Zoom G2G MR SCARY George Lynch Signature series

Since I have owned many effect units, single and multi, this one is easy to use. Pretty simple. point, shoot, listen, repeat and/or save.

Although I have tons of gear, there is no need to sample every guitar I own. I can tell pretty quick how good or bad the unit sounds. I used my ESP Kamikazee and my EJ Strat into a Marshall. One problem, where are the Lynch sounds? OK, the first preset for lead. Great sound. Then that is it. What a waste. With todays technology, there could have been the clean/acoustic simulations found on Dokken's "Walk Away" or any other song with acoustic. A lot of other Dokken tones are nowhere to be found. The tones George moved to during the Mob days are also 'Not Found'. Sure, tweakability is available, but I thought I was buying a George Lynch pedal, not just another effects pedal. I'd give it a one because that is all I found George Lynch about it. One Lynch tone. It doesn't sound terrible, but there are so many tones which could have been included.

I will never know. This is just another pedal that will collect dust. Actually, I'll probably give it to a kid who doesn't have a pedal.

I won't be needing that.

I am a big Lynch fan, this could be why I am so disappointed.
Call me when the real George Lynch pedal comes around.

This is essentially the G2 unit, with George Lynch presets, and a silver/gray housing instead of black.

The George presets: there are a few good ones, but most are too over the top, showing more what the unit is capable of, than a patch you could play in a song context. (Similar to buying a keyboard with a lot of sound effect patches, where you really want some usable piano patches) His presets use mostly the Marshall JCM 800 or the Marshall JCM 2000 simulations. Aside from a couple of patches, I wouldn???t say these tones match exactly what are on the Dokken or solo recordings. If you were looking for Under Lock and Key or Back For The Attack sounds out of the box (like I was) they???re not really here (close maybe). I found I could program in sounds that worked better for me than the presets. If you do buy this model, find the G2 preset patch listing and program those in, and try some of those presets.

The unit is designed to run through the front end input of a guitar amp, (although watch your G2G output level so you???re not overloading the front end) with the amp set flat (solid state amps, set the eq???s on the amp to 5; tube amps, set bass to zero, mids full, treble to 1). It is not designed to run in the effects loop as I found the G2G input won???t handle line level input. It also works great straight to the power amp (effect loop return) as long as you use the cabinet simulator (otherwise it???s too grainy sounding). So, if you have a good patch for guitar amp input, just copy that patch and switch on the cab sim, and have a very close similar sound for power amp input. It also works well through a keyboard amp with the cab sim on. Using headphones output (with cab sim) sounds good.

Editing is easy once you become familiar with it (and have read the manual, which covers everything well). If you ever programmed old analogue keyboard synthesizers (with the 2 digit display only) this unit is easy.

It???s easy to get the sound you???re looking for out of this ??? all the parameters are variable enough to really dial in sounds. And just playing around finding and tweaking sounds is fun. Tone chasing anyone? I find the key to programming sounds is to work with one module at a time, with all the others off, and build the sound up from there. All the effects within each module save their settings as well, so if you save the patch with the module with Chorus on, the Flanger in the same module keep its settings.

You can also turn off any of the modules, so if you turn off the amp simulators, you can use this as just an effects box (if you want to just run effects through your amp overdrive channel for example). You can also toggle an effect/module off and on with the up/down buttons while the Module selector is set to that module, to turn delay on for an instant etc.

I tried this with various guitars (humbuckers and single coil) through solid state and tube amps, (both through the guitar input, and just into the power amp) plus a keyboard amp. It sounds good through all of them. Haven???t tried it for direct recording yet.

There is a bit of upper-mid frequency line noise just plugging the unit into an amp, regardless of the patch setting (even in bypass mode the noise is there). But it???s no more than any other stomp box effect noise.

Most of the effects sound good, and have enough parameters to change to get the sound you want.
Chorus, flanger, phaser, reverb, delay are good. I really like the Slow Attack (to get that volume swell automatically). Compressor is ok. Noise gate (or ZNR) is very good. There are 4 different Pitch Shifters ??? Pt, which sounds good with chords; PP (pedal changed, I didn???t try this as I didn???t get the expression pedal); N(m)P, which is okay with solo notes; and HP ??? harmonizer which sounds good with solo notes ??? chords get glitchy. All the pitch shifters have the standard ???time lag on pitched note with a sped up sound quality??? the higher you pitch shift. With the Pt set at -1 or 1 and mix on 100, you can transpose the key you???re playing in (digital capo-ing?). Auto Wah is pretty cool too ??? can change the sensitivity and peak range. The Acoustic simulator is okay, but not a very strong effect (the Behringer acoustic pedal sounds better than this). All the effects (but not the amp sim or eq) you can set the mix ratio to have a subtle or strong addition.

