Zoom G2

Con un poco de paciencia le agarras el hilo, no tiene mayor problema si ya haz usado otras multiefectos de Zoom aunque coincido con otro "reviu" de mas abajo sobre que el manual no ayuda mucho ya que es un tanto pobre.

Mi setup es: gibson explorer o Ibanez RG370 o Epiphone Fat210 o Fender Srato mexicana o Yamaha RGX220DZ conectadas a la G2 y salida a un Marshall Valvestate 2000, o a un peavey TripleXXX combo 212 (uuff... me encanta este ampli) y mas frecuentemente a un minicomponente sony genezi RG575S (en el auxiliar de audio o en la entrada de microfono); lo cierto es que de acuerdo a el equipo en que lo conectes el G2 sonora distinto; la guitarra que mas uso con la G2 es la yamaha RG220, el sonido que da la G2 es increiblemente bueno si tomas en cuenta que cuesta mucho menos que otras multiefectos que dicen tener buen sonido (entiendase Boss, Digitech... suenan chafa)... Ademas hay que ser realistas: es verdad que el G2 nos lo anuncian como un simulador de pre amps Marshall, Fender, boogie.. es obvio que es mentira, este aparato no reproduce muy fielmente el sonido de cualquiera de esos amplos (que ademas cuestan diez veces mas que este aparatito), asi que no esperes que comprando la G2 ya la hiciste y ya te libraste de comprar algun dia uno de esos amplificadores.... Es decir, si cuestionamos al G2 desde ese punto de vista, obviamente sale perdiendo, la G2 no reproduce tan bien un sonido de tales amplos... pero, si hacemos a un lado semejantes palabras (simulador de marshall, bla blabla) y lo vemos solo como una multiefectos, la G2 sale bien librada, el sonido es muy bueno, mucho mejor que su antecesora la 505II e incluso que todas las multiefectos de la serie GFX anteriores; los solos suenan por momentos para mi, sin exagerar, inspiradores; con las pedaleras anteriores de ZOOM los solos y en general todo el sonido era medio chafa, no pude nunca paracticar bien un solo (notas agudas) porque el sonido era como salido de un juguete; en cambio esta G2 ahora es una excelente herramienta para practicar o componer o grabar, hay que tenerle un poco de paciencia al principio, y ya veras que por el precio es de lo mejor en su categoria, y hay que hacer enfasis en "categoria" por que esta G2 es como un automovil compacto, es decir, no seria justo comparar a un Pontiac Matiz con un Ford Mustang 2005, digo, igual en cuestion de Audio para guitarras hay de categorias a categorias, y la Zoom G2 es de lo mejor en su categoria (llamemosle la categoria de los compactos).

La G2 tiene una construccion solida, no como sus antecesoras que eran de plastico (la 505II o la 707II), no dudo que aguante un toquin en vivo, sin embargo, para tocar en vivo no estoy seguro de usar esta multiefectos, creo que depende de el estilo de musica que vayas a interpretar; en mi caso prefiero usar pedales independientes conectados a un amplificador como el marshall o el peavey que te dan mas potencia en una interpretacion en vivo (claro, en lugares no tan grandes); pero creo que el G2 tiene el aguante y confiabilidad para una interpretacion en vivo.

Nunca he tenido bronca con algun producto de Zoom, de cualquier forma en donde lo compre (en una tienda del centro de la ciudad, DF) me dieron garantia de un a?o contra cualquier falla que pudiera tener.

Llevo 11 a?os involucrandome con las liras, lo mio es el Rock en general, desde algo de los Beatles, pasando por Hendrix, Doors, LedZepp, pasando por Maiden, Accept.... del Rock al Metal pues, claro, con las debidas escapadas al blues y al jazz... en fin, esta multiefectos me parece una gran opcion para esos estilos que menciono, aah e incluso suena muy bien si le conectas unos buenos audifonos. Si la perdiera claro que me doleria y muy posiblemente me compraria otra, ya que como mencione, es una excelente herramienta para ensayar o practicar, aahh y tambien hay que mencionar que puede funcionar con 4 pilas AA, cosa que ninguna otra de su categoria (y que tenga buen sonido) te ofrece. En general me parece uno de los mejores productos de zoom.

