Al Krow

Thanks. I've always wanted to go blonde. Going grey first was a nice stepping stone for me. It's actually pretty good - and one of @dannybuoy's favourites. But the mid scooping does mean it gets lost in a band mix. I spent a bit of time trying out all the B1-4 / B3n drive effects yesterday and landed on a couple which I feel both deliver a really usable drive. I tweaked the 'stock' settings on them to make sure low end is not lost. One is based one on the MXR DI ('D.I.Plus' effect) and the other on the ProCo RAT ('Squeak' effect). The ProCo RAT I think has a lot of potential as an excellent drive patch - it seems to take good elements from both the MXR DI and the B7K sims and its core tone is in between the two. I'd happily recommend checking all three sims and be good to hear back folks' thoughts on them.

Thanks. I've been working out.

So unless @jrixn1 has already beaten me to it, I'm guessing my gig outing tonight with the B1X-4 was probably the first out of the blocks for us? 50s and 60s band tonight, so pretty simple use: tuner, most of the set on 'clean' (= HPF + Comp + ZNR) with a couple of tracks using a drive patch I've created based on the MXR DI effect which is a lot less mid-scooped in core tone compared with the DG B7k sim (and similarly less scooped than the DG dirt options on my M900) and therefore cuts through in the mix really well. Managed to combine it with using a Smoothhound wireless pretty easily, without needing to set up a separate mini board. Performed just fine and slips very easily into the bass gig bag. Going to be a staple of my live sound going forward methinks. Anyway evidence of the B1X-4 set up ready for use...

I had exactly the same issues as you Mojo to start with, but it seemed with a bit of perseverance and coaxing to recognise the hardware (in my case the B1X-4) and now connects without any problems; which is all a bit weird! But I'm glad I didn't have to delete and reinstall USB drivers, although it's probably easier than I'm thinking to do.

In which case you'll need go to the Zoom website and download their GuitarLab software onto your PC and then connect your PC via USB cable to your B3n. This will allow you to get all the latest updates and features. I've embedded a link for you.

Ah but my board is pretty much at full capacity... ...so if I manage to identify a couple more of my existing pedals which the B1X-4 is doing a very good job of emulating and sell them on, then I'll have space on the board for a couple of new ones I've got my eye on! (And which I know that multifxs, even of Helix calibre, will have difficulty getting close to )

Be great to see a pic of your board set up with this on, Ian!

Nope! The extra knobs and stomps would definitely have been useful for patch editing before ToneLib came along, but now that it is here and freely available I couldn't recommend ToneLib strongly enough to any Zoom multifx user for patch creation and editing. As mentioned by a few of us earlier in the thread, a couple of foot stomp switches rather than paddles would be better for live use on the B1(X)-4. Maybe next time around eh Zoom? Having said that, the bank of 5 buttons on the B1(X)-4 is great and gives you easy access to a bank of 10 effects (so e.g. I'm going to be putting all my drive patches in one bank), as are the dedicated buttons for both the drums and looper (rather than having these both as 'in patch' effects on the B3n).

Yes absolutely, as the B3n and the B1(X)-4 share all the same effect sims. If you check this thread you will see I have uploaded the patch settings I'm using for the Glam Comp patch. Link below:

Where I've got to so far after a couple of weeks with the B1X-4: Definitely a keeper! I’m currently applying a rule of seeing if I can get to around 85% to 90% of the sound of a dedicated pedal that I really like, before thinking about letting it go. I've found that the ‘Glam Comp’ gets pretty close to my ‘always on’ TC Spectracomp setting so that’s found its way to the FS. But I haven’t got anything like close enough to the OC-2 sound on my Valeton OC-10 (a very good Boss OC-2 clone) or the 'authenticity' of the octave up on my Digitech Mosaic, so both these dedicated pedals will be sticking around (sorry about the Mosaic bassfan...) I am starting to find some juicy drive settings on the Zoom though... 😊

@Quatschmacher any update on the timing of the v3 release and hints on what we should be expecting in terms of upgrades / improvements?

