Al Krow

Loved this quote about the B1-4! Welcome to the owner's club @bassman7755 and help yourself to any of the patches on the OP which can be accessed via ToneLib Zoom

You're very welcome to pop over and try one out with mine, any time.

Hmmm...did someone say "cheap Zoom multi"? Not sure any 1 has recommended something like that B4 😁

The MS-60B was the very first bass pedal I ever bought when they first came out in 2013! If you ever find that the interface feels a bit like a PITA then its cheaper more up to date sibling, the B1-4, is well worth checking out.

Ah that would seem to explain it - I thought I had switched "off" all the "extras" but I'd probably missed that one! Ah well, I'll try to remember that for next time I'm in a Pirate rehearsal studio! [Note to self: I don't need to be in shape to play a RM500 😄]

Applying your instruction to the first part of your post...oh, of course, I would absolutely love to borrow a Wal! I suspect I might have more luck borrowing a bunch of other stuff from Wal owners before they let their Wal wander off... 😁

Interesting diversion on the RMs (apologies to the OP). Are the RMs quite mid scooped in terms of core tone? I found myself playing through an RM500 and an Ashdown 4x10 at rehearsal last week and my bass sounded really good solo but disappeared in the mix, and I ended up boosting the lower and upper mids considerably on the amp to try and compensate.

Be interested to know if Alan manages to closely capture the Wal sound with his Über spec ACGs? You come across any decent clips of them being A/B'd?

I agree. Filter and synth are very much the Achilles heel of budget and mid-range multi fx - they really can't compete with the likes of Panda FI, Source Audio C4 and Boss SY-200 / SY/1 on the synth front - particularly as the FI and C4 have proper synth wave generators on board. Or something like the Proton Mk4 / [filter of your choice] on the filter side. But, hey, any one of those pedals costs a multiple of my humble Zoom B1-4, so the fact that the Z synth on the B1-4 is actually borderline usable in a band mix is flippin' brilliant! 🙂 Good luck with the new band! Covers?

Yes - the Z synth on the B1-4 is surprisingly usable and, weirdly, better than anything I managed to get on Helix! I'm guessing the B6 patch may be similar / identical. I dropped the Z synth into parts of the bass line for Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" at band rehearsal this week and I seemed to get lucky with not being shouted off the pitch...🙂

True, but what if you're "just" a bass player and literally 90% of the fx on the unit is aimed at guitars? Personally I find it a chore to have to wade through stuff and audition it on the off chance it might also work well on bass. I love the fact that Zoom are prepared to make some of their pedals tailored to bass with ALL the fx being potentially suitable. Horses for courses, I guess? Both Helix and Zoom sell well, so there's clearly a market for both approaches as we seem to be demonstrating!

Definitely!

I also very much need to shed some weight! 😁

@MichaelDean - you make a fair point! However, for me it's really nice to know that all the fx available on the Zoom bass multis have been tweaked with the bass player, and the our lower note ranges, in mind. I no longer need to start by working out what's good for bass and deleting 90% of the stuff that really is better just on guitar. Sometimes too much choice can be daunting!

A few BC'ers who we know to be successful, very capable, regularly gigging and having a lot of fun, with decades of experience under their belt, have already 'fessed on this thread to not using any pedals (yup not a.... anywhere in sight! 😁). So when you say: ...that for me neatly sums up 90% of what we angst about on BC on so many gear related matters!! Once we have a "good enough" rig & bass, being a better bass player and a better sounding bass player to our audiences is then no longer about the gear but how well we play it i.e. it really is then "all in the fingers". But having said that, if it just gives you, the bass player, and no one else pleasure in hearing that difference, then why not?

Dare we ask what the itch is? I mean, what is out there that is drawing your eye away from these two lovely basses?!

I like that it has a smaller footprint than the G6 with no wah pedal attached. Shame that they didn't include parallel routing for fx: that would have been a welcome addition and something that Helix has been offering for 5+ years now - and @eude's point on pricing on. The other competition we've not mentioned so far would be something like the Boss GT 1000 Core.

I've come across far worse reasons for wanting a piece of kit than it's something that is associated with one of your heroes! No ridicule from me, mate.

The Zoom B1-4 actually has a really good tuner and drum machine for practice & doubles up as a decent headphone amp for when the family is tucked in - that more than pays the entry ticket. I find myself using several of the B1-4 fx in our covers sets e.g. - analogue chorus - B7k drive - Z synth - slap back delay Maybe only for a handful of songs, but it's a nice to have and fx definitely gets heard in the mix - most amusingly when I've accidentally trod on my B1-4 and triggered an fx that neither me or the band were expecting. Lol! If you're a fan you can also stick a compressor and Zoom's noise reduction sim on each patch. It slips very comfortably into a gig bag pouch. For around £50 used it's amazing value.

Hi John - my guess is that B6 will mirror the capabilities of the G6 which "has six different amp models to choose from, with each amp being custom designed and tweaked for inclusion. There’s also an impressive 22 cabinet emulations, with 70 pre-loaded full impulse responses providing various options for microphone positions and rooms. If this wasn’t enough, you can also upload your own favourite impulse responses (IRs) via the SD Card slot." That's taken from this review

Personally I'd get one of these over a PH... Just lovely! And that reverse P pup is likely to be awesome - would love to hear one being played live.

First reaction. Ouch!!! Delayed reaction...ok that new processor seems to be quite a step up from the B3N and B1-4 and Zoom are clearly intent on going toe to toe with Helix and Headrush. Good for them - the more choice the merrier!

Congrats and my bad - I thought you had got the 4 string version of the Marquess, but I can see now you've got the MM.