Zoom G2

A lot has been said about this unit that I won't repeat, but my review is from the perspective of using this for live performing. In that regard, here are the critical features...

1) Small enough to put in your gigbag pocket.
2) Looks like a boutique pedal, not like a computer on stage--unlike POD, VAmp, ToneLab, etc.
3) Large, bright stage-friendly readout.
4) On-board tuner.
5) Instantaneous patch switching.
6) Sturdy construction.

I have spent a few years now making a science out of crafting tones with completely solid-state gear to rival the old venerable tube amp--the search for the holy grail. Why? For the consistency, reliability, portability, affordability, and versatility of SS components. But like everyone else, I first do not want to compromise tone. Having said that, I will say that if anyone gives this unit less than a 9 in sound quality, I will guarantee that they have not spent the requisite amount of time with the G2. I say this because it has taken me close to 5 months to settle on 5 main patches: 2 utility (clean, crunch) settings and three dedicated lead settings. This by using a single-ended Class A EL84 tube amp with vintage tubes side-by-side as a reference point for dialing in the right tube harmonic envelope.

Why so long? Here's the secret. You have to fully utilize the G2's up to 9 EQ parameters to get the right sound. And all nine are highly interactive with one another so you have to spend session after session bumping one knob a click this way, another knob a click that way until you learn how the whole system fits together. Select one of the amp or pedal sims and you have a tone control for it. Then you move to the standard 3-band EQ and adjust those, then you absolutely HAVE to use the extended EQ section, which provides three more parameters governing low-mid, presence, and high harmonics. This last one is one of the magic elixers. Take the traditional treble on the 3-band down a bit and boost this instead, keep the presence just below where it sounds too blunt, keep the low-mid just below where it sounds too thick. A little too thin at this point? Just go back to the 3-band bass control and nudge it up. A little too dark now? Go back to the amp module and raise the tone control a click. Still something lacking in the punch department? Go to the Boost module in the first EFX section and now choose one of five frequency bands to accentuate, and here you also have another tone control. So there you have it--9 possible EQ parameters. If you are willing to gut out the time it takes to truly understand this system, then you will be rewarded with some very nice tones. And this going into an old Jazz Chorus 50! That's my setup--hot three single-coil guitar --> G2 --> Jazz Chorus. Done deal.

My base for the five settings are...

Clean: No amp, using just the JC, or better with some Vox AC30 dialed in.
Crunch: Fender Tweed with gain turned to zero.
Leads: each using progressively higher gain...
A) JCM800
B) Marshall Guv'nor (amazingly enough gives one of the best Marshall sounds on this unit)
C) Mesa MarkIII (pinch harmonic city)

In today's class of modelers a 10. Even the dynamics are there but you have to work harder for it, over a large range of pick attack and guitar volume than a good tube amp which can go from clean to crunch more controllably. But when Zoom figures this one out in the next version (memo to Zoom), be very afraid.

I would not spill anything on it--too many routes for your drink to find a way in to the electronics, but construction-wise it is very sturdy. Will the electronics be reliable over the long-run, only time will tell. I'll conservatively give it an 8.

10 means "fantastic value" and for less than $100, it definitely is.

Listen, if you think your Marshall sounds more Marshall-like than this, and you don't mind always sounding like a Marshall, then be happy and play yer guitar. If you think a real Fender twin cannot be equalled by this, and you don't mind always sounding like a Fender twin, than haul it and your army of pedals around and your search is over. If however you want to craft some very credible tones drawing upon the best characteristics of all these great amps, then pony up your Franklin for the G2. Nuff' said.

pretty easy to use, the knobs make changing parameters easy. the only hard thing is remembering all the abbreviations for different effects or amps, but you get used to it after awhile. i will say that after i got it i bought the expression pedal to go w/ it, and thought that was crap. my setup on my table was too high for the short cord, so i sent that back....i will also say that i love the tuner, i have been playing this strange detuned tuning of CGCGCD and it keeps my homemade guitar in tune perfectly...

