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

It's complex, not complicated. Being new to multi-FX units it took me a few minutes to get my head around the idea, but it's simple enough. The preset patches are not good, and the sooner you get inside this thing and start fiddling around with it the more fun you can have.

I am not a huge fan of digital effects, specially when they claim to reproduce analog sounds. Digital always sounds to me like digital. However, it helps if you think of this thing not so much like something that is going to replace (or stand in for) your collection of beautiful analog stompboxes, but as a sort of small synthesiser that you can use to make interesting noises. Some of the effects here were new to me, like auto wah and auto resonator, which change the tone of your sound depending on how hard you pick - not yet sure what it's good for from a musical point of view, but nice idea. The 'ring modulator' patch is fabulously ugly-sounding, as is the 'digital fuzz'. The more you ask this thing to do things that old school effects can't do, the more fun it is.

The manual is clear enough. It took me about half an hour to find my way around this thing, and there are a lot of things you can do.

What can I say? Digital is digital. I love the sound of my hollowbody Ibanez AF-75 played through my Marshall combo, and nothing is going to beat that. The trick, as I see it, is to tame this device so that it messes with your clean sound as little as possible but enables you to make the most unguitary noises imaginable when you want it to. And that, it can do.

I use it with a Roland MicroCube (a second level of amp modelling, right there, which is irritating) and a Marshall AVT 20. I agree with Nels Cline that you can never have too many fuzzboxes, but most of the distortion options on this are not very interesting. I'll stick with my OD-3 and Rat for those purposes. The digital fuzz, as mentioned above, is one of the sickest sounds I've ever heard, though.

I bought this mainly because I wanted a volume pedal, a pitchshifter and a USB interface and was too poor to buy them all separately. This includes each of them, although you can only use the built-in pedal to shift one parameter at a time. The pitchshifter isn't quite as glorious as a Digitech Whammy, but it shifts pitches all right.

Hasn't gone wrong yet, but I haven't had it for very long (only a few weeks).

Haven't had to deal with them yet.

This was a bargain. It does a lot of things that I wanted to be able to do plus a lot else besides, and for a player like me who isn't wealthy that means a lot. I play mostly jazz and improvised music, and for the latter I like to be able to treat the sound a lot - this is perfect at that. If it were stolen or lost, I think I would probably save up and get a Boss volume, a Whammy pedal, some sort of loop station and a more portable USB interface.

Having said that, as a pitchshifter I compared this to a Digitech Whammy 4, and this does nearly everything that does, but at half the price. It also functions as a USB interface and as a lot of other things besides. My main concern is about the extent to which it sucks up my tone. I like a good clean tone which I can then modify at will, and this is not about that. This is about remaking the sound of your guitar into something else entirely. That's cool, but I would like the option of maintaining my basic tone without having to tweak a lot of knobs in order to reproduce something like it.

This unit is fairly easy to use but you MUST read the manual. The pre-sets on here sound ok but they are only meant for demo purposes to show what this unit can do. You need to tweak these settings to get your desired sound. The maunal is pretty straightforward and after reading it once I have just reffered to it a few times for minor things. The patches are pretty much fully configurable. The only drawback initally is the small two digit LED display. It would be much better with a display whereby you could name each patch descriptively rather than having to remember numbers and letters.

This is where this unit really shines. The amp modelling is very good indeed. I own a Peavey 5150 amp which is one of the modelled amps on this unit and It nails the sound of it perfectly. The Marshall and Mesa Boogie also sound very similar but I mostly use the Peavey. I play mostly punk and metal and the distortion on this thing is great. You can get anything from an overdriven blues distortion to a high gain, scooped nu-metal sound. Clean sounds are great too, especially the acoustic simulater which adds some meat to a clean sound.
The reverbs and delays are fully configurable as are the chorus and flanger settings - in fact it would be very very difficult for you not to get your desired sound. Ignore the reviews from people who say the sounds are awful, they probably haven't read the manual.
I only really use this for recording direct into my MAC and am very happy with the sounds it provides. Not tried it live but assume it would be ok.
One downside is the pedal. Its a waste of time in my opinion. The wah, although the sweep is configurable is not nice at all. Perhaps I have been spoilt as I'm using a Morley Mark Tremonti Wah which is the dogs nuts. Other effects can be assigned to this pedal such as volume, harmoniser etc but again i don't find them really useful at all. Anyway, this is a minor gripe.
The real highlight for this effect is the distortion and amp modelling. They are great and worth the price alone. Sound quality for these effects is top drawer too.

