Zoom G7.1ut

Pretty intuitive - I only had to refer to the manual a couple of times for things like naming patches

Great sound quality - particularly the crunches! Digital effects all superb.

I play through a Rivera M60

I still haven't made up my mind whether to have the unit in front of a clean channel, going straight into the power amp (loop return) or in the effects loop - if doing the latter I am careful not to use any of the unit's distortion preamps, as lots of feedback happens!

Have used it plugged straight into PA with great results.

The plastic cable tidy at the rear has snapped. big deal. The unit itself is built like a tank, great feel to the footswitches

Emailed them once about usage within fx loop, got a very speedy response and useful answer

I can't believe this isn't mentioned often in these reviews but apart from the sound quality and ruggedness the best thing about this unit is that THE PATCH CHANGES ARE INSTANTANEOUS! NO 1/2 SECOND DELAY WHEN CHANGING!! apologies for the capitals, but this is a big plus when gigging! compare with Boss ME50...

well.. no .
mine has some sort of processor problem. the rotary encoders wont ascend unless you go reeeeal slooow.

stunning results with carefull tweaking.
ring modulation at low freq. with big speakers is awsome
i find it difficult to get a clean sound (-4db)
the octaver gets a bit confused.

something seriously wrong with mine. encoders are almost unusable, tap tempo switch not funny enough to be a joke, blank screen or gobldegook on startup. basicly the only switches that work properly are the bank switches. mind you i bought this secondhand...

? not yet

Considering how many features it has its easy to use (Manual really easy to use).
It DOES however take some time to create nice sounding patches.

The manual mode is great. You can switch effects on and off within patches very easily

Sound, as mentioned below, is very amp-sensitive, but generally if you're playing through an amp that sounds sweet, the pedal will sound good. Simple, really.

Some of the more usable amp models are the BG Crunch, Fdr Clean, US Blues, UK Blues, JC Clean, PV drive and the overdrive pedals (OD-1, Centaur). Generally, the 'Drive' distortions (Marshall JCM, Dual Rectifier, Hughes & Kettner TriAmp) are a little messy and hard to use.

Great tone when tube is set to about 1 o'clock

The effects (in my inexperienced opinion) are good and usuable but again, the preset effects are too dramatic and need a bit of tweaking. The delay is very good and the tap-delay is great, especially for gigging.


The great thing about this pedal is that the sound cuts through very well in band situations. We play alt/Incubus/Muse-y kinda stuff and this pedal is great.

I use an Ibanez Artist and also own a cheap strat knock-off.

What I like about this compared to the old Zoom 505's etc. is that it seems to be much more solid. Heavy and sturdy.

Footswitches have become a little less responsive and the expression pedal's a bit serious but nothing major

Haven't dealt with the company

Great Pedal. Been Playing for over 7 years and this doesn't disappoint me. If it were stolen/lost, I would probably consider single effects (mostly because of financial situation) but I would take this over any other multi pedal easily.

Very helpful in a band/gigging situation. Only thing I can say I dislike is the heavier 'drive' sounds. Other than that, its great.

First of all, with all multi-effects pedals, I expected this to be relatively hard to learn. Even then, I felt that the manual was rather confusing at times.

However, once I read through the specification of all the sounds, i then began to get the hang of it. The learning curve on this is pretty long cos I keep learning new things about it the more i use it. However, this is not to say that it gets incredibly easy to use once you're familiar with it. I still think there are some design flaws (like some important footswitches are inconveniently placed). Other than that, this is a pretty good pedal and quite possibly one of the better ones out there for this price range.

I like playing a lot of old school rock/blues. Stuff like gary moore, thin lizzy, gnr, poison, hendrix, santana, etc. I find that the presets are good... but not good enough. After some tweaking though, I got the sounds that I wanted from the Hendrix patch. Then it was sweet bliss.

I also relived my old school grunge rock day by using the boss ds-1 preset and it sounded exactly like the boss ds-1 that i sold to buy this effects unit. I think there's value right there.

The tube sounds sweet, even though I;ve heard much better tubes, but I'll probably replace it for a much better tube at some point once I'm really familiar with this unit.

So far so good. This looks like a pretty reliable set especially if you ensure that you take care of it.