i think this sounds great. actually i had purchased the new digitech rp350 this week, and thought the zoom sounded better amp model wise and effects wise than the rp350 which is double the price of this thing (i should also note that i thought the rp350 sounded no better than my old rp100 from 01) i think the amp models are decent, exact i'm not sure, but decent. w/ the eq, you can get a wide range. i'm finding that i mostly use 3 presets: the green day 5150 preset, the clean after that, and then the santana preset. i toggle between those for most of my sounds, and i like it. i also like the hotbox-has a nice warm tubey sound,and when i want extreme i use the extreme digital distortion from the zoom tri-metal pedal. and i think the effects are good too. the one thing i like is how there are 2 sets of effects, the phase/tremolo/autowah/ring mod are early in chain, and you can add other modulations (chorus/flange/pitch etc) also if you like. the pedal can really get some crazy whacked out sounds. and ther is also options of delay too, there is one delay option in the modulation section (2 sec), a standard delay option (5 sec), and tap delay in the reverb section, if you set those to random settings you can have some whacky delay noises like no other pedal. the potential of the pedal for as cheap as it is is quite good. i only wish that the delay would modulate from slow to fast when you go from short time to long time or vice versa, when you try to change time, it just stops and resets. but the tap tempo option is good. the only other thing i don't like is the presets being basically duplicates of each other, one set for live, one set for recording, i realize what they are doing, i'd rather just have more preset options....and the other thing, i always thought zoom pedals were supposed to be the crazy preset co (remembering my zoom 9150 and 3030 pedals) i think most of the presets are tame on this, most of them are quite dry sounding, i usually add some reverb to them for my taste. but some people hate dripping sound of reverb....over all a good pedal...

had it for a yr, still works, seems solid so far.

haven't had to deal w/ them, hope i never do...they do have web info i guess...

over all i think this is a great value of a pedal.if you hate digital sounding anything, stay away, but i think its versitile, can get a wide range of sounds from usable normal stuff to way out there if you want. only wish the delay time was able to modulate instead of resetting when you play with that...the pedal is easy to use...and its small... i will say the one thing in the ads was the almost zero time lag between changing presets, when i was playing w/ the rp350, i was amazed at the time lag of that device, so i can see what people complain about, it doesn't bother me, since i mostly play in my studio, but this is a powerful little pedal....

You must read the manual first, but after that it's not to hard to figure out.Editing the patches is easy,the manual is simple.

The sounds are all good on this, but some are better than others.The Marshal, and Boogie models are real good!Great effects, reverbs,delays.and its a drum machine and tuner, for $100!I play nine with a Parker Nitefly guitar, and it sounds great. I use mine for recording, and praticing in the headphones, but don't usually play it thru an amp.It sounds great in the headphones, and great for direct recording,but loses that great stereo sound when you plug it into a single amp.This unit is very quiet, and adds no noise.The drum machine is OK, but when you play the drums the guitar tone/effects suffers.

Nice metal case, with rubber sides. metal switches,looks reliable. Had mine 2 yrs, no trouble!

Iv'e been playing 32 yrs, i play classic rock, blues, and some originals.I also own a Kramer Pacer DEluxe, a Line 6 Flextone 3 amp, a Cavin X100B amp, an ADA MP-1 tube preamp,and asst.FX.The G2 is a big part of my studio sound and i'd be lost without it.I love it's ease of use, great sounds and FX,drum machine and tuner for 100? It's a no brainerIt's helped me make alot of music in the 2 yrs iv'e had it.

All I can say is WOW! Thirty two bit processing and a new Z3 computer finally enable the digital sims to very nearly match the musical sounds and feel of the analog music world. All the modeled amps and pedals are adjustable for drive, tone, harmonics and there's even a boost for one of 5 specific tone ranges that you can select for each model. Suffice it to say that the EQ suite leaves no frequency orphaned. Reverbs are good. Other standout features are good modulation effects and two different delays that can be layered.
The effects are downright stunning in both quantity and quality, at this price point. I'm absolutely blown away that $100 can buy this kind of quality and ease of use. Piece of pie to get great sounds here. I was creating patches within 15 minutes, which is the total time spent with the excellent user manual. No worries, lads...for sure! Easy to program...easy to play. The drum machine is cool-nothing special, but it's nice to have for headphone jamming.

