Zoom B2.1u or Bass Pod XT?

[antonius]

I would appreciate some advice. I'm looking to buy either a Zoom B2.1u or a Line 6 Bass Pod XT, mainly for recording direct to PC and for practice at home at low volume levels, although I may ultimately use it in front of an amp or to the PA in a live situation too. It would be nice to have a tuner, compression, a touch of overdrive, some amp simulation and some effects in one device as I'm on a tight budget.

I like the depth and functionality of the Bass Pod XT but I keep reading comments about it sounding sterile and losing the character of your bass and making all basses sound similar. I don't much like the sound of the samples on the Line 6 website either. The effects are impressive but the sound lacks a certain something for me, with very little warmth in the lower frequencies, although of course that could be partly down to the bass being used. Now I realise of course that digital processing and amp modelling will never sound as warm and vibrant as the real thing but I wonder if Bass Pod is better of worse in this regard than the Zoom B2.1u. I realise the Zoom has slightly less funtionality but is the basic sound any better of worse than the Pod? Will it totally neuter the sound of my Rickenbacker? Basically I want my 4001 to still sound like a 4001 and not lose too much of what makes it so special. I'm using a very old Korg A3 at home at the moment and although the technology is old and some of the effects are fairly crude, there is still some warmth there.

Has anyone used both the Pod XT and the B2.1u and can compare? Or has any comments on either? Thanks.

[cheyenne]

I'd like to know some input about the B2 as well.

We're talking about this right???

I had a ZOOM 506 multi-effect pedal. It was pretty cool, all the presets were garbage and unusable in my opinion, but it was easy to create your own patches.

[atomic_punk]

All the Zoom stuff I have tried (although I have not tried this new one) were trash and I delegated them to rehearsal use only, and only in a pinch.
The Bass Pod stuff I have used was pretty decent but still not 100% what I was looking for.

[antonius]

I'd like to know some input about the B2 as well.
We're talking about this right???

Actually I was talking about the B2.1u, which has the same sounds as the B2 but also has an expression pedal and some extra I/O options, including USB and XLR: http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/b21u/index.php
I've since found plenty of reviews and discussions at Harmony Central, TalkBass.com, Rickenbacker.com, Bassplayer.com, as well as some stuff on YouTube. It seems pretty good for the price, certainly better than previous Zoom offerings, allowing for the fact that digital modelling will never be as good as the real thing.

[whojamfan]

I own a Bass POD XT, and have done some studio recording(my own stuff)through it, as well as practiced with it. To me, it works for what I need it for, and even my guitars sound decent through it.

I would like to point out that I am mainly a guitar player, so my actual real world experience is limited. Compared to the pros here that have tried and used many different rigs, I don't have much to really compare the subtle nuances to.

I certainly don't regret buying it.

[whojamfan]

I forgot to mention that "Darthbass" over on the RIC forum has the Zoom and raves about it in a few posts that I have read by him. You might want to try a search, or send him a PM to find out more. Unlike me, he is an actual bassplayer that can give you a more detailed explanation of its features.

[antonius]

Thanks Mike. Yes I did find the Darthbass posts over at the RIC forum. In the end I bought the Zoom B2.1u and so far I am happy with it, although I've only used it for practise at home so far. I've started to craft a variety of useful sounds and my Rickenbacker does still retain it's character. Some of the preset patches were quite nice too. A good tool for the price.