Seems reliable enough, I haven't abused this pedal at all but its well built, sturdy with a tough metal casing and rubber feet.

Never used them.

I'm giving this unit a 10 simply because,for the money you get a hell of a lot. Distortion and map mods are great, almost identical to the original and the other effects are all fully configurable and usable. Sound quality for recording is very good although I haven't used this in a live environment.
The downsides to this unit, are the display only having to a digit delay and the pedal. These are relatively minor and are far outweighed by the positives on this unit.

I've been playing bass since I was 13 (i'm 38 now) and guitar for just over a year. Guitars I use are Gibson SG Standard, Gibson SG Faded, Gibson Flying V, Burny Les Paul, LTD EX-400 BD and LTD VB-300 Baritone Guitar.

simple for me at home to use, once I practiced with it for a couple of days. I would not use it to play out.

It sounds fine to me. I use it to record guitar onto my PC in the included Cubase 1.08 software

Looks solid enough and have had no problems with it. Again I wouldn't gig with it because it would be too difficult to control down on the floor

have not dealt with them

For at home use, it is really nice.

You pretty much need to have the manual in front of you, due to the large amount of functions assigned to the same buttons, but it is manageable.

What is worse is that the notch on each know is barely visible so very often unless I look at the unit really close it's hard to figure out on which setting each know is. Not very helpful.

Also, the out is pretty crappy: just a single stereo out. Not even two mono outs (I had to buy an extra stereo-to-2-mono Hosa cable in order to record to my sound card).

Let's start with the good stuff: the acoustic simulator on this unit is VERY nice, I really liked the patches with it. This is about the only thing that is any good on this unit soundwise.

As soon as you start getting into distortion this thing starts blowing chunks. The tone is digital, lifeless and requires endless tweaking to get anywhere close to usable. The EQ options are somewhat limited and in a stroke of idiotic thinking Zoom forces you to choose between cabinet emulation or extra EQ...so basically you cannot use extra EQ if you are going direct.

The effects are OK, not bad...but if you play with the drum machine it automatically switches off the reverb, which really kills all your nice clean sounds.

Summary: nice for clean sound, very weak for distortion (especially metal...just mud, lots of weird bassy buzzing if you're using thick strings or low tunings, etc)

Seems to be built very well, no issues here.

Not dealt with them.

I am grateful I bought this unit (the last of many digital modellers that I owned). it finally made me realize (after spending 100s of $$$ on various PODs, VAMPs, etc) that for distortion (especially hi-gain) digital should be avoided at all costs.

I bought a tube Damage Control Demonizer and it kicks the crap out of any digital unit I ever owner.

So, thank you Zoom for this tonally uninspiring product that finally forced me to discover tube-based pedals sounds for direct recording.

Initially when I got it I was a little confused the inbuilt patches put me off and i left it on the bench for a couple of weeks but i was determined to get the thing working. Now i really love getting into creating my own sounds. I really like recording my sounds and assigning the expression pedal to volume, wah, drive etc it allows you to really create individual preferences.

I do find mine to be really noisy on some patches and when in rehearsal can annoy both me and my band if i leave it on an amp module (which by the way I really don't like!) I really like the subtlety of sounds that you can produce and use wah and phaser in minimal settings which give a really nice effect. I do get over the digital sound and have been known to grab my lead out of the zoom and jam it straight back into my amp in desperation to get some nice analogue tones.

I am gigging with it next week and I am apprehensive of this. Take away the portability aspect I would prefer to have stomp boxes with a true bypass any day. There is so many things that can go wrong and despite the fact they are not badly made they are still made out of plastic.

N/A

I use the zoom in an alternative/independent band and with some unusual sounds that I need to lift the song in some cases it does it well. In other cases I would use stomp boxes or directly into my amp. I don't love it but I love the amount of possibilities it does offer. I really don't think I would replace it if it got lost or stolen.