If you never have used this type of ZOOM pedals, it may take you around ten minutes to start creati0ng the tones you are interested in; but if you have used the 505 II and such, it will be only a matter of seconds to start rocking. Of course, there are always details (like the line/amp option, tghe three different delays & the second EQ) you have to check in the manual once or twice. In summary: it has an easy interphase IMHO...

Have different setups. Let's talk about pickups instead of guitar collections: DiMarzio (Fred, PAFPro, Twank King) Seymour Duncan (Pearly Gates, Stacked tele p/ups (STK2?)) Gibson (57 classic)and a lot of different systems for acoustic guitars (di marzio, fishman, martin, yamaha, etc.) Sounds quiet well with all of them, and sounds like it could handle voice quite well since it is so clear sounding...

Noise is minimal... How come?... The sampling rate?...

Effects are not my specialty (particularly digital)but as long as I can hear the reverb and delays are fine. Do not know how I should rate the flanger, phaser, rotary and other effects. They sound OK but not that good (are they weak or what)...

I have been using it basically with a mixer and phones, but it did not loose tone quality when used with my Champ-25S amplifier by Fender. It sounded quite impressive indeed... Anyway, I go completely analog with my amplifier set-up (have you heard about VHT valvulator? It makes your pedals set up the quietest and best analog sounding thang you can achieve by bringing down the impedance from "high" to "low")...

I'm pretty sure you can get the tone from other guitar players, 'cause this thing is pretty flexible. Anyway, I do not care about a particular player's tone... (Don't get me wrong, I love some guitarists tones I unconciously go after, but do not try to nail them) I can get the ones i like & that's good enough to me...

The most interesting effects are the amp and speaker emulations...
Does that mean I like the distortions? Well, I like the reverbs too...

Now, here's my main commentaries:

1)A reviewer said he founded hard to get a "slightly broken amp blues tone" I don't understand. May be he is talking about the presets. The many chances you have to alter the tone MUST LET YOU DIAL UP THE TONE YOU WANT, EVEN A NICE JAZZ TONE FOR YOUR ARCHTOP GUITAR... Just be patient, keep on tweaking (bring the gains down a bit, try different amps and consider the minimal changes are noticeable and don't forget there are two volumes you can deal with)...

2) Nobody has said a word about using this box with electroacoustic guitars. I have been trying different ones. Even a classical guitar with nylon strings (Yamaha hybrid piezo pickup and microphone)sounds....GREAT... This box kicks the sorry %&$#$% of many dedicated acoustic guitar gadgets (not all, but many) that I have bought throughout the years... Most of them were so expensive and so, so weak... I will do you a favor and warn you about the worst one: the so called "Platinum-Pro EQ/PreAmp (bought from a suppossed to be great company) and paid for more than 300.00... mmmh... All of my acoustics sound great without too much tweaking (clean am sims of course)...

Looks quite sturdy... Hope it will last a long time... won't buy a backup because soon we'll meet better and cheaper gear by zomm itself or someone else's research...

Anyway, kudos to ZOOM! cause they nailed with this one... I have PX2 (KORG), V-AMP-2 (Behringer), SansAmp Classic (Tech 21) and so on... This one is another keeper...

I confess I do not gig anymore... Getting too busy and too old I supposse...

Never dealt with the manufacturer...

Of course I would try to repair or upgrade this thing if broken...

Play different kinds of music. I'm mexican, so I'm a natural fingerpicker, but I play electric (old style rock, rockabilly, blues & jazz, mainly, flamenco guitar, etc,.... Been playing for 22 years... I own too much gear...I'm a (GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) patient in recovering...

