Zoomers' Club

[radiocaster]

I only have this one right now, but more coming up.

The delays and weird effects are great. The expression pedal works really well, you can't set it to feedback for the delays, but if you set the feedback high, controlling the mix does the same thing. Works better than on a Line 6 DL4.

The distortions are not that great, the Wild Fuzz is ok, but I decided I like my pedals better. Didn't work on a daisy chain the last time I tried, many years ago.

I was surprised I remembered how to edit the effects without consulting the manual. It's really simple actually.

I wish it had more spaces for user patches. Only 50 and I don't want to erase any. Can't save them to anything external.

 

[stormsedge]

I have a G1X Four...haven't used it for several months, but it is fun on headphones.

 

[mexicanyella]

I have a B2. I use it as a bass guitar preamp, driving a rack power amp and cab, with a basic sound tweaked from its Marshall Super Bass amp Model.

I also use it for some DI recording of guitar and lap steel. There’s a Boss bass overdrive emulation that can be tweaked into sort of a JCM800 crunch sound, an Acoustic bass amp that can be tweaked into a Black Keys kind of fuzzy distortion, and a few of the brighter, cleaner bass amp models (Hartke, SWR) can sound pretty cool for clean guitar or lap steel with some gain/compression/EQ tweaking. It’s all over two of the three songs I just submitted in Twanger Central in the past couple weeks.

I would buy another one, even now. It’s a versatile, effective device in a tough housing.

 

[Spox]

I have the 505, the original, bought it when it was released back in the 90s after reading a review. It's good as a headphone amp although if I remember correctly it ate batteries so better with an AC adaptor.

 

[mexicanyella]

I have the 505, the original, bought it when it was released back in the 90s after reading a review. It's good as a headphone amp although if I remember correctly it ate batteries so better with an AC adaptor.

A former bandmate had the bass version from that generation—506? 507?—and it had some useful sounds in it too.

 

[radiocaster]

I have the 505, the original, bought it when it was released back in the 90s after reading a review. It's good as a headphone amp although if I remember correctly it ate batteries so better with an AC adaptor.

I was looking at the manual for that one at one time. Seemed kind of interesting, but the eq setting are just numbers and not into specific bands. Would be ok if your amp has a 3 band eq, otherwise could be not so good.

 

[stormsedge]

Navy trivia break (and probably other radar operators as well)..."zoomers" are the wonky/junk radar tracks that get deleted to the bit bucket by an operator. Carry on.

 

[radiocaster]

I got the mothership. It's not an 8080 though. Actually it's smaller than I thought.

It has lots of advanced features like you can run a Big Muff into another Big Muff, and put the effects in whatever order you want. So far I'm liking the distorted sounds better than on my other unit, but I have to combine the sounds to get a sound I like.

The phaser and tremolo are not that great (although I'd use them anyway), and so far I think I prefer the delays on my other Zoom better, but I haven't messed around enough.

I actually wanted this one because I wanted to use my expression pedal, and this one has more options for that.

 

[northernguitar]

I got the mothership. It's not an 8080 though. Actually it's smaller than I thought.
View attachment 982585
It has lots of advanced features like you can run a Big Muff into another Big Muff, and put the effects in whatever order you want. So far I'm liking the distorted sounds better than on my other unit, but I have to combine the sounds to get a sound I like.

The phaser and tremolo are not that great (although I'd use them anyway), and so far I think I prefer the delays on my other Zoom better, but I haven't messed around enough.

I actually wanted this one because I wanted to use my expression pedal, and this one has more options for that.

I have one. I’ve never used it alone with the amp sims. I’ve just used mine as a multi fx in the loops of my tube amps. Sounds great live!

 

[radiocaster]

I have one. I’ve never used it alone with the amp sims. I’ve just used mine as a multi fx in the loops of my tube amps. Sounds great live!

I don't think they sound that great by themselves, you have to combine them. I've even got a good patch two dirt pedals and no amp sim, plus some of those cab sims sound pretty bad with some of those amp models. Sometimes the amp models can sound good with no cab sim.

That Orange amp model was particularly disappointing, and its cab model even more. Maybe I can still get a good sound with some combinations I haven't tried.

 

[Leonardocoate]

I am a Zoom Fan for sure....The R8 recorder, MS-50G and MS-60B....The R8 recorder is a perfect "sketchbook" like device. It has been a game changer for me

 

[mexicanyella]

TMI department:

The cab sims in the B2 are just four settings: off, 1-2-3. No mention is made of what they might have been modeling in the manual. In a way I like that better. It forces me to audition them, with my ears, as EQ presets and not get bogged down in thinking about whether it might or might not be logical to try a simulated ______ cab in a given application.

(I am fully capable of doing that, as well as listening with my eyes!)

I have yet to use the cab sims with my bass, whether DI or driving a power amp and cab. My bass tone is dry, unadorned and clean enough that I’m not sure there’s much point in worrying about cab sims; in any case I like how it sounds better with the sims off.

With some of the dirtier guitar sounds I have tweaked up in it, I use cab sim 2 or 3...the two darker ones. To my ear it sounds reminiscent of a darker, warmer 4 x 12, and works well with bright crunchy sounds for what I do.

 

[radiocaster]

I almost forgot about these. They're not pedals, but you can connect pedals that do various things. I haven't though.