As has been noted by others, the interface takes a bit of getting used to, but once you get the hang of it you're good to go. I've gotten to where I'll even tweak settings right on stage. The manual isn't bad and the USB is plug and play so I think this is a pretty user-friendly pedal.

This is why I'm still using this thing after a year. Honestly when I bought it, I didn't think I would have it long. I got into a financial bind and needed something cheap to tide me over until I good afford something "good" again. However I have been very happy with this little pedal.

I was drawn to it after reading about it -- the 24-bit 96K sampling rate and 32-bit Motorola chip inside are impressive in this price range. It's competitors mostly offer the CD standard 44.1K sampling. I think you can hear it in the delays and modulation effects. Nice clear highs. I'm also reasonably happy with the compressor. I'm a compression freak, I like to play clean, clean, clean with lots of compression and I can do that with this pedal going into either my Peavey Classic 30 (very nice rich clean channel) or direct to the PA (thinner sound obviously, but still nice).

I have not been happy with the overdrive sounds and I really need to get in there and tweak it some more. As others have said just delete the presets, you won't be missing anything. Learn how to build sounds up from scratch and you'll fall in love with this thing. It's also easier to make adjustments on stage when you've created the patches yourself.

My sound quality rating is relative to other similar products in this price range -- what's out there that's any better?

I've had mine for about a year now and have used it in about a dozen gigs, numerous rehearsals and dozens of church services without a backup and haven't had any problems. Sometimes I run batteries, mostly I use the wall wart. It worries me that others have had problems with theirs, but I certainly have got my money's worth out of this little guy and would probably just buy another one if this one died or started to get flaky on me.

Never contacted.

I'm a versatile player (rock, blues, jazz, worship, even a little country) so I need gear that provides a lot of bang for the buck and I really found it in this little Zoom pedal. I've never owned anything Zoom before, always assumed they were junk, but when I read the specs on this I had to try it and now I'm hooked. I also really appreciate how small, portable and light this thing is. I've been playing over 30 years and I don't have the stomach for hauling lots of equipment around plus all that setting up and tearing down. I've owned a lot of modelers (DG-Stomp, Line6 Pods, Tonelabs, Pandoras, etc.) Each has their strengths and I've always been able to get usable tones out of pretty much whatever I use (unless it's just a piece of junk, and even then I can sometimes make junk sound better than it is :-)

I'm not going to say this is the greatest product since sliced bread, but I like it, it works for me, I like the form factor, the sound, the interface. There are always compromises in equipment, I've not yet found every feature I always wanted in any piece of gear, but this one offers some pretty reasonable trade-offs for the money. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

easy to figure out, editing is ok, manual is well done really hard to decide if setting eq's first and then adding effects is a good idea as sound is affected rather than complimented by each effect

hard to get a nice metal sounding type distortion sustained lead, chorus is a little weak and the standard chorus is far better than the so called stereo chorus, wah pedal does not have really good range cause the pedal has a limited radius from up to down. I have a noise problem when playing next to the computer on distortion settings. i run an aria w/ sngl coils into headphones and I don't get a real spacious reverb sound. another major complaint is that the reverb is cancelled when using the drum machine. Can get muddy. Too many vol controls. I use headphones and found that thru a fender champ type small practice amp all of my setting have to be redone. Does have some organic tones

The scroll up and down buttons are on the fritz i have pushed them one too many times but am going to send it back to them to get this fixed when i get a roundtuit hopefully

emailed them and have to send for repairs

I had a yamaha magicstomp and that was way too much editing so i like this somewhat. Probably best in it's price range, better than the Tone Works Pandora Cubase included i have had little patience

I bought my unit over a year ago at the local music shop to put in front of the Behringer amp I was using at the time. Since then I've upgraded my amplifier to a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and no longer use the Zoom in a band situation, though I still use it for direct recording and silent practice through headphones. The instruction manual is adequate, but not fantastic, and there are some tricks to getting the best sounds out of it. (I recommend signing up to one of the user forums to get the most out of this unit.) This is a multi effects unit trying to do lots of things, so if you expect to just turn it on and use it without looking at the instructions you will be disappointed. The presets are pretty useless, you will need to create your own patches. Also, you will need to organise your patches sequentially if you require a number of different sounds when playing live.