Setup 1: I'm using it in stereo with a pair of Roland Blues cubes. This setup requires a stereo, 1/4" plug and two cables-one for the right and one for the left. With the amps about 20 feet apart, using the stereo ping-pong delay or the stereo chorus (or both!) I have a huge soundfield to play with. Awesome for spacious, 3D, textured backing rhythms that fill every space in the mix. Extremely fat stereo image.
Setup 2: Through a single Roland BC 60 or my Fender Champ it has a very "real" sound that is hugely versatile in terms of tones and drive. All the effects are really good in mono when using a single amp, which is what most players will use it for. It has a touch sensivity too...something I've NEVER encountered in a digital modeler before. I won't say it's as sensitive as a good tube amp but it does noticeably respond to pick attack, which is light years ahead of anything else in the digital effects domain.
I'm using this with a Les Paul, Ibanez S series guitar and a custom shop Tele. All of these guitars retain their character through this pedal. This attribute alone is worth the price, IMHO.

The amp models sound good. The only one I'm intimately familiar with is the Fender Twin Reverb, which Zoom calls FC. I played through one for years and Zoom's rendition is so spot on that it's downright scary. Close your eyes and you'd never know.

All of this with absolutely ZERO digital fizz or artifacts. The ZNR works perfectly to support your sustain and kill unwanted noise. This unit is TOTALLY noise free.

As for copping the tones of your favorite artists...the big rockstars have gear that's way beyond this little guy. Nevertheless, you'll probably get reasonably close to your personal favorites with this box.

Steel construction. Mucho hefty. Switches and buttons look top notch. This will take a beating. Impressive build quality. Gig w/o backup? Sure!

Zoom offers upgrades and other support software for their stuff. The G2 isn't software upgradable as far as i know. Other products with the USB interface are.

I've been playing the electric guitar for decades. My current project takes me into classic rock, 50s and 60s rock & surf, some jazz and some heavy stuff. What I've heard from this box has prompted me to buy the G7 1UT so I can have all the different tones, drives and sonic landscapes available on a more gig-friendly platform with bank select, A/B preamp choices and an expression pedal. Believe me...I NEVER thought I'd see the day when I would actually use a pedalboard, let alone shell out the dough for a DIGITAL one!
I'm someone who wouldn't go near digital effects until now. ALL of my amps and pedals are analog...until now. I tried the G2 pedal at a local music store on two occasions before breaking down and buying it. I was so impressed with the livliness and quality of the sound from this little box. For 100 bucks it was a no-brainer...just BUY IT! This new generation of processors seems to promise really great things for modeling and sterling effects that rival the big buck machines. In the end, the more robust Z3 chip and the improved processing / sampling rates have broken the "sound" barrier for me. I bought a G7 1UT to prove it. Overall I have to give the G2 a solid 10 for it's unbelievable low price / high performance ratio. Well done, ZOOM!

It's about as easy as one can imagine for the number of available features. Go to their Web site for the effects and sims listing. But their use of multiple knobs makes patch settings fairly quick and intuitive--that is, after you've digested the manual. But this unit is a live player's dream--metal and rubber construction, solid switches and pots, knobs operate with detents, instantaneous switching; and on-board compression, noise reduction, global volume, and a tuner! Signal chain effects are in the right order. A simple red LED readout that's easily visible while performing. A compact unit you can throw in a gig bag pocket without worrying about screwing up your knob settings, and it looks like a boutique pedal on stage, not like a computer. (I don't like computers on stage. PODs, VAmps--too computer-y.)

That said, prepare yourself to spend some real quality time looking for "your sound" because this thing has really sensitive and wide-ranging tweakability. If anyone gives this box a rating under 9 without having used it for at least a couple of weeks, you can pretty much disregard their conclusions.

Seems very solid mechanically, but I can't speak to the reliabiliity of what's inside until it's been through some actual stage wars. I baby my stuff but it looks like it could take a pretty good kicking around. I wouldn't go and spill any drinks on top of it though. Too many ways for it to get inside to the electronics--like throwing water on your laptop.

Now the dynamics and tonal nuances here may never be enough to convince a tube snob to give up his Road King or Dr Z, but keep in mind that the EQ tone-shaping ability of the Zoom far surpasses anything that the boutique amps have to offer in that regard for $1,500 to $3,000--tubes or not.

