Zoom G2

The unit comes with a varied selection of pre-programmed patches which give you a quick overview of what it's capable of. Anyone should be able to find something approximating the sound they need in those presets somewhere, then they can copy and modify that to suit them. Configuring the unit can be a bit fiddly but is reasonably straightforward. If you start with each module turned off, just pick your distortion/amp model, then adjust the other parameters in order, and you'll be fine. During play the two footswitches cycle up and down through the patches, so as long as you have your sounds stored adjacently, it's simple.

There's a lot of versatility to this box, from clean to super-distorted. I can't compare to high quality equipment as I've never had the fortune to own any, but this is almost entirely noise free (unless you push the compressor up) and the range of distortion/amp models with variable gain, coupled with the 3 band EQ, plus either the cab/mic simulator or another 3 band EQ, means you can approximate pretty much anything. Reverbs range from subtle to overpowering; delays last up to 5 seconds; chorus and flanger are usable; and the harmonizer works well providing you're not playing 1000 notes per minute.

I've tried using this with my BC Rich Warlock for direct recording into a PC and also into a Marshall JCM800 stack and it's sounded good to me. However I only play metal so I cannot comment on blues or jazzy tones.

This is the reason I'm writing this review... the unit is built very sturdily, and is a massive improvement on the 505II series, which was made of lightweight plastic and never felt reliable. The G2 is much more solid, with rubber sides to protect from damage and metal switches which will stand up to the rigours of live performance.

However, during rehearsal yesterday, I hit both switches to activate the tuner, and plucked a string, but the tuner didn't respond. I tried to turn the tuner function off, but still nothing. I cycled power to the unit, and instead of the usual display, one of the little lights just flashed repeatedly and there was no response to input from the guitar or the switches. I tried with a different PSU, but still nothing. It wasn't even being kicked around or used vigorously; it just seems to have broken during normal usage, after 2 months of infrequent home use.

Ironically my flimsy plastic 505II is still in perfect working condition after 5 years of use.

Not dealt with the company as such, but I couldn't find anywhere on their website explaining the issue I saw above, or handling any other related issues.

Overall, I think this is a great piece of kit, and unbeatable at the price. For the music I play (metal with lots of clean tones thrown in), it is more than enough. The reverb and distortions are great and the cabinet modelling really helps for direct home recording. My only misgiving in the sound area is that the compressor's a bit noisy.

However, breaking after 2 months is not too encouraging a sign. I will be getting a replacement rather than a refund as I enjoy the sounds and versatility that the unit provides, and am confident that this was a one-off. I would be concerned about playing without a backup though, as this issue came out of nowhere and could ruin a gig.

Es facil de usar una vez que hallas pasado unos cuantos minutos jugando con las perillas y valores que modifican estas; el manual es un tanto pobre, ayuda muy poco.

Probe este procesador con una guitarra Ibanez RG370DX con pastillas DiMarzio (SuperDistortion en puente y PAF en brazo) y con una Fender stratocaster mexicana (con unas pastillas ceramicas que desconozco la marca pero suenan bien) usando como amplificador un Laney TF300 y un Ibanez TB15R, sin mas efectos ni nada, tal cual:
guitarra-> procesador G2-> amplificador.
El sonido simplemente me es desagradable; he pasado dias desde que me llego intentado obtener una buen sonido para Metal y Rock 70's, que es lo que mas toco, y nada, suena muy artificial, sobre todo los tonos graves suenan poco definidos y digitales; he probado todo los parametros que se le pueden modificar, me pase todo el fin de semana moviendo las perillas, cambiando de amplificador, cambiando las cuerdas de las guitarras (por unas nuevas y sonido mas brillantes) etc etc; lo cierto es que los tonos agudos han mejorado ha comparacion de los modelos anteriores tales como el 505-II, el 707-II o la GFX-4 (de las cuales fui due?o pero me deshice de ellas por tan pobre sonido que producian), es decir los solos suenan mejor en esta G2 pero los riffs graves suenan mal y sacan a relucir lo digital de la G2; definitivamente el G2 no sirve para metal, ni para rock 70's; por otra parte me parece que el chorus suena mejor en la 505-II o 707-II que en el G2; realmente esperaba que el sonido del G2 superara a sus antecesoras pero me ha desepcionado totalmente; aun asi me parece que los efectos como el flanger, phaser, echo y delay, asi como sonidos limpios son bastante aceptables, pero las distorsiones son una mier#@. Intento encontrar un procesador que sirva aceptablemente para practicar y asi evitar conectar el equipo que usualente uso con el grupo, pero creo que el G2 no me sirve ni para jugar (a pesar de que no me fueron utiles, me diverti mucho mas con la 505-II y la 707-II). Seguire usando mi mara?a de pedales.