I havent tried gigging with it yet, but I think its reliable enough to hold out at a gig. Its a sturdy metal build and is pretty heavy hence is unlike to get flung about by mistake while on stage. I think the weakest link on this thing is probably the tube though and as i mentioned earlier, I would like to replace it at some point.

Overall, this a good unit. However, inexperienced players may find all the settings and options a bit daunting. It is a great learning tool though as it helps you to hone in to all the settings and effects and sounds that you enjoy the most, hence making your next guitar/amplifier/effects shopping trip more well informed.

However, I think that there won't be any need to shop for any more effects once you have this unit.

Its great that this can connect up with Cubase to do recording, however, the same can be done by mac users with garageband, so for mac users, this wont be an eyebrow raiser. It is however, annoying that editing of patches cannot be done via USB and only through MIDI. Everyone has a usb, but not everyone has a MIDI and hencce this very important tool should be usable through usb as well though not necessarily the case.

Like most modellers/multi fx it takes time to learn how to use it. Once you figure out how it works you can do quite a bit with it.

Manual can be a bit confusing, I found alot of answers to my questions at http://forum.thestompbox.net/forumdisplay.php?f=18 which is dedicated to the G2/7/9 series.

The worst thing about this unit is the pc editor uses a midi cable and not usb cable which would be much easier. I have learnt to progam it directly because the cable is expensive but it would be alot easier to do it via the pc.

Design wise the channel A/B switch is in the DUMBEST position. I dont use it because of this. Instead I program the sounds I want to different patches and change amps/boost lead that way. Works for me.

I give it a 9 because this is the closest I have heard a modeller come to a real amp. I owned a v-amp pro and tried other modellers and this is the best. I am selling my Mesa F50 because I just play the G7 straight thru my pa now. With its 15" drivers I get so much bottom end its awesome.

When I first hooked it up I thought it was crap - the preset sounds are lame.

What I did was turn everything OFF and then turn things on one-by-one til I got the sounds I wanted.

You MUST use the cab sim AND the AIR effect which can be found in the delay or fx2 bank when you play. If you dont it will sound flat and digital but with these on it sounds so real I dont think any body could tell the difference.

The EQ is great for getting scooped mids for numetal. Personally I only use a few of the amp models - the Fender clean, the mesa drive, the 5150 drive and the extreme distortion. To my ears these are the best but I'm sure others will prefer different sounds.

The fx are great. Stereo ping-pong delay sounds awesome!!! The chorus is great as is the pitch bends (tho not as good as digitechs Whammy which has a sound all of its own but this gets close). I also like the slow attack. Phaser/flange and several delay options incl tap tempo timing. The Wah's arent as good as the real thing but theyre good enough unless youre an absolute fanatic and some people are.

I think this unit is worth the prics of the fx (and tuner) alone.

Seems sturdy enough with the metal casing. Time will tell (had it 4mths yet to gig with it).

No opinion.

I play rock covers, been playing for 27years. Selling my valve and solidstate guitar amps now to concentrate on using this direct into my PA. So many tones and sounds are possible, Marshall/Mesa/Fender and I can actually play it quietly without having to annoy the neighbours with my cranked valve amp.

Havent tried it thru headphones or pc yet.

Best feature is the quality of the sounds and the stereo fx. For the price it is a great buy.

It is easy to use if you read the manual first. For me, it is too complex to use at first without the aid of the manual (unless you want to screw something up accidentally and sit there for hours until you figure it out again). The knob layout could have been a bit better, but overall, it's fine. The footswitches are nicely placed, feel good, and the A/B (or whatever you want it to do) switch is a great feature. The expression pedal feels solid. The tube and tube boost knobs are easy enough to use - set and forget. I have them both at 12 o'clock.

This pedal can sound great, or it can sound like crap. When it comes to this unit, the tone isn't all in your hands; the amp or PA you are using will make a huge difference in how it sounds. It's not the best at letting your guitar's character shine through, but if you're heavy into organic tones, you're probably not even reading this review. But after all, you could be like me - I love natural tones, but I needed this for applications when my little tube amps just couldn't be used. The amp sounds are all pretty good, the only real standouts being the Boogie crunch and maybe the Vox and Hiwatt cleans. The pedals are likewise pretty good, except for the Metal Zone sim. That one is embarassingly bad. I'm not huge of effects, but all the effects in here sound good (I'm not sure about the ring modulator, but I think that's meant to sound terrible).

