MichaelDean Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 Small rant... I'm a bit torn. On the one hand, it's nice having products built with a bassists needs in mind (A/B inputs, XLR out, etc.). On the other, I don't quite understand why Zoom still insist on doing a bass version and a guitar version. The extra bits on the B6 has would, I'm sure, also be very welcome on the G6. All of the other manufacturers have combined the guitar and bass units and then been able to sell to both markets straight away, reducing on manufacturing/tooling costs, etc. Then they make sure the product works well before expanding the range with variants on the theme. Plus, it always feels a bit like hand holding to have a reduced set of effects like reverbs and delays vs the guitar version. Almost like they're saying "No! You can't use a shimmer reverb on bass! Fool!". Can't they just give us everything and let us choose what's a suitable effect for bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 @MichaelDean - you make a fair point! However, for me it's really nice to know that all the fx available on the Zoom bass multis have been tweaked with the bass player, and the our lower note ranges, in mind. I no longer need to start by working out what's good for bass and deleting 90% of the stuff that really is better just on guitar. Sometimes too much choice can be daunting! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 16 hours ago, MichaelDean said: Small rant... I'm a bit torn. On the one hand, it's nice having products built with a bassists needs in mind (A/B inputs, XLR out, etc.). On the other, I don't quite understand why Zoom still insist on doing a bass version and a guitar version. The extra bits on the B6 has would, I'm sure, also be very welcome on the G6. All of the other manufacturers have combined the guitar and bass units and then been able to sell to both markets straight away, reducing on manufacturing/tooling costs, etc. Then they make sure the product works well before expanding the range with variants on the theme. I'm with you 100%. How I justified the outlay on my Helix was that it would replace the effects boxes I have for electric guitar, acoustic guitar AND bass. Making a box "bass only" is a bit wrong, surely when these are all powered by software it can be open to all zoom patches? Why restrict it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelDean Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 16 hours ago, Al Krow said: @MichaelDean - you make a fair point! However, for me it's really nice to know that all the fx available on the Zoom bass multis have been tweaked with the bass player, and the our lower note ranges, in mind. I no longer need to start by working out what's good for bass and deleting 90% of the stuff that really is better just on guitar. Sometimes too much choice can be daunting! I can totally see that side of it too, but programatically speaking, it shouldn't be hard to categorise them as bass or guitar effects. Then you know you have a set of effects that are optimised for bass and then you can try out some guitar ones if you feel the need later down the line. Like: Overdrive Bass X Y Z Guitar A B C 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 30 minutes ago, MichaelDean said: shouldn't be hard to categorise them as bass or guitar effects Line 6 have managed it. Then you can choose to put guitar effects/ amps etc. on your bass if you so desire and the other way around. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 47 minutes ago, uk_lefty said: Line 6 have managed it. Then you can choose to put guitar effects/ amps etc. on your bass if you so desire and the other way around. True, but what if you're "just" a bass player and literally 90% of the fx on the unit is aimed at guitars? Personally I find it a chore to have to wade through stuff and audition it on the off chance it might also work well on bass. I love the fact that Zoom are prepared to make some of their pedals tailored to bass with ALL the fx being potentially suitable. Horses for courses, I guess? Both Helix and Zoom sell well, so there's clearly a market for both approaches as we seem to be demonstrating! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 31 minutes ago, Al Krow said: True, but what if you're "just" a bass player and literally 90% of the fx on the unit is aimed at guitars? Yes I see your point. The first thing that struck me about the video demo was that there was actually a useable bass synth patch that didn't sound completely ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 36 minutes ago, uk_lefty said: The first thing that struck me about the video demo was that there was actually a useable bass synth patch that didn't sound completely ridiculous. Yes - the Z synth on the B1-4 is surprisingly usable and, weirdly, better than anything I managed to get on Helix! I'm guessing the B6 patch may be similar / identical. I dropped the Z synth into parts of the bass line for Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" at band rehearsal this week and I seemed to get lucky with not being shouted off the pitch...🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 Just now, Al Krow said: Yes - the Z synth on the B1-4 is surprisingly usable and, weirdly, better than anything I managed to get on Helix! I'm guessing the B6 patch may be similar / identical. I dropped the Z synth into parts of the bass line for Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" at band rehearsal this week and I seemed to get lucky with not being shouted off the pitch...🙂 It's funny what does and doesn't work synth wise. I auditioned with a band a few weeks back and ended up getting a good soft fuzz synth like sound by just using an amp SIM on my Helix to use on a dancey pop song. Weirdly, can't reproduce it at home, but I found something else which sounds great at home. So for my call back on weds it's guaranteed to sound pants in the mix!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 (edited) 7 minutes ago, uk_lefty said: It's funny what does and doesn't work synth wise. I auditioned with a band a few weeks back and ended up getting a good soft fuzz synth like sound by just using an amp SIM on my Helix to use on a dancey pop song. Weirdly, can't reproduce it at home, but I found something else which sounds great at home. So for my call back on weds it's guaranteed to sound pants in the mix!! I agree. Filter and synth are very much the Achilles heel of budget and mid-range multi fx - they really can't compete with the likes of Panda FI, Source Audio C4 and Boss SY-200 / SY/1 on the synth front - particularly as the FI and C4 have proper synth wave generators on board. Or something like the Proton Mk4 / [filter of your choice] on the filter side. But, hey, any one of those pedals costs a multiple of my humble Zoom B1-4, so the fact that the Z synth on the B1-4 is actually borderline usable in a band mix is flippin' brilliant! 