Anyway, I would buy it again... because it is too good for the price (don't understand guys who complaint on this one... Really, just don't get them...) There are single compression or distortion pedals (by BOSS or Digitech) way more expensive than this little wonder! As I said: I just don't get it (No entiende!)...

not rocket science, but depending on how many of the features you decide to use and how much tweaking you do, you may need to refer to manual frequently or have a great memory. not a problem for me. took a little bit of time getting familiar, then deleted the crappy presets, laid down my settings from scratch (WHICH EVERYONE SHOULD DO) over about 10 patches (which is way more than enough for me in a live situation), and done. manual is GREAT and very detailed.

absolutely teriffic (GIVEN YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, AND TAKE THE TIME TO CUSTOMIZE IT). dont listen to any negative reviews on this. it doesnt matter how long these people claim to have played guitar, or how many tube amps they've had in the past. none of that matters. The versatility and capability of this pedal are technical fact. In fact i think the tech aspects (ie. harmonic distortion levels etc) are listed and available from zoom. There is not a similar unit (as it is still very new) that even matches it. This is the limit (maybe not for long but until the technology is outdated again). so any of these so called "experts" that complain about the sound either don't know how to set it right for them or have become such tone snobs that they lose their minds and reach the point we they really can only feel reassured by brand names (we all know they exist). playing guitar for 50 years doesnt mean you know everything about technology and a product that came out less than a year ago. I tell you sonically and in regards to tone, presets sound like shit, even starting from scratch a bare amp/sim or distortion may not sound how you like. but there is a crazy amount of tweaking and utilization of the pedal's gazillion other features and adjustable settings, past that point. our studio at first thought the quality was ok. the more we adjusted it the better it got. we had a wide array of popular rigs, (mesa rects, marshall jcms, peavey 5150, etc). It took a really really long time but we got to the point that with the right combination of other equipment and VERY precise & refined settings on the pedal running to our DAW the result was a near perfect sonic match to many of the rigs (but only with the original tubes) which we were then able to sell off. we were stunned. to our ears the tone was exact none of the produces, techs, or musicians could tell when the tracks were switching from zoom to actual rig and vice versa on the DAW playback. i will admit when we sent the signal through audio spec analyses and such, there were differences between the actual rig and the zoom. however, the differences were quite insignificant and measured in ranges virtually non-audible by the human ear. that being said perhaps some of the so called "expert" complaints root from thinking for example you can run a mesa rect sim through a crate cabinet and expect it to sound like an authentic mesa rig coming through a mesa cabinet. DO YOU REALLY THINK THE PEDAL "KNOWS" WHAT SH*T YOU INTEND USE WITH IT? objectively a very powerfull tool given you are the right kind of person to use it.

built well. constructed to withstand more than i could imagine throwing at it. obviously its not invincible. seems to me thats the reason some snobs on here have deducted points. it was 100 bucks and is built with more durability than a lot of high end equipment. lets be realistic. 10

never had to deal with them

after really exploring what it can do i would be willing to pay a lot more than 100 bucks for one of these.

If you have used Zoom before you already will know how to use it

The Best Zoom has done yet, really sounds good on my peavey amp,and through my computer

think it will last longer than their previous ones. Pretty solid

Havent had to use it yet.

Just what i was looking for, I really like the fast switching on it, perfect for switching between rythem and lead, the auto wah is much better on these also, only wish you could label each patch, but otherwise great product and cheap in price.

Easy to use once you read the small manual a few times. You twist a knob to select the module to edit, press another button to turn it off, press another pair of buttons to step through the effect and then there are three knobs to vary effect dependent parameters. Although the 2 digit LED display is large and easy to read from a distance, it's difficult to work out the two letter codes displayed on it.

I've used it with a variety of new and old gibson and fenders. As with real amps and effects, some work better with some guitars than others. Lots of nice sounds covering clean to over the top fuzz/distortion amp sims and delays, reverbs, phaser, harmony etc. Sounds best through my hot rod deluxe clean channel. I reckon anybody will find at least 5 amp/distortions they like. The effects sounds go from adequate to very nice. Finding it a bit hard to get good bluesy crunch but it is excellent for light to heavy distortion

I play blues, rock and classic metal. I'm continually finding new sounds that inspire me. It's cheap but not nasty. Probably one of the better values around today. I'd probably buy another if it was gone.

