Sharkfinger Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 (edited) [quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1411734748' post='2562359'] digital and analogue delay too on a serious note, if you've never played much with pedals, I'd get a multi effects like a Zoom B2.1U or B3. Then you can use this to find the effcts you like. You may be happy with the sounds you can get from the unit, or you might decide to replace it with other pedals, but at least you'll know which effects you like. [/quote] As a rule, I prefer stomp-boxes but that's exactly what I did. Not a fan of multi-FX but it helped me discover that all I was really after was couple of fuzzes, a good drive, chorus and octave. Thought I'd use the synth but didn't in the end. Wouldn't get rid of the B3 because if I ever get GAS for a particular effect in the future, the B3 will no doubt have it and I can try it first before shelling out on the stomp box. Edited September 26, 2014 by Sharkfinger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 I wouldn't say I prefer one or the other. I have 50+ single pedals, but I also have a few multi-effects too I started on a Zoom GFX707 when I was a teenager and played with it almost every night for about a year (and the pedal ) and this taught me how to shape sounds, and which control changes what on which effect etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfinger Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 BTW, I never had much luck with velcro; pedals always came loose. Guitarist was actually helpful (I know, right?) in giving me some bike chain links and using them to screw the pedals to the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingsta Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 [quote name='Sharkfinger' timestamp='1411739326' post='2562426'] As a rule, I prefer stomp-boxes but that's exactly what I did. Not a fan of multi-FX but it helped me discover that all I was really after was couple of fuzzes, a good drive, chorus and octave. Thought I'd use the synth but didn't in the end. Wouldn't get rid of the B3 because if I ever get GAS for a particular effect in the future, the B3 will no doubt have it and I can try it first before shelling out on the stomp box. [/quote] Good idea. Having just splashed out a good £450 on a Pedaltrain Jnr, Power, Cables and a few "essential" pedals (Vol Pedal, Compressor, A/B box, OD), I've just become aware of the Zoom B3, which costs less than my compressor but is packed to the gills with features and looks a lot more user friendly than some of the older multi fx models. I'm still going to get me a nice Octave, Envelope Filter and possibly another OD pedal, but other than that, I may well get a B3 to stop me from the falling into the never ending circle of poverty and despair that seems to come with pedal GAS. I can use that as a one stop shop for the occassional use stuff such as reverb, flanger, chorus, phaser, pitch shift etc rather than bankrupting myself on yet more pedals. It looks small enough to co-exist with a pedal board set up too. Do you have any view on the quality of the effects on the B3, appreciate its a fairly subjective matter.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratman Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 Yes it's subjective, but for just over a ton you'll get so much bang for your buck. I use mine like you're planning to and I love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfinger Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 [quote name='mingsta' timestamp='1411741539' post='2562452'] Good idea. Having just splashed out a good £450 on a Pedaltrain Jnr, Power, Cables and a few "essential" pedals (Vol Pedal, Compressor, A/B box, OD), I've just become aware of the Zoom B3, which costs less than my compressor but is packed to the gills with features and looks a lot more user friendly than some of the older multi fx models. I'm still going to get me a nice Octave, Envelope Filter and possibly another OD pedal, but other than that, I may well get a B3 to stop me from the falling into the never ending circle of poverty and despair that seems to come with pedal GAS. I can use that as a one stop shop for the occassional use stuff such as reverb, flanger, chorus, phaser, pitch shift etc rather than bankrupting myself on yet more pedals. It looks small enough to co-exist with a pedal board set up too. Do you have any view on the quality of the effects on the B3, appreciate its a fairly subjective matter.... [/quote] Regarding the effects on the B3, they're pretty good. This may polarize opinion but I find the B3 colours the sound, somewhat, not being true bypass, even when the effects are 'off'. I run it in the amp's effects loop, which mitigates this. I mainly use it for chorus, octave, etc and popular opinion says that's where effects like these should be anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elephantgrey Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 I have a zoom MS60B and i like most of the effects on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njr911 Posted October 10, 2014 Author Share Posted October 10, 2014 Just bought a B3 from zee Germans. Time to sell the old pedals or keep??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratman Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I'd keep the old pedals, for now. You may find you like the sound of some of them better than the digital models in th B3. Wait until you know the B3 better before you start selling old kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Whatever you decide on - single pedals, multi, or both - try this before you gig your rig:[list=1] [*]Plug your bass into your 'board, with all the pedals de-activated/bypassed/whatever. [*]Play, and listen to the sound from your amp. [*]Quickly pull the plug from your amp's input, then take the plug going into your 'board and plug it straight into your amp. [*]Play and listen. [/list] If 4 sounds as good as 2, or better then fine. But if 4 results in a loss of clarity, bottom end, top end, whatever, you need to think again. The problem is that non-true-bypass pedals have a resistor and capacitor at the input that act as a high-pass filter. This has the effect of shaving off a little bit of low end. When you chain several pedals, this ends up being quite a lot, and it tends to be worse when putting a bass through a pedal meant for skinny-string guitars. If this does become a problem, it is worth investigating true-bypass loop pedals to switch your buffered pedals in and out of circuit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Though it's not always a loss with non- true-bypass. The Moog LPF actually adds low end if the resonance is below 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) [quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1413202612' post='2575746'] Whatever you decide on - single pedals, multi, or both - try this before you gig your rig: ... instructions ... The problem is that non-true-bypass pedals (blah) ... When you chain several pedals, this ends up being quite a lot, and it tends to be worse when putting a bass through a pedal meant for skinny-string guitars. If this does become a problem, it is worth investigating true-bypass loop pedals to switch your buffered pedals in and out of circuit.[/quote] This can indeed be a problem with some pedals that have a buffered bypass but it's only half the story. True-bypass pedals can also cause the same problem. If all your pedals are true bypass, try the same experiment. Now this depends on the cable lengths you're running and whether you use a passive or active bass (a passive bass will be worse because the signal has a higher impedance and higher impedance signals degrade more quickly), but let's imagine a worst-case scenario of a passive bass with a 15ft cable to the pedalboard and another 15ft cable back to the amp. You *will* notice the loss of treble frequencies compared to going direct to the amp. It will be very obvious. This is due to cable capacitance - as your signal travels down cables it will gradually lose treble frequencies, it's just what happens. If all your pedals are true bypass then you have nothing between your bass to your amp to help buffer the signal along. This is partly the reason why pedal manufacturers put buffers into their devices in the first place. They were trying to compensate for the fact that longer cable runs will ruin your tone. The ideal solution is a combination of both true bypass and buffered bypass: Have a single pedal with a very high quality buffer in it (sometimes known as a 'line driver' if it also amplifies the signal), put it as the first pedal in your chain, and it will help your signal to maintain its treble frequencies as it travels through your other pedals and out to the amp. In my case I've got a very high fidelity, vey low noise 2-channel mixer from SFX as the only pedal that is always in my signal chain (the rest are all true-bypass), so if I want to bypass all my effects and go straight to the amp it's much the same sound as I would get from using just one cable direct to the amp. Edited October 13, 2014 by thisnameistaken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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