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Zoom pedal hack - anyone tried it yet?


Earbrass

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I want the Marshall Superbass amp and Cab for the B1 Four.

Was on the B1 On... but anoyingly, wasnt carried over... Should of done a bit more reading up...

Dont think they are compatable...

Hopefully Zoom will sort this and make a Marshall Amp and Cab sim available for download via the Guitar Lab software...

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9 minutes ago, Osiris said:

Thank you. 

It looks like you dived in and gave it a go. Have you noticed any issues since doing so (other than the editing software issue you mentioned)? 

No issues at all. I have in fact just connected up the B1on again and added a few guitar amp sims just for fun. All working perfectly.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hey everybody! I've just done the "personalized" firmware installation into my MS-60B and I love how easy you can do this. I've basically removed some useless effects (the kind of filler stuff I hate in multieffects, who in this world needs 20 flavors of choruses, reverbs, delays, the bomber or the ring modulator?) and added some guitar amps (Rectifier, JCM800&2000, Bogner, Diezel, Twin Reverb, AC30, Hiwatt) so I can have a nice array for home recording or eventual "Royal Blood on the cheap", a trick where I'd use both the B3 and MS-60B together, with the MS-60B handling the guitar part (input from B3's right output, chain of 2 pitch shifters -fixed octave up and on/off 5th above that- plus some distortion, I was using the Metal Zone emulation, now I use the Rectifier I just loaded).

The information in this thread has been HIGHLY VALUABLE to me, a BIG THANK YOU guys for sharing.

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15 hours ago, stewblack said:

It is good isn't it? Like you I don't need all those reverb and delay options, once I have the  basic effects I like and use its great to dump the rest. 

As a software guy myself I love this kind of projects. All my respect for these wise and generous people. I can't find a way to donate to the guys behind it, is there any?

Edited by andruca
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Over the weekend a deal I couldn’t let pass showed up and just hours ago I picked up a G1Xon for 30€, like new, in its box and including a power supply. There was plenty of space in the firmware edition to add the basic effects I need for bass (Bass PEQ, SansAmp, AcBsPre and a handful others, less than a dozen overall). So now it's a G1Xon with the basic stuff I need there for bass, analog to my MS-60B that now has some added guitar amps in it. Love having the AUX IN so this will travel with me in a gigbag a lot. I copied a couple patches from my B3 and, besides initial need to set global/patch volumes I cannot tell a difference in tone between neither of them (B3, MS-60B, G1Xon).

Because I'm working in a couple different computers I've set up a folder to have all my Zoom FX firmware tweaking resources in one place. You'll see some G3/B3 stuff I stored there too, just ignore it, it's there for my use.

Totally related to this, has anyone ever tried to install G3 firmware to a B3 or viceversa? Thanks in advance.

 
Edited by andruca
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44 minutes ago, andruca said:

Over the weekend a deal I couldn’t let pass showed up and just hours ago I picked up a G1Xon for 30€, like new, in its box and including a power supply. There was plenty of space in the firmware edition to add the basic effects I need for bass (Bass PEQ, SansAmp, AcBsPre and a handful others, less than a dozen overall). So now it's a G1Xon with the basic stuff I need there for bass, analog to my MS-60B that now has some added guitar amps in it. Love having the AUX IN so this will travel with me in a gigbag a lot. I copied a couple patches from my B3 and, besides initial need to set global/patch volumes I cannot tell a difference between neither of them (B3, MS-60B, G1Xon).

Because I'm working in a couple different computers I've set up a folder to have all my Zoom FX firmware tweaking resources in one place. You'll see some G3/B3 stuff I stored there too, just ignore it, it's there for my use.

Totally related to this, has anyone ever tried to install G3 firmware to a B3 or viceversa? Thanks in advance.

 

I use my Zoom G1Xon for my reverb needs, among those my main always on really subtle plate reverb, and the build in expression pedal comes in handy for a thick lush reverb patch with some tape delay as well that I use as a reverb pad effect with volume swells.

I also until recently used the DBX 160 compressor model as an always on compressor, until I got my TC Electronic SpectraComp, which I use now instead.

Really has no use for additional effects from the other Zoom multi effects, as I only use the Plate and HD Hall reverb models, as well as the original Tape Delay model, but having the option for additional effects from the other Zoom multi effects is certainly handy, and who knows I might find use for it in the future.

Also got a Zoom MS70 CDR multi stomp, but again no use for additional effects as I exclusively use it as an always on equalizer with a patch of six of the 2 band fully parametric Parametric Bass EQ model.

