Zoom G2.1u

This unit is fairly easy to use, except that it has a two-digit display, which is a little confusing at times. Getting my own sound out of it is fairly easy, after reading the manual and always tweaking it everyday that is.

I use Ibanez SAS 32EX with it thru Roland Cube 20x, and I have some compact pedals chained to it sometimes and it just does good.

In terms of its noises, I rarely use the noise reduction feature at all and it is almost noiseless, well almost.
But sometimes it is noisy, too noisy.

The effects, sometimes they are just too strong, never been weak. But they are always great for me.

In terms of its dependability, this thing never lets me down.
I just keep wiping it clean, dusting it off and plainly cleaning it.
And I never drop it at all.

But if I have a chance to back it up, I'd certainly back it up.

I don't know anything about its customer support.
Never had problems with it.

I play almost anything I want to play, and this thing fairly copes up with all the needs.

I have been playing for like, 4 years and I have some other pedals with me chained to it sometimes.

If it got stolen or lost, I just wish I have the money to buy a new one.

What I love about it is its appearance.
What I hate about it is its two-digit display.
My favorite feature is its Drive feature and the built-in equalizer.

The other products I have used are Zoom 505, the Zoom with the memory card slot in it (don't know the name), and a Korg multi-effects pedals.
This thing matches fairly against all of them.

I wish it had more digits of display.
I wish it had a card-slot and software feature, so I can store all the patches into my computer.

This thing helps me a lot in making music or at least achieving the sounds I wanted.

Careful with the power supply though, my friends got all their units blown-up because of the over voltage and ampere output.

Overall, it performs great and never lets me down.

This machine is pretty easy to use. I used to have a Digitech RP350, which is a great unit, but its got so many different models, that its a pain to go through all them effects to find what your looking for. The Zoom doesn't have alot of patches or effects, but what it does have is very useful. I'll admit I hate the small screen, but I'll eventually memorize what all them numbers mean. The manual seems to be good

I have alot of guitars, Epiphone G400 with EMGS, an old Les Paul from the 70's, Squier Jagmaster with the duncan designed pups which are excellent, Peavey Predator EXP with DiMarzio Evolution pups, and a Squier Vintage Modified Stratocaster with duncan designed pups.
I'm using a Peavey Valve King 212. The sound quality is awesome, the distortions are authentic sounding. I play alot of Van Halen and Metallica, but I also do Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Guns n Roses stuff too. I haven't had the pedal long, but I can get some great Van Halen sounds, as well as the other groups although I'm still working to get a good metallica tone. The effects on the unit are great, the delays are some of the best I've ever heard from an effects pedal

Reliability seems good

As I previously said I play alot of Van Halen, Metallica, as well as other bands, so I'd say my style would be 80's rock, heavy metal, 70's rock. I've been playing guitar for over 3 years now. I've used alot of effects pedals, The first Zoom I had was the 505II, and I didn't like it, then I went to using a Boss DR-880 drum machine with built in guitar fx, I also did not like that either, then I started using a Digitech RP350 which was great until I bought a tube amp and realized the sound quality of my amp was much better. I still preferred the RP350 for effects. Then I bought the Zoom, and its got a really good sound to it, as I said earlier the digitech had 3 times the sounds as the Zoom does, but what the Zoom does, is great, its an issue of quality vs. quantity. Digitech is really about quantity in their pedals because they model every amp and effect on the face of the earth, and Zoom is about Quality, and they have made significant improvements from the 505 series. Its really gonna help me make music

It only took me about a week to start getting good sounds out of this thing. The manual explains pretty much everything. This is my first effects pedal so I dont really have anything to compare it to but it seems easy, my only complaint is that without looking at the manual at all times, you dont always know what your adjusting on the effects.

Ive been able to get to get any sound I want out of this and Ive been using a crappy 130 dollar ibanez mikro with a fender 15g frontman amp. This pedal definitly has a great sound and has a large range of different sounds. The clean sound is awesome, and the noise reduction is great. Ive slept all night with this thing on and my amp on and never noticed it and it was on a heavy distortion channel. I have nothing to compare this too but ive been extremely happy with the sound.

I would definitly depend on it without a backup but i was playing a gig in the day once outside and i couldnt see the light where it shows what your changing . I didnt know what patch I was on and I wasnt able to change anything.

