Zoom G2

My son is 1 1/2 yrs old and he is editing patches as I type this! He could've read the manual but it is too easy he didn't need to.

I am using a $10,000 les paul and sometimes I use a guitar my grandma bought me from walmart THEY BOTH SOUND TREMENDOUSLY GREAT through this pedal. I'm glad they put lights on it, because it's so quiet I didn't know if it was on! Auto makers should learn something from this pedal. The sound is SUPER, I was playing some Vai stuff the other night and my neighbors were outside my house selling tickets because people actually thought STEVE VAI was there playing!! The distortion is TOP NOTCH I play everything from Wynonna Judd to Accept.

Seriously, I think this is built out of titanium, I accidently dropped it from our balcony on the 41st floor and I thought "oh no" but, when I went down to the street everyone was just standing around saying "now, that's a well built pedal". It was still in ONE PIECE not even a scratch!! Come to think of it, It almost sounds better now, if there can be such a thing!!!!

Like I said it's so quiet, so I called tech support to see if they could tell me if it was on and the SUPER NICE guy on the other end told me about the "lights" and that they would be on if the unit was on so.. WHEW!! They are TOP NOTCH, he even offered to send me a case of my favorite beverage!!

I've been playing for 75 years. Someone DID already steal the first 3 of these things I bought so now I have a backup of 5 of them. The only thing I don't like it sometimes I hear voices coming out of the unit (cross-comms w/telco I I think) I've owned every effect pedal made by every company ever and this is the best one! I used to just play in my house but recently there was a MAJOR band in town and I guess they heard me and stopped so now I might be going to be on tour with them, I can't say who, but I'm not sure if they were on a bus or a Crazy Train HEHEHE. The only thing I wish this thing had, was a bottle opener on the back because those Mexicans put their caps on the bottles so tight!! The only thing else I would like to share is that if you don't go buy one of these right now then you should probably sell all of your gear and move to iceland and plant daisies on the beach!

The two-digit display is irritating, but for all that, it isn't very hard to program.

For a $100 device, this thing is marvelous. I won't rehash what people have said below, but you CAN GET NATURAL OVERDRIVE OUT OF THIS THING. The way you do it is to choose the "booster" option from the WAH/EFX module, and use it to drive the clean amp models--the Twin and AC30. You can also drive the Deluxe model nicely by turning the gain all the way down and using the booster. The booster is the secret weapon for natural overdrive. Seriously. Also, this pedal is VERY quiet and the delays are great.

I play indie rock and electronic/experimental music. This will replace a large pedalboard full of stompboxes AND an amp in my live electronic-music rig. It's a great deal for the dough.

very easy if you are not trying to do many things with it. simply turning knob 1. to control, for instance, will allow you to use knob 3. to attenuate master volume, which on mine was at 86, a tearyourheadoff setting. then, for instance,turn knob one to mod/sfx and then use one of the little selectors just below to scroll through the various effects-------try them one at a time, adjusting each with the other three knobs. different effects reflect differing values in the three adjuster knobs.

as the manual reads: adjust your instrument and your amp accordingly as in any common sense audio setting.

never weak. thing one on this box is big sound. thing 1.1 is distortion. i play ten guitars, from a custom Chris Sayre, chrome and ebony strat to a 1931 martin 017 with a bartolinni A2. depending on venue and effects, either a quadrophonic systems of battery-powered amps between 30 and 50 amps, or a marshall plexi +/-.

i do no covers.

best effect is tape echo.

once again, you have to adjust the noise factor........it is possible to go totally clean.........but why? the thing is inyourface, satan, distortion paradise.

ps.......the word pristine, is lame.

so far. two weeks in, and it does what i have programmed. i never use computers except for writing. the effect has to be easy to understand, or i send it back quickly.

i never go w/o backup.

one time five years ago. real guy on phone helped me solve problem myself.

i've played for 29 years and am producing an albumn and a show during 06. my guitar sound has a large dynamic range, from unplugged little old martins to my chrome strat (with Black Ice) through G2.