Considering you???re getting a lot of well known/used effects in one package for this price, you can???t beat it. Especially if you only use, say, flanger or harmonizer once in awhile, I certainly don???t want to spend a lot on a dedicated pedal. Plus, since all the effects are in one G2G pedal, you don???t get the accumulated line noise from multiple pedals.


The amp simulations ??? the cleans are good, (although don???t add that much to the clean amp you???re already playing through) the JCM800, Boogie crunch, and OD-1 are good. The JCM2000, Peavey 5150, Mesa Rectifier, were all simulated at very high saturation levels, so even turning the Gain control down doesn???t clean them up, nor does rolling back your guitar volume do much clean up. Good for shredding, bad for classic rock. The stomp box simulations are all a little grainy (with the exception of the OD-1), and the digital fuzz just sounds like a ripped blown speaker, not useful to me.

Overall the unit has a good sound ??? the amp simulation all have that digital graininess to it (and you???d never fool yourself into thinking it???s a real tube overdrive) but the digital distortion is as good as Line6 spider series, and almost as good as an analogue amp, and much better than digital was 5 or 10 years ago.

The EQ section has enough range that it brings out the sound of whatever amp model you???re using. The extra EQ has a good 400hz band that when using negative (cut) numbers cleans up the midrange without scooping it.

The drum loops are nothing exceptional. Basic patterns repeated, with so-so drum sound quality. Good as a backing track to set tempo playing to, but not as good as a dedicated drum machine (and the drums can???t be programmed or triggered etc).

Appears sturdy enough, although the casing is all plastic (which only looks like silver-ish metal). I???ve never had anything fail on a gig (other than a broken string) so I???d use it without a backup (or if you???re using it through a guitar amp, that???s your backup!)

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The sounds are good for playing almost any style ??? clean, blues, classic rock, metal, shredding etc. Mainly just change the amp simulator and eq section.
I???ve been playing for over 20 years. I wanted this unit to set up presets for live playing without having to use multiple effects boxes and be tap dancing to make changes. I also wanted it to use through a keyboard amp so I can do band rehearsals with one amp (where I switch between keys and guitar for different songs).
It doesn???t replace the sound quality of a tube amp, but it does give me the option that if I???m tired of a certain type of distortion (i.e. Marshall) I can change to another (ie. Boogie) without having to change amps.


My favorite feature is the mute/tuner. One nice addition ??? if you plug a switch pedal (momentary type) in and set it for bypass/tuner, you can switch to tuner mode quickly, instead of trying to press both up down buttons at the same time. The tuner is very accurate and easy to read. You can also use the mute setting in between songs.
Other fav is the digital delay where you can read the delay time in milliseconds/seconds. By dividing 60,000 by the tempo of the song, you can set the exact delay time to repeat to the beat. Ie. 60,000 divided by tempo of 120 equals 500 milliseconds for a one beat delay.
Also, unit comes with the power adaptor, although it???s not mentioned on the box contents.

One negative point ??? the Control ??? Master Level seems to be preset to 80, so every time you turn the unit on, regardless of what it was set to when powered off or on saved patches, reverts to 80. This level is fine for headphones or direct to recording, but way too high for guitar amp (around 40 is unity gain).

I also wish it had a chart with the settings per preset written out; it only has George???s written description of the sound.

I???d recommend buying this if you want a lot of sounds and effects in one box. Any individual effect is not a great as a dedicated top of the line effect, but you???re getting a lot of different effect types in one box for the price of (or less than) a mid priced stompbox. It sounds better played through a tube power amp than solid state.

Easy to figure it out. it's simplistic and very easy to dial in what ya want. Editing patches is a breeze. manual is same as the G2.. They sent G2 manual with this one. I own both the G2 and now the G2G.