En mi caso el G2 apenas podria funcionar para practicar y grabar algunas pistas para ensayar o componer, pero para tocar en grupo o grabar algo serio en estudio, definitivamente no.

He tenido varios productos Zoom y nunca han presentado fallas (mas alla de que algunos tienen mal sonido) o he tenido necesidad de requerir soporte.
En Mexico desconozco quien sea responsable de atencion a clientes de Zoom, bien parece un producto desechable si se te llega a descomponer.

El G2 ni siquiera me parece tan entretenido como el 505-II o el 707-II (que son los procesadores mas cercanos en caracteristicas y precio de Zoom), sonaban no muy bien pero por alguna razon me entretenian, en cambio este G2 lo quise tirar desde el primer dia que me llego ya que esperaba mas; los solos llegan a sonar ligeramente mejor que sus antecesoras, pero aun asi no amerita superioridad a sus antecesoras. Aunque, por otro lado, por 1,100 pesos talvez no puedas pedir mas.

Piece of cake to use it on the stage, not really amicable to edit. Two segment LCD and small buttons, together with swtiches that you should use as buttons, did feel ackward, like using an Internet navigator with a mobile phone. Manual is OK, but it will take some time until you get used to this acronyms.

Hard Specs: Effect Types: 54 / Effect Modules: 9 / Maximum Simultaneous Effects: 9 / Patch Memory: User 40 + Preset 40 / Sampling Frequency: 96kHz / A/D Conversion: 24bit, 64times over-sampling / D/A Conversion: 24bit, 128times over-sampling / Input: 1/4" phone jack (Rated input level: -20dBm, Input impedance: 1MΩ) / Output (Line / headphones combined): 1/4" stereo phone jack (Maximum output level: +5dBm, Output load impedance: 10kΩ or higher) / Control Input: Expression pedal, Foot switch / Display: 2digit 7segment LED display, Parameter LED / Dimensions: 156(W) x162(D) x 65(H)mm / Weight: 700g(without batteries).

Two months ago, this device was brand new, part of a family (?G Series?) that comprises also the G2.1u (USB interface and expression pedal, which you can add to the G2 anyway) and the B2 (a very similar concept, designed for bass guitar, red in color). I immediately noticed the metal case (a considerable improvement vis-a-vis past models, in which fragility is standard) and decided to check its specifications and effects. Once again the flashback: 54 of them, including simulations, harmonized pitch shifting and multi-tap delay of up to 5000 milliseconds! Truly impressive.

Since this is still fresh, and might be of the interest of some of you, I propose to dive into the features a little deeper: The G2 offers two different algorithms in the same box: one designed for live and a separate one for recording. That is less pompous in practice than in theory, but you can still notice some difference, leaving you at least twice the room to experiment with.

Technical specs are frankly up to date, with 96 kHz sampling to model the sonic properties of several amplifiers and classic effects, together with a dynamic range of 24-bit A/D/A conversion. The processor / decoder inside the G2 is the ZFX-3, a new-generation DSP from ZOOM, with 32 bits architecture, something that for the common player translates into more detailed signal processing and accuracy and speed in both the simulations and effects, not to mention faster program changing (5 milliseconds!), faster tracking for the pitch shifter, more transparent chorusing, etceteras.

On the effector?s side, 54 effects (32-bit processing) are made available. A total of nine effects modules are included, comprising dynamics, ambience, drive, and modulation. Compression, Overdrive, Distortion, Harmonized Pitch Shifter, Delay, Multi-tap Delay (5000 milliseconds!), Dynamic Flanger, Chorus, Phaser, three types of modulation waveforms for Tremolo, Six-band Equalizer, Cabinet Simulator, Mic positioning and 16 different drive sounds, based on classic amplifiers simulation, amongst many others, are inside the modules.