Boss DD-3 & DOD250.

Boss ME30.

DanEcho/Dunlop rotovibe.

Most of these are souped up by my tech, the luthier, chris sayre. Write him at choreopera@yahoo.com. Chris also voices my guitars for the various tunings and beefs up the bracing, customizes the profiles, etc.

I play both neo-Broadway pop, prog-rock, and what is usually called classical music. most of it on guitar, some on synth and one piano, a little on pipe organ. my present project, The Last Ingenue, is a musical/rock opera.

One can also write choreopera@yahoo.com for information as casting is underway for guitarist/singer/actors.

i'm a private detective; no one steals my gear. and if your head's in the game, no one will steal yours either.

like big sound and for 100 bucks, it would be worth it if it did one really good thing. it does at least ten for me now, and the number one, the tape echo is not only a better sound than an echoplex, which i have used and owned, but there is no echoplex noise, which can be dreadful, and i am not tight assed about noise.

i can play 4-8 guitar parts on this setting, and the machine defaults to it (because i saved it 2 or 3 times) when turned on.

i can skip to the chase and attack immediately.

if you don't like distortion, or at least distortion laying back there like a caged tiger or a nuke meltdown waiting to happen, then this probably won't work for you.

i can share my music. again, choreopera at yahoo.com.

I used the 505-II for years at about a zillion gigs, and then went to the GFX-8, so I was familiar with most of the concepts of the G2 and the editing procedure. For the novice or someone never owning a Zoom, I'd think editting the patches might be tricky, at first, until you get a feel for how to do it. The 505-II, I'd give that a 10 for ease of programming. The G2, probly a 6 or 7.

Its quiet, I'll say that much. the effects are generally quite good. the Vibro-tone is excellent, as good as pedals I bought for the sole purpose of that, for much more. the chorus is also good and the delay is much improved over the 505-II, with longer delay times available.

However, the drive modes are not satisfactory to me at all. I dont play metal, and altho there are a few really good hi-gain drive modes, that isnt what i do (classic rock and country rock). the 505-II had a great basic rock guitar drive mode called OVERDRIVE. Very warm, natural sounding and responsive, to me anyway. The GFX-8 has it too. Zoom blew that off with the G2, and instead, has gone to amp modelling and nothing on there, to my ears, comes close to the old OVERDRIVE mode on the 505-II. A real disappointment. I was hoping to use the G2 as my only onstage box, with maybe a wah wah, but it wont happen. I simply cannot find a basic rock tone I like out of this, and grew tired of messing with the extended EQ settings thru three different tube amps, over about 2 or 3 hours.

I have not tried this directly thru our PA but that isnt how i like to play a show anyway, I like a little tube amp behind me. the 505-II and the GFX-8 work great in this manner. so far, the G2 does not, not for me, altho if you played metal or heavy alternative, or grunge or goth or whatever, it probly would.

At this point I've got it on my big pedalboard to use in a true bypass loop as a time-based effect generator only. Delay, chorus, echo, vibro-verb, stuff like that, and it works well that way. You can turn off everything except the effects module, including the EQ, that is helpful.

However its pretty much one effect per patch and with only the two digit display, its tough to remember at a gig, which is which. You need a printout, just like with the 505-II. the GFX-8 fixed this by having a multiple character readout, but the GFX-8 wont run on batteries, has a weird and delicate power cord, and has the half a second delay when you switch patches. the G2 is an improvement over all those things.

Still, I'm unhappy with the G2 drive modes, and altho a couple were ok, notably the Boogie Mk 3 and the OD-1, still, when A-B'ing them with a 505-II set up in Overdrive, it wasnt a good comparison, for what I wanted. Zoom screwed up, in this respect. Most amp modelling to me, sucks. I dont like Line6's stuff, either.

I havent used the G2 at a gig yet, but have used the 505-II and the GFX-8 at many shows.

I've emailed the company a few times over various issues, andonly got one response, which was obviously written by a japanese person who had limited english skills. not great.