Fantastic and superb sounding.It's only noisy if you don't use the noise gate thats in the unit.The effects are great for most part. some of the stupid effects that Zoom has always added,, I don't know why.I basically run this dirct to my Pc for just jammin and recording. I had to tweak the preset patches for the old style Dokken tone. The Preset patches aren't even close to Old style dokken /lynch tone. The "Dream Warriors" setting was descent sounding,, but once I tweaked it like you have to do with any processor ,, I was all set.

I have never had any problems with Zoom,, And I go back to when the Zoom 9000 first came out and I got that yrs ago. I am not a "Gigging" Musician,, so i cant tell ya if i would even use it live. I'd say its sturdy enough for that though,, since it's an all steel housing.

I have owned zoom products for yrs. They really hold up well.

Ok,, this is where I get to tell yas about this unit in better aspect. This unit is great for the hard rock and rock musicians. I am a rocker,,been palying for 25 yrs,so I use this with my Fender guitars, my Dean,, my ESP, my Kramer,, and my Jackson. They all sound really well through this unit. I love the distortions of the marshall drive,, boogie,, and marshall crunch,, and the Peavey is perfect for soloing leads. I myself though was wishing for better Classic Dokken Tones from George,, but I was kinda upset when i got it and the presets aren't even close to what you would expect if your an 80's rocker like me. To be blunt,, all this unit is is a duplicate of the Zoom G2,, but with Lynch's signature and dolled up silver painting on the unit. I took my other G2, and once i adjusted the so called "Lynch " settings, I dialed the same exact settings I made from the G2G and put them into my Zoom G2,, there was no difference in sound,, tonal quality,, etc. You do get a nice poster and a guitar pic of Lynch,,, but set aside all that,, this unit still rocks. The distortions, wether it's the G2 or this G2G,, which are technically the same,, cause I own both now, You just can't beat the distortions in this little unit. I know,, cause I own a processors from Digitech(Rp150), Line 6(pod xt live and 2.0), the newer rocktron Utopia G100, Behringer V amp 2, and a bubnch more of other gear. they are all great units. But for the price range of this unit, which is 119 bucks,, and the behringer is 99 bucks,, which is superb too,, you can't go wrong with the price range of this. if ya wanna save money,, get the Zoom G2. It's same exact unit,, but not with the flashyniess of the unit as in clor and signature on it. it's built the same as the G2 with steel housing,, etc. I am glad I bought it,, cause now i have a nice backup for my Zoom G2,, which I don't expect anything to go wrong anytime soon for my Zoom G2. It's just like any processor,, you have to tweak to your'e liking and to your ears. I have mine tweked,, and I'm happy as hell with both of em. Btw, I mentioned earlier about the Zoom 9000,, so that tells you how long I have had zoom products, cause that came out in the early nineties when i first bought it.

I'm a fan of George's since the early 80's so this is a product I've been looking forward to for a long time. I'm also from the pre-digital generation and tend to like my equipment simple and straight forward to use so I cringed when pulling out the instruction manual. I wouldn't say it is necesarily easy to use, but the instructions are good and it gives you so many options to really tweak the sound that it is worth it. My other processer was a Digitech RP100 and this one isn't any harder to use than that one, just much more updated in its effects modeling and capabilities.

I'm going to agree with the previous reviewer and say that I was initially a little disappointed when I plugged it in and turned the Mr Scary patch on (lets face it...if you're a Lynch fan you pretty much bought this for that setting). The factory presets are a little off and I was expecting more identifiable signature tones to specific songs from his catalog, but when I started reading what effects he was using in specific patches it kind of made sense that a lot of the patches were just out there and over-the-top. He's using some pretty rare and interesting effects together that most of us won't have the opportunity to use, so some of the patches were basically designed to show you what you can do with them and then you can dial them back for your taste to make them usable. After some tweaking I did nail some of his tones I was looking for so this is genuinely infinitely tweakable with really good base modeling. My favorites so far are Mr Scary, Deam Warriors (great clean sounds), FTA (tight gritty rhytmn), the Classic Rythmns, All Things (cool delay effect) and 12 String. There are a couple variations of noise gates this comes with; the preset I thought was almost too clean that I had to dial it back a little and dirty it up some, but some will probably like it as is. I used an American Deluxe Strat with Lindy Fralins, a PRS Custom 24, and a Tele with Adder Plus Persuader bridge pickup and Brad Paisley neck pickup through a Marshall MG series amp. All 3 sounded good on different patches that highlighted the specific voicings of whichever guitar I was using.