If you've found "your sound" with a Mesa / Fender / Marshall/ Carr / Bad Cat / whatever and you're happy with it, and that's all you need, then rock on. If you're one that want's more range, less stuff to haul around, no tubes to worry about, fast stage and recording versatility, then spend a lousy hundred bucks on this thing, plug into any good clean amp, tweak it for a couple of weeks, and as Zappa said "Shut up and play yer guitar."

A beginner might become frustrated by the effort it takes to program, edit, tweak, etc; this guitar processor. I've been at programming multi-effects units for lots of years now. I enjoy it. It's a labor of love for me. But, getting the best sounds possible out of the Zoom G2 has taken some serious, time consuming, trial and error, and down right WORK. The manuel is vital for programming this unit!! I have the FP02 and couldn't have assigned parameters to the pedal etc; without first setting down and reading the owners manuel. Maybe not life and death, but very important to have the manuel.

The sound quality in the Zoom G2 is several steps toward a pro sound!
It is quiet. The noise reduction, gate, or dirty gate take care of any high gain or compression hiss etc;. This is in fact a quiet, pro sounding signal processor!!
Of all of its included functions; I only find fault with the chorus and flanger. The step is not quite as good as the Zoom 505!!!
The distortions and ods tail end decay is smooth; not clippy.
I am programming this through a Crate GFX 120 solid state.
There are quite a few ways to get different colors out of one effect.
The wahs are very good sounding, especially the Vox

Outwardly the Zoom G2 made of metal and rubber and metal jack imputs seems road worthy. I would use it without a backup. I have tweaked on the knobs for hours and hours at a time constantly twisting and turning and it hasn't "coughed" once, so maybe it's solid inside as well. My power supply was included.

I play doo woop to metal, to country to classic rock, and lots in between. I compare it to the newer RP digitechs. If the banks and patches scrolled like the RPs would be better. The drum machine is pro sounding also!! The RP 50,100,200, etc; are easier to get a great sound, but are slightly noiser. I would have preferred other amp simulations such as the JTM45, Dumble, Blackface Deluxe, a cleaner Bassman sound. But overall, Zoom proves it is still very much in the game with this 32 bit processor,

The G2 is reasonably easy to use and a good read of the short manual is essential. You WILL have to read the manual. I have no problem quickly programming the sounds I want.

The sounds in this box are excellent for my use. I don???t use a whole lot of extravagant effects. An occasional chorus, phase, tremolo, flange, etc. The reason I got the box was to get an assortment of modulation sounds and a couple of delays without having a huge array of boxes. This fills the bill nicely and has a very small footprint. All of the sounds are more than adequate with clean clear tones when needed and dirty enough when the situation calls for it. I don???t really have a favorite. The decent tuner is also a bonus.

The overdrives sound nice and should appeal to most folks. I don???t use them much, though because I prefer the overdrives in front of the amp, not in the loop. As I said, with the G2, the loop is the only practical spot for it. I use a Tubescreamer and the amp???s lead channel and really don???t need the drives in the G2.

So far, it's reliable. Built solid and I have had no issues with one exception:

The harmonized pitch shifter sometimes seems to lose the patch. Just goes to some bizarre harmonies. Mostly at lower volumes, so I'm guessing it may be an issue with not picking up the signal. Later, it just comes back. Still researching why this happens. Rare, but it's there

Sent an email(see below) and got a reply. Short but sweet and not a "real world" type solution... but I did get a reply.

The G2 has features galore. There are more effects in this box than anyone would possibly use in a real world situation. Programming takes a bit of learning, due primarily to the 2 digit LED. A 5 digit would be better, or best would be a small backlit LCD screen similar to Yamaha???s Magicstomp. That would add a little to the cost, but would be worth it IMO.

The new chip in this box provides for practically instant patch changes. Much, much quicker than the Magicstomp. Changes are seamless.

The Harmonized Pitch shift works very well (except as noted above) and I???ve found several uses for it. I can even get very close to the double lead solo in ???Still The One??? by Orleans. By myself!!!

