Zoom B6 Bass Multi-effects Processor Reviews

I purchased this pedal at the end of 2022 and I've been using it ever since. It has held up very well with no signs of wear, and I use it in a cover band I'm in. I have a show at least every other weekend and it's never failed me. The PC program can really open it up to more custom patches and banks. The mobile app isn't too bad. It's clunky but it works. If you ever need to walk away and adjust go ahead and get the Bluetooth adapter. It has saved me a couple headaches by now.

I have the B1 which I was impressed with, then I saw the B6 and thought I would give it a try.
It takes a minute to set up. But once you get set it's really a nice addition to my overall tone.
Plus hundreds of effects you would probably never use but are fun to play with. And you never know. We're doing a song where the bass player uses a tremolo. Another song the guy is using a symph and of course distortion. This unit covers all those and sounds good doing it.
Plus the drum tracks are killer.

I continue to experiment with this unit by testing the included built in effects. So far, I am very impressed with it. I also like that you can create your own sound and store it in memory. There's more features that I still have not touched but overall I think it's worth the money.

I play electric and acoustic bass and I was looking for preamp that could accommodate both instruments for gigs. This is perfect for that scenario. I can dial up all kinds of tones and effects for the electric and a completely different set of tones for the acoustic. It's pretty to program on the board itself but you also connect it to a computer for a larger view of the settings. The looper is crazy and you can get outrageous times with SD cards.
I really like it a lot.

Bass rig sounds from Geddy Lee to Michael Anthony. The looper can be used to record external keyboard sounds and samples.I will never lug an amp again.

I decided to check this out to replace a preamp/DI and and several effects pedals. I wanted to be able to switch individual effects on and off with a foot switch, have good sounding amp models and have a reasonably straightforward interface. This unit does all of those things. The amp and cabinet models give me a great variety to work with, there's a nice variety of effects with a nice big sensitive and accurate tuner. Plus, with two inputs, I can take this when I'm doubling on upright! Used it as a DI a for a gig last week and the FOH guys said it sounded great. Brought it home and used it as an interface to record. And it's all in one (rather large) unit. A great piece of gear for my purposes.

Incredible value. Does everything well enough and some things amazingly. Exceptional value and tailored specifically to bass. Highly recommend.

I've been a loyal Sweetwater customer for over 15 years, primarily because of the customer service. My Sweetwater rep (Kyle Zillioux) answered my questions about the Zoom B6 and made sure I was happy with the gear several days after my purchase. I was so impressed with the processor that I purchased a second B6 pedal for my company.

Thank you Kyle!

Great job Sweetwater!

After several years of using the old Zoom B3 (which is one of the best purchases I've ever made), I decided an upgrade was in order when I saw this new Zoom B6. All of the added features like the A/B switch, the DI options, touchscreen, connectivity with my iPad w/ the added BT module (totally worth it), etc. are what really attracted me to this. I play multiple instruments, so being able to plug in my electric & acoustic basses, or cello, or acoustic guitar was really attractive & the B6 handles it all seemlessly.

As far as sound goes, this thing just about everything you could want as a bass player & handles my other instruments equally well. Just like it's older brother, the amp/cab/pedal sims are faithful & true to what they are modeled after and offer you just about endless options. I haven't even really dug that far in with using the looper or the drum tracks, but that's all in there as well.

For the price, it's an absolute steal as far as I'm concerned. If you're a bass player looking to expand your tonal palette or looking for some fresh inspiration, do yourself a favor and just get one!

Although perhaps a bit on the chonky side compared to the old B3, this is just a wonderful unit plus it has some great extra features like the A-B switch, which allows me to set up both fretted and fretless basses or my upright and also a bass guitar, and selectable direct box configurations.

While it's build is solid and rugged, I was more comfortable mounting it on a Temple Audio pedal board which makes it easy to pick up and also holds my Line 6 G10 wireless and Airturn Bluetooth pedal, which controls my tablet.

Easy to program in USB and come with come wonderful patches.

