Zoom G1

I found it fairly easy to use and edit patches once I read the manual - at first I was surprised by the 1-10 incremental parameter adjustment but eventually agreed with how it was designed. It's a well thought out compromise set.

I'm not into getting the sound of a favorite artist - that's a bunch of bunk to me. I'm used to getting great tones with Tube amps and my custom made analogue pedals. Since I bought the G1 I've been experimenting with a lighter rig which consists of a Roland Bolt60 and the G1 alone. I play a variety of customized axes - they all sound fine on this thing.

I don't really use the distortions much or at all, nor the chorus or flange. Nor the noise gate and modelling crap. What got me was the quality of the verbs (nice tail, no grain)and the intelligent harmonizer. The auto-wah is not too bad also. I could put down some of the other effects, but I prefer analogue boxes for those variants anyway.

I think one of the reasons I like it is the 24bit/96k front end, this thing has good dynamics too - the front-end limiter is hardly perceptible. Basically, the response is very musical - you guys did a great job. And I generally stay away from digital processing - so there !

Don't see why not - treat it nice should last a while. At the price I bought it for it's practically disposable. I can see resoldering the jacks one day - big deal!

nope ... first time buying Zoom

I own a ton of vintage gear, honest. Been an analogue freak all along - always avoided DSP until this thing came along. It does sophisticated verb/delay combos I've been hoping to have one day and this is it. It's very simple - no great setup headaches - I spent a couple of hours one day tweaking it with my amp and I get very good unmodified tones. I set up the harmonizer to cycle-of-fifths in the user patch area so I can switch keys in a convenient manner.

I use it mainly for verbs and harmonizer and it's paid for itself with just these two effects for me - and it fits in my gig bag. I wouldn't bother typing this all in if I didn't think it was good - take it from a true skeptic. It's an excellent worktool if you're careful what to expect from it - I turned heads with it on the first gig.

Very Easy once you read the manual (No excuses - Read It!!!!!!)

Ok................ This is a follow up to my original review. I have really dug into the programming ability of this thing. I have dicovered some very interesting things:

1st... Just let me say....I was mistaken in my earlier statement that the amp models were "cold and digital" sounding. In fact, they are NOT cold sounding. Zoom was simply very "accurate" in what guitar rigs were sampled and how they were sampled.

2nd... The G1 is very quiet (even without engaging the very useful ZNR-Zoom Noise Reduction).

3rd... Most of the included modulation effects are what I call: "weak" in so much as they lack the depth of progammability that newer stop boxes or Pro outboard units like Eventide, Lexicon, etc. have. Don't get me wrong, I can see some built-in effects being usful when playing LIVE but in the studio, much more tweakability is needed.

4th... If you have high output pickups on your axe like I have on my Les Paul(EMGs), the G1's "clean" amp models will distort/peak very nastily when you dig into the strings. To fix this problem? Either run your guitar into a compressor/limitor before the G1 or use the G1's built in Compressor set to 5 or higher. The G1's compressor "pumps and breaths" a little too much for my liking so I have been using a Barber Tone Press (great transpearant compressor!) before the G1.

5th... The G1's Speaker Cabinet Simulator is right on!!! I especially love the Marshall Stack simulation. When I crank it up, my guitar tone literally "thumps" me in the chest just like a cranked-up real Marshall Stack would! Kudos!!!! This feature makes recording a realistic gutar tone to digital E_A_S_Y!

These inexpensive devices (G1s) can be used in many different ways. I use them as one would any typical guitar amp head. What is really important to remember about the G1 is its amp models are what is brilliant, NOT its buit-in effects. That's just my perspective now.

I am currently using a Voodoo Labs 1x4 signal splitter so I can create massive "blended" stereo guitar tones by mixing different "dry" amp models from (3) G1 units and (1) A2 unit straight into my mixing console. All the effects I use are not coming from the G1.

So Far So Good. I haven't gigged with it, but I doubt it would break (I tend to baby my equipment, anyways.)

..........Uhhhhhh, the poster before me obviously has a defective G1 or something. If he was hearing what I'm hearing he'd be gushing too! :)

N/A

I give this unit a 10 because for $50 dollars you get something that was previously unattainable just a few years ago.

Factory presets are pretty useless but that goes for every multi fx I've tried so far.

The unit I purchased had a noise gate with psychological problems. It was trying to refuse its exsistance as a noise gate and it was acting as a volume pedal! It would give a volume swell effect even when it was set at 1!!! Never experienced anything like that with any other noise gate and believe me I have tried a few.