Tap tempo for delays in a box priced like this is rare even in dedicated delay-only boxes. This box has it included along with all the other sounds. Too bad you have to add an extra, external switch for that feature, though.

I love the fact you can run off of batteries. Get some rechargeable 2500mh batteries and they???ll last you for a gig at a time, easily. Or use the included (yes, included) AC adapter. Nice touch, Zoom.

Here???s the main problem I have with the G2. If you have a patch at, say position A2 and you want to go to the A5 slot, you have to listen to A3 and A4 while on the way. To put the unit into bypass, you press both buttons together. But it comes OUT of bypass by hitting just one of the buttons. It should also require both buttons to come OUT of bypass. This way, you could scroll from one patch to another without hearing all the intervening sounds. To me, this is a major design flaw.

What???s puzzling about this is that the old Zoom 505 had this feature. This machine, while playing patch A2 would let you scroll to any other patch while still using A2 tones. The display would flash, indicating a new patch selection. When ready to use the new patch, you just hit both buttons together. This worked great for live applications. (Unfortunately, the 505 tones were lacking and my box didn???t get much use.)

Zoom Customer Service informed me that this feature was not available on the G2 and that I should just line up the patches in the order I use them. WHAT??? That???s crazy. I want any patch available at any time. I play with several groups with several formats and I rarely play the same tunes in the same order. Their solution is not a solution.

In my opinion, this missing feature makes the G2 unsuitable for live performance, unless you put it into the effects loop and switch it in and out with the amp???s loop select. This is what I am doing, but for users without a switchable effects loop, you???re out of luck. No way to effectively bypass and select more than just the current patch or the one next to it.

I gig regularly (30-40 weekends a year), but it???s a side job. I???ve played for over 40 years and play an assortment of music from instrumental jazz to blues/funk to classic rock to Top-40 and acoustic. Guitars include an American Fender Strat, Gibson ES-135, Taylor 410ES, Ovation Tornado, etc. Primary amps are a Tech21 TM60 (direct out to the board built in) and a Roland Cube 60 (mainly for the small jazz jobs).

In front of the amp, I use a Tubescreamer into a Budda Wah. I use the G2 with the Tech-21 because it has the switchable effects loop. The G2 drives my modulation effects, and delays. I???ve got about 8 simple I use and that???s all I need. They are mostly single effects, such as Chorus only, Phase only, a couple of delays, etc. I don???t have many combined or multiple effect chains programmed. The Budda Wah, Tubescreamer, G2 and Tech-21 3 button amp selector gives me just 4 boxes on the floor and all are pretty small. But with this, I can get practically any sound I need.

This setup works for me, but if I had an amp without the switchable loop, I???d be forced to look elsewhere.

Very easy to use, program and store patches. Manual is laid out well, as is the G2. Everything is pretty easy compared to the deep edit type boxes I've used before. This is extremely good as I want to play my guitar, and not endlessly tweak for tones. With this, I can dial in anything I hear or think of within minutes. Never before have I met a box like this.

The Zoom G2 uses the new 32 bit / 96 kHz chip which I can only describe as A GREAT LEAP FORWARD in processor technology. No digital hiss, no digital artifacts, and incredible sounding models both direct into an amp and direct into the board. I've had literally ever other floor processor you can think of and I've never been happy with the amp models. This thing just rips, whether it's distortion, crunch or clean. I use it directly into the input of a Crate V58 tube amp, then record with a Shure SM57 and I'm blown away. I hate to say it, but obviously 24 bit processing is not enough to accurately model guitar amps and stomp boxes, but 32 bit seems to do the trick. It's got every effect you could dream of, including delays in 3 different modules. The delay module gives you 5 seconds of delay!! Again, unbelievable. The only effect module that I don't use is the Extra EQ. I leave them all set to Cabinet Modeling and that works both into an amp and the board much better, because I'm too stupid to adjust that many EQ points. As a side note, this thing switches patches INSTANTLY. No matter how complex the patch, they switch in 5 ms or less. It's unbelievably nice compared to the 1 or 2 second switching delays you get in other boxes. I don't use the drum machine so no comment on that except that it doesn't seem to matter that it's there. The tuner works great. The only thing with this, and all processors is to get ALL the levels set correctly. On this you have to check your amp/stompbox level (usually 50%) and you have to check the Control main level (again usually 50%) as well as your various effect levels. It's just a matter of continuously comparing your patches while editing to the volume of your amp in Bypass mode. Keeping them about even makes sure you're not clipping the front end of your amp (since most amps don't have a clip level light on them). You just can't go wrong on this box for $99. It's way better than any 24 bit box at any price. I've had the Boss GT6 / Vox Tonelab SE / Behringer V-Amp Pro / Korg Toneworks / Digitech RP's / Korg AX1500 and numerous digital distortion pedals. I do not work for Zoom. I'm just a wanker.