I got this off ebay, So i dont know.

I play alot of metal music and mostly hair metal which uses a variety of tones and I can get anything I want. If This was stolen, I would probaly save up and but the bigger zoom footpedal because I Have been so happy with this one. I dont really use alot of the effects, i mainly just use the distortion and eq so I can't say a whole lot about them, but overall, great pedal with great sounds.

I've been using the Zoom G2.1u for nearly 2 years+ and i'm not much of a reviewer. But i just came across a couple of bad reviews that did complete injustice to what this baby is capable of

How easy is it to get a good sound? If some of you bother reading the manual (which can also be downloaded from the website, go get it if u dnt hav it yet), then gettin the sound in ur head across to the processor becomes second nature. I used to carry the manual with me at most times to tweak settings depending on the venue and since its a small handy manual, editing patches nw comes easily to me.

The only gripe i have against Zoom is their two digit display, it used to kinda confusing at times but yes, but with most things, once u live with it, u dont really think of it as an issue. I don't.

I'm a musician who still lives on limited resources. My amps consist of a Roland Boss MG80 Guitar amplifier & i recently got a Yamaha Gigmaker 15W amplifier (not nice). I've often practiced through stereo computer speakers & gone to venues with crowds with more than 5000 people. Let me tell you one thing. This unit has NEVER let me down. I'm not talking reliability, its the beauty of its Sound. I play with the Fender Clean, Roland JC Amp & CA amp settings with a lot of delay, chorus & reverb effects in tow. I DO NOT use the Noise Gates avalaible on the unit when using clean sounds and there is absolutely no noise when played through mixers & amps available at the venue.

Now when it comes to overdrive & metal, this thing impresses too! here though, using a noise gate is inevitable but the good news is that it does not eat into the sound & the clarity through various amplification routes is amazing! i use the lightly overdriven Boss OD1 mod & the Peavey 5150 & Marshall Guvnor effects the most. My personal favorite though being the Digital Fuzz cos the sound decay emulation is nothin short of unique & amazing.

Please note that to attain any of the above sounds, You SHOULD tweak around with the EQ settings depending on venue & amp to get the perfect sound. I would definitely have loved to get an ENGL amp mod into this but alas, for the price & size, i'm already gettin WAY more than what i expected. :)

It would be a failing on my part too if i dint mention the number of fans i've got for this unit. Friends with high end Korgs, Digitechs & PODs have all called my unit 'AMAZING'. Some have commented on how this sounds much better than theirs.

The tracking on the Octave effect is perfect as long as ur playing single notes but strike a chord and umm... u get to hear one of Zoom's biggest booboos... oh well, will probably get a MicroPOG to make up for that.

2 years down the road, no protection or covers, roughest EVER possible use. Falls, dings, electrical shortcircuits!

I've used this unit how ur NOT supposed to be using it and its still solid as a rock. It IS solidly built as i now know & the knobs and switches have all endured hard usage.

When i first saw this unit, i knew it wud last and it hasnt proved me wrong. I do gig with this unit without a backup and even tho my colleagues are initially skeptical about its reliability, they've all been silenced since.

Never had to deal with them. This unit is reliable like mad people. I dont think u need Customer Support. Giving it a 10 anyhow cos they did a gud job building this wonderful device! :P

I play evrything, from Eric Clapton-esque stuff to Christian worship, Hard Rock to Heavy Metal. anythin thats heavy and melodic basicaly gets me and the zoom has been the perfect companion for that journey.

I've been playing for more than 10 years and my only other gear i'd possessed before this were the Korg 1500AX & the Zoom 505. not mch i know but what else do u expect frm one with limited resources huh? If i lost this i would definitely buy this again or probably the g9.2tt.

I've used the unit for recording too and its been gud.. VERY gud to be honest. Well this review might come as way too praisy and stuff but i speak only cos its been worth the time and effort and touring i've done with this baby. Trust me, its worth much more than the money. I somehow feel sad for ppl with big rigs cos i alwys get similar or smtimes better sounding tones using jus this!

At first the rating should be low, but once you get use to controls, it is very easy and simple. Look at it this way- few nob's mean that you can change on the fly, and trust me, once you get to know it, it is very easy indeed. It is best to set patches beforehand, but it is quick to change tones if need be in equipment thats not yours at gigs... Study the manual wisely.. The computer recording is easy!