🙂 Good luck with the new band! Covers? Edited October 8, 2021 by Al Krow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 5 minutes ago, Al Krow said: Good luck with the new band! Covers? Yep, decent covers band needed someone and I killed off the 80s band (long story cut short: too much stress) and my long standing covers band has kinda fizzled out. This outfit are a bit more professional and Weds night is kind of an "audition part 2" I think. They've actually told me what key they play some of the songs in beforehand for this one so a bit less transposing on the spot. Anyhow, the Zoom pedal... If it were £250ish I'd be tempted. But as it is, my Helix does a lot more that is useful to me right now. I'll watch with interest though, always had a soft spot for zoom since having a BFX-708 a very long time ago. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Edwards69 Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 (edited) I have a soft spot for zoom, I've used a number of their units over the years, going back to my bothers 9001 unit! However, I can't help but feel they've missed something with the design and features of this new B6, especially considering the price tag A cursory glance tells me that you're stuck with a single signal path, yes? It doesn't seem possible to split the signal with a clean and dirty path, or clean lows, dirty highs with a crossover. I'd love to be proven wrong here. Personally, I feel the DI modelling is a bit of a gimmick and rather redundant if you're using the amp modelling. If you don't use amps at all and prefer the sound of a DI, then I'm not sure you'd be buying a zoom multifx device anyway and would invest in a high quality DI box. Perhaps they sound better now with a new processor, but a quick look through the effects list PDF, it appears that a lot of the models and effects are the same algorithms they've been using for many years but in a new box and interface. They certainly seem mostly the same, with the same parameters as in my old MS60B. I think my Helix LT is safe for the time being. That said, I wish Line 6 would beef up the helix synth engine and make it competitive with the C4 and Future Impact et al. Edited October 8, 2021 by Greg Edwards69 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoJoKe Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 Some more info! https://youtu.be/L5E6gfQkMNA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 So... anyone bought one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDaBass Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 ☝️ +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 Seems to be out of stock everywhere I've looked. For the price of two 'fancy' stomp boxes, this looks and sounds like a heck of a thing. I've always loved Zoom multi pedals. For whatever reason I've taken to their operating system very naturally, always found them simple to adjust on the fly, easy to play with. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 Strangely I seemed to have missed this last year, which is odd, I normally go for all the zoom boxes (still have a B3n that I have barely used and B1-Four). Sadly too big for me, I think the helix HX FX is safe, as I still can't be bothered to make patches, and they are too difficult for me to switch to at random! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJPJ Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Is it even released yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tripehound Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 On 09/01/2022 at 17:38, CJPJ said: Is it even released yet? AFAIK there are some in the USA according to Talkbass posts but very limited and may not even be a proper release. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDaBass Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 Some news https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2022/01/13/zoom-b6-bass-multi-effects-unit-now-shipping/ Probably a few months away for UK buyers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 On 07/10/2021 at 00:28, dannybuoy said: Just had a listen to the filter at 0.57 - damn that's good!!! Better than anything I could get on my Helix Stomp / HXFX. It does lack the parallel processing of the Helix, but given that I don't make much use of parallel processing on my boards anyway, and the need to watch out for comb filtering issues, not sure I would miss it too much. Have fess I do love the convenience of having everything available to scroll through on one pedal: I've been using my little B1-4 as a standalone "micro board" since mid last year when gigs resumed post lock down. I got a fair few compliments at rehearsal with a new project last Thursday, when using the Z-synth on the B1-4 for Daft Punk's Get Lucky. But with the additional processing power the B6 delivers it's surely going to be a step up from both the B1-4 and it's bigger brother B3N. The colour touch screen is a very welcome addition too. Price is down to the £377 at Thomann UK which is £100 below launch price just 4 months back. If they start to become available used then I suspect it's going to be an irresistible no-brainer for a few of us on this thread! Been added to my 2022 wish list! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAdder60 Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 (edited) Nice but …, put it in a loud live band with loud over driven guitars and you will no longer hear much of a difference to a normal bass sound ( generalising I know ) For the money I would buy an extra amp ! For certain genres with keyboards etc it would work nicely I’m sure Edited January 17, 2022 by BassAdder27 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 30 minutes ago, BassAdder27 said: Nice but …, put it in a loud live band with loud over driven guitars and you will no longer hear much of a difference to a normal bass sound ( generalising I know ) If you don't hear much of a difference between that synth sound and a straight bass, you need to put some serious effort into sorting out your amplifier! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 12 minutes ago, Woodinblack said: If you don't hear much of a difference between that synth sound and a straight bass, you need to put some serious effort into sorting out your amplifier! Tbf he did just say he was going to spend the money on a new amplifier instead 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAdder60 Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 12 minutes ago, Woodinblack said: If you don't hear much of a difference between that synth sound and a straight bass, you need to put some serious effort into sorting out your amplifier! But that was my point .. I don’t need synth sounds for the music I play. As I said for some I can see the advantages of a multi fx on bass but kind of wasted on many bassists I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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