Can I depend on it? Sure, for as long as I don't get picky about the fact by plugging into this crapola my playing lost all the attack and dynamics it had before. Needless to say that the G1 went back to the shop.
I also want to say that before I bough the G1 I had a G2. That one had one of the two switches going bad within two days of LIGHT STUDIO USE ONLY. Very reliable!!!

If they can't build something half descent (and I gave them two chances with two different products) why should I bother with costumer support?
Life is too short

How long I've been playing? Long enough to know better and not purchase any Zoom products again. What do I love about it? The noise gate!!! What is my favorite feature? That's a tough one...let me think...Hmmm...I think it's the noise gate!!! Anything else I'd like to share? Yes, stay well away from anything that reads Zoom on it!!! You've been warned...

I have the new G1X model.It is the same pedal only w/ the added expression pedal. The manual is good and is a must to get the sound you want. Ease of use ,, It is not so easy until you get the hang of all the abbreviated perameters and dials,then just tweak and tweak and tweak.......

The sound quality is too trebely out of the box,it will take a few hours of dedication but a good tone can be attained. The distortions are all there to be had , even your favorite nasally metal.It is not noisey at all.I hoped the chorus would be a little better but I am only running mono , THE HARMONIZER IS WHAT IVE ALWAYS WANTED!!!. I use a FENDER 212R 100 WATT COMBO . CAUTION this pedal will turn a 15 watt amp into a 100 watt or blow the speakers as it is packed w/ volume. It has a vol, control but WOW it is loud.

I wanted something for church that is small , I will be using it weekly w/o backup as I take care of my equip. I think it is dependable the plastic shell is really hard,

I play rock,jazz,metal praise and worship, some hymns . Playing for 32 yrs. I WOULD BUY ANOTHER if stolen. I own the A2.1 ACOUSTIC ZOOM PEDAL HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, Although this is a step down from the G2.1 it uses the same chips for processing and is the best Ive seen for 69.00, G1X that is. My only complaint is the clean sounds take a lot of hours to get a good deep sound ,they are too high pitched out of the box as is most of the settings, You will have to work for what you want but I think they are attainable. I have only put four hrs into the pedal all spent tweaking as I was already familiar w/ the controls,I hear good things about the wah, havent tried it yet. Great tuner overall i am very pleased.

Very Easy to use, just read the manual etc etc.. but lacks footswitch, either you have to press it w/ hands or w/ your toe if you want to change banks.. well i think because its that cheap...

1st i play a wide variety of music, metal, prog, blues, etc etc.. this unit is great for a digital unit, it sounds great and fuck yeah it sounds great... hahaha
and its a pretty quiet unit..

be carefull w/ it, its more hard than the 606, but... it is still plastic.. >_< bring a backup..

dont care..

i play variety of genres, mostly metal.. ive been playing for 6 years, i have a Boss OD-1, Boss Mega Distortion and a Digitech Deathmetal Pedal and i must say, this unit can sound (if not almost) like these babies.. i would pretty much buy it again or a G2 (cause it has a greater specs).. the ugly side of this unit is its case (plastic).. so be gentle...

It takes a bit of reading to understand how to edit the patches, but once you get it down the set up is really easy to use. You just turn one knob to select (in order):

* Compression Type
* Drive (i.e. amp model)
* Gain,
* EQ Low, EQ Mid, EQ High
* Noise Red/Cabinet Model
* Modulation Effect (i.e. Chorus, Phaser, etc...)
* Modulation Rate
* Delay (Type)
* Delay Time
* Reverb (Type),
* Reverb Decay

Each of the above has a marker on the left knob, when you turn the dial, the two digit LED display in the middle of the unit changes to represent the current selected value for that parameter.

The values that show up on the display aren't so intuitive, for example, for the Drive parameter: "Fd" is the 65 Fender Twin Reverb model, "Ns" is the 1959 Marshall, "Pv" the Peavy 5150 and so on. (In features I will list all the models available as stated in the owners manual, since the Zoom website does not). For Modulation it's even more tricky, you have to remember: C is chorus, F is Flanger, P is Pitch Shift, etc... there is a number after the letter to represent the type C1-C9 are your chorus selections and then you can change the Modulation rate to get exactly what you want. So the two digit LED display takes some getting use to, you'll have to memorize the values.

To help ZOOM provides a excellent printed owners manual as well as a wallet size reference card that list what each parameter code means.

