Zoom B1-4 & B3N - Effects patch ideas and tips

[dave_bass5]

I use a megaboom at home sometimes. B1-four in to it via  cable. Lovely low end. 

[Al Krow]

16 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

I use a megaboom at home sometimes. B1-four in to it via  cable. Lovely low end. 

They really are great bits of kit. 

Does that mean I've finally gone FRFR, albeit in a small way? 😁

[Geek99]

I have the b2.1u - it’s better than I am 

[Chienmortbb]

On 10/05/2021 at 09:09, Al Krow said:

(I think you meant B3N at the end?)

I still find that some of the individual patches on the B1-4 can be noisy, particularly the drives / fuzzes, which mirrors what happens with many dedicated dirt pedals.

However the Zoom noise reduction circuit (ZNR) is really excellent (I recommend detection set to GTRIN) and I use that as a standard final fx slot, going from guitar to speaker in the chain, on most of my patches.

Yup you got me. 
 

I must admit I don’t use that much dirt so perhaps that is why I don’t notice it. 
 

One of the things I like about it is the tuner. Very fast settling and seemingly very accurate. I must check it against the Peterson App on my phone. When you consider how much a GOOD tuner costs it is amazing. 

Edited May 14, 2021 by Chienmortbb

[nilebodgers]

1 minute ago, Chienmortbb said:

Yup you got me. 
 

I must admit I don’t use that much dirt so perhaps that is why I don’t notice it. 
 

One of the things I like about it is the tuner. Very fast settling and seemingly very accurate. I must check it against the Peterson App on my phone. When you consider how much a GOOD tuner costs it is amazing. 

The tuner doesn't fall much short of the current TC polytune for speed and accuracy IMO (in monophonic mode). It only falls down on the mechanics of having to press 2 pedals to activate, I pretty much always accidentally change patches doing that so I couldn't use it live.

[Chienmortbb]

My brain is working today and a thought has just come to me ( yes I did make a note in my diary). 
 

If a modelling multi effects unit claims to model a pedal exactly, should it add the noise inherent in that pedal?

[Chienmortbb]

1 minute ago, nilebodgers said:

The tuner doesn't fall much short of the current TC polytune for speed and accuracy IMO (in monophonic mode). It only falls down on the mechanics of having to press 2 pedals to activate, I pretty much always accidentally change patches doing that so I couldn't use it live.

I don’t seem to have a problem with that although it’s so long since I played live, my memory may be faulty. 

[Woodinblack]

27 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

If a modelling multi effects unit claims to model a pedal exactly, should it add the noise inherent in that pedal?

If the noise is inherent in the pedal then obviously it should, like with high gain amps.

[Al Krow]

2 hours ago, nilebodgers said:

The tuner doesn't fall much short of the current TC polytune for speed and accuracy IMO (in monophonic mode). It only falls down on the mechanics of having to press 2 pedals to activate, I pretty much always accidentally change patches doing that so I couldn't use it live.

Yeah I guess you need to watch out for that, but as I pretty much only ever tune up before we start playing live and then a quick check during a set break, it's not something I've ever had to worry about.

The led metering is really helpful though for dark stages! 

Edited May 14, 2021 by Al Krow

[Al Krow]

@JohnDaBass - as promised, I've uploaded a big chunk (twenty) of my user created patches onto a patch library. Please see the opening post.

Any fellow BC'ers should please feel free to add any that they would would like to share  - please simply upload as you go along and I'll add any B1-4 patches into the OP or provide a link to your post there in the case of B1-4(X) and B3N patches.

Hope this becomes a useful and fun resource for us!

Edited May 14, 2021 by Al Krow

[JohnDaBass]

14 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

@JohnDaBass - as promised, I've uploaded a big chunk (twenty) of my user created patches onto a patch library. Please see the opening post.

Any fellow BC'ers should please feel free to add any that they would would like to share  - please simply upload as you go along and I'll add any B1-4 patches into the OP or provide a link to your post there in the case of B1-4(X) and B3N patches.

Hope this becomes a useful and fun resource for us!

All Tested and all downloaded successfully and all work fine.

Well done @Al Krow again you prove yourself to be a generous, kind, supportive contributor to these hallowed Forums and a true Gent .

Thank you  

( Take a Pound out of the till on your way home Son)

[JohnDaBass]

Here are a couple of files for the 'Free' & 'Bad Company' patches from earlier in the thread.