As mentioned before, I no longer use this in front of an amp in a band setting. The main reason is that it does kill the sound/tone and now that I've got an amp with a decent sound, it is really noticable. If it had a true bypass I could live with it for certain effects, but I'm unable to produce any combination of settings that allow the guitar/amp combination to shine through. I also find that the ouput level is boosted to a level that the Fender doesn't agree with. This may not as much a problem with other (solid state) amps though. Try it through your amp before you buy!

Having said all that, I'm happy enough using it for the USB interface for direct recording or practising through headphones.

I wouldn't gig with this unit due to what it does to my sound. I've not had any hardware issues with it, but hear of others on the forums. Don't use batteries, get a decent charger for it.

Not had to use any.

I play mainly rock/blues style with both an American Fender Strat and Gibson Les Paul Standard. For the amount of time I've been playing, I should be much better than I am!! If stolen, I would probably wouldn't replace this unit, I'd get something that does less to my tone and is useable onstage. Wishlist??...A true bypass switch and the ability to limit output power. (Maybe it's high so that it can drive headphones, so maybe a seperate headphone socket would be the way to go???)

I thought it was very good especially when running in front of a good pre-amp. Excellent harmonics ! Wish the reliability was there.

This is one of the only reasons I'm posting this . In april I bought one and loved the clarity and harmonics (thought it surpassed many more expensive pedals in its tonal harmonics) I left for a week in May and got home and it would not power up at all . Took it back to Bananas and brought home another one, same model . Within ten days , I could scroll in only one direction thrugh parameters(useless). Today i have a G2 and I'll let you know how things turn out but those of you who are gigging with this without a backup are playing with fire. By the way this was in a home studio setting (never went out ) and mostly pressed the buttons by hand.

I should'nt need to call them after a month of light use.

Fairly easy to use, but you still need the manual. As compared with the Zoom 606II, that I also have, it's easier, thanks to the rotary controls.
Manual is OK.

I play 60s rock and instrumentals, and some country. I run the G2.1u through a an all tube Laney VC30, using a Squier Std Tele, Epi LP Std and a Fender Mex Strat Std.

Since the VC30 sounds very good in itself (Vox territory, but with a flavour of its own), I have the amp sims turned off and only use the effects.

I have primarily used the tape echo and tremolo, and occasionally wah, chorus and pitch shifter. I have managed to get some good sounds in the studio as well as live.

As for the amp sims/distorsions, I get the impression that they are not better than those of the 606II. However, I used the 606II with another amp.

It seems sturdy enough and I have used it on gigs without backup.
When running on batteries, the low battery warning is given far too late.

I have been playing for more than 40 years. I have managed to get good sounds for 60s rock, instrumentals and surf music.
If it were stolen, I probably would get some other multieffect seeing that technical development is rather fast.

didnt take long to figure out how to use it, the 2 digit dispay is pretty sufficient to my surprise.

this thing has great Marshall amp emulators, the ones i like best is MC (marshall clean) used with gain all the way up and a strat with bridge/middle pickups for rhythm. Also MD (marshall drive?) with gain down almost all the way and the NECK strat pickup sounds great for solos also . That's all I use as far as guitar effects, and i just add a bit mid spring reverb, and sometimes delay..Works perfect and sounds great!

Micked cabinet simulators dont work too well with MC and MD though, but i was able to dial in a good sound for recording no problem.. Worked great - use a standard printer cable, no need for drivers, works great with cooledit.(you have to plug your computer speakers or headphones into the back of the Zoom instead of sound card)

used it for about a year, rehearsals , gigs , no problems

Update from previous review. While editing on this unit is easy (once you read the manual), and control is precise, the precision eans you have to tweak a LOT to get the sounds you want. You get what you put into this box -- you won't just turn it on and get the sound you want in half a minute. For computer recording it's a plug and play interface, love it.

