Zoom B6

Product Information

LIFT ( ): This disconnects the ground pin from the ground. This is useful if noise is caused by a ground loop. Full Description View Full Description Build the foundation of your tone with four iconic DI models

What else does it do? It's an audio interface for my computer. It comes with free Cubase activation code.

Expansion & Connectivity

Memory mode is the ultimate tool for live musicians. Here, you can organise your patches and allow each footswitch to active one of 4 patches in each bank. This allows you to have multiple unique signal chains comprised of different amps, cabinets and effects throughout different songs within your setlist. Impressively easy to use, bassists will be able to refine and jump between sounds effortlessly, making this compact reasonably priced multi-fx pedal a must-have. Key Features: I found it to be utterly silent. Unless I plumbed in a high gain distortion followed by a flanger and reverb - but then show me any set up with those pedals which is silent! And there's a noise gate if you want it anyway. It's a thing of beauty. The pictures don't do it credit. While everyone else produces near identical machines, or apes the Line6 range, Zoom as ever, do their own thing. It's the stealth bomber of multi effects. With bright coloured lights. So not really that stealthy. Lastly, Looper mode does exactly what it says. Loop up to two hours directly onto an SD card to add layers and texture to your sound. Buskers or solo performers can use this to build a platform on which to create the rest of your song and using the built-in Rhythm patterns, you have your entire rhythm section inside of your B6.

Size: the pedal is big for a Zoom pedal...bigger than the G5n I use. I may need to carry it in its own case rather than stuffed in my gig bag. slots maximum, with 4 switches maximum. If I want to load up all 6 slots with effects, I'll only be able to switch 4 of them on/off. I could really use 2 more slots and 2 more switches. Oh well. Ease of use. With all modern tech one expects a learning curve. I managed to scroll through various boards and patches, alter effect parameters, set up my own board, rename it and promptly save a different board over it by accident. All in about 20 minutes working from the pedal not the computer software. Working from the pedal has to be easy for me because it's only in a band situation I really know how well I've programmed a patch. I don't have a computer at gigs and at present only IOS is supported via the optional Bluetooth. It is extremely simple to adjust. Really, really simple. And having real life, overall tone and volume knobs right there is just great. If so, it may spell the end of my B3n and/or G5n for live use. It's been quite a few years, so I'm ready for a change I think.

Preamps

I may use my BassBox outboard of the B6 in some situations so that I can load the B6 up with effects only.

Amp and Cab Simulations: Whether you're new to bass or a seasoned pro, the B6 Multi-FX comes with a vast selection of sounds to suit any scenario. Made up of 36 impulse responses that consist of 12 iconic rigs that's been mic'd in three separate positions, players can choose between iconic tube and solid-state amps. Not only that, but with a range of cabinets spanning from the past 60 years, bassists can make their sound authentically theirs. With four DI models and advanced multi-effects, the B6 gives you freedom to explore entirely new sounds. I should have my B6 coming today or tomorrow. There's a discussion over here about the B6 and Atomic BassBox: Also will be experimenting with loops, to see if they can be saved via SD card and recalled on a patch-by-patch basis. The menu and touch screen seem a bit in depth at first but you soon get used to it. The display is brilliant - not too bright but even easy for me to see during a show with my ancient old eyes!

Zoom B6

The four Effect footswitches along the bottom of the unit change their function according to the current Play Mode. Here, in Effect Board mode, the lower four footswitches engage and bypass four of the current patch’s six stompbox models. Finally, in Effect Board mode, the B6 touchscreen displays the effects chain for the selected patch, with the front‑edge footswitches assigned to enable or bypass four of the maximum of six effects. Assigning an effect to a footswitch is as simple as ‘dragging’ on the touch screen from the effect icon to the appropriate footswitch icon. Synth and pitch-based effects have taken a step up IMO. I'm finding that I like them more and can do more with them. On the B3n, this category was a real struggle. The synth sounds I'm getting now on the B6 are so much better than the B3 or B3n. Premium FX: Continuing to push the boundaries of effects, the Zoom B6 comes with an impressive range of modelled classic and boutique stompboxes and hardware. Ideally, though, I'd like to be comfortable with the B6 for all occasions, so I'm hoping the new models and other improvements impress.

This review period coincided with me rehearsing and playing a series of gigs as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival, so as well as it being used in the slightly sterile and low‑pressure environment of my home studio, it also got a proper cramped rehearsal studio and sweaty gig workout. It passed the test with aplomb and was the subject of admiring glances from both bandmates and sound techs. The only minor frustration for me was with the position of the input footswitch. Said switch is located at the top right and consequently requires rather more extreme one‑legged balancing to operate than it would if it were located front right where the much less used Bypass switch is located. The set list at the gigs had me swapping between electric and upright basses almost every other song, so I was doing quite a bit of one‑legged balancing — but perhaps swapping between instruments so often, rather than the footswitch position, was actually the problem that needed fixing...Some of the new features look tasty. I'll be trying out the Send/Return feature to see if I can create rigged-up parallel dry path to the effects path. If you like the SansAmp BDDI, you'll really like the B6 model. I like it more than when I actually HAD the BDDI. The B6 has the newer version modeled with Midrange control. The B6 is very much larger and very much more capable than the B3 and its successor, the B3n. For a start, where the B3n offers a total of 67 individual ‘stompbox’‑style effects or amp models (each one of course separately configurable), the B6 offers around 115. And whereas the B3n enabled each patch to be built from a chain of up to three effects, the B6 accommodates six. But that’s just the beginning of the B6 story; there’s much more to it than just effects count and patch chain length. Probably the easiest way to begin to explain all there is to play with (and there is a lot) is to describe its physical format, so that’s what I’ll do. No matter what type of gig, recording session or rehearsal you're called to, you can always be ready with the Zoom B6. Featuring four play modes, you can modify how you use the Zoom B6 depending on the call you get for your next gig! Switchable via the dedicated stomp switch, you can choose between Effect Board, Bank/Patch, Memory and Looper modes.