Zoom G7.1ut

Not the easiest of products to get your head round, but once you get going and have a good fiddle around, things become a lot easier. Like anything of a tecnical you buy really, you just have to be a bit patient at the start and read the manual.
There are a multitude of diffent amp simulator settings, effects etc but like most equipment of this type, you will probably only use a few of them.
Editing a patch, once you've got the knack of it, is very easy. The best way to do it is to grab a sound you like from the preset patches that is the closest to what you want, have a look at the settings it has in edit mode, ammend them to meet your taste, then store it as a user patch. Simples!
If you are technically minded, you can can grab patches as downloads off the internet (Zoom website) and if you know someone who sounds great using one of these G7 units, you can ask nicely (or buy them a beer!) and nick his/her patches by linking your device with theirs via a midi link.

I'm using it with two session(ette) 75 combos and my guitar is an Ibanez JS100.
The Zoom G7 has a plethora of effects, but like me you'll probably settle on just a few of them. Some like the Peavey Drive can sound too "processed", you know that metally wasp in a can noise, but some are sweet like the MS drive pre amp. The expression pedal works well (once you've worked it out).
Some of the the heavier distorted pre amp settings do required you to use a fair bit of noise gate (eg 14 out of 16 setting) which can cut off a singing sustained note attempt quite abruptly.
I use it as a volume pedal and a WAH, although the WAH is not as good as say using a dedicated pedal like a CryBaby (even though it has a Cry Baby simulated effect).You have to be fairly heavy footed to activate it as well. There isn't the feel or the audible click when activated that you get from a CryBaby.
The twin outputs are good for stereo amp set ups like I use and the output volume control on the unit itself means you can easily adjust your overal output volume depending on the gig venue/size without touching your amp settings. The clean settings, like JC amp emulator, acoustic emulator etc sound very good on my set up, esepcially with my JS100 in single coil mode.

I am using it for gigging.
It is a sturdy device and stays put on the floor well, which as you gigging musicians will know, is a very handy feature, especially when you have a clumsy footed bass player leaping around next to you!.
It looks the part as well.
The only trouble I have had was at an open air daytime gig when the strong sunlight made it hard to see the LED display on the Zoom G7.
I have an old Zoom effects pedal (Zoom 3000) to fall back on but have never taken it out to a gig as a back up. I trust this unit.
I have had only one problem with it in the year that I've had it and that was at a practice when it suddenly started going up the sound banks by itself.
It must have been a bit of dust or dirt that made its way into the bank switch because a quick blast of switch contact cleaner cured the problem.

I haven't had to deal with ZOOM to complain so I can't comment on what they are like, but I did send a general e-mail question about the device to them and they did respond fairly quickly.

I play in a rock covers band (have been for 13 years) doing anything lierally from A to Z (Aerosmith to ZZ top) and require sounds ranging from clean rhythm eg Doobie Brothers, cleaning picking and acoustic sounds eg the softer Metallica stuff, classic rock sounds eg Thin Lizzy, right through to the heavier stuff like Van Halen, Satriani, Guns n Roses etc.
The Zoom enables me to reproduce these sound fairly accurately without undue hiss or noise. I've even managed to get my Yamaha APX4 electro acoustic to go through it without booming feedback.
Overall a good, sturdy and capable unit for the money. That is why I choose it. The Boss GT10 looked a good unit but was double the price. The next Zoom up, the G9, looked overcomplicated and bulky for gig usage.

The G7 Zoom has everything the gigging musician could need i.e it is effective sounding, reliable, sturdy and doesn't take up half the stage.
If it were stolen I would buy the same again.

I got this "new" (must have been a demo) for a good price. It takes a while to get through the manual and to dial in the sounds you want but it is fairly intuitive and easy to edit patches. I was surprised how much you can find online as mentioned in other reviews. I like it that I can edit patches quickly on the fly in a live setting with the knobs and unless I save it, the original setting is not effected. I did not get the cables or cubase so no editing was done with the computer. I imagine it's faster but not really necessary.