Firstly, your guitar should be fair to start rating a sound... I've got a strat and that is a fair guitar... secondly I started of with a tiny Laney amp (I think it was a 10 or 15 watt...) The Zoom changed the sound quality amazingly, but the size of the amp could take strain often once the volume knob was increased. But the improvement was fantastic and impressive! Then I got a Yamaha VX-65d, which is a monster and I could start customizing as suppose to improve the sound. After changing the patches again... For the ridiculously low price, it sounds expensive!For those that says it sounds bad, spend a little time customizing the tones and depths, it is really good. Some effects are not so good (all popular pedals sounds sound great), but maybe I'm using them wrong.. And do mic it from your amp as PA amplifiers sound different to each other and different to guitar amp's. You will get great sound if you set it up, just like you have to set up your Les Paul, Tele or Strat.. Lastly my guitar partner plays through a Boss ME-50, and even he likes my pedal and the sound it produces!

It's Japanese, the makers of unbreakable Toyota's... As long as the power chord does not snap, this unit should survive Armageddon.. And those that have managed to break it, nope, I just cannot grasp how you managed to do that... I would be way to scared to shake your hands...

The manual should have the option to file for a masters degree at the end as this is a simple but confusing at first manual to work with... Unless your gig routine does not involve pro wrestling, you should be able to avoid customer support for many years...

I play all sorts from Christian live alternative, blues to extreme metal and this pedal covers all great and is great for solo. I've been playing for 13 years and done sound engineering for many years. It is important to have a decent source and decent amp, and to use pedals in between, although this unit can module a bad amp to sound better. One fantastic feature is that you can create many different features over one another in one patch as this unit has a strong processor. Compared to a very nice Boss Me-50, I'm not jealous at all!. I'll buy one again if it is stolen! And I love the USB interface and sounds!

well just like my old Zoom 505 i feel the menus are a bit suspect. once u have got used to the way it works its not too bad. the ONE thing that makes it harder than most i think is the stupid NUMBER display .. 2-digit !! .. come on Zoom ... its a MUCH better build than the 505 .. looks better in the real world than any pics i saw .. and yet why,s it not got a decent display?
i had to double check everything using the manual.
not sure what version it is ????
a lower score 6/10

please note i exchanged a Digitech RP350 for this unit .. hence the references.
i bought this yesterday .. so its a bit soon .. but for me it has a warmer tone than the RP350 i bought and exchanged. i guess we all have our opinion on what sounds right. if u are trying to emulate a certain guitarist i guess it really matters how the box sounds ...
consider if u are playing live and someone wants u to play .. i dunno .. Clapton .. then your FX box will need to replicate this sound. its that simple. in the blurb it quotes tones and the groups it trys to emulate .. but personally i feel the zoom has its own sound.
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but im happy to get my own fat sound .. and this G2.1u for me is close. my 1st impressions were that it sounded very similar to the 505 .. in fact i could hear several FX that were in the 505 .. almost exactly as if they had been copied staright in. not a fan of a sound thats like a wasp trying to get out of a bean can .. ha .. so those FX i will never use. .. OH the Octave Fx is amazing ... its like the BIGGEST dive bomb ever .. and if u damp the strings when it hits the bottom .. i swear it sounds like its emulating a record player thats been unplugged. pretty amazing fx.
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my only questioning would be the Wah in this box. unlike the Digitech the default setting on my unit was harsh and sharp using the pedal .. it all happened about 2/3 of the way .. and then nothing at each end.
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Then i thought id try to program it. it was a tad slow .. but eventually got a patch right .. but then the wah had to be set. this again wasnt easy to understand .. and i blame the stupid 2-digit display. but while in the editing setting i did notice there are lots
of adjustment for the pedal. by accident i stumbled across a AUTO wah setting .. and got a very pleasant tone .. not what i was after. it was similar to a setting on the RP350 .. but again NOT the same tone. one good thing to come out of this ... i know we are all trying to get ALL the sounds in ONE unit .. rather than loads of boxes .. but then with just a couple of these units by differing manufactures .. would really give u a lot of scope .. and unlike a chain of FX .. u could at least have them pre-programmed.
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my final verdict on the sound .. its similar to the old 505 .. although not exactly the same in my opinion. the audio EQ module i think is better because its endlessly tweakable. the 505 it wasnt.
9/10

no idea

no idea

the good bits ...
compared to the 505 .. which is fine for indoor stuff .. this looks very smart. i like the feel of it. the end caps are like rubber bumpers .. and the chrome just sets it off.
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the downside ..
the only let down is the 2-digit display that really tells u little. ive no idea where my patches are .. i have to guess. i dislike the way it has a Clean tone .. then a Distorted tone .. then a clean / distorted / etc etc .. whats that all about?. why didnt they bank all the clean sounds in order .. and then the distorted. it would at least make it easier to find the tone u are after .. instead of having to flick right round the box.