I can get the sound of some of my favorite artist. ZOOM and BOSS seem to be the only companies putting any effort into that later era Van Halen sound (OU812, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, Balance era) with their Peavy 5150 models. The G1's 5150 model is great.

The G1 is XOOM's replacement for the 505II, which was an upgrade to the original 505, which is quite dated at this point. I've owned a 505II as well as a DigiTech RP100 and a Line6 POD, in terms of quality of models, ZOOM has always been ahead of DigiTech, but the DigiTech units have been less noisy in the past. However, the G1 is an extremely quite unit, you get very little noise.

The 96kHz/24-bit sampling does make difference. While some of the models themselves don't sound so different, the 24-bit clarity shines through and is noticable improvement. On some of the models it sounds better than my six year old $400 POD.

My favorite models here are the Fender Twin, the Peavy 5150, Vox AC30 and the Marshall JCM. If you want a smooth tube-driven bluey sound the G1 can deliver where the 505II fell short. So Clapton and SRV sounds can be had.

The Marshall stack sound was my favorite on the 505II and it's back here in two variations and sounds even a bit better than before. The 5150 amp sound is close. If you've ever played through a real 5150 you know it's a bit difficult to get on the money with it, but once you're nailed the right settings, it's hard to stop playing.

The Vox AC30 model sounds great, when I first plugged in the G1. I dialed up a simple 4/4 rock beat and got a clean AC30 sound and ran through some Beatles classics. Then I added some delay and used the AC30 model to go for that clean U2 tone the Edge gets with his vintage Vox collection, it's in there.

The factory default patches aren't bad either, they are broken down into banks, each with its own purpose. Bank A is labeled as Demo sounds, it appears combinations Zoom came up with to show off the box. Bank B is labeled Model, these ten patches offer up sounds well suited for recording application, at first they may sound a bit dry and for live performance they would need to be tweaked a bit, however as-is they are perfect for direct recording applications. The next block of patches, C bank contains artist sound recreations, again the sound here is a bit dry at first, the artist patches also appear to be setup for direct recording.

Artist patches provided (artist and sound sound quoted is from the manual, not necessarily my opinion):

* Jimmy Page "Bad Time Blues" sound
* Jeff Beck "Led Boots" sound
* Eric Clapton "Crossroads" sound
* Pink Floyd's David Gilmore "Breathe" sound
* Eddie Van Halen, later era signature sound
* Adrian Belew "Big Electric Cat" sound
* Kirk Hammett "one" sound
* Carlos Santana signature sound
* Kurt Cobain "Come as you are" sound
* ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons signature sound

The delay effects are good, the pitch shifter is interesting, but limited.

I have tried going from the G1's stereo 1/4" output into a pair of studio monitors and the G1 sounded great, I've also tried it through a Roland MicroCube 10-watt amp and it sounded horrible.

The G1 outputs stereo sound and makes use of the left and right channels to produce some of it's tone character, so if you only have mono inputs on your amp it will probably sound very good. Having said that, the G1 is idea to go right into the PA. Just get a 1/4" to dual mono (patch cable) and this would make a great direct box suitable for many stage applications (I'm thinking church worship services or coffee house gigs). As with a POD or any direct box, you can get really big sound without having people in the front row holding their ears.

It's durable enough to play live with, unlike the Zoom 505 and 505II the casing seems a bit harder. It's not metal, but it seems to be very durable plastic.

The ZOOM G1 is a solid update to the now legacy ZOOM 505II box. It adds 24-bit sample quality, more amp models, more effects, a good collection of high quality rhythm/drum patterns which really helps when songwritting or just trying to practice in time.

Zoom products have a sound all their own. The DigiTech RP line is probably the leading competitor in this area. While the DigiTech products are easier to find at retailers, the Zoom G1 sounds better than the comparable DigiTech products and it's worth pointing out many of the models available in the G1 and G2 Zoom products aren't even offered in the DigiTech line.

With the technology updates and the lower cost of digital chips, you can buy a G1 and get sound quality that exceeds the first generation, very expensive Line6 POD from years past.

I almost forgot to menton, the G1 has a built in tuner (just like the 505II) and you can add a $20 volume pedal (any generic brand) and unlock a collection of additional effects. Dunlop Crybaby and Vox wah pedals are modeled in this unit, the Pitch Shifter can also be controlled with a volume pedal.