I use inexpensive modellers like this for travel play and recording, and live through a Kustom Tube 12A (GREAT small amp) and Crate Powerblock. I don't try to sound like anyone else; I do love the sounds of Cooder, Fred McDowell, Steve Cropper, Muddy Waters. I need a good overdriven single coil slide sound, a HB slide sound, a Rockabilly sound, and heavy slide rock sounds, all with clear separation of bass, mids and leads, so the crowd can hear bass lines, partials and slide separately. I can get that from the G2.1u, but it took time. It sounds MUCH better with my Reverend JS390, a P90 axe, than with a Curlee equipped with Dimarzio super distortions.

The unit is noiseless. Reverbs are OK but choice is limited to room, Hall or spring; latter can get muddy fast. Delays are nice -- The clean slapback sound on this unit is delicious. Tremolo sounds like a more expensive unit. Octave effect is excellent, clean and punchy, and lets top end come through on chords. Chorus not as rich as I'd like.

Distortions require some thinking ony our part. You can't get an overdriven Fender or AC30 sound out of this box, the models stay clean however you set onboard gain. You could input a OD stompbox to the G2.1u model... Instead, I set up the G2.1u as I want, then use gain on my amps to get overdrive, and it sounds very, very good. Like reverbs, the distortion settings are limited, especially for blues -- the Boss OD setting, my favorite, sounds very dark. I find the Marshall Clean setting (MC) most useable -- a slight overdrive with a clear high end.

Wonderfully reliable, light and sturdy. I DO use it without a backup. Battery operation is a huge plus (7 hrs on 4 AAs).

Never contacted them. The manual is great.

Play Delta modern, fitting stuff from Handy to the Police into a Delta slide style. Played 40+ years, own or have owned Gibson LP standard, Reverend USA and import, Fender guitars and basses and tube amps, yada yada. Compared to Digitech RP pedals, I own a few. In its class, this is the best. I've put aside my Digitechs to concentrate on this box, because the battery operation and USB out make it so flexible. I like inexpensive light and sturdy gear, and this qualifies. I'd buy it again in a shot. I may also buy the G2, which has no footpedal and so is even lighter. It ain't a rack of high end effects, but it's a powerful device that has good sounds in it, at a very decent price.

I had 505 in the past, this thing is similar, a little easier to tweak, but it keeps only 2 digits on a display which may confuse new users. Basicly you have to hit the strings to hear what effect you're tweaking.

This is a part where I'm dissapointed. I wanted a device for home practicing/recording, playing with backing tracks and jam along with my favourite songs. I don't care much about all that weird sounds with modulations. What I need is good clean sound, good rock sound for riffs (like Guano Apes), good metal sound for making slaughterhouse(like Nightwish, Lacuna Coil) and modern solo sound with high saturation and delay. Unfortunately G2.1 didn't deliver. Sound is weak, canned, with narrow EQ and not enough punch. It also kills character of my pickups - Evolution and PAF Pro form DiMarzio. And yeah, Wah is crap. Sorry, but Line6 is far better (not perfect though).

Good sides? It's not noisy and changes patches immediately.

It's made far better than its descendant 505, however I wouldn't use it live, because I don't wanna be associated with sound that comes out of it.

No experience with ZOOM support. They can work better with their website.

I've been playing for more then 10 years, mostly on Ibanez guitars, hybrid Marshalls, different digital MultiFX, some analog stompboxes. I'm not a tube purist, but I like good sound. My ears can't find one in ZOOM G2.1. It's time to test POD XT and get rid of ZOOM product without regret.

It's set up like this:

Guitar
\/
{Compression} -> {Wah/EFX} -> {Zoom noise reduction/Gate} -> {Amp sim} ->
{EQ} -> {Extra EQ/Cabinet sim} -> {Mod/SFX} -> {Delay} -> {Reverb/Rhythm Machine}
\/
Amp/Headphones/Mixer/USB-out


Pretty intuitive interface, though fans of signal chain tweaking will be disappointed that you can't rearrange the modules like you can on a Boss GT-8/GT-Pro. However, Boss is the exception; the norm is more in Zoom's area. You CAN put the {Wah/EFX} module before or after the EQ module, so you can get pre-gain or post-gain filtration. That's a useful feature.