Nice simple octaver setting for thickening up your sound without being overpowering. I've not managed to get that iconic 'OC2' sound on my B1X-4 so my Valeton OC-10 (an excellent Boss OC-2 clone) will be sticking around on my board for a while yet!

The core effects are identical between the B3n and the B1-4, so your comments should be entirely on point Luke.

I've just sold my Boss LS2. Probably a daft thing to do and will likely end up getting another in a few months time! But as I'm wrapping it up ready to post tomorrow, it got me thinking how often folk are putting their pedals in loops and what they are primarily looking to achieve? So please share your thoughts on: - what are the main reasons for doing so (e.g. blending-in clean to maintain low end or 'ring-fencing' parts of your chain so they run in parallel rather than in series etc.) - what are you putting in your loop chains? - can you hear the difference? - is latency and / or phasing an issue? - are there better pedal alternatives to the well regarded LS2? If so, what are you using? Are you simply using the loops available in other pedals or on your amps? Pics of your set ups very welcome!

Ahhh...you country folk and your quaint habits! 😂

Haha it's @Woodinblack's thread and it's about time he got one of these B1-4 thingy's 😁 (Look how many Yammy's I've ended up having to get, just 'cos I started up a Yammy thread...🤣)

I completely agree with krispn that the other school of thought is equally valid. Just from a practicality perspective / personal preference I find that being able to adjust EQ on the bass, itself, is handy as I can hear the impact of any tweaks to EQ in 'real time' whilst standing at a reasonable distance from the amp and cab. But clearly you have EQ options on both your amp and your bass and potentially on your pedals as well! I'd still suggest something along the lines of my post above as a good starting point on your bass (or amp) EQ - it's a good 'let's tighten up the bass EQ' recipe IMO

Recommend try the following for starters: Set your amp flat and use the EQ on the bass to adjust. Volume at 8/10 on the bass (and set the amp vol bit higher than before to compensate) - you then have a bit of headroom on stage via your bass. On the bass EQ, cut the bass a touch (11 o'clock) Boost the mids to between 2 pm to 3 pm and boost the treble a touch to 1 pm. On first blush it seems to me that your boosted bass on both your bass and amp EQ is what is causing the issue. See how the above settings I've suggested sound and then definitely feel free to adjust as necessary and as your ears are telling you to!

A number of decent amps certainly do have a hpf as part of their EQ.

I suspect you won't actually hear any difference with the Thumpinator as it is clearing out the sub-audio frequency crud and what it's removing is, by definition, inaudible. What you can see is the beneficial impact on speaker excursion (and by implication speaker efficiency in the audible range) which is very clear to see on the YouTube Thumpinator clip.

Newly arrived Zoom B1X-4 on the 'creative' home use board and can be easily 'whipped off' for rehearsals and gigs as a solo pedal. Drive pedals currently under review and I suspect one of them may be for the chop as I'm starting to manage to get some decent drive patches on the Zoom multi! That would then potentially free up space for a bitcrusher. The Zoom has already paid for itself several times over

Dave - my Thumpinator is only being used on my home board and the B1X-4 has just had a couple of outings to rehearsals, so not sure my experience is any better than yours. But here's the thing: both the Thumpinator and HPF on my Zoom have been set to primarily tackle the sub-audio range to let my cabs 'breathe' and my pedals not have to deal with the energy absorbing low end of sub 30 Hz. In terms of room boominess won't that more likely be in the 30Hz to 60Hz range? In which case neither the Thumpinator nor the HPF, the way I have it set, are going to help. If I'm right, you'd be better off cutting at 50Hz on the GEQ effect, or setting your HPF to start cutting at 80Hz as John is doing.

Yup separate buttons for both of those on the B1-4. Clearly Zoom seem have taken on board feedback on this point, which is good. Either that or, as Dave suggested, they think getting stuck in Bossa nova loops mid gig is very funny.