I'll separate the rest of this sound quality bit between applications.

Through headphones - This was a big factor for my purchase. When I bought this, the roommate I had absolutely hated the guitar. Sucks for me, but I still had to play. This sounds pretty good through headphones, and if you've got a decent set, it's a good indication of its direct recording abilities (another reason for buying this). The amp sims are pretty good, especially compared to my Line 6 Pod 2.0, and the clean tones are actually good (the Line 6 can't do a decent clean tone for anything).

Through the front of an amp - I have a Fender Blues Jr. and a Vox AC 15. Of course they're both modded to my liking, but I won't go into that. They sound fantastic when going straight in, or with overdrive pedals up front. With the Zoom up front, they sound like the tubes were ripped from their innards and repalced with sterile digital simulations. I couldn't really get a satisfying tone like this, even with tweaking.

Through the efeects loop of my BASS amp - Suprisingly, this is where I got my best sound. These types of uints are really meant to go into something with no EQ or anything - just a speaker to push its sound out. My bass amp, a late 90's 25-watt Fender model with a great range, reacts well to this in its loop. If you don't know, plugging something like this through an effects loop is like bypassing everything in the amp but the speaker. The unit produces almost all of the tone. Anyway, the tones sound the most natural here, and you don't need to do as much tweaking to get a usable sound.

Direct to PA - This can sound okay, but it takes forever and a day to get a sound that doesn't suck. More tweaking than most people have the patience for, and it's not that impressive even at its best.

Overall? No, this isn't the greatest thing ever, but it's not the worst either. Honestly, I was more impressed by the cheaper Zoom G2.

Sturdy build, and I've been using this for months. Seems reliably to me!

I emailed them once, and they replied quickly.

First off, don't base your purchase soley on these reviews. Some guys are so frustrated by the learnng curve that they just trash the thing, and others are so amazed that so many features are crammed into one box, and very few of them outright suck. Test this thing out through as many applications as you can before you plunk down the money for one. It could be your best gear purchase ever, or it could be your biggest waste of money. It's definitely not versatile enough (across amp/PA/whatever platforms - it can handle many musical styles) for me to recommend to everyone.

On the plus side, the manual that goes with the G7 is excellent - but it has to be!

It is very easy to use the presets, tuner, manual mode etc but it took a while for me to get to grips with editing and saving patches. A couple of evenings later I am getting some fantastic tones together - and the two channels per patch feature is excellent for providing a lead boast or overdriven/clean contrast at the touch of a switch. You do need to be prepared to spend some time getting to understand the pedals workings (with the excellent manual) but once you do it is worth every second!

If I have a criticism it would be that the damm thing does too much! Being able to assign 4 (yes four!) simultaneous functions to the expression pedal for every single patch is mind blowing in itself!

One of the reviewers below ranted about this pedal because the presets suck. To be honest they mostly do, but so does the ranting reviewer because he is really missing the point. The presets demo the unit - to use it seriously you need to build up your own patches.

Frankly, I am astounded at the sound quality and versatility of the patches that you can build up. For the price of 2 Boss compact effects (maybe less than that even) you effectively have the whole Boss compact range in one sturdy box! I gigged with this for the first time on Saturday and using 4 custome patches (2 channels per patch) I was able to get every sound I needed for a mixed 2 hour set. That leaves about a billion other possiblities free for exploring!

All of the effects perform to an acceptable standard and Crybaby will be on eBay within the week!

No owned this long enough to comment but my other Zoom experiences have been good.

The Japanese language thing on the website is a pain, other than that no experience.

I have surprised myself with this unit, up to now I have been pretty much an fx free zone - tube amp overdrive and reverb has been about it. However, this thing has opened up so many possibilities that it will change the way that I play. Up to now I have used this with my (excellent) Peavey Classic 50 & ESP Ltd EC-1000 Deluxe for mostly classic rock styles of music. This unit though will cover all genres of rock. pop, country etc with ease.