FREE Bman [JdB-Dri].zb1f

 

FreeTE4x12 [JdB-Dri].zb1f

[isteen]

Great thread guys, Thanks a whole lot

[isteen]

On 13/05/2021 at 22:06, Al Krow said:

 

Wireless: Boss WL-20

How do that work out for you, both with active/passive bass?

[Al Krow]

18 minutes ago, isteen said:

How do that work out for you, both with active/passive bass?

Not encountered any real issues at all switching between active and passive basses, in fact I'm loving the WL-20s. Only drawback is that it won't fit some of the front recessed jack sockets, in particular my Ibanez SRs, so I'm using a lead with those. 

Edited May 15, 2021 by Al Krow

[Al Krow]

38 minutes ago, isteen said:

Great thread guys, Thanks a whole lot

You're completely welcome!

I almost daren't ask, but that sounds like a happy news story you're sharing with us? If so, that's fantastic news!

[Al Krow]

57 minutes ago, JohnDaBass said:

Here are a couple of files for the 'Free' & 'Bad Company' patches from earlier in the thread.

FREE Bman [JdB-Dri].zb1f 508 B · 0 downloads

 

FreeTE4x12 [JdB-Dri].zb1f 465 B · 0 downloads

Thanks for sharing those John. I'm away from my kit right now to try these out, but looking forward to auditioning both patches, and I'll, of course, include them in the OP patch library.

I need to refresh my memory about the Free & Bad Company patches, was that a while back?

[Chienmortbb]

1 hour ago, JohnDaBass said:

Here are a couple of files for the 'Free' & 'Bad Company' patches from earlier in the thread.

FREE Bman [JdB-Dri].zb1f 508 B · 0 downloads

 

FreeTE4x12 [JdB-Dri].zb1f 465 B · 0 downloads

Which songs are they for John

 

[JohnDaBass]

45 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

Which songs are they for John

 

 I use them for most of the Free & Bad Company numbers we do, they were created mainly for  "All right now" & "Feel like making love"

[Si600]

Do any of you fine fellows have a suggestion of what to add to a patch to get more presence to a tone? A bit more plump of heft just to fill out a three piece, especially when the guitar goes off on a solo and we lose the chords? It was in here, or maybe in the forum linked where there was the suggestion of an octaves, but that adds a growl to my clean sound that I don't want.

[isteen]

Now the real dumb quesition: Can I use the computer software on a iPad or a Chromebook? My old Mac is on the verge of death

Edited May 16, 2021 by isteen

[Chienmortbb]

1 minute ago, isteen said:

Now the real dumb quesition: Can I use the computer software on a iPad or a Chromebook? My old Mac is on the verge of death

My Mac is 14 years old, no longer updated and still it stumbles on. I stilL prefer it to my new Dell Windows PC.

As I understand it a Chromebook is a Google rework of Linux, as is Android. You should be able to run the software under WINE, a Linux Windows emulator. If you Mac limps on, PlayOnMac is a programme that uses wine Ona Mac to use many Windows programmes although not all will work. I don’t know about the iPad. 

[Al Krow]

2 minutes ago, Si600 said:

Do any of you fine fellows have a suggestion of what to add to a patch to get more presence to a tone? A bit more plump of heft just to fill out a three piece, especially when the guitar goes off on a solo and we lose the chords? It was in here, or maybe in the forum linked where there was the suggestion of an octaves, but that adds a growl to my clean sound that I don't want.

Fyi I use the term "presence" to mirror the usage by a number of amp and pedal manufacturers i.e. a boost to the high mids and treble, so the Presence patch in the OP library is doing exactly that.

For what you're after, I think you're looking for something a bit more "Royal Blood". Which Zoom model do you have? If you have a B1-4, you could try the Atreides patch from the patch library.

If you have a different model, you can put one together using the following individual effects: [Start of chain] Comp --> Ocatve down --> RAT (Squeak) --> Stereo chorus --> Zoom noise reduction (ZNR) [End of chain].

[Chienmortbb]

12 minutes ago, Si600 said:

Do any of you fine fellows have a suggestion of what to add to a patch to get more presence to a tone? A bit more plump of heft just to fill out a three piece, especially when the guitar goes off on a solo and we lose the chords? It was in here, or maybe in the forum linked where there was the suggestion of an octaves, but that adds a growl to my clean sound that I 

Reply deleted as @Al Krow said it much better.

 

Edited May 16, 2021 by Chienmortbb

[dave_bass5]

31 minutes ago, isteen said:

Now the real dumb quesition: Can I use the computer software on a iPad or a Chromebook? My old Mac is on the verge of death

No, not at all, at least not on iOS.