Zoom B3n, should I get one???

[skidder652003]

Im pretty much an individual pedals guy, compressor, phaser, tuner, looper and tube pre amp pedals, happy with the sound etc, however Im strangely lusting after the above as an addition to the pedal board, most notably for the pitch shifter, trem, chorus and other goodies that the zoom offers. Instead of spending a small fortune on that lot individually do you think the zoom would offer a decent alternative for gigging (pubs)? Im using a 75P into Ampeg SVT-CL and HLF 410, or if space is tight, DI into desk running 2x RCF Art 315 and Mackie Thump subs. For £135 the zoom is crazy cheap for the money but are the effects usable live and can it be used in conjunction with other solo pedals?

Cheers folks!

[songofthewind]

Choruses, delays, reverbs and compressors are very good, imho. Also great with guitar as well as bass.

The envelope filters and octavers I find difficult to tune in.

I don’t use preamps or cab or amp sims, but others on here speak very highly of them.all in all it is a great bang for buck box of tricks.

Plus, ToneLib editor (3rd party) is very useful.

[songofthewind]

I mix it with a Zoom G3 and TCE Nova Dynamics comp, and various boosters/ dirt boxes, no problems. Easy to tweak live.

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, skidder652003 said:

a) ... Im strangely lusting after the above as an addition to the pedal board, most notably for the pitch shifter, trem, chorus and other goodies that the zoom offers. Instead of spending a small fortune on that lot individually do you think the zoom would offer a decent alternative for gigging (pubs)? 

b) For £135 the zoom is crazy cheap for the money

c) but are the effects usable live and

d) can it be used in conjunction with other solo pedals?

Cheers folks!

a) yes

b) totally agree

c) yes AND

d) yes

If we can get @jimfist to jump in, he'll be able to expound on what a great pedal the B3n is for live use, which he has been using as a mainstay for his gigging board

Quite a massive fan club on the other side of the pond: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/new-zoom-b3n-multi-effects.1262394/

They rarely come up used (probably 'cos us existing owners don't want to part with ours ) but as you say £135 new is a snip for what it offers.

Btw - it also makes for a really good headphone amp, which has saved my bacon whilst daughter was doing her A levels!

+1 for ToneLib editing software - makes creating and editing patches a doddle and fun: https://tonelib.net/

You'll really enjoy the pedal.

 

 

Edited August 31, 2018 by Al Krow

[PaulWarning]

for what it's worth I use a B1on for live work, which has the same effects as the B3, (I bought a B3 and found this out )  not as easy to adjust on the fly but a lot smaller and only £50

[dannybuoy]

I recommend it, and I've been a individual-pedals-on-a-board guy since forever. The Z-Tron envelope filter, B7K and Sansamp models are my favourites, I could easily gig with just this. Although I expect to move to a Line6 Helix HX once they add the Sansamp model they've been hinting at!

Much easier to use and better sounding (in terms of amp sims and dirt at least) than the B3 / B1on.

Edited August 31, 2018 by dannybuoy

[skidder652003]

Ok I pulled the trigger on one, £131 from BAX, silly money, I will report on its gig'fullness!

[songofthewind]

After struggling with envelope filters, I made a patch with two in a chain. One up one down. The trick was to lower the volume drastically. It sounds very good! Press on!

[stewblack]

You'll love it. I'm a huge Zoom fan. The flexibility, potential and price make it a no brainer. 

[Bigwan]

On 31/08/2018 at 17:12, dannybuoy said:

I expect to move to a Line6 Helix HX once they add the Sansamp model they've been hinting at!

Where does one hear hints like these being dropped @dannybuoy?

Edited September 3, 2018 by Bigwan

[King Tut]

On 31/08/2018 at 11:11, PaulWarning said:

for what it's worth I use a B1on for live work, which has the same effects as the B3, (I bought a B3 and found this out )  not as easy to adjust on the fly but a lot smaller and only £50

Same here mate. My B3n lives in my study and B1xon comes out to play live. 

[dannybuoy]

4 hours ago, Bigwan said:

Where does one hear hints like these being dropped @dannybuoy?

The Line 6 product manager has been posting in the Helix HX thread on Talkbass:

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/line-6-hx-effects.1324948/page-86#post-21687227

Edited September 3, 2018 by dannybuoy

[skidder652003]

ok it arrived today, brilliant service by GAK btw, first impressions, the footprint is smaller than I thought (good), nice and hefty, solid (also good), been through some of the factory presets and some nice quality sounds in there (Octaver, MuTron and Arpeggiators jump out immediately), complicated as hell to get to grips with,(not so good)but thats after 10 minutes staring at the handbook with incomprehension, there's a learning curve here as opposed to single pedals that I had forgot all about since I had a Digitec RP1 25 years ago!

Its going to take some time to get my head around it but thats ok

[Al Krow]

Hah! Yup time to roll your sleeves up  the B3n will more than repay dividends for the time you put in getting to grips with it.

Don't forget to download the ToneLib software onto your PC.

I'm going to stick my neck out and say this could well be the best £131 you ever spend on a pedal. And then some.

[songofthewind]

It doesn’t take long to learn it! Perseverance furthers, grasshopper.

[Kebabkid]

Love mine and the DI out is useful plus it's essentially a spare rig.

IMHO, the Octave effects are weak and the filter effects just take time to dial in but everything else is good. I also have the B1Xon and rate that.

[Al Krow]

26 minutes ago, Kebabkid said:

Love mine and the DI out is useful plus it's essentially a spare rig.

IMHO, the Octave effects are weak and the filter effects just take time to dial in but everything else is good. I also have the B1Xon and rate that.

B3n doesn't have a DI out - which is probably it's single biggest omission. I'm guessing you have the older (slower chipset / now out of production) B3, which does.

[Kebabkid]

Sorry Al Krow, yes. It's the older B3.

[Al Krow]

24 minutes ago, Kebabkid said:

Sorry Al Krow, yes. It's the older B3.

Still a great piece of kit

Edited September 5, 2018 by Al Krow

[operative451]

It is super good if you like that sort of thing! I think i sort of don't like mine though, which is annoying! Mainly because what i like are non-traditional ampy sounds, and more high gain Muse-ish synthoid nuttery, OR super clean no added messing about DI noises. Which is annoying, but hey... Maybe i'll flog it...

[skidder652003]

heads up, this thing works great with a Roland stage piano I just picked up

[songofthewind]

That Bi-Phase type clone thing works awesome on guitar and piano.

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, skidder652003 said:

heads up, this thing works great with a Roland stage piano I just picked up

It's also not too shabby with bass. Just sayin'...😂

[fleabag]

You could get the B3 ?

[Al Krow]

On 11/09/2018 at 00:49, fleabag said:

You could get the B3 ?

Why would you want to do that? 

- the B3n has a newer more powerful chipset => can lead to significant improvement in the sound of some of the effects

- the B3 is no longer being made or technically supported by Zoom (in particular no new patches are being added by them as 'updates'); 

- the excellent (free) ToneLib software for creating and editing on the B3n is not available for the B3;

- second-hand prices of the B3n and B3 are not a great deal different these days;

- the B3n is easier to scroll through patches for live use (with three extra foot pedals as compared to the B3).

The only real advantage that the B3 has is a DI out; a point which I've addressed by getting a £14 Behringher DI400P

Edited October 14, 2018 by Al Krow