Zoom B2

I'm using this device in a way it was not designed to be used -- as a guitar modeler. That means issues with EQ'ing, especially since the B2 does not have quite the same interface as the G2.1u, which I own and love (see mpy review). You need to read the (excellent) manual to see all the ways you can shape the frequency response, notably with the built-in limiter, which knocks back peaks. That done, you'll get a very good sound, IF you like a powerful bass end... which I do, because I play finger-style and like the infamous two-guitar effect.

My style is Delta modern, slide and partial chords over heavy thumbpicked bass, in open D, G, A, E and dropped D. I bought this specifically to get the Bassman 100 model; I own a Bassman 100 (the vintage one), and to my delight, this box nails it. I've run it for the past week through a Kustom Tube 12A -- don't sneer, it's a dynamite small amp that I use as a stage preamp (line out) with great results, using Reverend USA and import guitars, excellent axes. They work very well with this device. The gain is thick, the bottom end is incredible. There are two octave divider settings on the unit in different places, and one of them makes the low strings on my guitars sound exactly like a bass -- this is a longtime bassist talking -- but still lets the top strings come through. The choruses and flanger actually sound better to me than on the G2.1u, less tubby and scratchy. The three onboard reverbs (room, hall, spring) are OK -- they get muddy and/or metallic quick -- but they're useable. I prefer the slapback delays, warm and punchy. The B2 also has a TubeScreamer setting, which the G2 does not, and it's very cool for blues. Really, I've been trying for years to get a very rich low end below my slide lines and partial chords (I even strung the bottom of my guitar with bass strings), and this box does it. The only issue is a tad of midrange peak, but I've been pretty successful at tweaking it out. I've also tried the onboard Hartke and Boss OD models; the former sounds Marshall-ish, the latter very dark. In my view the box is worth the bread for the Bassman model. I'm giving it a 9 only because, OK, it isn't really a Bassman. But for a pocket Bassman, WOW.

I'm assuming this one will hold up like the G2.1u, which is solid as a brick. The casing is metal, the stomp pedals feel solid. It also runs on 4 AA batteries for five-seven hours. I have done gigs where I walked onstage, put down the G2.1u, plugged and played, no hassle with finding an electric outlet. I bought this one to do the same. It's small enough so you could carry two easily; I may bring both the G2.1u and B2 to shows and switch between them.

No experience with customer support. I have a LOT of faith in Japanese products. Japanese consumers do NOT like to return stuff, and Japanese manufacturers try to sell stuff that won't get returned.

I've described my style above. I've been doing it over 40 years, live, road, studio, now do parties, sit in with pro bands, play an occasional concert in France where I live. I've owned Fender basses, guitars and amps, Gibson Les Paul, some garbage gear, and now have a range of reliable stuff to give me setups in different situations -- Pignose, Microcube, Tube 12A, Powerblock with Laney cab, Bassman 100. I also own a dozen guitars, most bought used (mint) or as closeouts, all sweet pieces. And I have four modellers -- Digitech RP200 and 100, and the Zooms. They're key to my sound, because the lightweight gear I prefer needs help to get good tone, and because they give me the same sound whatever I use to amplify them. In other words, I can practice and perform on the same gear.

My experience is that different modellers are better for different sounds. If you want a Fender tweed sound, go with Digitech; they really get it well. But for overall ease of use, flexibility in performance settings, and rich tone, I think the Zooms are superior. I may get the B2.1u just to have the USB interface for recording. In the meanwhile, the B2 makes me happy every time I plug it in. In fact, it extends the possibilities of my guitars; there are lines that just sound a lot better going through the device. Boss makes a Bassman modeller, but the Zoom gives you a first rate model plus the effects you'd want over most evenings, and it costs less. For $100, what I paid, I'd call that a 10.

Some of the factory presets are pretty good, but they still need some spicing up. Many of the presets are total crap!
Thankfully the editing process is easy, but it takes time.
I programmed 5 patches the other night and it took me close to 3 hours. The good thing is once you get the sound from your head to the pedal, it's awesome! This pedal has lots of rich tones and a palette of effects. It justs takes some time to get them the way you want.

