Al Krow

How good is a Zoom B3n? User interface - 7/10 (on a scale where a MS-60B is about 3/10 until you discover the tonelib free editing software and then suddenly it's a breeze) Quality of effects sims - 6/10 (gets a little blown out of the water by Helix these days) Value for money - 7/10 (there's nothing better out there for a comparable price)** Compactness - 3/10 It's a great gateway to a bunch of dedicated pedals which you end up getting 'cos the B3n doesn't quite cut it. Then you get a Helix Stomp and start selling off the dedicated pedals you've just gone and previously bought 😊 **see later posts about the new Zoom B1 Four and Four X that's just about to hit the shelf.

Sorry couldn't resist (for the second time today)... 😎

Even more fixed.

After the weekend gig and last night's rehearsal I'm still struggling to work out whether I prefer the sound of my Yammy BB 735A in passive or active mode! But loving having both options on tap in a classic P/J BB 5er. How are folk typically playing their 734/5As - actively or passively or both?!

We've all had a mega rant on the Mesa WD-800 thread about the £1,299 retail price for that head when the same head retails for $999 in the US i.e. 70% more expensive in $ terms over here rather than the usual 20% to 30% more. So it's nice to see a retailer NOT playing 'cartel' over here and introducing some price competition. Good luck to them - I suspect that they'll be getting a fair few extra sales.

Here's an example to support your thesis. The DG M900 puts out > 900W at 4 ohms. There is a 2ohm selector switch which effectively cuts the power output to the cab. The DG spec states: "Min-Load: Press when using a 2Ω load. You can use this control to lower the output if your 4Ω cabinet is not able to handle more than 500W (you can also get 350W with an 8Ω cabinet in this configuration)." It's the bit in brackets that I'd never really taken on board before, but completely ties in with what you're saying. So scaling up, my DG M900 will put out around 950W through a 4 ohm cab and around 600W through an 8 ohm cab. Nice

I don't think anyone was ever saying that a valve amp or dirt pedal has all the finesse of a compressor, merely that valves and dirt bring an element of compression to the picture. But apparently they don't compress at all they clip rather than compress, which merely is similar in effect to compression in terms of what we hear. Compression can also be used to sustain a note and typically a dirt pedal does this as well. I have no idea how 'clipping' would do that though...

I have to smile. So 700W @ 4ohms = 350W @ 8 ohms. Simples, right? So when I suggested earlier today that 500W @ 4 ohms = 250W @ 8 ohms, I got told that wasn't the case... it would be more like 350W @ 8 ohms So I have no idea who to be believing on this stuff, the manufacturers or more-expert-than-me BC'ers?

You'll next be saying that the Morris Marina was the most fun car ever... 😄

Even more so if the amp is able to handle 2.67 or 2 ohm loads? 4 ohms should be a walk in the park!

...And then get a Metro 24 and sell the Nano+ to me 😂

Apologies for resurrecting a zombie thread but was just reflecting on my multi-fx 'journey' which may be of interest to a few others: I got the Zoom B3n when it first came out and it was my 'gateway pedal' to the world of some classy dedicated and mostly analogue pedals and the number and total cost of my pedals soared! I've much more recently got a Helix Stomp and it's pretty much been a general pedal GAS cure! I'll still have a few dedicated pedals I'm sure, but I've got a sneaky suspicion that the number and cost of my pedals is now definitely heading in the opposite direction. There was nothing in the intermediate £300 to £500 multi-fx price range that delivered the compact quality of the Stomp just a couple of years back, so here's a toast to Yamaha / Line 6 for their R&D and innovation in producing an outstanding and affordable piece of kit [PS @Dad3353 if you feel it's worth 'refreshing' the posts so that they are more easily read, then please do! ]

Well yes very true... except very few folk will buy a car blind without test driving it and will almost never within 3 months think 'oh this is not for me'.

Excellent thank you for that. I'll update my post to correct for this and disregard the nonsense on this point I've been fed from others for as long as I can remember

So what's your current "bit of dirt"? Actually that's not completely off topic given that drive pedals will invariably add [something similar in outcome to but which is not in fact] compression

I'm missing something here given that V = IxR The volume knob is effectively a potentiometer (if that's the right term) and increases volume by increasing voltage. Ohms (R) is a fixed. It seems to me therefore that turning volume down has the same effect on reducing current draw and the therefore wear and tear on amp parts as would increasing ohms. So me running my bass amp at "half volume" (in very approx terms and assuming a linear response) through a 4ohm cab is going to be the same as running it at full volume through an 8ohm cab. I simply don't see your argument about a greater ohm cab extending the shelf life of an amp where the volume is the same for both.

Thanks - a lot of common sense. Although if you have an amp that can handle 2 ohms (which, for example, the DG M900 does) then getting a single 4 ohm cab is not going to limit you if you decide you need to add a second (4ohm cab) and you have the benefit of getting the full output from your amp whenever you want (providing your cab can handle it). Just on the sound intensity point Bill, are you saying these guys have got it wrong when they say that +3dB is a doubling of sound intensity? http://www.sounddeadsteel.com/what-is-a-decibel.html

I guess I've dealt with the same issue by never needing to go anywhere close to the 'red line', by having plenty of headroom. A nice to have that is available if you happen to own an amp that can put out 800W or (in my case) 900W at 4ohms. But I think you're saying that a 4 ohm load will more quickly knacker the parts of an amp than an 8 ohm cab regardless of what volume it's putting out? Be interested in engineering basis for this, as it's not something that is immediately obvious to me.

So if I've got you down right, you would always choose an 8ohm except when you choose 4ohms? 😁 But more seriously, if you are recommending 2 x 8ohm cabs = presenting a 4 ohm load that's going to be exactly the same 'wear and tear' on your amp's parts as a single 4ohm cab. In any case, I don't accept that today's quality built D class amps, which are often capable of handling 2.67ohms or even 2ohms, are the wilting snowdrops you suggest they are. And for smaller gigs you can just turn the volume dial down.

Don't sound so surprised 😁 - you're a bass player => highly attractive to anyone with a love for live rock music. - you play a Yammy bass => excellent chance of sounding great to anyone with ears.

+3 dB is a doubling of sound intensity, which I accept isn't the same as a perceived doubling of volume, but still worth having if the choice of 4ohm doesn't cost you a penny extra. I've had a number of respected sound engineers say that a single 4ohm cab will let the amp 'breathe' in a way a single 8ohm won't. No question that two 1x12s or two 2x10s will be louder than a single 2x10, other things being equal, as you have a greater volume of air being pushed. But if you're looking for a single lightweight cab solution, you'll be hard pressed to beat the VK 210 MNT 4ohm for a 500W amp head. Trouser flapping per se is just a load of hot air

PS doesn't have to be VK (I just happen to know that it's a great cab from having had both the 210MNT and currently LNT versions). Substitute whatever quality 4 ohm cab that can handle/deliver the full 500W output from your amp and you should be just fine in terms of headroom.

The issue you currently have is that you are using an 8 ohm cab and your amp is only putting out 250W. Get the 4 ohm version of the VK 210 MNT. The cab will be able to handle and deliver the full 500W from your DG 500. You should then have zero problems keeping up with your drummer. If for some reason your full 500W is not enough (and I can't imagine why that would be!) you would need to have a look at the whole rig, including your amp and maybe switch to the DG M900 and VK210 LNT 4 ohms (which can handle 1200W RMS).

And you choose your partner based on the colour of their hair, I presume? Just to keep things real, of course.