Easy to use. Editing is not to bad to get around the unit. The manual is helpful if needed.

I'm using a Gibson SG. Also processing raw guitar samples through this unit, just like you would a real guitar. I am going strait to a mixer. The amp simulations are basically trash. Only the clean sounds are decent. This is supposed to be the heart of the unit and 90% of it sucks. Please give me a good amp sound first, before you give me any of the fillers and dressings. What a disappointment! With a sampling rate of 96k you think it would be better. The effects are good and useable. Clean but thin sounding. Good noise reduction. Cab simulations sound fair at best. Maybe this thing sounds better through an amp. I doubt it.

Well built.

Never have.

I would not buy it again. For around a 100 bucks your getting a lot of stuff hear. It's digital and it sounds like it. After a half hour your ears are tired of it. The ZOOM 5000 pedal is the best thing ZOOM ever made. You need to get the tone down first before any thing else, and this falls way short.

Features listed already. 2 digit display with 4 knobs a few little buttons and 2 footswitches. Display is nice and bright. But as mentioned getting into effects takes a while with the manual to hand as some of the names for amp models etc are a little vague.
Power switch is a nice touch though.
Presets are gash in general and it took me at least 30-60mins to start getting the sounds i wanted out of it.

I have used this unit now with- straight into my DAW at home and in the studio through a desk and a DI unit, through a HIWATT 100w head, a peavey classic 30 and my Vox AC30. Oh and headphones.
Patches need to be tailored to whatever you are running it through obviously. It has switchable cab modelling for running direct.
First impression was how scarily quiet this thing is. I mean seriously quiet.
Plugged in direct to my audiophile at home in stereo it sounds very useable. Some of the amp models are pretty good like the boogie, marshall and JC120 sounds. Some are not that outstanding but still quite useable such as the vox. I dont think the pedals through the cab sim sound that great in general. Not bad just not great.
Plugged in to an amp with the cab sim off is a different story. Some of the amp sims still sound good and most of the pedal sims sound pretty good. The only complaint with the pedal sims is that they are a little too smooth sounding to my ears next to analog dist pedals but still reasonably faithfull to the modelled sounds.
Ok the next bit is easy. The delays, reverb and modulation are superb. There could be more reverbs maybe and maybe 100% wet mix and stuff but they just sound great anyway. Add a pedal for delay hold and have loads of fun looping and stuff.
The compression too is very useable and good sounding. The noise gate is effective without too much artifacts. Intelligent pitch shifting is a thin lizzy heaven.
And strangely enough there are only one or two special effect type things that will probably be quite usefull.
Overall I would say this pedal is very useable as a single unit for live or recording. Used in a bigger rig it is excellent for using for filling in gaps. Upto now I have been using it live for delays,comp,chorus,trem and a touch of reverb.
Oh the drum thing is ok. Not much i can say about it really as i have only used it for about 5 seconds.

Solid unit. Nice rubber edges and tough feeling footswitches. I havent checked but it doesnt seem as if the jacks are pcb mounted although i may be wrong. But all the same they feel very solid too.
Patch switching is instantaneous. I would happily gig it without a backup.

This pedal is very usefull and great sounding. The only quibbles I can raise are just petty as the unit is so cheap. I cant think of anything in this price range with such high sound quality. I am just a little gutted I didnt shell out the extra for the exp pedal version. I didnt realise how good it was gonna be.
I didnt buy it for dist but I have found myself using some of it at home for quick stuff into my computer.
I havent used any digital gear for 4-5 years because I realised how rubbish they sounded next to analog stuff but my space echo broke and I needed a delay so I looked into this. It was intended to fill that gap till i fixed the tape delay and I was just gonna give it to someone who needs it.
Well I forgot about fixing my tape delay and I am keeping the G2 for the forseeable future.
For this price right now I think this unit is unbeatable.

