Zoom B1on - how does audio quality compare to MS-60B ?

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ProfFrink

Jan 16, 2015
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#1
Hi!

I love my MS-60B, and it's got a permanent place on my board, which has gotten quite big by now.

I'm now looking for something that will serve as my "small" pedalboard, for taking to my lessons, and some small jam-sessions with friends, when I don't really want or need to carry my big board. It occurred to me that I can simply buy a B1on and throw it in my gigbag pocket. It's the perfect form-factor for that, has a good range of effects, and it's cheap enough not to think twice about.

My only question is this: Will I be disappointed quality-wise? I understand that the B1on is packaged in plastic but I can live with this (cheap enough to simply replace if breaks), but audio/tone quality-wise: Is it on a par with the MS-60B, or have they used lower quality components for the audio-path/processing too?

Thanks!
 
#3
I broke my b1on last night when I unplugged and my cable hit the lcd screen, which broke the screen to a point where it's unreadable. It worked well for me for the past year, one of the duties being what you stated, although mainly serving as a high pass filter and tuner lately, with some amp modeling at times. I found that I got away from using most of the effects pretty quickly. I did find some models and settings that introduced a lot of hiss.

Overall though, while it was useful, I had programmed a lot of patches and with no way to back them up its now just a piece of plastic for the landfill. That's sad. I don't think I'll be going this route again though. My vt bass been going strong for many years and many many gigs, I think I'll just stick with that.

Yes, I know I dropped the cable on it, but if that small impact makes it useless, that does say something.
 
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#5
mrufino1 said:
I broke my b1on last night when I unplugged and my cable hit the lcd screen, which broke the screen to a point where it's unreadable. It worked well for me for the past year, one of the duties being what you stated, although mainly serving as a high pass filter and tuner lately, with some amp modeling at times. I found that I got away from using most of the effects pretty quickly. I did find some models and settings that introduced a lot of hiss.

Overall though, while it was useful, I had programmed a lot of patches and with no way to back them up its now just a piece of plastic for the landfill. That's sad. I don't think I'll be going this route again though. My vt bass been going strong for many years and many many gigs, I think I'll just stick with that.

Yes, I know I dropped the cable on it, but if that small impact makes it useless, that does say something.
Click to expand...

mrufino, if you have patch settings you value on that pedal, don't toss it out just yet. I have a patch backup program in the works that will help. Keep an eye on Zoom B3. MS-60B, B1on USB control which shows a full on usb controller. A separate backup program is part of that project.
 
#6
Hi! OP here.

FWIW, I did get a b1on, hoping to use it at rehearsals of a make-shift band that some people at my work organized.

I actually didn't get a chance to use it for that yet, but I did spend some time using it with headphones at home. Experience is mixed: OTOH many of the built-in patches are quite good and more usable than those that come with the ms-60b. OTOH For some reason I find it hard to control volume with this pedal. Going into the settings to change volume each time is a chore, and I often find myself with higher volume than what I would otherwise consider ideal. This is unpleasant after some playing time. Also, the general interface is a bit too cumbersome.

So I'm still sitting on the fence with this one, but my gut feeling is that it isn't going to get a lot of use, and that I should probably give up on multi-effects for this particular use and just go with a small board with some of my favorites.

Edit/add: Also the sound-quality and the quality of the effects is very good. Feels better than on the ms-60b, but that's possibly just an illusion. I didn't really A/B them.
 
#7
drdashdot said:
mrufino, if you have patch settings you value on that pedal, don't toss it out just yet. I have a patch backup program in the works that will help. Keep an eye on Zoom B3. MS-60B, B1on USB control which shows a full on usb controller. A separate backup program is part of that project.
Click to expand...

Cool, I will look. I don't think I'll be getting another one, but I'll back up just in case.

The new flyrig bass looks quite amazing, in time that may make it here.

Edit: I'm not exactly sure what your project is, but if my broken screen b1on can be an asset to your development (especially if your device has a acre) you're welcome to it.
 
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#9
mrufino1 said:
Cool, I will look. I don't think I'll be getting another one, but I'll back up just in case.

The new flyrig bass looks quite amazing, in time that may make it here.

Edit: I'm not exactly sure what your project is, but if my broken screen b1on can be an asset to your development (especially if your device has a acre) you're welcome to it.
Click to expand...


Thanks very much for the offer, but I already have access to a B1on. My project gives usb control of multiple Zoom pedals, giving extra assignable footswitch controls, expression pedal inputs to control any parameters, MIDI input translation, touchscreen control, master tempo setting and other stuff.
The biggest problem with a broken screen on a B1/G1 (plus my unit) is that tempo can't be controlled easily. (It can be monitored, but it doesn't look like it can be changed by usb. That, and there's no tap tempo.)
 
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