on a good Octaver tone, but getting I’m really close. And navigating the UI is easy, and changing presets and scrolling effects seems doable.
Win!