Just bought one of these for my son (for Christmas) so, of course, I had to try it out. If you can operate a bunch of separate stomp boxes then you can work this beasty - just turn the switch and the knobs will set up each virtual stomp box in turn. I can't see how it could be much easier in that way. What makes it a bit more difficult is the two-digit *numeric* LED display. This is great to read your patch number from a distance but pretty limiting for editing because every parameter becomes a cryptic two "character" code. Takes a bit of getting used to, so you'll need to keep the manual handy to start with. So... good news and bad news.
Any more bad news? Yup, there aren't enough patch memories! With a box that sounds this good and has so many possibilities it needs more than lesser units, yet it only (really) has twenty. It has forty user patch numbers but half of them are for stage use (no cab models but extra EQ) and half for studio. The Korg AX10G (my daughter has one) does a similar sort of thing but just has a simple LINE/AMP switch. Why can't Zoom do this (Answer - they want to appear to have more memories than they really have!).

I have only tried the G2 with headphones so far but the verdict is... WOW! It brings VST plug-in or rack unit quality to a stomp box. At last every effect sounds clear and detailed - even distortions! I have a Korg PX4 for practice, which I use with a Steinberger Spirit GT Pro. This is fine with average headphones but I'm reluctant to use it with my studio AKGs because they show up the digital mess around the edge of the sound. No such problem with the G2.
I can't vouch for the accuracy of the amp models but they give a great range from squeaky clean through to something like a buzz saw cutting through a tin shack - and everything in between. You will probably need to ignore the presets and set up your own sounds, but you should be able to find whatever you want. The only limitation I've found is that it seems quite tricky to set up a touch-sensitive crunch for blues, where quieter notes are clean but as you pick harder the distortion comes in progressively. The sound *is* there but I haven't yet got it as responsive as I could on a good amp - or even my PX4.
The effects which go along with the amp models are excellent: clean and easy to set up, with just enough controls. You can get a pretty ridiculous number of delays - three sections can each be set to delays simultaneously. The noise gates need to be set up properly to get the best out of each guitar (another good reason for more memories!). You can even dial up a knackered noise gate to go with a crappy digital distortion. Not sure why, but you *can*...
The built-in rhythms have pretty good samples and above-average patterns. They are only any use for practice (you can't edit or chain them, there are only about 35 rhythms plus 5 metronome "patterns" and switching them on cuts out the reverb) but they do the job.

Zoom gear always used to be a bit cheap and nasty - though I'm told not as breakable as they seemed to be. This is a different ball game - it seems really solid and chunky. The controls feel great, the footswitches are positive and solid and, all-in-all, I can't see how they do it for the price. This is only the price of one of the cheaper Boss boxes and feels very bit as solid - but does as much as a whole bunch of them!
Unless it starts showing electrical problems of some sort (I've only had it two days) I would trust this on stage. Probably not with the wall-wart power supply, though - that's just a cheapo average consumer unit.

Never dealt with them. Hope I never will.

I am primarily a keyboardist but using guitar more and more over the past few years - it's nice to interact with something real and immediate. I play a wide variety of styles from jazz, through blues and indie to the occasional thrash. This will do the lot. I have used it with both of my guitars (Steinberger Spirit and Washburn MG40) and the SG copy I've bought for my son (his other Christmas present - shh!) and it makes everything sound great. I like the size, the looks and the price - as well as the wonderful clarity of the sounds.
I don't like the limited display (why not two-digit alphanumeric, at least). I like even less the lack on memories but, hell, for this price?!
Would I buy another? Well as soon as I recover from Christmas I think I'm going to buy the G2.1u - can't let my son have better gear than me! ;o)

It took me all of 15 minutes to completely understand every aspect of its programming capabilities.

The sound on this unit is brilliant. I've been looking for the perfect direct recording interface for computer recording and I think that I've found it in the Zoom G2. Zoom has set the bar at a new level with this product. It is extremely quiet. The noise reduction makes the buzz in the treble pickup of my Strat virtually nonexistent. The distortions are fantastic. There is enough gain programmability to execute blazing solos without the need for any other effect pedals. The amp sims are amazing. The clean guitar sounds are superb as well. The effects are unparalleled for a unit at this price. The best 100 dollars that I've ever spent.