Body and switches are metal, so it should hold up okay as any other digital processer.

For just over $100 I think this is a pretty good buy compared to $300+ for a used Keeley Lynch Time Machine Boost or a Randall Lynch Box amp with the Lynch Modules at over $250+ each. I don't know how much appeal George has for younger players, but for guys like me who grew up in the Dokken and Lynch Mob era this is a pretty cool purchase and I think other players could find some good tones from this to add to their play list. I've only had this for a few days and it is a keeper. I mainly wanted to write this review so other players who may be considering buying this since it just came out will have some info to decide if it is worth their money. Zoom just came out at the same time with a John 5 G2 processer with the same amount of patches for much cheaper. Arguably John 5 is more relevant to current music so why the difference in price? I like John 5 but I've got a couple of decades invested in my musical relationship with George so that is where my money went. I suppose the bottom line is you either like processers or you don't. I tend to be a plug it in and play it throught the amp kind of guy who likes effects very simple, but in cases where you want to nail a specific tone than this is the way to go. The only other effect I currently have is a Digitech Jimi Hendrix Experience pedal which I really like and rate solidly along with this one. What do I like about the G2G? That it is infinately tweakable. What do I hate about? That it is infinately tweakable. LOL

This unit is very easy to edit,, easy to get great soubnd out of it,,manual is same as the G2 unit. This comes with the manual of a G2 unit,,c ause this is the same unit as a G2,, but with Lynch tones added.

Soundwise,, this unit is great. I have a bunch of guitars at the realm of me from strats to les paul to my kramer or jackson to my esp. They all produce nice tones with this unit. I'm not happy at the lynch presets. i knew I'd have to tweak em which I have,, but cmon,, I never heard old Lynch style stuff use a phaser in his soloing,, and some of his other presets I wouldnt think of even using to be honest. Once I tweaked a few of the patches to my ears for the lynch tone,, I was impressed on how good they sound. This unit is basically a Zoom G2( Which I also have) with George Lynch settings. You can actually achieve these settings on a G2 unit. I actually expected more to see presets like breaking the chains style distortion,, or kiss of death style distortion,, but you wont see that in this unit. you will have to dig yourself deep into it to find it yourself. it's still a great unit for the price,, and at 32 bit processing,, you can't go wrong with the fast patch changing. I just wished that George Lynch would have given us more of the old style Dokken tones instead of his newer style tones,, but thats my personal opinion,, since I love playing alot of 80's rock like Dokken and Ratt and etc.

Seems to be built like a tank. I don't play live,, but im a home jamming musician,, and it works great for me anyhow.

cant say anything in this area,, because Iv'e never had to deal with them.

I'll just say that this unit is a nice looking and really descent sounding unit for the price,, and you won't be disappointed at jamming with it. You will be if your looking for old dokken tones to use on the spot,, but your'e gonna have to tweak and make them yourself. I'm gonna give this unit an 8 because,, for 1.. they could have installed an audio input jack area,, 2..a usb would have been nice witht his for tweaking and exchanging patches which would have been a simple upgrade since the G2 has been out for awhile.. and last but not least.. 3.. zoom could have supplied cabinet settings to change for more tonal range,, like the behringer v amp 2 does.

Kind of complex,instructions are there,but,you have the ability to tweak about every aspect of this pedal.

Factory Presets are a bit off some are pretty close,George probably wanted us to WORK a little to NAIL his Tone,LOL! BUT YOU CAN ACHIEVE IT WITH A LITTLE PATIENCE,Really a KILLER Processor!

Just got it today,BUT,Other ZOOM Products I have have NEVER Crapped Out on me!!

Zoom/Samson isn't the "SPIFFIEST" when it comes to Not Being VAGUE when you ask a question,never got a Straight answer regarding availability,Neither did many Zoom Dealers!

For a little over 100 bucks,This is worth it's weight in GOLD!! It's The HOLY GRAIL OF TONE for ANY George Lynch Fan! Don't get Upset when you first plug into it,As ALWAYS,Factory Presets SUCK for the most part..BE PATIENT,The TONE IS THERE,Just have to Tweak the Presets a bit,You'll be AMAZED,It's Really ALL GEORGE,ALL THE TIME!! LOVE THIS THING!!