Personally I wouldn't use these previous generation Zoom multi effects for dirt or amp modeling (honestly wouldn't even use the current "n" and "Four" generation for that), but I honestly prefer the expanded tweaking possibilities, due to more adjustable parameters, of these previous generation Zoom effects over the newer ones, and I honestly think that many, if not even most, of the modulation, reverb and delay effects in these older units are not just passable, but, with the right amount of tweaking, great sounding effects, so even if I actually recently got a Zoom G1 Four I don't really use it, and, at least for my use, prefer my MS70 CDR and G1Xon.  

Zoom certainly made a great leap from the absolutely horrible digital multi effects they came out with in the 90's, and personaly I prefer their previous generation of digital multi effects (G1on, G1Xon, B1on, B1Xon, G3, B3) to the more expensive digital Boss multi effects, which certainly was far from the case in the 90's.

 

Edited by Baloney Balderdash
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20 minutes ago, andruca said:

Totally related to this, has anyone ever tried to install G3 firmware to a B3 or viceversa? Thanks in advance.

I sold my B3 before discovering this hack. However I am wiping a series of MS-60B pedals and installing just what I need on each. Idea being to make a pedal board with just MS-60B pedals on it.

You are quite right to keep the G1Xon with you, it is a brilliant rehearsal tool. I bought a cheap bluetooth receiver from Ebay so that's one less cable, just play stuff straight from my phone. The metronome and drum patterns and looper are super handy too.

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5 minutes ago, stewblack said:

 

I sold my B3 before discovering this hack. However I am wiping a series of MS-60B pedals and installing just what I need on each. Idea being to make a pedal board with just MS-60B pedals on it.

You are quite right to keep the G1Xon with you, it is a brilliant rehearsal tool. I bought a cheap bluetooth receiver from Ebay so that's one less cable, just play stuff straight from my phone. The metronome and drum patterns and looper are super handy too.

Unfortunately this hack is not compatible with B3/G3. That's why I was asking if I could simply convert, if needed, my whole B3 into a G3 just by installing the G3 firmware. AFAIK the hardware is identical.

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2 minutes ago, andruca said:

Unfortunately this hack is not compatible with B3/G3. That's why I was asking if I could simply convert, if needed, my whole B3 into a G3 just by installing the G3 firmware. AFAIK the hardware is identical.

Oh sorry. I thought it was, apologies.

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12 minutes ago, andruca said:

Unfortunately this hack is not compatible with B3/G3. That's why I was asking if I could simply convert, if needed, my whole B3 into a G3 just by installing the G3 firmware. AFAIK the hardware is identical.

I am pretty sure Zoom made it impossible to simply install the G3 firmware into a B3 and the other way around, even if I am perfectly sure they technically are completely compatible.

However Zoom would have an interest in limiting certain effect models to certain multi effect pedals, to increase their sales, which I am pretty sure is the only reason they didn't just offer all the effects for free download as one would wish, which I am fairly certain otherwise properly would have been easier for them from a technical point of view, instead of them actively having to implement obstacles for it not to be possible. 

 

Edited by Baloney Balderdash
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8 minutes ago, stewblack said:

Oh sorry. I thought it was, apologies.

No worries man 😉

1 minute ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

I am pretty sure Zoom made it impossible to simply install the G3 firmware into a B3 and the other way around, even if I am perfectly sure they technically are completely compatible.

However Zoom would have an interest in limiting certain effect models to certain multi effect pedals, to increase their sale, which is the only reason they didn't just offer all the effects for free download as one would wish, which I am sure otherwise properly would have been easier for them from a technical point of view, instead of them actively having to implement obstacles for it not to be possible. 

 

Yep, most probable case.

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The firmware update shouldn't knock your existing patches down,. BUT, I've already had an "incident" with my MS-60B, after a succession of firmware updates, where it'd show the bypass sign over some pedal models (and they're turned off, as if unavailable or something). I had to factory reset my MS-60B, install the original firmware (Zoom's latest for the device) and only then update with my custom firmware, which is now working OK (version 2 in my folder, was missing the acoustic sim for guitar in my first edit with all the added guitar amps, made necessary room by "sacrificing" the MarkMid amp sim -far from my thing-). The main con of this factory reset is I had to dial in my patches from scratch (fortunately only 10 of them). I don't use no ToneLib or anything, I'm faster dialing it all in the pedal, copying from my B3 (also had to do the same to have my bass patches in the G1Xon). The caveman way of copying patches, I know, I'll eventually install the librarian and learn how to use it.

Zoom's firmware updaters are mostly self-explanatory. You power on your G1on with up and down buttons pressed so that it boots in firmware update mode, then run the EXE inside Zoom's firmware update zip file. This is a video for the G1on/Xon, but applies to B1on/Xon exactly the same.

 

Edited by andruca
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