I've been shopping around for some bass pedals and I took advantage of the sale at City music. I was trying to decide between single pedals/ or a bass driver(preamp) or a multi efx. Basically I was looking for some effects to experiment with.
Here are the specs for the Zoom B2.1u
http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/b21u/
Construction : 8/10
pros :Sturdy construction and looks hardy
Cons: Small display, only 2 stomp buttons
First glance at the pedal and it looks ok. The materials used to build the pedal are quite sturdy. The pedal is heavy enough for me not to worry that it'll slide all over the floor when i step on it.
One major problem that i have with the unit is the small display. Might not seem like a big problem, but its annoying.
There are also only 2 stomp buttons, which makes it difficult to switch between patches and to bypass the pedal you need to step on both at the same time which is a little tricky..
Setting up : 6/10
Pros: Rather helpful manual
Cons: Difficult to set up initially
When you first try the pedal, its easy enough to try all the factory presets. there are 80 of them and some are usable while others are useless. The tric k comes when you want to edit and store the patches. If you are not one to read instruction manuals, you WILL be confused.
I was impressed with all the wide range of sounds available, but I found myself constantly referring to the manual. As due to the small 2 digit display, they have wierd names for the modules. dS=MXR bass DI+ (who knew?) There are many parameters that one can edit. for instance:
if you pick the DRIVE/SYNTH module and use the SWR, you have a choice of 3 cabs, to adjust the tone and distortion intensity. The unit is by no means intuitive, meaning you can't just pick one up and instantly know what to do, (unlike the ME-50B) nevertheless after you get the hang of it its quite alright.
There is also a 6 band EQ or alternative 2 band EQ. this part is a little tricky as you have to remember what settings you put each level at, unlike the bass podXT where you can see all the current settings. The level for each frequency is shown one at a time as you scroll through the settings and adjust. I would advise you to have pen and paper ready.
The Zoom B2.1u is also a practice friendly unit as you can plug in your headphones direct to the output and practice along. It also has a nifty drum machine with 40 different beats and tap tempo.
As i didn't have the adaptor (out of stock) and no batteries, you'll be happy to know that the unit can also be USB powered (USB cable not included) . It also comes with Cubase.LE software for recording. I've fiddled with the program and its rather easy to start recording your own tracks on your computer.
Sound : 8/10
Pros : Some modules are not too far off from the original
Cons : Some of the modulations/ pedal pitch,flangerdefret, phaser sounded horrible to me.
Finally, most importantly, the sound. Basically, its always good to remind yourself that the Zoom B2.1u is like a swiss army knife. Some of the effects are good enough, others are laughable, like having a pair of tweezers and toothpicks in the jungle. I've found a website where one kind soul has posted sound clips of the Zoom B2.1u in action
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=584265
It takes a while to find what you like and as I said there are some usable factory presets. If you find one thats not too bad, just tweak it a little and your set to go. What I didn't like about the Zoom B2.1u is that you could not match any of the amp modulations with the pedals, if they are under the same module. Since SWR and ODB-3 are under the DRIVE/SYNTH module, You could only use either the SWR or the ODB-3 but not both together.
With the 6 band EQ and respectable amp modules, the B2.1u can also be used as a DI box as it also comes with a XLR out.
Conclusion
I feel that the Zoom B2.1u is the best Bass multi efx pedal that you can have on a budget. It edges out the Bass podxt for me both because of the price and because of its "gig readiness" where you don't need any additional footswitches. With the current year end sales, the price is worth every penny. You get a built in tuner, drum machine, DI box, with effects, wah, distortion, delay, chorus + extras
I decided to get the B2.1u instead of the B2 because of the B2's lack of an expression pedal. The extra XLR out and USB port and recording software are well worth the extra money IMHO.
Sorry for the long review. its my first review and I just wanted to share the good news for all bassists. Please feel free to pm me if you have any further questions