One thing that might of interest for most beginners (obviously still the customer base for Zoom) is the claimed ability of the G2 to replicate classic tones (it packs a Fender Twin Reverb' 65, Vox AC30 / 6TB, Roland Jazz Chorus, Marshall JCM800, Fender Tweed Deluxe '53, Mesa/Boogie Mark III, Marshall JCM2000, Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier and Peavey 5150 Stack). As experience will tell (just the suggested list is an indicative by itself) the ?replication? is very poor (probably a vague resemblance would be a far more accurate description), obviously destined to youngsters that never had the chance to deal with the real thing. What is true, notwithstanding, is that the choice of distorted and overdriven sounds (the unit also packs simulations of classic ?hot? pedals, such as the Boss OD-1, Marshall Guv'nor, Matchless Hot Box, Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face and (as crazy as this sounds) the Boss MT-2, together with two proprietary distortion colors (Zoom Extreme Distortion and Zoom Digital Fuzz) is indeed ample. Zoom claims that ?by digitally simulating the clipping action of analog devices such as tubes and diodes, the G Series faithfully duplicates the distortion of tube amps and vintage effects? and that ?includes not only the superficial sound character but also elements such as depth and dynamics?. Well, the hopes were extremely high, but the reality is that nothing in that statement could be heard in the box. Notwithstanding, this analog baby still sounds good, regardless of how lousy it is at replicating classic tones.

The device has mainly two modes: Play and Edit. Editing controls offer some analog feel (three rotary knobs that let you tailor three different parameters at the same time) something always welcomed in a guitar player?s home studio environment (plug ins are great, but also is tweaking a few old school knows). In play mode, the three knobs are assigned to drive effect gain, tone, and patch level. Delay time and modulation rate settings can be made directly via the intuitive TAP key input, which you should tap by hand and not with your feet due to its physical characteristic.

For being this small, the unit is powerful; it comes preprogrammed with a total of 40 preset effects patches. 20 pairs of similar sounding and similarly named effects are optimized respectively for use with a guitar amp on stage or for recording with DAW software or a mixer. There is also enough built-in memory to store up to 40 of your own patches. The results of this unit, when plugged straight to the board, are indeed poor but it is effective as a stomp pedal.

Main reasons to decide purchase for me were the following: 1) A multi-effect box is something always handy, specially if it?s cheap in price and nice in sound; 2) Ultra low noise response (120 dB SN ratio and -100 dB noise floor) this is vital for a DAW environment and certainly uncommon in ANY stomp pedal; 3) Durable and 4) Last but not least! Built-in auto-chromatic tuner for guitar. If you remember by now, that was my purchase intention when I came into the store in the first place. The guitar tuner can be called up instantly by pushing both foot switches at the same time, and bright LED indicators make the note readout easy. The calibration range is 435 to 445 Hz, and mute tuning without sound output is also possible.

This pedal shines in comaprison to other similar boxes (and certainly stands out vis-a-vis any other Zoom!) but sooner or later you'll note that all that hype about modeled amplifiers is just... hype. Rating this beyond "7" would be misleading, but nothing below that figure will honor the vast array of featured effects. Let's settle for "7" then...

Sturdy metal chassis and rubber damping, thus rendering the pedal tough and durable. We all hate when this or that breaks, and there?s a lot to break in a home studio, so this level of reliability is a welcomed feature. Notwithstanding, modern standards are NOT what they once were (and still some effects do exist in the market built under "old" standards, so rating this at "10" would be exaggerated. An "8" will do.

No idea.

I learn to believe that all Zoom products are useless deices made for hobbyists, barely capable of creating the illusion of effects for guitar, poor at achieving usable effects and very good at making fragile boxes which sound equally fragile and hiss strong. In addition, no matter which model you choose, they all sound alike. I still remember the brand in its inception, and all of us being all amazed about a brand from nowhere that pulled the most minuscule boxes ever in the face of us dinosaurs used to the Morley and Dallas Arbiter things. Some of their initial designs hit big, and their popularity was somewhat deserved.