Editing patches reminds me of Kantian ethics: easy to learn, complex to master. You'll get the hang of it quickly, but getting really good sounds takes a bit of deeper tweaking. Still, won't take you more than a few days of playing around if you're technically apt, and the rewards of mastery are quite tangible in the form of great sounds!

A brief breakdown:

{Compression module} has a variable level from very little compression to big time compression, and can either be set to fast compression to even out the attack of notes or slow compression to kick in for sustain while leaving notes' attack relatively untouched. I don't use a lot of compression with any kind of distortion because the Zoom pedal models a tube amp's natural compression really well in my opinion. The old pedals didn't really do this at all, and it's a huge step in the right direction.

{Wah/EFX} has quite a few things, all of which have multiple settings and parameters controllable by the built in expression pedal (or pedals, in the case of the more expensive units). Included are Auto-wah, auto-resonance, booster, tremolo, phaser, ring modulator, slow attack, Vox wah, and Crybaby wah. As mentioned, the Wahs can go in front of everything or after the EQ. I don't like the phaser very much (MXR for me, thanks), but the others are useful in some way or another.

{Zoom Noise Reduction/Gate} is awesome and beats the hell out of my Boss noise suppressor. It has a variable reduction level, and does a very good job if you're going to be using roughly the same guitar volume level on a patch. Even harmonics come through with their natural note trails, and no hum is to be found. On the gate side of things, there is a clean gate and a dirty gate. The clean gate is just what you usually think of in a noise gate, while the dirty gate couples well with Fuzz pedals.

{Amp sims} is actually labeled "Drive," probably because not everything emulated is an amplifier, but that sounds pretty dumb. The amp models here are Fender Clean, Vox AC 30 Clean, Roland Jazz Chorus clean, Marshall Crunch (between clean and crunch, think 1970s rock), Fender Tweed Deluxe '53 crunch (blues machine), Mesa Boogie MkIII combo, Marshall JCM2000 Stack, Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier on Vintage voicing, Peavey 5150, Boss OD-1 pedal, Marshall Guv'nor pedal, Hot Box, Fuzz Face pedal, MT-1 Metalzone pedal (I have a physical MT-1 and the emulation is uncannily accurate, though the adjustment settings don't have the same ease of use - digital versus potentiometers), Zoom Extreme Distortion (not a bad sound if you're looking for enough gain to destroy a house), Zoom Digifuzz (a high gain fuzz, also not bad). Without going into exhaustive detail, suffice it to say that all of the amps are at least close, and all are useful. This also has the first stage of EQ, as each amp model has a tone knob to let you start getting the general shape of your sound. I can't believe how well the amps respond to picking dynamics and guitar volume changes - I didn't think modelers could do that.

{EQ} gives you three more frequency bands to dial in the sound you're looking for, and is very handy.

{Extra EQ} does two things. It either gives you three more EQ knobs (bringing the total up to seven), or it houses the cabinet and mic simulation. What kind of cabinet is modeled depends on the amp sim you've chosen. Some use a 1X12, some use a 2X12, some use a 4X12. The cabinet sim has a simulation of a dynamic mic and a compressor mic, both quite useful depending on which amp model you're using (I like how a dynamic mic sounds with cleans, personally), and three placement options, specifically dead center pointed at a speaker cone, pointed halfway between edge and center, and pointed at the speaker edge.

{Mod/SFX} is a big one, and I'm not going to go into what individual effects do, but suffice it to say they're all remarkably more useful than in previous versions where some effects are just plain stinkers. Here's a list: Chorus, Stereo Chorus, Flanger [unremarkable], Pitch Shifter, Pedal Pitch, Vibrato, Step filter, Harmonized Pitch Shifter (key-specific intelligent shifting to various intervals), and a few more.

(More to follow in Reliability section)

I feel that it is very reliable. The construction quality is solid, mostly made of metal. The input jacks are fully metal as well, not plastic like some other units. That said, gigging without some kind of backup is never a good idea, especially with only one point of failure like a multieffects unit. What if the power at the venue is so dirty that your unit doesn't want to work, and your batteries die? What if your unit gets broken somehow, or something is spilled on it, disabling it?

These are things to keep in mind. Don't gig without a backup.