for my style .. iwas looking for a good fat sustain tone .. a good wah and some bright clean sounds. i think this Zoom is almost right for me.
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im now thinking maybee a Zoom unit in a higher price range that has better editing .. is what i need.
ive given the G2.1u a 8/10 overall as its nearer the tone i want.
i would only give it a 6-7 because of the dissmall editing especially 10years on from the 505 .. and i think this has more editing as well .. please sort this out Zoom !

eh...it takes a while to learn. There's a lot of variables to tweak

ok...I've had this thing a while and I'd like to try to help people who are struggling with it like I did, because there are a lot of settings and it completely sounds like ***** out of the box. I can't believe the presets! Believe me it can sound really impressive (relatively c'mon keep in mind it's a $100 stompbox)when it's tweaked just right. I play a les paul and plug it straight into a stereo or computer speakers or PA, which I highly recomend as a starting point in finding your tone before introducing an amp's tone into the equation.

The recipe:

use BOTH EQs! (EQ AND EE) and offset your lows and mids a little. They make ALL the difference. I have both highs around 12, and scoop out the middle almost all the way -12, lows around 0.

Then keep both outputs cranked by switching your first knob to 'play' then you'll see you have a pre and post output level. Experiment here, but higher the better I've found.

Hall reverb is the best. 22, 8, 70

The only amp models I've found to be any good are:

Distortion: BC (Mesa)is the only decent one in my opinion. The balls come out when you put the amp output past 96. around 60 gain for AC/DC and 90 for metallica. Tone should always be 5 (that goes for every amp). I use CP (compression) set to 4, F5, 76.

NC (Marshall JCM2000) is okay for AC/DC tone but you have to add B5 (booster) which can really add a nice retro tube skrank. put a tiny bit of mid eq to help

Clean:
AC (acoustic) it's pretty sweet. little trebly/twangy but overall best. CP (compression) really affects tone

CA and JC - nice knopfler esque tones possible. Low gain on both of these. mid really affects tone, offsetting using both eqs is a must on these.

Again, this is just what I've found for my taste. I'm a tweaker, and it took me a a long time to stop screwing with knobs and feel satisfied that this was as good as it was gonna get

I've dropped this thing A LOT. still ticking like new

no experience

hey once you get the formula right it can sound really really good for a cheap *** answering machine gas pedal

It's very easy to use. It's difficult to patch a bad sound. It's a surprise because the demo from ZOOM page sounds horrible. Editing patches becomes a second nature after two days of using it. The manual is great - I found every single information I wanted to find in it. I don't know the firmware version, it hasn't been upgraded.

I wish I could change the patches via PC and store them in files. That would make life a bit easier. It uses USB, however only for audio and that is why it's not getting 10.

One more thing - this unit can be supplied via the USB cable. Great job. It consumes 300 mA and sounds great. POD 2.0 needs 1200 mA and is definately not 4x better sounding. Read on...

I use it primarily for homerecording and practicing.

It has an absolutely pristine quality sound. Forget the noise. Sounds amazing.

Compared to Line6 products line this thing is far far better. It's ten times less fizzy and harsh. The simulations are not as far realistic however being much nicer to ears they win.

A/D/A are 24 bit/96 kHz. Recording is limited to 16 bit/44 kHz or 48 kHz. Still sounds far better than TonePort GX, UX1, UX2, POD XT Pro. I tried them all - they all suck, unless you are deaf and cannot hear the highs.

Really cool wah sounds. The audo-wah is useful, too.

Fanstastic booster!

The simulation of MESA - not so close to the real thing, but very decent.

5150 - this thing has balls in G2.1u!

Extreme Distortion - ZOOM's original. This is the most tight, dynamic, sharp and clear distortion ever.