Very easy to modify. Easier than I initially thought.

Tried it with headphones, a 30watt amp and a hifi-system on a american series strat. Sound quality is often very high though it starts to clip and mess up the sound if you decrease the gain (below 40-50%) on some of the amp models. Also decreasing gain gives a quite unnatural faded sound (unlike their "real" counterparts). Most of the amps simulated are very "metal/hard rock" the only ones which were flexible and pleasant sounding were the OD1 and the clean fender. Also the effects were topnotch; good effects without killing the sound.

Seemed very sturdy. Knobs were tough and stomps had a good resistance.

Got a very nice site, demo sounds and manuals.

I had my hopes that this would match my taste. After reading about the high sound quality and reading rewies, I got kinda dissapointed when I tried it. Not of the quality though, but of the lack of flexibility. The amps while sounding good, if you like metal & HARD rock (duh, its a zoom), don't have as much gain control (as say a POD, Vamp or Tonelab)and don't really suit "older" type of rock/country (apart from the OD1).

Really easy to use if you've used a digital processor before. If not, then you should still be fine just as long as you read the manual. The controls are intuitive and clearly labeled with a solid feel to the knobs/switches. The only drawback is the minimalist screen and the resulting cryptic abbreviations that you have to learn. It took me a few days to memorize all the two-letter names for some of the more obscure amps/effects (it ain't hard to figure that CH stands for chorus). So, there's a small catch.

Ok, good things first... It's extremely quiet compared to pretty much anything except rack-mount studio processors. The instant patch change is AWESOME!!! Your standard effects like chorus, delay, phaser, are as good as any analog pedal and will make you wonder why you dropped a hundred bucks on your Phase 90/Small Clone or whatever you've got. Seriously. Some of the amp/stomp simulations are right on point, namely the Roland JC-120, Boss OD-1(so I was told), Fuzz Face. The acoustic simulator doesn't really sound like an acoustic-electric, but gives you a great sparkly rich sound. It has a six band EQ with low-mids, presence, and harmonics control on top of the usual bass/mid/treble which I found very useful. The tuner tracks well and the rhythm machine is realistic enough not to be offensive to your ears and also includes a few metronome options besides the many beats. Also, the noise reduction is nice if you're playing with a strat, but it hardly needs it with humbuckers.
As for the rest of it... The compressor is pretty crude, it jumps from having very little effect to huge squash and kills your tone. The reverb is so-so; just crank your amp up or plug in headphones and you'll hear all kinds of digital crap going on there, although at low to moderate volume it's OK. I was really looking forward to the "intelligent" harmonized pitch shifter which turned out to be slightly "retarded". It works well for slow sustained lines, but starts messing up when you ask more from it. And finally... the ditortions. I have to say I expected more; not perfect recreations of legendary amps, just more. I guess they still haven't figured out how to stuff a tube amp inside a computer chip. Even for a digital processor they're only OK at best. Some are better, some worse, some leave you wondering "what the hell were they thinking?"(ahem.. Metal Zone). With enough tweaking you can find a liveable compromise for almost every model but only the select few distortions are actually good.

Hard to say, it looks sturdy and the feel is of quality, but don't expect it to last a lifetime with regular use. Footswitches and input/output jacks are the usual suspects.