Once the initial passion and surprise faded, and as soon as the brand was established as popular and newer devices were released, almost all of us realized that some of those effect were as minuscule as the box that contained them. The brand slowly started to became cheaper and cheaper -both in quality and reputation- and established its stronghold at the entry-level market. When I was living in Tokyo, Japan, I remembered buying a Zoom 1010 mini pedal board with loose change at a Sale in a major Music Store. This may sound like an exaggeration, but it was exactly like that: multi-effects bought with loose change. The 1010 in question did lots of things for its epoque? and nothing right.

But by buying it I also discovered that it was handy to have at arm?s reach a small processor, to add a little reverb and other small washes here and there when something rapid, with little elaboration was required. When I finally get rid of it, I started to miss that convenience. In addition to that, I needed a stomp box tuner, and I was in Stockholm to pick my beloved Damage Control Demonizer anyway, so I discovered this little stomp box, priced at around 100USD.

Useless goodies: 1) Zoom Noise Reduction (ZNR) which shuts out unwanted noise in the playing pauses and colors the sound and do chops sustain by using not just one, but two types of noise gates, 2) Integrated drum machine with PCM sounds. As you may imagine, these sounds horrendous. 40 rhythm variations are available (including 8-beat Rock and Pop, 16-beat Funk, 4-beat Jazz, Shuffle, Blues?) and the rotary knobs let you make tempo or level adjustments, but this is completely unusable regardless of purpose, although might be convenient for practicing or studying, combined with the ?headphone out? option, 3) Two-way power (the unit will run on a set of four AA batteries as well as on an optional AC adaptor (AC-0006).

Cons? 1) Overall tone: No matter what you do, this unit will sound dark. Bypassing the ?amp simulation? section certainly helps, but it will still be dark and foggy. If you go for full treble, the change in character would be way too much, and ?while being annoyingly sharp- it will still somewhat be ?dark?. 2) Display. The two-segment screen is by all means insufficient for a machine like this is difficult to see what you here and is a clear nightmare to program, 3) Battery Life. One word only: Short.

I have a large collection of guitars (more than 100) and several amplifiers, as well as DAW that I like to believe is well loaded. I honestly believe that I tried this pedal in a more diverse environment(s) than usual

Easy to use. Manual is always helpful. Easy to get a good sound. Editing the patches took me a short time in mastering.

I really paid no mind in using this pedal as a modeler. I turn the drive off on most of my presets any way because I love the tone of my amp, my Fulltone OCD and various guitars. Instead I have been using the G2 for effects only such as the compressor, wahs, noise reducers, modulation, chorus, delays, pitch, reverbs etc. I'm sure I missed a few of the other effects. Anyway really impressive especially when you consider the cost of this unit!!! 32-Bit processing, 96khz sampling rate thats studio sampling and for $99.00 bucks, wow. It really, really sounds good. Great adjustments with this thing. ZOOM is kicking somebodys but here. You can expect some of the other manufactures such as Line-6, Digitech, BOSS etc., to come up with their own new chip sampling @ 96khz to keep up with ZOOM's clean sound. As far as true bypass I don't beleive so but I happened to compare it carefully with the unit installed and not installed and did not notice a change in my tone when using effects only. What I did notice is the output levels may vary. But no worries here because you can adjust the output of the G2 to be the same as when the unit is bypassed. I got to rate this as a 10 for the sounds this thing can give if you have patience and time to tweak. Very impressive piece of equipment. I'll keep it.

Too early!!!

No need yet.

Been playing classic rock, some jazz, some R&B for 30 years. Good pedal to have. Small enough for my gig bag yet big enough to get some really good clean studio effects for live playing. Oh by the way, the G2 is not noisy. If it is than use the G2 ZNR. It's really that good.

it's fairly easy to use. with 4 control knobs and a user manual, you get your desired sound. just read the manual and your safe. i just dont like the 2 digit LED indicator that's why i give it an 8.

