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Zoom ms60b amp sims?
- Thread starter hans9
- Start date
+ 1
I had a Hartke 5500 head and 215vx series cab for about 5 years, sold it a year and a half ago. I bought the 60B last August and was surprised to see how close the 60B's sim was close to the original, or at least like I remembered it. The SansAmp sim is also good, but I had to tweak the stock patch a bit to get it to sound like my PBDDI. The only amp sim I use in my stored patch is the MarkBass sim, which I like a lot, but since I've never owned a MB amp, I can't compare.
I've a MS60B since last October and I don't use the amp simulators... they sound good but I don't need them.
Some effects on the 60b, and especially the amp sims, add some high pitch noise to the signal. It's not noticeable/detrimental in a live setting going through an amp, but I think it would be problematic for recording direct. The Zoom does have a good noise gate (ZNR) which would help, so it could be serviceable, I just think the 60b is better geared toward live use.
I was not impressed with the amp sims at all. Like the previous post said, they are noisy and frankly, some of them just don't sound like the amps in question. I compared some Zoom sims with the actual pedals in a side by side comparison and the Zoom lost every time. If you want one to play around with all of the different effects, that can be fun. Just don't expect too much in terms of quality sounds.
And yet many people have A / B the Zoom B3 and found them nearly identical to the modelled pedals. Sans Amp, 160 compressor, various chorus etc. Sure the Amp sims aren't that great, but the Sans Amo, MXR DI and SVT are pretty good.
The dirt pedals aren't that great, and the octave options track well, but are digital sounding.
Yeah, it's going to lose every time when compared to the original pedal. If there's a contest to see who looks the most like me, I will win every time. I think the point is to have 58 different pedals (plus the myriad combination possibilities) in a single stomp box for live use where "close enough" is just fine when the drums kick in. It also completely outweighs (punny!) the cost and schlep of all of those original pedals.
I can see pedal heads not liking the stock sounds, but I have a lot of very usable patches that I've been gigging for a while now. I also like some of the Zoom versions better than the originals, like the BB Drive.
I agree. I did an A/B comparison with three different dirt pedals and the Zoom was just weak sounding. It was very thin and noisy to my ears. I thought the amp sims were just plain garbage. And I'm not a pedalhead by any means. I usually stick with used mid-range/inexpensive brands. Maybe I was expecting too much from the Zoom, but I knew after a few days of messing around with it that it would be listed on Craigslist shortly. Luckily, it sold in less than a week.
I did think the BB Drive was one of the better sounding sims. I'm not that familiar with the original, though.
I'm not super concerned with how accurate models are. I'm much more interested in getting sounds that I like and that are useful. I've never played an SVT and the odds of me ever owning one are absurdly small but the Zoom SVT model makes a nice 70's kind of rock bass tone that I like.
Going by the range of responses people tend to post about the amp sims, I think they must sound very different in different rigs. Most of them don't work well for me, but the SVT sounds really good. Also, turning off the cabinet sim or adjusting its mix makes a significant difference for some folks. I also may try running them into my effects return to see if what that does.
FWIW the 60b's preamp models are quite good. I use them in many of the places I used to put an amp sim.
FWIW the 60b's preamp models are quite good. I use them in many of the places I used to put an amp sim.
To my ears, the one thing the zoom struggles with (as do a lot of inexpensive digital modellers) is low gain drive, whether that be one of the amp sims, preamps or drive/dist pedal models. I've found it quite difficult to dial in a softly clipped, valvey type growl. The BB model is the best of the bunch here, but I wish it had a tube screamer model!
SirMjac28
Patiently Waiting For The Next British Invasion
I use the amp sims, the Bassman in particular, pretty much all the time. I like the way they sound although I could not tell you if they sound like their prototypes. I just know that they warm up the sound nicely. People who study them closely say that you need to play them through a wide range sound system to get the best out of them. My practice amp is a keyboard amp and it fits that description well enough. Some people like to play them through powered speakers which are also wide range. My only "gig" is playing in a church band and while I often use the MS60B at church I really cannot tell how it sounds there because we play into the church sound system and I can only barely hear the sound that the congregation hears. I have a monitor feed of my signal to a personal mixer that the church provides for each musician but the EQ I hear through that is different from what the congregation hears. The church's speaker system is certainly wide range enough to reproduce the sims well if the sound team doesn't EQ them into oblivion. In the end the subtleties are going to be lost in the mix of other instruments anyway so I don't worry about it at church, I just enjoy them at home.
I've been using my second MS-60b in the clean loop of my EBS Billy Sheehan pedal. I was hoping to use the Zoom for slight grit (as well as compression, eq etc) and the EBS for actual overdrive. But try as I might, I could not get a satisfactory subtle, gritty drive out of the Zoom.
So I'm rethinking this now. I may end up using the EBS for the gentle grit and stick my old Bad Monkey in its dirty loop for when I want full on overdrive.
The Zoom will still have it's uses for what it excels at: comp, multitude of eqs and clean preamps, modulation etc.
So I'm rethinking this now. I may end up using the EBS for the gentle grit and stick my old Bad Monkey in its dirty loop for when I want full on overdrive.
The Zoom will still have it's uses for what it excels at: comp, multitude of eqs and clean preamps, modulation etc.
Try the DI+ preamp for distortion and the BassBB for overdrive.The BassMuff is excelent also for Fuzzdrive.In the beginning,i was not impress with the dirts of the Zoom ether,but with a lot of patience,try outs,after many hours above the machine,i find that the above emulators is awesome,at list as the real ones are.If you don't like the real ones you gonna not like the emulators ether.
This tactic saves a lot of money and space for me,i really hope for you the same.
Cheers
I have used several amps/pedals that are modeled. They are pretty close. Not exact, but pretty close. Specifically, the SVT and Hartke amps, the Sansamp and MXR M80.
That being said, if possible, keep your VT pedal and run the Zoom into it. Set the VT's eq flat and gain low, then use the Zoom as a compressor, preamp, programmable eq and to add other effects as desired. I have a VT and MS60b and the two pedals make a fantastic combination.