All metal build. Solid. I just bought it but can't foresee too many problems.

I play alternative/industrial rock along the lines of NIN, gODHEAD, Rammstein, TOOL, etc. The Zoom G2 definitely fits the bill for this type of music. I own lots of other gear including the Sansamp GT2(which is also good), the KORG ampworks device, the BOSS Metal Zone and various other effect pedals. I play through a Fender Strat. Until now, I've had to use various devices simultaneously to get the guitar sound that I want. Thank you Zoom.

Easy to get some great sounds if you take the time to adjust the settings. The presets, aren't great. Editing is pretty simply but for most of it you need to use your hands. Some memorization or frequent manual referencing may be needed for more complex effects and operations but once you've got your settings save em and leave em.
There is a manual. It is very thorough, detailed, and relatively easy to understand.

I use mainly epiphones, PRS, fernandes, and Gibson, with hard rock or metal type pickups and tones. Peavey, Marshall, and Mesa heads with marshall lead and 1960a, and berhinger cabs
A lot of people not giving high ratings here are just being ANAL. like this reviewer who posted his review a couple below me making ridiculous subjective claims and presenting them as fact. As far as digital multieffects pedals go this is one is right up there. I've used many different ones in the past: digitech, boss, other zooms, dod, Line 6 etc. This is one is in an entirely different world. Sure the presets are lame but the quality of the individuals effects, distortions, amp sims, etc is incredible. It is VERY clear sounding in general as someone else as mentioned (yes on distortion as well, it is very tight). Zoom was extremely thorough with this pedal, giving great versatility and variety. For once a digi multi effects has a decent amount of gain with tons of options for adjusting tone and overall sound. The person a couple of posts below says the amps models/sims are poor..... THAT IS BS, sounds like he/she's trying to make themselves seem extra professional. well stop being so anal you little babies, its just a pedal its not designed to read your mind and mutate to the gear your use it with. but hey NO pedal does that so get used to it. giving this pedal a 7 because stupid crap like that is ridiculous that would make the majority of other ones out there 3s and 4s. i wonder if these people are even comparing to other products or keeping in mind what it is.
as for the amp models/sims they are actually very good its "scary" as someone else has said. obviously when you hook it up to your rig its not going to be a "replica" of the sound its trying to model because your running it through an additional, preamp section, power, amp section, likely diff cabinets, etc. DUH. but the signal actually coming out of the pedal before it goes through all that extra crap is very good, and if you can get your amp to some very neutral/flat settings the simulation is again so good that its "scary". I have a mesa dual rec half stack, and a Marshall JCM, as well at the same place i use this ZOom pedal through just a solid state peavey. WEll with the right settings on the peavey and zoom, they can sound RIDICULOUS similar to either when on those amp sim settings. And you can test this out by running one of those original rigs into a DAW with no additional preamp, and then the same straight frmo the zoom to the DAW with no rig infront of it. VERY good job by zoom. By the way, even if you are running it into an amp zoom even acknowledges the fact that this affects the sound and even has a section in the manual which says how to set some popular amp models to use the zoom pedal with to bring out the intended sounds. like i said, very thorough by zoom. i mean even by just looking and and thinking about some of the samp models/sims they have on there, like for example, the roland chorus amp, or a couple of the clean/semi clean fender ones - these are unique sounding amps but lets face it they are not that shockingly distinct - yet zoom takes the time to model them anyways even for the finest and most subtle of tonal details that make them unique - can you say THOROUGH? anyways im not going to go through every little effect and detail but overall the sound quality is very impressive compared to other so-called "pristine" digi effects units/modelers. I think that this new line or chip by zoom is a huge leap for these kinds of products. and of course its not automatically going to make you sound like a million bucks fix all your problems, replace other shitty equipment, or read your mind and tastes. but like i said no peice of equipment does that (especially just a 99 pedal) and likely wont any time soon. So i'm not going to dock points for that. I'll judge it for what it is. It does its job very well and completely meets and EXCEEDS expectations for a $100 pedal. I would give it a 9 but i haven't seen another unit in its class for under 5 times the price, so bumped up to 10. oh and the acoustic sim is the best so far of many i've tried. and the tuner tho i thought it was funny and cheap at first (check it out you'll know what i mean) it turned out to be insanely accurate/sensitive. you need to have your pitch nearly POSITIVELY correct or it will read out of tune. just wish the display was better