A straightforward multi fx pedal that I feel covers most of what you would need. Plenty of patch space, Option for plenty of storage space, looper, drum machine, compact size, DI, and touchscreen. The pedal is VERY EASY to navigate in comparison to the bigger names out there. I like to plug in and play and don't really want to have to get a degree in a piece of equipment. The only thing i wish, and would not have mind an extra $100 or $200 even, would have been a metal enclosure. Despite that, it feels solid and it sounds awesome. I was able to dial in my own personal patches within a few minutes of messing with the unit and actually understand what is going on.

So easy to handle out of the box. It provides flexibility and the cab/amps modeling sounds are excellent. Provides multiple DI out choices. This will be my go to pedal for live or studio use.

This thing sounds amazing! From just straight clean sound to absolutely dirty and everything in between. So many different sounds and very easy to navigate. I wish I would've bought one sooner.

Where to start..ok..I am playing bass now close to 40yrs..urg..so gear has changed a lot over the course of time. I am old school..American fender and Ampeg SVT..you guys remember the fridge?? So to say I have my sound dialed would be an accurate statement...but I am always looking for improvement...I searched 12 yrs for the right processor and finally found it with the Zoom B6! This little guy (not so little) has more than I need and most of all the effects sound like they are coming out of my Ampeg not some other less quality Amp as other processesors destroyedmy tone in the past..It gets better..really cool pre sets but what I like most of all is the quality sounds I can build..and it was super simple..like all new tech it takes a min to know your way around

kinda like a new phone..but it picks up quick..no noise or hiss..the only issue my OG butt has to complain about is the screen and font size..Lol I'm old and my eyes aren't what they use to be..but hey...I placed the unit on my desk so I can sit in my comfy chair instead of the floor..yeah can't do the floor..well getting back up..on the desk reading the main menu was an eye exam but I got through it..using it on the floor standing at a gig..the font should be ok as long as I don't have to do any major setup changes..Highly recommend for the price..There are units out there for a lot more money but we are Bass players how much do we need?? I don't need 100 pre amps or Cabs..sure it is cool to go down rabbit holes but this is the right price and the right amount of flavor and user friendly set up and playability that makes this a no brainer wheather you have been playing 5 mins or 50 years..
PS took pictures so you can see the difference in menu font size and effect selection...

I've been using the B3 for a few years and so in loved with it. However, kept dreaming the better version of B3 would show up one day, there is a B3n but since it had no Balance out I stick with the B3 and now, this is it the B6! Try it yourself, you know that it can't go wrong with zoom products. I loved the compressor, the two input lines (so convenience), loved the tube DIs, loved the tuner (it is mute, b3 wasn't) and so on. Thank you ZOOM for creating this amazing product.

I bought the B6 because I wanted to have a variety of tones available in one unit. I had been using a Tech21 FlyRig as my primary preamp, and it excelled in that application. However, the onboard FX on the FlyRig are limited and somewhat underwhelming. That and there are no user slots to save any tones.
I had considered a Helix, but then came to the realization that while the Helix is a tremendous piece of kit, it is set up to be a GUITAR FX unit, with only a fraction of it's processing power dedicated to bass sounds. Enter the Zoom B6.
It has everything you could ask for in a compact, concise design. Multiple amp, preamp, cabinet, modulation and other FX models available to create a vast array of tones. I would say that the only limit is one's imagination, but that isn't entirely accurate. More on that later.
I have been able to recreate accurate and recognizable tones based on several of my own live rigs, as well as sounds from other artists and recordings. It's fun (and a great way to kill a day or two) to go through all the available options and pick the combinations that work best for the sound you're chasing. The user interface is very intuitive, and it's very easy to edit on the fly. You can save patches in the available user slots and organize them to your liking. The large screen is easy to read. The stompbox-style switches are solid and well-spaced for gig usage. The availability of two switchable, discreet inputs gives me a dedicated mute switch since I only use one of the inputs. The onboard tuner is accurate and easy to read, even without my glasses. The direct out with 4 direct box emulations gives clean signal to the sound board/FOH. My tone in my in-ears is spot on, and far better than the direct out from any amp I've ever owned.
Now, the down sides and the reason I couldn't quite justify 5/5 stars. First, the chassis of the pedalboard is plastic. High quality plastic, and certainly lighter than aluminum...but it's still plastic. I do feel like I have to be extra careful with it when setting up and tearing down. Second, the included power adapter feels feeble, and it's shorter than what I would've liked for stage use. Lastly, remember when I said the only limit is your imagination? Well, the only limit is actually available memory on the unit. When setting up patches, the B6 displays how much memory each item uses...20% for this amp model, 22% for that amp model, etc...Amp, preamp and effects models all come with a percentage of memory usage attached, and you can't exceed 100% per patch. It is something I hope Zoom addresses in future updates or newer models. That being said, you can absolutely create dozens and dozens of awesome patches without exceeding the memory cap, and I have done that.
I've owned this unit for almost a year, and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of what it's capable of. I haven't used the looper, I don't switch individual fx on/off within my patches, I haven't even used the click track.