Like other reviewers said, it's hard to criticize this box for the price. However, nobody wants another "bargain" collecting dust in the closet either. Here's the thing: if you're a beginner or a casual player you'll be very happy. It will let you get the sounds of all your favorite artists close enough to impress all your non-guitarist friends. If you're looking to record into a computer using the cabinet emulation then look to something else unless you're absolutely strapped for cash. If you're a performing musician (also strapped for cash) then get this thing for the great effects and the stellar overall sound quality. For your first preset, turn every module off, turn the harmonics up a little to restore your true guitar-to-amp sound and save it. Afterwards, start from there in creating your presets. And remember that the most important part with any digital processor is the balance between your amp volume, pedal master volume, and amp model volume. It's the key to making them sound real and not digital.
Bottom line is this: the G2 makes a world-class effects pedal; it also makes a great beginner/first processor to keep you playing; but as a do-it-all unit it probably won't meet your expectations due to limited input/output options, somewhat lacking distortions, and very average DI performance. My rating for this category reflects its use as an effects box only. I wanted to be as honest and objective as possible for the people who are likely to purchase this unit online without a chance to play it first since that's what I had to do.

Ok so the screen is extremely minimal, but the dials tell you everything you need to know. I was tweaking this sucker out of te box, although it probably helps that i owned an older zoom product. The manual is very helpful too.

Ok you've really got to consider he price of this unit whilst describing the quality of the sound. I have to say it's extremely impressive. I use it mainly running through a PA in stereo, to save me lugging my amp around, and to use it as a backup. A lot of the effects are very similar to the older Zoom units. The distortions have really come a long way, especially with the cabinet modelling, you only really realise how good it is when you turn it off.

There's 20 distortions to choose from, I went through them all critically and found about 5 that I really liked, what more does a guitarist need? My only complaint is that the difference between 0 gain and 100 gain is not really noticable on most of the distortions, the same goes for when you lower the volume on your guitar, they don't really clean up the signal, except for a few of the crunchy, bluesy distortions. This isn't even a bad thing when playing live because it's a lot easier to get even signals between all the patches, almost as if they were compressed.

All the other effects are great, although I'm never really a fan of the Zoom flange sound, and the gimmicky effects aren't really useful. The delays are very good, and you can have two, even three at a time because theres different delay effects in each module. I love the tape echo because the repeats lose bass with each repeat, and the echo effect does the opposite, it loses high end. The reverbs are good too. The pitch shifters are good but I wish they'd put an octave effect in there. The harmoniser is good too (considering the price of the unit).

You can't really knock this unit for the price, and I honestly think the the higher sampling rate has made all the difference to the sound quality.

The case is a lot sturdier than older Zoom stuff. And the footswitches are tougher than the plastic things that they've used in the past, but I wouldn't hold my breath, they're probably still stuck straight to the circuit board. And there' no telling when a jack socket might die on you. These are worst case scenarios of course, but you really can't expect a unit of this price to withstand too much abuse. It's probably unfair of me to be so negative without a good reason, but if I were honestly going to use one of these fulltime I would definately buy a second one as a spare.

No idea.

This pedal is ideal for beginners, all the way across the spectrum if you ask me. I've been playing over ten years and I've gotten some amazing blues-rock tones out of this beauty. If you're going to listen to the presets and call this pedal names that's your problem, presets are never good, start from scratch, and only use cab modelling if youre not using a cab and vice versa.

I wanted to use a cheap volume pedal as an expression pedal but it didn't really work (needed a stereo cable, and didn't cover the full sweep), so be careful, might be worth buying a zoom expression pedal for it.

Like all effect units, take a little time and READ the manual!!! I know it's hard for us guys!!! But give it a shot!!! Zoom makes it very easy to create some truly great sounds from this amazing unit!!!

