B1Xon

I have to preface this glowing review for the Zoom B1on with an admission - I'm not a "real" bass player. I have about 20 years of guitar experience and really enjoy playing, researching, and reviewing every guitar-related gadget imaginable, but my bass experience is limited to a single Squier P-Bass and as much knowledge/ability as I might need to lay down a bass track for something I'm recording at home. So I can't represent that I understand the nuances between this bass effects unit and a $2,000 bass rig. Fortunately, at $49.99, Zoom has made a quality product here that allows me to cycle through thousands of dollars of gear (as easily as changing to the next preset) and sound great through a set of headphones. At present, I don't have a bass combo amp at my house, but if you do, I've heard the B1on sounds great as a tone shaper/effects unit into the front end of your amp. Compared to the excellent G1on (for guitar), I found the factory presets on the B1on to be infinitely more practical and useful. A lot of bass tones can sound "same-ish" to the untrained ear, but the B1on assembles a great suite of varied amp models, plus effects that range from simple compression and overdrive to wild synth and octave effects. If you want straightforward rock bass tones, the B1on has dozens of them. If you want crazy, fuzzed-out, sustaining notes that sound more like an analog synthesizer playing a distorted square wave, the B1on can do that too. Best of all, there's a pretty effective noise gate/suppressor included, so even the most effects-laden tones remain relatively quiet and functional. BUILD QUALITY/INTERFACE - Zoom is really it's own worst enemy when it comes to the aesthetics of their devices. I remember the first time I saw the G1on, I scrolled right past it and didn't even pay attention to the features. I was certain that this $50 piece of plastic out of the mid-90's had to be a piece of garbage. It wasn't until I did some more research and (ultimately) tried one for myself that I realized how much technology was crammed under the hood. And, actually, once you acclimate yourself to the interface, I find both the G1on and B1on to be fairly durable and easy to program. There's a great 30-second looper that time-syncs with the programmed drum patterns, and it's better-implemented than units I've tried from DigiTech and other companies costing 3 times as much. The colored knob turns in notched increments, so it's fairly predictable if you have to skip over three pedals to the right, for example, to adjust a gain or EQ setting. Best of all, all of your changes auto-save, so if you find that preset is too loud and fix it, you won't have to do that a second time. RECORDING/DI FUNCTIONALITY - I want clarify one thing about the output and recording functionality of the B1on, since I still had some questions after reading the other reviews. The B1on, unlike the more-expensive B3, does not operate as a USB audio interface. The USB jack is strictly for firmware updates, and cannot send/receive audio. There is only one "output" jack on the device, which is a 1/4" instrument cable. This can be fed to the front end of a combo amp, or to headphones with a 1/4" adapter. HOWEVER, the output is not "line level" in the sense that it is meant to go directly into a mixer or recording device. In other words, you should think of the B1on as an effects pedal that does modeling and tone shaping, but it is not a "preamp", and will require additional amplification before you send it to a power amp or mixer. That being said, there are workarounds that allow you to record with the B1on quite easily. If you have an interface that is already designed to accept instrument level signal (such as the Apogee JAM for iOS devices), then you can run the B1on in front of that like a simple effects pedal and end up with a raw audio signal that includes all of the amp and cabinet models in that signal. Alternatively, I believe you could run the B1on into a preamp/DI box like the $30 Behringer BDI21, and then run that pedal into a mixer or interface, and that should generally work too. These options won't be as "clean" or "authentic" as using a true DI or USB Audio solution, but it's completely functional for my needs. CONCLUSION - I think the Zoom B1on is a outstanding unit that could be useful to a broad range of musicians. If you're an experienced bass player with some decent gear, it seem pretty likely that you could find $50 of value out of the dozens of effects and different sounds offered by the B1on. Even if you aren't much of a bass player at all, or are just starting out on bass, this is a $50 device that allows you to experience a huge variety of studio-quality tones, practice with headphones, and even play along with drums and a looper without having to commit to buying large bass amp for your home. It even can be used as a bass amp modeler for recording, using a few of the tips/tricks I discussed above. Like it's guitar FX sibling, the B1on is an impossible value, producing beautiful sounds from a less-than-beautiful plastic enclosure.