The pros:
Solid, if not bulletproof build quality. There's plastic on there, but the switches are rock solid and it stays where you put it on most floor surfaces I've tried.

Easy to read display, and switch functions are well lit.

It's all bass, all the time. No wasted space with guitar or vocal fx, and the bass fx are better than average in most cases.

The selectable input is nice. Apart from being able to have two separate instruments connected, it also acts as a defacto mute switch if you only use one input.

It's pretty intuitive to build your own patches. The displays are self explanatory and easy to navigate. I built 5 or 6 very useable patches the first night I had the pedal.

A very nice selection of amps, preamps and effects available to custom build your desired tones….BUT….

The cons:
There is a surprising limit to the onboard memory. The unit displays what percentage of memory each effect uses. The problem is that you can easily run out of available memory before running out of available slots when building a patch. The pedal will let you know "you can't do that, bro" and then you have to see if there is a more economic path to getting the sound you want.

There is no stereo out option, even though there are onboard stereo effects. The line out does act as a headphone jack, so it would seem to support a TRS plug. But, seriously, give me a dedicated left and right output. There is plenty of room on the back panel.

The power cable is short, and I don't have a great feeling about the lifespan of said cable.

Zoom should supply a case or bag, or at the very least offer an aftermarket product for sale. Buying a generic bag is always a crapshoot, and. $ pedal deserves a good fit.

So, I'll end by saying I've used the pedal at home for practices and at a few rehearsals so far, and it's performed very well. It does react quite differently driving a bass amp compared to a recording interface and studio monitors. I'm learning the idiosyncrasies and imagine I'll be able to set up patches at home that will translate effectively to the stage without much fuss. I am happy overall, and expect this unit will be the last effects pedal I buy for some time.

All this money, tons of stereo effects, but no stereo balanced outs? Come on, Zoom!

I'm on a B3N now and want to buy this so bad, but to spend $ on "high-end" modeler with tons of cool stereo FX but no stereo balanced outs makes no sense to me.

When I bought the Zoom B6, I thought it would be as easy to customize the unit as it was for previous Zoom products, a little learning curve but nothing really daunting.
My goal was to simplify the effects I wanted on the first bank, but I quickly became stuck. I tried reading the manual again and even tried YouTube, but to no avail. I knew it had to be something simple I was missing, so I decided to call (or chat with) tech support.
I soon discovered that neither option was available unless I pulled out my wallet. Sure, I could have gone to the customer support knowledge base and looked around or even emailed them, but I was miffed because in my entire history of buying electronics, whether musical or not, live tech support was a given, even if it was only for 30 days.
I have little doubt it's a great unit once the learning curve is understood, but after forking over so much money, I decided on the spot that if I'm not important enough for Zoom to talk to me, then Zoom isn't important enough for me to use their product.
Returning.