ZOOM B3 or Tech 21 Bass Fly Rig?

MAcsSNAcs

MAcsSNAcs

Jul 26, 2016
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#1
I've been a ZOOM pedal user for a long time, and do trust them, and I've been looking hard at the B3 for a while now, then out comes the Bass Fly Rig!

The only 2 things (I'm not really a big user of effects) that the B3 has that the Fly Rig doesn't (for my purposes) is the looper and possibly a better Octaver.

I don't want/need an expression pedal, and I'm also looking for something small, so that's why I'm staying away from the larger units with pedals and stuff. Also currently have the ZOOM MS60-B, but really don't like the functionality of just the one button. would like to be able to add and remove layers one at a time, so a multi stomp is not the way I want to go. Same reasoning would go for the ZOOM B_Xon pedals.

I love the size of the Fly Rig, and think Tech 21 stuff might be of higher quality overall than ZOOM, but really can't decide.

****Also, if you have another suggestion other than the 2 mentioned at the top, please let me know. Maybe there's another option altogether ***

Feelin like I need the advice of the many awesome people here at TalkBass! :)

Opinion away! Thanks for any help with this. I'm literally losing sleep on this one. All help is much appreciated, no matter which side of the fence you are on..
 
#2
I love the format of the Zoom B3, the sound of certain effects e.g. Octaver. However, the biggest and only problem i have with the Zoom is the clarity of the bypassed signal.

If you are like me, i like the sound of my bass. The BFR is very very clean bypassed, and it is even clean with the compressor on.
On the other hand, the zoom seems to take away a lot of tone bypassed. Im not referring to the bypass in the tuner mode - thats fine - but the patch mode with all effects bypassed. While you can get back the highs and the lows when an amp settings and stuff, modelling does homogenise the nuances in your playing.

All in all, i would say that if your gig requires about 80% effected tone, den go for the zoom. My gigs are 70% clean (at most compressed) tone, and hence i went for the BFR. That being said, you will not go wrong with either
 
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#3
Chain your MS60b with a B3, have all the MS patches have a line switcher so they turn all of their patch on and off at once (except any "ALWAYS ON" sounds you might want, such as noise gate or EQ) and then have your B3 have whatever combo of three effects you want. I tend to use the MS60b to set the base tone, with the amp, distortion etc and have it all behind a line switch effect, and then use the B3 for modulation and ambience.
 
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#4
I don't tend to us a lot of effects, just some occasional chorus, and the odd maybe fuzz, octaver, but very occasionally. I like the sound I get clean with no pedals already, so the BFR sounds like the one. I was kind of thinking that way already. Thanks for the info :)
 
#5
Geetard said:
Chain your MS60b with a B3, have all the MS patches have a line switcher so they turn all of their patch on and off at once (except any "ALWAYS ON" sounds you might want, such as noise gate or EQ) and then have your B3 have whatever combo of three effects you want. I tend to use the MS60b to set the base tone, with the amp, distortion etc and have it all behind a line switch effect, and then use the B3 for modulation and ambience.
Click to expand...

I'd really like to just get rid of the MS60b and replace it with something better, easier. So I likely won't go that route. But thanks for the idea :)
 
#6
MAcsSNAcs said:
I don't tend to us a lot of effects, just some occasional chorus, and the odd maybe fuzz, octaver, but very occasionally. I like the sound I get clean with no pedals already, so the BFR sounds like the one. I was kind of thinking that way already. Thanks for the info :)
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I believe you're over-thinking this. Keep the MS-60b for Chorus & Compression, get a used Hardwire CM-2 overdrive/fuzz pedal ($49 used at GC - they have several up for sale right now), Octave pedal of your choice (you can get EBS or MXR ones used for $99), and a Boss LS-2 ($99) to run the fuzz separately from your clean signal. You'll come in $50 cheaper and have more versatility from the setup. ;)

BTW - I use a B3 and love it.
 
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#8
jwilson67 said:
As far as Tone Suck from the B3 is concerned I wouldn't know because I never turn it off. For me personally, the whole point of a multi effects unit like that is to have everything pre-programmed in and it never goes off.
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I have a B3, CDR and 60b all chained together and I don't notice any tone loss!

... I know what tone loss/tone suck is, I used to have an AXL Stereo Chorus in my chain, man did that kill the tone! The Zooms definitely don't have any negative effect on mine that I can notice!
 
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#9
jwilson67 said:
I believe you're over-thinking this. Keep the MS-60b for Chorus & Compression, get a used Hardwire CM-2 overdrive/fuzz pedal ($49 used at GC - they have several up for sale right now), Octave pedal of your choice (you can get EBS or MXR ones used for $99), and a Boss LS-2 ($99) to run the fuzz separately from your clean signal. You'll come in $50 cheaper and have more versatility from the setup. ;)

BTW - I use a B3 and love it.
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I'm trying to downsize, not increase the number of different pedals. Hence the above two choices. Also, I'm in Canada, so prices may vary ;) Thanks for your advice though. Still thinking on it. I suppose you're right about never turning off the B3, and therefore avoiding the difference in tonal qualities... good point, as the "tone suck" can be cancelled out by amp or even pedal settings. thanks :)
 
#10
I'm positively biased towards tech21: I have their bass boost chorus and their VTDI pedals on my board, and both are fantastic in terms of sound and build quality. So me personally, I'd go with the fly rig if I was looking to downsize. I've had multi-effects before and find that a lot of their features / effects are not really usable in real-life situations for what I do. In terms of effects I'm down to octaver, envelope filter, overdrive and chorus on my board and that's plenty for my situation.
 
#11
Geetard said:
I have a B3, CDR and 60b all chained together and I don't notice any tone loss!

... I know what tone loss/tone suck is, I used to have an AXL Stereo Chorus in my chain, man did that kill the tone! The Zooms definitely don't have any negative effect on mine that I can notice!
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I think a lot of people on here mistake tone coloration for tone suck. I mean, the whole reason I got the B3 was so that it would color my sound. I have everything programmed in with titles - even down to different Banks for each different set with my bands. Once the work has been put in to programming it the actual performance couldn't be easier.

That being said @MAcsSNAcs if you want your original tone with just some occassional effects then maybe the Tech 21 would be right for you. It certainly does look pretty cool if not a bit overpriced.
 
#12
The main thing that is making me rethink the B3 is the fact that there are millions of things on there that I'll never use (same as with my MS60B). The BFR looks simple and straight forward. A few effects that I'm likely to use and all in one place.

Thanks everyone for your kind advice and thoughts. No decision yet, but likely this weekend ;)
 
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#15
MAcsSNAcs said:
The main thing that is making me rethink the B3 is the fact that there are millions of things on there that I'll never use (same as with my MS60B). The BFR looks simple and straight forward. A few effects that I'm likely to use and all in one place.

Thanks everyone for your kind advice and thoughts. No decision yet, but likely this weekend ;)
Click to expand...

I'll never understand why this is a bad thing. Now, needing a million things that aren't there.. that's a bad thing.

MAcsSNAcs said:
Ordered the BFR last night :) Thanks again for all your assistance
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Congrats! Although I have owned a B3 since they first came out, and have seriously gotten my money's worth out of it, nowadays I find the BFR very tempting. Hope you dig yours!
 
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