I use it with various setups. Home run through a vintage Dean Markley RM-40-DR (absolutely killer amp!!!) I use a variety of guitars,(Fender Tele heavily modified, Schecter PT Custom, Vintage Hamer Special, Steinberger Stick, and a Handmade Strat ala San Dimas style. The unit is absolutely silent!!! I have owned the original 505 since it came out, still going fine!!! This pedal is the Rolls Royce of the Zoom pedals!!! They really put on their thinking caps this time!!! I have played for over 25 years, I have played most every effect pedal you can get, I have also suffered through some really lame multi-effect units!!! This unit is quite simply stunning!!! Even the factory presets are really good!!! I won't sit hear and pick it apart because I am NOT a "tone snob"!!! I've got better things to do than spend my life whining about my search for the "Perfect Tone" Get A Life!!! The amp patches are great!!! If you want to nit pick about certain nuances of classic amps, then go blow you dough on a room full of vintage amps!!! Every effect on this pedal is good, Chorus, Phaser, Delay, and on and on. It's all good!!! I have a pedal board full of great classic pedals,and this Zoom pedal had me jammin for hours!!! My pedal board is quite jealous!!! I also have a Digitech Rp 50 which is a Turd compared to the G2, it is out the door next week!!! Another amazing feature is the fact that the G2 features a harmonized pitch shifter which means you can select the key and scale according to the phrase you play!!! This is worth every penny by itself!!! Don't waste another minute!!! Get one on ebay or rush to your local music store and demand one!!!

Regardless of whats others have said, if you treat your pedals with care, you will get years of use from them!!! My original Zoom 505 is still going strong after 9 years!!! The new G2 is much more sturdy, with a heavy metal (no pun intended) case, and great rubberized sided. I will use this all the time without a backup!!! What kind of faith would I have in my pedal if I carried around a backup???

Never had to call them. If it aint broke, then you've been taking care of it haven't you!!!

I play for my church every week, Contemporary Christian. At home I play Blues, Jazz , and some Classic Rock. I've been playing over 25 years. Other Gear is listed above. If it were stolen, I would order another one them same day, and lament the lose of the other G2. I love the whole concept of this pedal!!! Well thought out!!! Just try and find the same features on another pedal in this price range!!! Favorite feature? The amp models!!! Have tried most of the multi- units out there, my most recent was the Line 6 POD XT Live, great unit, but confusing, and huge, not to mention expensive!!! The G2 hold it own very well against some of the big boys out there, and icompact size, and price will give you some dough left for other things, like more guitars!!!!

Relatively easy to use, considering the small number of controls available. I mastered it in a few days.

I bought this to replace an old Korg PX4 I used for teaching at home, but ended up using it live as an amp modeller direct to board. Here are my opinions, compared both to amps/pedals and other modellers I've owned,such as POD and Tonelab:

1. The clean sounds are very crisp and usable.
2. The hi-gain sounds are nice and full sounding, and they sing when playing single notes, which most modellers won't do.
3. Several effects are outstanding, the others usable to good (except of course ring modulators and other gimmicks). The phaser, chorus,flanger and slow attack are excellent, good enough to use in place of a rack effects, IMHO. The spring reverb is so-so. I found the compressor to be functional but not close to a good pedal. The pitch shifting is as clean and smooth as any I've used on a guitar system. Pick attack is instantaneous, as is program change.
4. The Zoom noise reduction does a credible job, but I found it to be a little less smooth than other units I've used like POD or Korg.
5. Here's the bad news for me, and it's a pretty big deal. There really are not any good sounding "amp just breaking up" or overdrive sounds here to compare with a real amp or other modellers. The ground between BF Twin and Soldano is pretty shallow. I had to buy a cheap OD pedal just to get some non-metalish breakup. Also, the unit does not respond to the guitar's volume control like an amp would, or a good modeller like the Tonelab.
6. The outputs are guitar level, not +4, so there could be some issues with noise and gain when going direct. I run mine through an EQ with +4 TRS outs.

Seems very well built for a $99 pedal.

No experience here.

I play a lot of different styles but lean toward more classic tones. The hi-gain sounds on the G2 have opened up my playing to new possibilities, and I have several effected clean sounds that are as good as any I've ever had. If this unit had better overdrive sounds I would consider buying the G7.1ut as my main rig. As it is, I'm thinking of going back to a small amp and pedals for live use, in which case I will initially use the G2 for some effects and distortion. I recently sold my Vox Tonelab SE and switched to the G2 temporarily, with the loss of overdrive sounds as a result. The fact that the G2 can hang with the clean and hi-gain sounds of other modellers for $99 is pretty impressive to me. A flawed but good effort.