This is the bass pedal. No noise due to the ZNR noise reduction.
Effects all sound great. The preamp simulation and modulation effects are terrific! I use it with a Crate BT-50 and a Peavey Combo 115, it sounds good with both. I also use it through a P.A. for practice and it sounds good as well. You could get any sound possible with this pedal, but you have to know how to use it. Make sure you read the manual. Some of the overdrives, distortions, and octave effects are nothing to brag about, but it has an awesome fuzz effect, go figure! All other effects are Cherry however!

I owned zoom products before and since this is made of metal over plastic, I'll kick it up a notch!

Never had to deal with them!

I play everything from rock, blues, disco, funk, and some fusion jazz. I had many digital effects from all the major companies and Zoom has the best sounds for the money!

I'm not keen on multi fuction buttons on units such as this but after going through the manual once you kinda get how to use it.

Sound quality is brilliant. Not sure of how well they emulate them all but it certainly gives you loads of tonal veriety. I didntuse thepresets, just strated playing and finding which amps and stuff I like. The distortions are ok but with some being mainly guitar pedal (tube screamer, fuzz face) they are lacking in low end. The synth stuff is brilliant. Dont believe what everyone else has written. It may be sloppy and hard to control but simulates old anaolgue synths well in that respect and was a real bonus on finding out just how well the synth works. The cab simulations are a bit pointless really, a bit of a waste of a button and time.

Havent had it long enought, but hasnt shown any signs of being a problem.

A bargin for the price and has loads of options to help you perfect your bass sounds. Even if you just use it as a tuner, eq and pre amp booster then its worth it but then you'd only be touching the tip of the iceberg.

It's easy after spending a bit of time with the manual. I should mention that the maunal isn't always translated well - Zoom is a Japanese company, and it's apparent that their manuals are not witten originally in English. Using the EQ can be tricky, but I've never used this style of EQ before.

First off, I'm a guitarist. I usually just play bass for home recording and demos. I've got an Ibanez Soundgear 5-string. I forget the exact model, but it's got active pups with treble and bass controls.

That said, this box gets the most usage direct to recorder. Before, I was using a Line 6 POD 2.0 (not the bass POD, the guitar one). I could get a GREAT crunchy bass tone through the POD's Bassman clone, but I couldn't get clean, punchy, bass amp tone. The models in this thing can definitely give you that. All of the amp models are usable, but as others have said, I can't comment on how well they emulate the real thing. The overdrives are not so great... they're either too messy or they don't have enough low end. My POD does a better job. The synths are no good at all. The effects are okay, but bass effects are not really my thing. I use the chorus a bit, and the auto wah sounds cool though I don't think I'll ever use it in a song.

This unit gets an 8 for great amp models, but I can't give it a 10 on account of the lame overdrive and synth sounds.

Looks to be built well, but I only use this on the desktop. No stomping for me.

They respond to emails pretty quickly.

This little box gives you some great sounds for not a whole lot of money. It can even work reasonably well direct to PA. If you're buying this for distortion, you'll probably be disappointed, but if you just want some multi-effects, this is a cheap way to get some good sounds.

The manual is very straight forward and easy to follow so getting to know the unit is a fairly quick process if you have got the time. Editing isn't too difficult, although it did take a little bit of work for me to dial in the right tones because I do not know a lot about parametric eq and there are so many different amp choices it is kinda hard to pick.

First of all this is a good little rig if you've do not have many features on your amp, me I have an Ibanez Soundwave 65 (sucky, i know). I like a wide variety of playing from slapping to hard rock distortion and i can usually find it an this thing. It does take awhile to figure out what sounds the BEST, because many of the patches can sound ok, but i wouldn't expect to find what you like right away. I also like the SWR patch, very versatile, and the tube screamer is a great boost/distortion. The chorus, phaser, and synth I thought were very weak.

I haven't had any problems and I don't expect too. It is a solid little box.

I like the distortions on this pedal and it can also produce a very CLEAR and pristine tone with great mids, unlike most i have seen. The compression and limiter are also very handy.

If nothing else, the beat box on this thing is really nice if you are playing alone. I use it every time I play to write sweet licks and what not.