SUPERB! i use it with a Jackson DXMG-SP guitar with EMG-HZ H3 humbuckers and a custom built 1x12 40W solid-state amp combo with reverb. It's dead quiet. My amp setting are Bass:6 Mid:3 High:max. i use it on clean channel and it gives me a tube like sounding gear. I'm amazed. If you have patience tweaking your amp and the Zoom G2, you will get the sounds you need. Distortion on this thing is full and thick(specially the PV Drive) and the SFX(Chorus,Flanger,Delay) are great. ZNR is really good and you need it when using single coil pickups. I give this a 10.

It's very solid. No backup required.

I've never dealt with them.

I play mostly Metal(early Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera) and others like Santana and Joe Satriani which nails it. I've been playing about 11 years, i own Ibanez GSA60 guitar, '94 Ibanez Sabre guitar, japanese Fender Strat and Jackson DXMG-SP guitar and Custom built amp 40W combo with reverb. I already sold my Zoom 707II because the new Zoom G-series blows it. I compare it to a Digitech, Boss and other effects with it's price range and this is a winner.

I have found that setting the relative levels of each effect module is critical to a good sound with very high output pickups - I programmed a series of patches with my strat which were unusable with my JJ (twin humbuckers) due to excessive distortion. I now have a separate bank for each guitar. The amp/distortion models are also difficult to regulate apart from the BC ( blackface clean ) and JC ( jazz chorus ) although the mesa boogie is excellent once you get the hang of balancing the gains and e.q. stages.

Sound quality is good and modulation/echo/reverb effects compare well to much higher priced units - not in the same league as the TC but good for a compact pedal. The unit is also very quiet, with no noticeable gating effects unless these are specifically selected. I have used only the acoustic, blackface and mesa-boogie settings for distortion, the others are too extreme for my genre of music ( classic rock, funk, R&B, blues, jazz ). Auto wha and pitch effects track well. I use mainly direct through p.a. or keyboard amp but opt to use the extra e.q. rather than the cabinet simulations.

Battery life around 4-5 hours although I got a free p.s.u. for my 69 pounds UK price.

Very solid, no backup required.

Never had a problem with previous or current Zoom kit ( pedals, drum machines etc. ) so can't comment.

Good value, certainly the best sub 100 pound unit on the market - I would be interested to hear others comment about programming and taming some of the more extreme distortions. Compared to the Digitech RP50 I have, the Zoom is cleaner sounding, more robust but not streets ahead as I thought it would be.

It's easy to use but you have to remember the abrevations. Editing is fairly easy too but not as easy as the bigger units. That's what you get with a compact pedal. Keeping the manual near will help out.

I run a Japanese Jackson Dinky -> KORG DT-10 -> Boss CS-3 -> ZOOM TM-01 -> ZOOM G2 -> Randall RG50TC.

It is very quiet; the gates and noise reduction are superb. The effects are very good to my ears. Nothing special but bright and realistic. The ampmodels are pretty good too. I get scared sometimes...

NOTE
Those who think the high gain models are buzzy should try to lower the frequency range of the booster. When lowered from 3 - 4 to 2 the model will sound strong and authentic.

Geez, it's a metal chassis with nothing but sturdy elements. Nothing weak on this thing and with smart details like the recessed display.

I've never dealt with them.

NOTE
Check out this new community if you want:

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/zoomg2/

I have nothing on this little black box. It's perfect in respect of what it is. I think that (almost) everybody at some point would find use for a compact pedal like the 505 wasn't it for it's inferior sound quality, limited features, weak built and patch switching delay. Well, all these things are fixed and I can't believe that this thing is so cheap. It really sounds wonderful with a tubestack setup. Cuts through really well and sounds very authentic

Wow ! Now Zoom have come of age. This is the best bit of kit for the
amateur guitarist for a long time. It is so easy to get great sounds out of this little pedal. It has knobs & buttons & everything is laid out logically. Important ! Do read the little Manual properly & you won't go wrong. It's a multi-effects pedal with many adjustable parameters,amp models,EQ,deeper EQ,Phasers,Flangers,Delays,Reverbs etc.etc. & 80 patch spaces, 40 of which you can adjust to your own taste. Magic !