Fantastic low range.

Effects - fairly tweakable. Sound pleasant. I like the pitch shifter and harmonizer in this unit. You are able to set the key.

Delays and reverbs - very nice.

Cab simulations - cabinets are automatically matched with amp simulations. They are fine. What you can change is the mic type between dynamic and condenser. Mic placement is also adjustable. Each setting is satisfactory.

Noise reduction algorithms are great. I've been always a noise freak - this thing is more than satisfactory.

It's a decent piece of hardware. Seem able to last a lifetime. I would use it without a backup, yeah.

I *really* like the form factor of this unit. It's small enough to put in your jacket pocket (only about twice as big as a standard stomp pedal), but has two solid-feeling metal footswitches and a nice little expression pedal which you can easily assign to whatever function you want. (Some people find the pedal too small too be useful, and yes it's not a $99 Ernie Ball volume pedal, but I thought it was pretty well-made). It even has a battery option, which is HUGELY cool if you are busking or just want to jump onstage in a hurry (without looking around for a power outlet).

I found it pretty easy to use-- once you get used to the quirks, you can pretty much dial in what you need in matter of a few seconds. (Way easier to use than the POD 2.0, which has the worst user interface I've ever seen).

Cons: 1) you have to get used to the weird abbreviations that show up on the display (PU for wah pedal, etc); 2) it would have been better if they had used a chicken-head knob so you could see at a glance what effect you were selecting (a lot of reviewers have pointed that out).

Comments about tone don't mean anything unless you're making a comparison with similar products, so... for most of what follows, I A/B'd this unit with a Pod 2.0, which is a similar unit (amp modeler + multi effects) in the same price range.

* Amp modeling-- Really bad. Worst thing about the unit. The POD (which, once again, costs about the same) immediately blows it away. On the Zoom, distortion tones were flat, unmusical and full of digital "fizz"; clean tones lacked warmth. I rarely use the amp-modeler part of the Zoom.

* Reverb-- OK. The Pod sounded a little better, but it took careful listening to hear the difference.

* Phase, chorus, flange, delay, ring modulator-- OK. Usable. (I admit I don't really know what a "good" ring modulator is supposed to sound like).

* Pitch shifter-- Usable, and not the worst I've ever heard, but definitely cheap sounding-- "watery" tone, tendency towards artifacts and mis-tracking especially in polyphonic mode. Put it this way: I A/B'd it with the Digitech Whammy Wah, which is a widely used pitch shifter (and a VERY overrated one by the way-- the Electoharmonix POG blows it out of the water). The Zoom sounded somewhat worse than the Whammy, which is itself mediocre. But hey- it's still usable, it's a nice feature to throw in there (the low-end PODS don't have it), and the auto-harmonizer is fun.

* The good news: This thing is quiet as a mouse. No hum or hiss at all, even with the noise filters off.

No problems yet. It feels very solidly built.

Never found out.

I REALLY wanted to like this unit. On paper, it offers a combination of features that nobody else has: small enough to fit in a jacket pocket, BUT with stomp switches and a useful expression pedal; easy real-time control over parameters; option of battery power; generous array of effects INCLUDING a pitch shifter. Nobody else makes a unit like that!

Unfortunately, although it does a lot of things, it doesn't do any of them really well (and does some of them really badly).

With that said... I've found it useful as a sort of "beater" unit, like if I am going to play on the beach or at an open mike and can't be bothered to carry around a lot of equipment.

(Oh yeah, one more thing. How come there are no good review sites for guitar equipment anywhere on the Web?)

The features of the zoom are numerous but limited, such as there are alot of effects but tweaking them can be tiresome.

The sound of the acoustic settings are great , some of the best I've heard for digital,but the distortions are just bland and poppy, not much clarity. some ppl will like it especially beginers.

the expression pedal is cool,but thats about it

here is what got me i have had it a little over a year b4 it messed up, can't click down anymore so I have to bank up , from clean to dirty,clean,dirty,clean very frustrating because the warranty has expired , so I took it apart to look at the switches very cheaply made with not much ability to take abuse, hence you buy cheap you get cheap!!

as I said above, the warranty is out so talking with them is not really an option. dont think I'll be buying anymore zoom products!!!!!!

I've been playing for over 20 years and I was dissapointed,the guy that sold it 2 me said it was the shiznit, how true,literally