I bought this to replace my amp and large analog pedal board because the stuff is just to labor intense to carry around. So when I go to an open mic, or show up to jam with musicians or are traveling I just take my Zoom 7.1 and plug straight into the PA, run the PA channel flat and I'm ready to play.
It is easy to change the tube. I have tried JJ Tesla, NOS Ratheon, Hughes&Kettner, 12AX7 and 12AU7 and 12AX7a but liked the Electro Harmonix 12AX7 the best of all of them. It wasn't too bright, yet gave my sound the sparkle I was looking for. It broke up nicely and gave warmth to some of distortion patches and handled the heavy distortion well also.
I don't think there is any sound that I can't get with a little bit of time tweaking using the booster, the air effects, the delay, chorus, and many pre-amps models. It takes a while to figure out how to get the wah to sound good and the switch on the expression pedal is a little difficult.
I love this multi-effect and the variety of sounds that are possible. It really nails Brian Setzer and Lynrd Skynrd, Boston and the Eagles. Nice quiet also!

I have had it for three or four months and gigged with it several times with no back-up. I have nothing else to say. Has worked great so far.

Haven't needed to even attempt to contact them.

I play a lot of Classic Rock, some Country, and a lot of Contemporary Christian music. I can get any sound I want. It plays clean really well. The multi-effects that I have heard others play, the Digitech RP series, the Boss ME-50, the Vox Tonelab SE, or POD XT Live, can't do the clean stuff as well.
If this were lost or stolen I would check out the newer 9.2 version with two tubes or find another one of these.
I love the ability to adjust on the fly, if the room I'm playing is too bright I can reach down and take away some Treble or presence or even Mids and/or boost the Lo Mids or Bass. I can also quick reach down and add gain or level. It's flexible and fun to play with. I'm always tweaking the sounds because it is easy to do. It inspires me to try new things and to spend more time playing my guitar.
I have been playing guitar close to 30 years now. I have a Pedal Pad Pedalboard with two tiers and I spent $2,000 trying to find the best effects possible and I love the sounds I get out of that into my Ampeg 1-12" guitar amp, but it is really heavy to carry around. I was surprised that I liked the Zoom Multi-effect and that the digital sound with the tube isn't bad at all. I will continue to use it whenever moving the pedal pad is a problem.

I have had this nearly a year and gigged about twice a month with it. Given the huge range of parameters features I have found it fairly intuitive but you need to study the manual. The thing which took all the pain out was the library editor software. I play in a diciplned way - set lists are preset. All I need to do is rearrange the set list in the software and down load to the G7 and then use them live in sequence. Also, when setting a patch up I do it connected to the amp but using the software to set and save - EASY. The ability to export / import set lists makes it a joy

I have tried this straight to a powered speaker and it is usable but better using my amp (class A tube combo). I am constantly tweaking and finding new things. If you play in a covers band as I do - you need a big range of sounds and with a decent amp this will cover the ground (be prepared to do lots of tweaking). The EQ and Zoom noise reduction are great. I was once proudly an analogue only pdeal user. I can't remember why I suddenly changed to the zoom unit. I recently tried my old pedal board thinking I was missing something. I am now back to the zoom G7.

The expression pedal torque adjustmentis a really stupid design which broke (stripped the adjustment screw which is in a really anoying location). However, shoved some wood wedges between the underside of the pedal and its axel - works fine. Apart from this - not a problem

The web site is good and download updates worked fine. I asked a question about the software once and got a quick helpful response. I would love to know what the potenial is with this unit interms of reprogramming. Apart from the Zoom software - I have not seen much on Mods or tweaks on the web. If anybody sees this review and has some info please let me know

Great for Covers Band with a big range of sounds required. A guitarist used to a good tube amp can hear the tone problems but this would lost on an audience. I have not tried any other MultiFX. I think if you are prepared to put the time in on the patches - you would not be disappointed - i.e. I don't see as many G7's on Ebay as I do Boss / Vox other multi FX.