I've never used effects pedals at all in my many years of playing...thought I would give this one a shot since the price to features ratio was stupid good. The pedal is very easy to figure out. I was impressed with the variety of patches preloaded. I picked a clean tone using the SWR amp model, then added some compression, and EQ. I then saved this sound to every other slot in bank A. I then added some neato effects in the remaining slots in bank A - I'm now only a click up or down away from a clean tone that I'm happy with. The preselect option is cool, but I fumble with stepping through several clicks, then hitting both pedals to select it...this method works well for me because I typically don't use the effects much, but it's cool to have a method I like when I do use them. I repeated the same thing on bank B, but with a different baseline tone, and trippy effects on every other slot. I took all of the amp models featured and made solid tone settings for each slot in bank C - I can dial up classic amp sounds that sound very distinctly like what they are modeled after. Nice work, Zoom. I've found the best tone for me happens when I go from the Zoom to my EQ pedal and into the effects return of my combo amp - bypassing my amps internals/EQ which altered the sound too much even with amps EQ flat. Additionally, check that your overall levels for each effect that you're using - found in "Patch Settings" are similar, or you could get some unwanted brown note when you hit that Big Willie patch setting and the level is jacked way up there. Great product, lots of fun...the drum set and loop stuff is great for generating ideas and staying sharp on your timing. I trust it for live sound and would recommend to those like me who want some variety in their tone but without a substantial investmest and easy learning curve.

I must say I am impressed! Can't believe they packed all these effects inside this little box. Once you get the hang of the controls, you'll be on your way to many hours of fun experimentation. Some folks are knocking it because it's made out of plastic. Well, that's true but I think it is sturdy enough to handle a lot of wear. I mean seriously. If you know you are going to be stomping the crap out it when playing a gig, then you might want to get something that's made out of metal (duh). But if you're the kind of person who actually cares about taking care of their equipment, then this little gem will do the trick. The effects sound really good and the rhythm section has a lot to choose from. Oh, and the looper effect is fantastic! It didn't take me long to figure out how to lay down some crazy sounding jams. You'll be creating all kinds of neat songs once you start using the looper. What would I recommend? They really need to include the AC adapter with this pedal. You get a lot of life out of the batteries but if you're going to be gigging for a long time with your fellow jammers, it would be nice to have the adapter for back up reasons. You can purchase one separately if you wish. I'm sure the Zoom B1xon with the built in expression pedal would expand your effects experience a little more. However, for those of us who are getting started with adding effects to our playing, the B1on takes care of us nicely. Is it worth your hard earned cash? You bet! Will you be happy with it? I believe you will. I know I am!

For the price this is fantastic. Plastic so not something you are likely to take out on the road but for home use and the beginner bass player this works great.

Muy bien producto con muchos efectos, solo aún no puedo realizar cambios de forma más rápida, pero excelente producto

Not bad for the price. Actually use some good heavy wattage amp with this device. A mere 40 or 80 watt amp won't help.. use a 120 watt amp and you get the full potential of the processor. I have been using this since 4 months and it sounds decent for the price. The only con is you have to buy the specified adapter for 2000 bucks extra. Coz. Any other adapter will create hum.

Its just reach to me in 3 days & packing is safe. The processor is just osum! Tunning afficency for 5 to 6 string bass is accurate. Many effect, stomp box effect, many pedals are working well and just feel free to play any thing. And drum and rhytham pattern gives me the great exercise time to play with it. Lopper gives me the the great beauty of playing. Overall happy with it !!!

Fantastic tuner on this thing , very accurate. It's easy to use and affordable. If you are learning Bass and want to try some new sounds this is the product for you. Shipped quickly, and very affordable.