I??d been an analong pedal whore for quite some time, I??ve owned Dunlop, BOSS, MXR, EHX... however I had problems with most of my pedals! So I got tired and sold them all (except for my compressor, which is a lot better than the one the B2 has), and about three weeks ago a friend mentioned this pedal, I read positive reviews and I got it, let me tell you it wasn??t easy for me to get good settings right away, cause I never had a multi fx unit before, but the manual is quite good, you will have to read it to get the max out of this pedal.

I play a Luthier made 5 string bass, with EMG J style active pickups, I go into an MXR Dynacomp, and then into this ZOOM B2. Right now Im playing in a three piece rock band (Chevelle meets Incubus kinda thing). I was surprised by the quality of the effects. This thing is practically noiseless! and the modulation and delay effects are excellent! The only downside is the synth/drive section, only a few are usable, in my opinion, the only good distortion I found was the fuzz face. But still, for this price, you can??t getter better effects, and let me tell ya, you can fool a lot of people, making their ears think you use analog pedals.

Hell yeah I can depend on it! This is a quality pedal! Not like the old Zoom pedals I??ve seen... the switches are very strong and resistent, so is the metal case. I was surprised by the quality of the construction... Zoom has made an excellent product. I will use it live, and I??m not gonna use a back-up, I really trust this pedal.

Never dealt with them

This pedal is a great match for any style! You can get that Palladino tone, you play jazz, you can play funk... and you can definitely play rock... for the Tool fans out there, you can now play practically any Tool song, and with great sounding effects. It also brings drum patterns, which is another cool feature, although I don??t use it much. I think every bass player out there should give this pedal a shot, hay man, you even get an awesome floor tuner in the package.

Read the manual!

It's just a few pages and it explains everything clearly. Once you get how to turn modules on/off and what the different symbols mean (only 2-digit display... every effect is represented by two letters) it's damn easy to use.
Editing and storing is a breeze.

But... read the manual! Really!

It is not the quietest unit out there, but it's reasonable, and the ZNR noise reduction works.

The sounds are pretty decent. I don't really rate the overdrives, I haven't found a single one I liked, but then I don't like most overdriven bass. The amp simulation part gives me enough tonal variation and I get enough warmth (without overdriving) from there. I can't tell how close to the models they simulate they are, but I think that's the wrong approach anyway. I look at modelling as a source for tonal variation. The models they represent should give an indication of the type of sound, but not necessarily reproduce every nuance. In that respect I am satisfied.
I got it mostly for FX. I am a guitarist turned bass player and enjoying it a lot, and playing without FX (at home I use a V-Amp, and for rehearsals I am using an Ampeg that was already there). I knew I wanted some chorus and/or flanger and wanted to investigate other possibilities without spending much money for now, and the Zoom seemed to fit the bill, as it gives me:

A bright floor tuner
Decent EQ capabilities
Passable compressor
Chorus/Flanger

and much more, all in one small package at low price.

As a tuner alone is worth keeping!
The EQ seems good enough to me. I use it mostly as a 6-band graphic, but you also get the parametric if required. A dedicated pedal like a Boss (or Behringer) has the advantage that all teh frequencies are visible and accesible immediately and easily... so this is a compromise, but there's not usually much reason to tweak it once you get the setting you require.
The compressor works, it's nice enough, but I'll probably end up getting a multiband compresor at some point.
Chorus, Phaser and Flanger... they are a little "grey". they work. they're not rubbish, they're not amazing... I'll probably end up getting a dedicated one, once I figure out which effect(s) I *really* want for bass and find out the one that gives me the sound I am looking for. Meanwhile the Zoom does its job well.

This unit has other FX, like delays (I like the echo, vry Pink Floydish), reverb and pitch shifting (including intelligent harmonizer) but I don't need those much for bass. The pitchshifting is bad, there's a noticeable delay in teh effected note, but it can have its uses if using it in a low mix with the uneffected sound.

The wah/envelope section is fun, but not the best... There are so many dedicated pedals out there, I have no idea which one I'll end up with, as it's the sort of effect I really want in a bass (occasionally) for some funk forays... It's good to have this in the Zoom.

The synth I don't like. Not very inspiring.

The build seems reasonable, but get a backup, always have a backup.