It is also ridiculously cheap - I paid ??146 (British Pounds) new from a web dealer (not eBay). By UK standards that is an absolute bargain. I rate this pedal a 9 out of 10. It would have been a 10 if it were not quite so complex to get to grips with!

Overall this is an easy pedal to use but first of all you need to read the manual. After reading the manual and understanding the pedal and all its functions you will be prepared to access the billions of tones the Zoom offers.

Many people either love or hate this pedal. At first I wasen't so pleased with it, after selling my Podxt. But them i started reading the manual and actually got a desent tone. In order to get the most of this pedal there is only one thing you need to do (beside tweaking alot) and is to change the stock 12ax7 tube it came with. I replaced mine with a 12AX7EH hign gain Electro Harmonix tube. I thought i purchased a new pedal after installing the tube. It sounds amazing, could get any tone i could ever imagine with the help of my 100watt all-tube custom made head and 4x12 cab/2x12 cab and my gibson les paul and semi-hollybody.=)

This thing is built like a tank. I "accidently" have droped it a couple of times and nothing has happened to it. The tube stays in position and all the knobs too.

Don't need it.


=)

Overall this pedal was made for me. It's easy to use. Has everything i need including outstanding effects and marvelous amp models. When connected to my other gear it sings like a quoir of angels. I play any style of music and i needed a pedal that could cover a wide range of tones including: jazz, gospel, metal, rock and many many more. I had a podxt and digitech pedals and this things knocks them all out in a single round.

Unit is quite user friendly once you get the hang of it, manual is well put together.

American Stat with a hot Rail in bridge, JCM 2000 and a Fender stage 1600 for smaller gigs. Unit works well only when used in the rear preamp in/effects in. Sounds dreadfull through the front IMO. By the way the JCM2000 also sounds terrible without this unit?

Clean SRV sound fiarly easy to obtain

As first was very disappointed with the unit, tried for ages to get the sounds I wanted. Greenday/ZZ crunch Rythmn, Gary Moore,Eddie lead just to name a few. All the distortions sounded kinda flabby without any bite to them, real bassy, I eq for days, gave up, put it ont he shelf for about a year. Still unhappy with the raw sound of my 2 amps I tried once again but luckly I had a break through.... The key to getting a better bite (if thats what your looking for) is to turn on the booster effect which is contain in Effects 1, Its made such a difference to my sound, more clarrity, more sting. Using the JCM 2000 patch (yeah funny how I am using a simulation when I have the real thing, but the real things sounds crap)with 50 % gain and the US blues setting with gain at 100, and booster on 5 for both, try it and see if it helps. Now it does not really matter what amp I play with I can pretty mucg get the sound I am after. BTW as I own both tube and solid stat i can say that the solid state distortion is not so great, is may sound ok in the shop at low volume but when you turn it up sounds kind of blatty???

Not Noisy at all

has not missed a beat , very strong casing

no need thus far

Playing since 7 , now 41, also own 50watt Wasp head, unit works pretty well with the wasp. Previously owned the 707, this unit is far more advanced than the early model. It is unbelievable quite , which I think is a great plus. I did not think this unit was of much use to an old guy like me until I found the booster switch. I also use a Sonic maximier at the end of the effect loop to add a bit of clarrity.

I read all these reviews before I bought this pedal a couple days ago. Many of these critical ads on on the sound may have had the tube turned up to get too much distortion, or on the back you may be using the +4db when you should be using the -10db output gain. Its easy to edit patches when you connect it to your computer via midi cables and down load the free software to use your computer. The manual is in light blue so you cant make copies for the wall easily. came with ver 1.05 firmware. The toe switch on the expression pedal takes 100lbs to activate for some reason? - like some of the other reviews state.

I love the sound quality! if you dont your doing something wrong.

I have stepped on it with half my weight and it seems solid.

the web site always asks me to download Japanese, but other than that verygood. I dont know if Cubase LE it comes budled with is better than N-track studio I currently use. So I havent installed the Cubase

I play rock -all types, verygood match. I've played solid for 10 years. After two days love it, except it didn't come with a USB cable. My ME-50 sounds great thru old tube amps, this sounds great thru solid state and recording and PA. This is also a better sound card replacement if your computer needs a high quality super quiet line in and line out. (requires USB cable)