damn this thing is sturdy. wouldnt expect it to give out (inless electronically some how). For a unit this compact that really went all out on making it tough. Made out of solid sturdy materials, good design. I've been depending on it so far with no problems and would definately gig without a backup and not feel worried. Not docking points for ridiculous hypothetical siutations or because its not completely indestructible like my favourite review from 2 down did. of course it can break, EVERYTHING can. but this one is right up there.

never had to deal with Zoom directly. but the manual is great. its very detailed and thorough. babies you and makes you feel like they care about how you're using their product.

Well is mess around with all types of music. mainly play harder rock, punk, emo, metal, alternative, but also play around with a variety of other stuff. pretty picky with tone and overall sound but dont need to be spoonfed everything. just need something that is CAPABLE of bringing out my desired sounds dont care if i have to mess with it. thats exactly what this pedal is. so i really like it. has everything i need and more. and its not like you pay little money and get lots of effect but they are shit. not at all like that. the effects are high quality. why go out and buy a boss metal zone, or line 6 uber metal (like i did) at $130 when you can get this unit with tons of effects at the same quality and better for less? and with much more versatility. this pedal solved a lot of my problems and saved me a lot of money (and i expect will keep saving me from buying other shit as long as i have it) and dont get me wrong i'm not wowed because this is my first multi effects or something i've had MANY suggested pristine quality ones in the past. but they were just lacking, didnt meet expectations, and were not all that they were boasting to be. i have no problem keeping this one tho. very satisfied. the pedal is still a new advancement and is at the top of its class so i'll give it a 9. there wil probably be improvements in the future (at this rate it will be zoom exceeding themselves) but until the i'll leave it with a 9 docking points only cos it should be a simpler and easier to use and read layout.

It takes some tweaking to get sounds customized to your amp, guitar, and music genre preferences as it would with any MFX pedal.

Editing patches is a little more difficult than it was with a 505-II because the G2 adds deeper editing parameters that force you to reuse knobs meant for one purpose in "play" mode and another in "edit" mode.

That said, you have much more control over parameters affecting EQ, FX, and patches than you ever did with the 505-II.

I like the ability to turn off every module individually - EQ, FX, drive, etc if you want.

I'd put the 505-II at 10 for ease and the G2 at 8 - oly because it has many more parameters to edit - that's a good thing.

The manual covers all the ground you need.

The unit is not noisy.

I use mine with a Gibson archtop and a fender tube amp.

The effects are very editable and customizable with some deep edit parameters. A six band EQ allows fine tuning of the EQ. Three types of reverb - Hall, Room, and Spring along with a "pre-reflection" setting and other parms allow tailoring of the 'verb to taste. Chorus is decent as is echo/delay.

I usually turn off the compressor altogether as it just softens the tone too much most of the time.

Overall, I am very happy with the tones from this unit. I also have the GFX-5 which is even mroe editable, but it only has 20bit AD conversion compared to the G2's 24 bit.

I'd give it a "10" for the $$, but the compressor and the lack of a limiter is enough to bump it down to "9".

I've owned Zoom's 505, 505-II, 504-II, GFX-1, GFX-4, GFX-5, GFX-8, GFX-707, and now the G2. I've not needed much support in the past but when I did need it with my GFX-5, they were helpful even though their "fix" did not fix the problem at hand. No biggie as I fixed it.

Includes a $29 power adapter, unit is mostly metal, good metal connectors, lots of good sound in a small package for short money. i think it's a terrific deal.