It looks beautiful in Black and Chrome. Is quite heavy for it's size, made of metal. My old plastic Zoom 505II lasted forever, so I'm hopeful. I've never dealt with Zoom but I do have one of their old drum machines, and that's lasted forever (and you actually do beat on those things). Sometime digital stuff goes haywire, but Zoom seems to have the experience to pull this off. First Class look, feel and sound. Time will tell.

Never dealt with them. Their other products I've owned have never broken.

This kicks butt for any style, whether you need Fender Clean / Tweed, Roland Jazz Chorus, Marshall or Matchless Crunches or JCM 800/2000, Mesa Boogie Shred tones. I really would recommend this for anyone who needs professional tone. Even if you have $$$ to burn, no processor sounds better than this one. Again, I don't work for Zoom, I'm just really happy with this thing as I can once again concentrate on actually playing guitar.

Good manual! Editing is easy.
I can easily get the sound I want to hear.

I can compare the G2 with the Vox Tonelab SE and I have to say that I like the G2 better. My instruments sounds very 'direct'.
It's not noisy at all, there's no hiss.
I play an electric Violin (yamaha ev205).
My Yamaha strings amp is dead silent and so is the G2.
Extra EQ is really, really great!
Roland JC model is very convincing. Can't compare the other models to the real thing because I've never played with those amps and somp boxes. They sound good, though. Fender clean sound is also very usable.
I don't use the virtual mic. It destroys the clarity of the sound imo.
Effects are ok. Reverb is very good, which is important to me.
Effects I rarly use, like pitch shifter, ring modulator and harmonizer sound a bit digital.

I bought the G2 for the purpose of playing with headphones on, or recording with my Boss br864 recorder.
I think I'll also use it during rehearsals and jam-sessions.
I don't experience much signal-sucking.

I play electric violin. Pop/rock/jazz/prog.
I play the violin for 25 years.
What I love about G2: it's small, light-weighted, very cheap, versatile, SILENT unlike most acoustic amps, and sounding very good.
You only need the G2, an instrument and a good, clean amplifier.

I see no point in spending 400 dollars/euro's on big pedalboards with onboard effects. They look very impressive and versatile, but soundwise G2 is even a better choice, I think.

Never thought I'd ever buy a Zoom pedal. I used to hate them.
But this one is really good.

I also own Boss DD20 gigadelay, reverb.
And a boutique distortion pedal.
I will continue to use them when I play live on stage with my band.
They sound a little better (they are two times more expensive, each) and make a very easily operated pedalboard.
But at home, during rehearsals and little recordings or jam-sessions the G2 will be a capable substitute.

I got a pretty decent tone off of it right from the get go. The models are pretty close and though not spot on how could anyone expect them to be!? The patches are pretty easy to edit and store and all I would up doing was modifying a few of the pre-sets and away I went! I don't really use it inline with anything, I pretty much use it to practice late in the evening when I want to go crazy! The manual had the latest revisions but I referred to it only once to reset the damned thing when I fucked it up.

I like the sounds you can get out of this thing as I already stated. I'm not trying to sound like anyone else and I use it as a portable practice rig.

I don't think I will ever gig with it, I have more than enough gear on my pedaltrains to fill any sound but if need be I'm sure it would hold up well. It's built very solid.

I sent them an email asking about warranty coverage etc and received a response the next day. No other contact.

I like hard rock and metal but I love blues too. Been playing 30+ years and have all kinds of gear and amps. I paid hardly anything for this thing and if it got ripped I'd definitely buy another. It does a good job and if you got one I don't think you'd regret it!