It takes some time at first to get used to this wonder... but once you understand it and take the manual seriously you are set. Look on-line for tricks and patches.

Ok, here is where things can go down hill for you if you are not patient. PICK THE CORRECT AMP when you are setting up your sound (or editing a patch).

You can get any kind of sound you will ever need. The pre-set patch for Kurt Cobain is just insane... (try the song lithium)... just unreal. Play with it, U2 fans? you are up for a treat!

Iron Maiden sound from all eras... you can have them all down.

GNR!!! just sick with the very first patch (A0)... chunky and dirty.

This thing is heavy duty, period. Forget Digitech ****! this is the real thing!

Great updated software on zoom's website

I've been playing for 15 years, I've tried many so-called "multi-effects"... brother, they ain't got nothing on this real tube pre-amped monster... Just hook up you computer and record/edit your own material. Get it ready to distribute it to your bandmates and make the most of your expensive jamming session.

Not the easiest in the world to use but once you spend some time with it, it's user friendly. editing patches can be time consuming if you are fickle. It can get passable tones out of the box but you have to spend time tweaking it to get "good" tones. The manual is ok and you should definitely use it. I've had it for about a year and am pretty fast editing it now.

I have used mine in several different amps ranging from a 1976 Fender Twin to a Red Stripe Peavey Bandit and it performs well with both tube and SS amps if you adjust the settings to fit your ears. I do not use any modulation or time based FX but the reverb isn't bad at all. My guitars range from a Epi SG to USA Fender strat and a few in between.

It reacts to picking dynamics better with a tube amp but it's still there with a SS just not as pronounced. I do mostly high gain stuff but I have a patch that nails Angus Youngs tone to a "T". Fender clean stuff is very good and blows away any Line6 stuff I've tried.

I use it mostly for high gain stuff in the stoner/sludge vein. As others have mentioned be careful with the noise gate. I believe Zoom/Samson has the best digital noise gate in existence but adjust carefully.

If you gig this unit it can take the rigors of the road but be careful with the DC jack. It seems to be weaker than some other MFX units I've had. I had to reseat and reinforce the DC jack 6 months into using it but then again I am rough on my gear so your mileage may vary.

Never had to deal with Zoom/Samson on the phone or e-mail but I've read mixed reviews. N/C

I play mostly Stoner/Sludge stuff but also am in a typical covers band that I use it in and I can get any tones from Iommi, to Angus to Gilmour with tweaking. I've been playing guitar for 25 years. If it were stolen or lost I'd buy the G9 because it's an excuse to upgrade.

I've directly a/b'd this unit against the POD XTLIVE, Digitech GNX3000 and a Boss ME30 and it's better than any of them in my applications and amps. When I compare units for reviews I spend an entire day doing it taking breaks from ear fatigue every couple hours or so.

Look the bottom line is this.. If this review was based solely on "bang for the buck" I'd call it the greatest MFX on planet earth! However it's not based solely on that so my conclusion is this: If you are on a budget and you want to get "close" tones to the big boys then this unit will do that better than anything I've tried. From Fender Cleans to High Gain Recto's and lot's in between.
No it's not a "pro" unit but you won't find anything in my opinion that get's as close to so many different amps and tones as this thing does without spending 15K to have various amps not could you fit those amps on one stage. I guarantee you if you do buy this unit and take some time to tweak it, you will be laughing all the way to the bank and the stage.

This model is like that old boardgame Othello: Seconds to learn, lifetime to master. That is, you can get great tones with the presets just by plugging in. But it has so much flexibility that you can really fine-tune the sound you want.

Editing patches on the console is not too difficult, but using the patch librarian on your computer (connects via standard MIDI) is really a breeze. And you can audition the patches before you save them.

The manual is pretty good--a little clunky (I am guessing it wasn't written by a native English speaker, but it's not too bad). The really valuable piece of information is the model list--the list of which amp and effect models are represented by which codes.

