Zoom B3 Capabilities

[grelum]

I have been using a Zoom B1Xon for a year or two and love how I can set up a patch with up to 5 effects preprogrammed and scroll through a selection of 5 effect chains for a particular situation/gig.

I could see that the B3 was a much sturdier more road friendly design so bought one thinking I could get away with the slightly more limited 3 effect maximum.

However, admittedly after only a cursory play with it, it appears that you cannot programme 3 effects in a bank and scroll to another 3 effect selection. It seems to act more like a traditional pedal board requiring each effect to be changed individually.

Can any B3 users out there please verify if I have got this right?

[T-Bay]

Aren't they just stored as patches? So you can choose your three and save as A1 then select another three and save as A2 etc, it saves individual settings for each effect within the patch.

[CameronJ]

I'm pretty much %100 certain you can scroll through banks of effects as you've described. I've literally sold and posted my B3 today though so I can't walk you through how it's done, apologies! Another B3 owner care to chip in?

Edit: T-Bay to the rescue

Edited January 25, 2017 by CameronJ

[grelum]

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1485369196' post='3223474']
Aren't they just stored as patches? So you can choose your three and save as A1 then select another three and save as A2 etc, it saves individual settings for each effect within the patch.
[/quote]

[grelum]

Thanks TBay - I really need a bit more time to sit down and have a fiddle. I was reading the manual (always a mistake) on my way home from work tonight and just couldn't see how to do it.

[grelum]

[quote name='CameronJ' timestamp='1485369293' post='3223476']
I'm pretty much %100 certain you can scroll through banks of effects as you've described. I've literally sold and posted my B3 today though so I can't walk you through how it's done, apologies! Another B3 owner care to chip in?

Edit: T-Bay to the rescue
[/quote]

Thanks CJ

[King Tut]

From memory, when you press and hold the left foot switch, it will change between a patch and individual fx within that patch. If it's showing a patch, you can then use the middle and right switches to change up and down your patches. Once you've got to the patch you want, hold the left foot switch down and that will give you the option to turn the three individual fx on and off within the patch. Hope that helps. Don't dump your B1on yet, they're great!

[grelum]

Thanks Tut. I'll have a fiddle when I finish tonight's Burns Supper 🗡️ freeeeeedoooooooom

[ordep]

yup, hold switch 1 for patch mode, then switch 2 and 3 to scroll up or down. :-)

[grelum]

cheers ordep

[Japhet]

I've found the B3 a bit limiting because I've used some of the patches to create a 'global' sound (as in compression and light drive always on). I've then used the third patch to add an effect (e.g. octave). To maintain the global sound it's necessary to set up adjacent banks with the same compression and drive with a different third patch (eg fuzz),but toggling between banks is too slow. Anyone tried 2 B3s in line?

[grelum]

I had thought about this issue before buying the B3. My B1Xon has always got a dbx compressor and also a noise limiter on pretty much every patch I use. My intended solution for the B3 is to use an external compressor so that frees up a pedal space on each patch. Not perfect but my Hotone compressor is Ditto Looper sized so no transportation problems.

[Oopsdabassist]

[quote name='Japhet' timestamp='1485511028' post='3224428']
,but toggling between banks is too slow.
[/quote]

Press buttons 1+2 together to go down one bank, or 2+3 to go up a bank...simples!

[grelum]

Nice tip Oops - thanks

[Oopsdabassist]

Very welcome, something I discovered accidentally mid gig when I stepped back, went 1 bank down into a ferocious distortion patch which had the singer nearly wetting hisself in fright, fair made me jump too and took a few moments to figure out what the hell was going on lol!

[Japhet]

Thanks for that Oops. Can't find the manual to mine and am also a complete Luddite so that's a big help.

[Ghost_Bass]

[quote name='Oopsdabassist' timestamp='1485518752' post='3224536']
Press buttons 1+2 together to go down one bank, or 2+3 to go up a bank...simples!
[/quote]

Thanks for the tip! I have a B3 with me almost since they were released and didn't knew about this.

cheers