I play pop/rock/funk... and I am currently in a black metal band. Eclectic is the operational word. I play a J-type bass.
This Zoom is a good unit, it covers many bases in a copact inexpensive form, but it doesn't really excel at anything. The way I look at it is: I need a floor tuner, for a little extra I get a whole array of FX and it's programmable, so I can use this as a backup in the future. So top marks for that. Also, the amp simulations, they're useful for recording as they provide a nice palette of sounds... all direct to computer or mixing desk. They also make it easy to design patches with a bright sound, a dark sound... so that you can go from one type to another without even touching the controls in your guitar, let alone your amp. That freedom is great.
I have been playing guitar for over 15 years, and owned countless FX pedals... and I think this Zoom is a great introduction for bass FX, or one to keep for somebody who's not too bothered about FX but wants to be able to use them occasionally.
Great value for money.

About as easy if not easier than most mult-effects pedals. Its always hard to cram so many features into a small unit and still make it usable. Zoom did a pretty good job on this pedal.

As far as the comments about it being hard to put the unit in bypass/tune mode by pressing both pedals at the same time... How small are your feet??!! I wear a size 9 and have no problem doing this while playing.

Great sounds, very quiet. The amp sims sound great. I have no way to know how accurate they are, but they sure produce a variety of very usable tones. Effects are top notch. The noise reduction does its job without creating any artifacts or removing any overtones.

Seems solid. I haven't had it for long. Its certainly sturdier than its plastic counterparts (including previous zoom models)

I love it. I want to say it is a great pedal for the money, but the truth is I'd have paid more for this kind of quality.

I was surprised by the drum machine. I actually almost didn't buy it because of this feature. It seems so cheesy and gimmicky, but once I used it, I love it. It sounds good and it is a lot of fun to put on a beat and practice to it. Excellent for working on timing.

This red little beast sounds good from the second you turn it on. Everything is very well thought out. Some things need to be checked in the manual. For instance: who knows that Sb stands for a Marshall superbass amplifier? The manual tells you all you need to know and you learn fast because the B2's so easy to use. I won't give it a 10 because the two-digit display limits it. You have to read the manual at some point.. In a live situation you have two footswitches that takes you through the presets. (I use an external pedal to toggle the tuner/mute-function.) This requiers some planning since you don,t want to stand there toggling through five presets in the middle of your cool solo. It's a matter of cost and size i guess.

My setup is: P-Bass - Wireless system - B2 (with external pedal) - DI-box(direct to mixer) - Peavey TNT 150
The 96hz 32 bit blablabla seems to make a difference. The sounds you get just gives you the feeling that this is a very high-quality item. (The price-tag tells you different.) There is absolutely no niose what so ever. If there where the built-in noisegate would remove it. My main sound is based on either the Marshall SuperBass simulation or the Hartke HA 3500. If you need more effects than you have here you need to see a doctor. It can do anything. I mean.. who uses TWO delays?? Highquality wah, highquality chorus and so on... Everything has the same highquality sound to it. The only thing that troubles my mind is that the distortion simulations lack volume. It makes no sense. It should be the other way around.

One of the things that lead me to buy the B2 was the fact that it's made of metal. Two highquality metal footswitches. I'm taking this baby out on the road. No need for a backup. At this price you won't find a more solid effectunit. I am a touring bassist so I need things that are reliable.

No problemo

I play in a pop/rock group. The bass is a dominant instrument and the B2 lets me have both a really good standard sound AND every wacko-effected sound I could ever want. I am very satisfied with it.
The best thing about it is the quality of the sounds it makes. I compared it to the Boss GT-6B. That would cost me about four times as much and not give me anything that the B2 can't do. GT-8 has 44hz and 24 bit, B2 has 96hz and 32 bit and it's not just numbers. It really seems to make a difference. There's nothing digital about the sound that the B2 makes.
Add to this the low price. Even the plastic Behringer V-amp costs more.

very easy to use. editing patches is a breeze.the manual is good, no jinglish!

basically i am using this for my drum machine ..the effects sound great for my type of music,there are a couple fx that give me pause but they might become usefull with the right amount of tweakage ..i mean for a pedal at this price point it rivals my rack fx,this unit was a good buy on my part.

this little devil is built solid..looks and feels the buisiness.

who needs em!

overall if lost i would buy another..actually i am going to buy another one for my other gear....i own zoom 505II and a zoom 506 ..THIS ONE IS WAY BETTER..Just my opinion!