Great for headphone jamming or gigging. Not sure I would record with it, because although it's not very noisy, 1/4" analog outputs aren't as good as digital. The higher end models offer USB out to rectify this and if you want to record with it you may do better to get the G2 for that reason.

Considering what all you get here for about $60 USD street, I have to give the ZOOM G1 a perfect 10.

When most of us think of a pedal less than $80, we don't think of complicated stuff, usually. This is different, but it's not trying to be a stomp-box -- it's trying to give you amp modeling and effects in a small foot-based box.

In that respect, you have to take a wee bit of time to learn what it is doing. Each of 8 effects in a chain (which make up a patch) is selectable on a turn-dial, then settable. Do this for the all, or shut them off as desired, and you have a patch that you can save. A bit more tweaking knowledge, and within 1/2 hour you are running and realize its gig-power, setup-wise.

This is a bad category name, as some things are not meant to be "easy to use". That would be like demanding that medical school be "simple and fun".

I think many of the amp models are quite pleasing. I have tube amps, and they all have their own sounds, but this box has sounds, too, that can be fun and can find their place in a jam or recording.

When I want to do what this is doing in a recording fashion, a PodXT is really the way to go. For plugging in to a clean amp channel, this is a lot of fun and gets away with lots of rich sounds. I plug it into my Carvin V3 clean channel without much EQ modding and let it speak for itself. I turn off the cabinet/ZNR mode for the amp.

I did not get this to compete for recording input with my PodXT or my TonePort/Gearbox setups. I just got it to plug in to my amp and get different amp/distortion sounds like a sort of wide-ranging fuzz stomp. I just got a DigiTech Grunge and had so much fun with it that I wanted a variety of quick distortion sounds (the Grunge really just has one sound).

It works fine for this, sound-wise. I don't think I'll EVER plug it into my mixer for using in Sonar. I don't think it will sound good.

One think I notice about modeling systems is the lag. I'm very sensitive to it. I think I can hear/feel 1ms of lag, or at least 2ms. It's kind of a surreal, weird gap between plucking and hearing the notes. On certain things, it kind of puts you "in the pocket" with a miniscule bit of delay. Well, I don't like this, and real amps don't do it.

I can't say yet. Just because it's plastic means nothing to me, in particular. There are some incredible polymers out there which stand up to lots of use.

Dunno.

I have the pedal model, the G1X. The pedal is handy for wah and volume and effects. It's small, and short-throw, but it works. This thing is flexible, full-sounding at times, and fun. Try one for sure.

The stock patches are just OK at best. After consulting the manual a few times, editing patches is fairly easy once you get used to the knob layout. Going in and changing each patch is an absolute necessity (if you want to hear each amp model's full sonic potential.

First off, understand that this is a DIGITAL unit and its amp models are always going to sound "cold", "sharp edged", "steril", etc. compared side-by-side with the REAL amplifier it is trying to duplicate. That's just reality. However, there are ways to make the unit less "digital" sounding.

My setup: Gibson LP - Studio Projects VTB1 (clean preamp) - Behringer T1951 Tube Ultra Q Parametric EQ - Zoom G1 - HHB Fatman Tube compressor - Phonic Helix-18 Firewire mixing board - computer (running Mackie Tracktion 2.1 ).

Once you get inside this thing and start tweaking the presets you realize what a good job Zoom did modeling most of the amps they chose. Noise is not an issue because of Zoom's great noise gate function. I don't really care for most of the unit's onboard fx, though. I usually only use the G1's amp, mic, and cab models DRY. All fx are added at the board with outboard processors like my Lexicon reverb and sent seperate from the dry signal and recorded into Tracktion as a "wet track". You can also add fx from inside Tracktion. Keeping your original sound dry going into a DAW is a must. Otherwise, you lose total control over the sound and very often end up with a muddy, less-defined type of tone. Just a tip.

So far so good. No issues.

Haven't had any issues yet.

I've been playing guitar for about 30 years. I love to play mostly classic rock/metal from the seventies and eighties (Steve Miller, Led Zep, Jeff Beck, Clapton, Hendrix, Eagles, Blue Oyster Cult, Sabbath, Deep Purple, early Journey, Michael Shenker, AC/DC, Ozzy, Judas Priest, early Rush, Satrianni, etc.)

