JohnDaBass

@Al Krow thanks for that. I think your settings are just right for me as an always on effect. It only "costs" 13% of DSP allocation so it's going to be be standard on all my patches now. That's another example of how rich with knowhow this BC community really is. It's extremely gratifying to able to have other people's ears to confirm and verify personal assessments of setups of kit.👏

It looks handsome. Is it 34ins scale? Because the string alignment over the PUP pole pieces looks spot on. The bridge string spacing looks really tight.

+1 I have never used a Helix Stomp so I can't comment but the combination of ToneLib and the B1Four provide an easy, user friendly, simplistic method of creating bass sounds and tones. I really couldn't be happier with the product. I sit the B1Four on my desk beside the pc keyboard, power it with the USB cable then connect my bass to both the B1FOUR and my pedal board then the output from the Zoom & pedal board go through a switch into my Fender Rumble and BF Super Compact. I can then emulate the pedal board sounds thro the B1Four using ToneLib to tweak the Patch settings & save on the Zoom and save a backup on the pc.Using the switch to toggle back & forth means I can get really close to my pedal board's bouquet of tones using the live amp rig ( okay only at room volume).

Well I have had a couple of days now to get to know the B1-Four, like many I have "Culled" 20 patches which were definitely not for me leaving 30 slots for building my own patches. I downloaded all the "Blue Star" effects not loaded when the unit was shipped through the Zoom Guitar Lab software. I have to say how pleased and impressed I am with the quality and the authenticity of the Amp Sim sounds. ( YES I KNOW they are not as good as the Line6 Helix) I have built 6 Preset Amp Tones that I require for my bands and they sound very ,very close to the sounds I achieve with my VT Bass DI Deluxe, so close in fact, that I don't think anyone could distinguish the difference in a live environment. Done all my tweaking thro Tone Lib using both my Amp rigs so I was able to have a direct comparison. Next task is to put the HPF through it's paces by removing the front speaker grills of my cabs and seeing if it can get close to the Thumpinator. At present I still think I will keep my MS60-B for tuner & HPF duties and toying with the thought that I may get a second B1-Four to take in my bass guitar case for some of the open-mic nights I frequent in local Pubs who provide a backline. The convenience, portability and compactness of the B1-Four really does allow you to take "Your Sound" with you anywhere. ( Okay, I know there's no DI!!!! but I can always chuck in my case my spare BDI21) All in all I think Zoom has done a good job!

@hooky_lowdown There's a Gibson Humbucker for sale here

Funny that you should mention the B2Forty5 and B2Forty5 X, as I saw something on the TinterNet that it will be honed from a solid block of Titanium Alloy and have elephant grade footswitches. Can't wait for the marketing blurb. 😂

+1 cull the demo stuff and patches which don't fit with your own personal needs. My requirements are pretty straight forward 6 OR 7 amp tones to suit the needs of the current set lists of the bands I play with. The B1Four has lots of potential for future song requirements.

@dannybuoy thanks for that, I was blissfully unaware of the built in subsonic filter on the VTDI. Any idea of the set frequency or gradient? I also have an earlier version of the VT Bass DI Deluxe which does not have the "Bite" button. I still think I will keep the HPF at the start of the chain not to "muddy" the signal, but I'll test the Bite button at rehearsal on Sunday.

The plan is to use the MS60-B for tuner & HPF duties and VT Bass for DI duties(as & when required). I am hopeful that the B1-Four will provide all the preset tones I require for the current setlist with the bands I play in. Once I have bought a pedal I would rather keep it as the second user values seem so low. The VT Bass DI is a fine piece of kit with lovely analogue tone stack and DI. I will probably try to emulate my TC Spectracomp on the B1-Four as first effect of the preset tones. On my other board, like many others, I use the standard Spectracomp compressor Tone-Print set at around 9 o'clock. It just works for me , so if I can get close with the B1-Four compressors I'll be a very Happy Chappie.

My B1-Four has arrived.

My current small board provides 5 basic amps tones I have now replaced the Bass BDI 21 with a Zoom B1-Four The B1-Four will offer many more Amp Tone presets and hopefully come close to my main board with a small footprint.

Excellent contributions from @Al Krow, @dave_bass5 & @jrixn1. Their knowledge and experience help us to evaluate what really matters and cuts through the hype & "me too" mentally with their informative, honest assessments. It's funny how every day I still use my Line6 Bass Floor Pod for silent noodling, it's simple, sounds good (IMO) and convenient allowing me to focus on playing the instrument than twiddling & tweaking.

The issue you need to check is the spacing of the pickup pole pieces. You may not be able align the strings accurately over the PUP pole pieces due to the difference between the Gibson 30ins scale and the Fender P 34ins. I ran into this when trying to fit a Gibson EB3 Humbucker to P bass,the best solution I found was to use a '72 Telecaster Bass PUP which has huge gain and has a greater range of tones than the EB3 PUP. The value of the tone cap you choose also has a major effect on what you are trying to create. Alternatively you could change the bridge for one with a smaller string spacing.

I have used BadAss l's, ll's & lll's, and I really like them! I've even replaced MIA Fender P bridges with with thro-body BadAss lll. It's really not a great deal of work to file the ungrooved bridge string seats to suit your own preferred spacing. If I were you I would go for the Omega for consistency and your OCD. I must say though that the Fender High Mass bridge on my MIM FSR PJ is rather good.

+1 A couple of BF Super Compacts with a Mesa Subway D800 (or D800+) would provide a broad range of powerful tones for most outdoor or large venues. Also provides flexibility for smaller venues. The new Fender Rumble 800HD would be a slightly lower cost solution.

Zomboi maybe 😂

@Al Krow & @dave_bass5 how does the HPF compare to the Thumpinator?

I would like to voice my (& our) grateful thanks to our "First Adopter" contributors @Al Krow & @dave_bass5 for their informative insights to the new Zoom B1Four. Thanks Guys! Really helpful!

Yup you maybe right about the "positive " feel of footswitches for a live situation.

Oooooooooo Lush. Can't wait for mine to show up.

Yup, fair enough ! good point! Let's hope some of the GAK staff read this site!! Let us know how you @Al Krow & @dave_bass5 get on with your units.

That's a bit Naff, Zoom UK under cutting their loyal retailers. GAK charge £4.99 for shipping and Thomann charge £8.60 for shipping. I'm struggling to understand why would Zoom UK want to sell products before they are available through their normal retails routes to market? Could they be "Pre production Units"? When I had a "proper " job we used to sell off all our pre-production units to staff at a big discount because the manufacturing processes were not finalized during the pre-production run. Where products were produced by " Contract Manufacturers" initial quantities were built in-house to verify quality standards, manufacturing systems and Test systems and then mass production commenced at the Sub-Contractor. Initial mass production samples would be shipped by the Contract Manufacturer to us for approval before large shipments were dispatched. These few units maybe early mass pro samples. I wonder what serial numbers will be on the units sold via eBay? That's always a good clue to the type of production batch.

Mark sold me a High Mass bridge, great bridge, good coms, fast delivery,really nice Guy to deal with. Buy with confidence!

GAK Fender Rumble 500 or Mesa Subway D800 into one or two BF Super Compacts. I use the amps set for a preselected tone or set clean/flat, then have preselected tones on the pedal board to toggle between each tone for specific songs. When the B1Four arrives I'll post a before & after on the "Show your pedal board thread" of the small board and the other larger board I use.

According to the FX list I've downloaded from the Zoom site there are 10 amp Sims and 12 cab Sims on the B1Four.