It has the latest digital processing chips in it giving high(Fast) processing of data & large data storage. Patch changing is seamless with no noticable dropout of signal as you change. The quality of the amp sims & general tone of the unit is very good. Marshall,Fender,Vox,Mesa etc. are all there. No they're not like playing through the real thing live,but they're in the right tonal ballpark. All the effects are adjustable & the amount you mix in to your sound is also adjustable. The versatility of the multiple delays is amazing on a product this cheap.

I have only had it for one month, so I can't say yet, but it is physically so solidly built that I cant see it getting damaged very easily. I'd risk using it without a backup. Just dont rely too much on
one set of AAA batteries. Mine lasted one hour before the flashing 'Bt' display started. I guess a high-power set would last a bit longer than that but I dont know about the 7.5 hours they claim.
It's built like a Sherman tank with metal casing & chrome knobs & rubber feet. It's heavy, so it aint movin' anywhere. And by the way, it actually has an ON/OFF switch on the rear.

No experience.

I play '50s/'60s/'70s Rock & pop, & it produces all the sounds I'll ever need. I dont use my large, heavy pedalboard anymore. I use Fender
guitars & a Laney LC30 or Vox AD30VT amps. This little pedal for #UK69
(about $US120) is money well spent. Zoom aren't cheap little plastic boxes anymore. I cant wait for the 'A2' Acoustic model to be issued.
I have the '504' & got some good Acoustic tones with my electric guitars out of that, so the 'A2' must be cat's whiskers.

This unit does so much that it does take a little while to learn all the programing & editing ability it provides. The owners manual is pretty good and I mastered this unit after an hour or two. The tricky part is learning Zooms two letter "codes" for various settings ie CA= class A, FC= Fender clean etc.

I understand the sample rate for this unit is one of the highest in the industry. I dont know too much about A/D/A converters etc, but let me say that this unit sounds a lot better than my Yamaha DG Stomp. I have read some good reviews on the Yamaha, but I could never get rid of the synthetic plastiky sound in mine. The Zoom sounds very good. I use a Carvin solid state (Sx200) amp with 2x12 speakers. I never really liked the sound of this amp as it always seemed kind of sterile and pingy to me. But this Zoom unit goes a long way to help tame and warm up the amp.

This thing is a great value at $99. It sounds very good and has almost everything you could want in it. It is built sturdy and if it was available 10 years ago it would have cost at least $500. I am very satisfied with this product. I have been playing for over 30 years and have used all sorts of amps & effects units. I play in a cover band that plays a little bit of everything ( classic rock, motown,pop, country,) so I need to change my tone on every song. This unit works very good for that.

Once you know what you're doing; this thing is great. I've had a pod xt; and this is a lot easier to select and adjust and save effects than the pod was.

I need to point out that I only bought this to use as an effects pedal. I'm running it through the effects loop of a Hughes and Kettner triamp Mk2; so i have not listned to the amp models and distortions once.

The effects however are amazing. Again; compared to the pod xt this thing blows it away. I stuggled with the pod to get a good auto wah; phaser and flanger. This thing was right on the nose.

And it's a1/3 to 1/4 the price.

Looks very stable. Metal shell etc. I'll drop it on the ground; seee if it still works and get back to you......

Can't comment. The shop I bought it from have been great.

This thing is AMAZING; And I bought it for only half on its capabilities. I'm extremely happy with it; so won't rave too much. Instaed I'll mention a couple of things they should have done differently.

No power supply. I know. Keeping the price down. But it's cheap. An additional $20 would be worth paying for a ps.

No tap function via foot. You can buy an optional (again wtf?? Optional??) foot switch that does this; but suddenly our compact little pedal is suddenly becoming a little more cumbersome. There should DEFINATELY be a third button so that we can set delay times etc. I realise that the switch alone does more than this; but don't make me HAVE to buy it.

There is an optional foot pedal (as opposed to switch) that you can buy, and this is fair enough seeing as you cn pay for one of these units with a pedal built in. I mean the option is appreciated even though I bought the smaller one without the pedal (Next purchase is a crybaby - dedicated wah)

Overall Great value, would have been happy to pay another $40 for the few features above.