Guitar/amp-wise, I absolutely love the "creamy", "alive" sound of "power tube saturation" (regardless of whether the preamp is distoted or not). In fact, with power tube saturation, I can play a lead part with a "clean" sound and still have it sound authoritative sound (not thin and weak). Think - Allman Bros. Keep the power tubes saturated and then slowly start to turn up the gain in your preamp (even just a little) and you will hear those classic Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Santanna type crunch tones start to happen under your fingers. Beautiful!!!!!Exciting!!!!!!

Keep turning the gain up and you have BOC, Sabbath, Ozzy, Priest, etc.
Heavy Metal!!!!!

Now, how is that type of real sonic magic supposed to happen with the G1? It never will. However, with some clever EQing, power tube saturation, and "Full Range" speaker cabs (like those at www.rackmountconcepts.com), you can definitely create a more Modern-ish sound just like what you hear on the New Rock Stations today.

Editing is very easy thanks to the knobs. It's easy to great sounds out of it. Takes only a few seconds to program once you use it.

Sound quality is impressive. I play a PRS CE and an EBMM JP6 through the G1 into a Tech 21 Power Engine. I kid you not...the Models are incredible. The sounds are punchy and musical. I use the cab simulations with the power engine,since the PE does not alter the tone. The sounds have a rich 3d quality. I have the Digitech GNX 3000 and quite honestly the G1 kills it in sound quality and depth. The effects are all excellent too. I play everything from Jazz to Metal and this covers them all. For 60.00 this unit is incredible.

The first one I had had a bad LED,but the second one has had no problems. Some concern with the plastic housing though.

no

I have been playing for 18 years. This unit is a great pedal. Zoom has come a long way in the last several years. I don't care about trying to sound like others,but the models are the best I have heard from any pedal. If you take the time to tweak it you will be rewarded. I guess the best test is that once I create a patch and turn the built in drum machine on I can't stop playing. For the money you can't go wrong.

Not the easiest to program, but not difficult. Lettering on box is microscopic, almost impossible to read. The manual is excellent, but does not desribe any effects or educate users about classic tube amps it emulates. No biggie, just listen and see what you like,by turning the Drive knob. This is a good starter box to get to know effects with. Editing patches is easy once you get used to it. You can save 40 patches. Very tweakable for a beginner, not very tweakable for a perfectionist. It suites my needs for editing, and remember it is only $60 that includes a $25 AC adaptor.

Yes, I can easily get that Clapton "woman tone" and just about any other distortion on the planet. The Mesa amp model is cool. The Peavey 5150 is dead on. Don't care much for Fender clean, but then again I am running this through a Fender Super Champ tube amp, so it actualy sound worse with that model. The most surprising effect is the harmonizer. It sounds WAY better than my ME-50's harmonizer, I ain't kiddin! The pitch shifter also is excellent, the best I have ever heard. You can go up an octive or down, or any step in between. The rest of the modulation effects are so-so. The drive or amp models are surprisingly good for such an inexpensive unit. The Mesa and Vox are very close. I use an EC signature strat with vintage noiseless pups. The acosutic sim needs a lot of tweaking but sounds good, although not as good as most multi-effects units I have owned. The noise gate works extremely well. Don't use the delays or reverbs, I have spring/tube reverb on both my Vintage amps for that. The Rat, metal zone, FuzzFace, Guvnor, and Matchless Hot Box pedals sound very good. The blues setting is my favorite. EQ is tweakable (3 bands) on every patch, as well as compressor, noise gate, level, and gain. I wish it had a Dumble clean model, my favorite clean amp of all time.
The distortion models all have a different sound, which is very unusual for something in this price range. The harmonizer makes me want to keep playing, and the pitch shifter has very little wow and flutter.

Well, I'm not so sure I would gig with this because it is plastic and I'm sure other musicians would laugh if I used thuis at a gig, but I would not hesitate to record with it. I would probably use it as a backup. or maybe just for the harmonizer live.

Never dealt with Zoom.

I have been playing for 30 years! Seriously for the last 6. I play all kinds of music; jazz, rock, blues, acoustic. I was looking for an acoustic sim when I bought this. I am blown away by the quality of this little plastic box. It comes with a free AC adaptor! I also own a Korg AX3000G which I paid $300 for, but it is too complex. I also own a few Roctron and Boss stomp boxes, and of course they sound better because they are dedicated to one task. I can't beleibve my ears. Great deal. Get a good tube amp to use this with to reap the full benefits of it. You can not really improve you clean sound a lot with an amp modeler, so start there first. It will make a good amp sound better, but a crappy amp will still sound crappy! Did I mention the free AC adaptor?