Now, for more Sound Quality information on the remaining modules:

{Delay} is the dedicated module for delay which allows up to 5 seconds of delay and has a hold function. This is feature and sound competitive with the Boss DD-6 and the whole Zoom G2.1u unit costs about as much, so if you're looking for a long digital delay and a stage tuner you can get them both here and save money. You can use this in conjunction with the Delay and Tape Echo in the previous bank to get some really cool multiple delay sounds. The specific delay modules here are Delay, Pingpong Delay, and Echo (for a more analog delay sound).

{Reverb} is exactly what it says it is, and has Hall, Room, and Spring reverb with adjustable duration. It also gives you a tone knob for the reverb, so you can get some cool sounds out of it (and, if you want to count this in, it would be the 8th EQ option you get in the signal chain). The reverbs on this unit are way better than previous ones and are all quite useful. Apart from the traditional reverbs listed, you also get Early Reflection which gives you only the early reflection components of the reverb with an adjustable decay and envelope shape. Finally, you get a cool multi-tap delay in this module as well, with adjustable times of 10-990ms and 1000-3000ms respectively, with 8 different patterns. Oh, and it houses the rhythm unit as well, which means when you turn the drum machine off you get none of this. That is a gripe, for me, but it hasn't been a problem - I just record the drum track first if I am using it to lay down a basic track, and then I can go back and rerecord my own drums later (drummer first, guitarist second), and when I'm just practice jamming it's not a big deal at all.

Never had to deal with them. I have a 505II (which has horrid sound quality, but was fun to practice with) that has been working perfectly since it came out.

Overall, this is an excellent unit for any type of music. Compared to other units of the same type in the pricerange, here are my observations:

It is far better than the Pod 2.0 in every way except time-based effects. The Pod's time effects are great.

The Tonelab (not Tonelab SE) has better low gain models, but the high gain models on the Zoom unit are superior.
Price:performance is great!

I found the pedal to be pretty easy to edit once I scanned the manual. The "canned sounds" are horrible. This is MY opinion. You may like them but I found them to be unusable.

KNow where I am coming from first....... I normally use pedals in front of old Fender Tube amps (boss, keeley, mxr). I usually use a strats, parker, gretsch guitars...mostly strats. I have owned many zoom multifx pedals only long enough to return them before the money back guarantee expired! Owned boss gt3, gt5, gt6. Digitech early and recent RP stuff. Sorry, they don't work for me.

As of late, my gigs have had me cramped into a tiny space where my pedal board takes up just about all the room I have to stand. So, I decided to buy one of these to reclaim some standing room for myself.

Here's what I have used so far: Parker, Gretsch, Strat->Zoom->Bandmaster, Deluxe Reverb, Pro jr, and Epiphone Valve Jr -> Behringer Ultra G DI box to the PA. All usable...the Gretsch requires the most tweaking as it does with my regualr setup.

As I said earlier, the canned sounds are not good. After a week of evenings, I have been able to create 3 clean patches and 2 overdriven lead patches that I consider more than usuable with one of my Strats. This in itself is enough to make me happy with the unit and keep it. I haven't made an attempt to put a distortion pedal in front of it to see if that will work, I doubt it will.

As others have said, it is harsh sounding, but, diligent tweaking of all of the EQ options will get some very pleasing sounds out of it. You may even find that the cab settings work better going into the amp than the live settings.

I have been able to program a usable reverb, delay, and compression. I didn't find the unit noisy...I normally use analog pedals so I am used to a bit of HISSS. I really haven't heard any noise that is worth mentioning.

I will try to depend on it but I will always have a backup pedal board since I cannot take chances at any gigs.

I play blues/classic rock/female pop rock. The pedal works okay, my analog stuff is better but I can use it in order to save some space and setup time on stage. Been playing for over 40 years. I own a tone of gear..mostly old Fender Tube amps...boogie Z etc.

I wouldn't replace it if it was stolen. I would laugh knowing that whoever wound up with it will likely have a hell of a time getting a good sound out it LOL! It takes some work if you ask me.

I chose this one because I have had all the others and I wanted to mess around with an intelligent harmonizer (haven't played with it yet though). I also wanted to play with Cubase LE (haven't tried it yet though).