I use this with: American Standard Stratocaster, MIM Telecaster, Epiphone (China) Standard Les Paul. I run the output to a Hughes&Kettner 15 watt combo (that has a 10' Celestion speaker) or to headphones. The unit sounds fantastic through the Celestion. And OK through the headphones

This unit also has a 12AX7 tube preamp, which makes the whole unit really sound like the amp models--more so than the digital-only modelers.

The unit itself isn't noisy (although the single coils on the Fenders can be...). I don't really try to mimic my favorite artists, but there are certain "types" of sounds I go for. I like the Vox AC300 sound with the Telecaster, and I like the HK Triamp setting with the Les Paul and the Strat, Marshall stack settings with the LP and the Strat and semi-clean chorusy settings on the Strat. Also, the acoustic modeler is, actually, rather good--it's really hard to tell the difference between the modeler and an acoustic-electric.

Also, the unit has a foot pedal--which works pretty well on controlling volume and wah-wah--and is adjustable via parameters on the console or via the patch librarian.

It's got a metal chasis--very solid. I would gig without a backup.

Web site is very good. You can get the firmware, librarian, patch sets, etc. Have not spoken in person with them, though.

I play a lot of progressive rock and progressive pop. This unit gives me just about all the kinds of sounds that I'm looking for. And you do get real tube overtones from it. I compared it with the similar level Digitech and Line6 products, and I really did like the feel that the tube circuit added, and I had also been very interested in the Hughes&Kettner Triamp model, and I've been very, very happy with the unit. The only drawback, when recording, is that if I'm recording through the mic'ed cab, and I've got the unit in the same room with the mic, the mic can pick up the sound of stepping on the switches to change the patches and turn effects on and off.

I bought this unit about two years ago after trying many different multi-effects units. I do not use anything else, just this, straight into the amp with the lower db setting on, master volume at 3/4, and R2 amp cab simulator on.

Some sections of this unit are easy to get around, like changing the tone, and volume, saving patches, etc. But if I am on a gig and I dont have the manual, I have a difficult time editing the pedal, for instance. Or changing the name of the patch. There is not a button labeled 'Name'. maybe it is just me, but I do get frustrated with the way that the menus are structured.

I use a Godin Freeway SA (synth Access) H/S/H configuration (with two Rio Grande pickups in it. Amplifier is a Tech 21 Trademark 60 (Transistor) with 2 12 " Celestions in it.

Trying this unit in the store I was impressed with the tone right away. I did not like the Vox, the Korgs, the Digitechs, and the Boss effects that I tried. Perhaps it was the tube that sold me on it. The stock patches are not great, but I have tweaked this unit for the last two years, mostly in between sets on stage.

The distortions....I have gotten some great distortions out of this thing, and really good chorus. I also use the tap tempo quite a bit, and the Wah, and the Whammy Pedal. (Great for Rage Against the machine stuff or Satriani) Fast Chorus for SRV songs, Tremolo with Reverb for Old time Country. I could go on.

Switch stopped working after a few months. had it replaced. Then another switch is intermittent. This is a known problem with G7 an G9. Those big metal switches? Well they actually make contact with a little switch mounted on the circuit board. Supposedly they have fixed them, but I am stuck with an old model. Some people say, twisting the button helps, because there is a spring under there, and it somehow helps it make contact. Frustrating to say the least, when you are stomping and stomping away to try and get the patch to change. The switch for the Volume/Wha/parameter sweep with require almost all your weight on it to get it to switch. But that is better than having it switch off in the middle of your wha solo. :-) I live with these annoyances because I like the sound. A chrome knob fell off too, lost it. Very durable otherwise. I dont think dropping it will break it, lets put it that way.

I dont have a backup, but if I cant get a certain sound, I just switch to another. Will have to get it fixed one day.

The music store Long And McQuades did fix the switch promptly. Also right after I bought it, I upgraded the patch editor software online , connected to the unit, and the unit stopped working. Took it back and got another one. Wrote a letter to Zoom. Never got a reply. There is now way I am going to upgrade this one!

I play Rock/Pop/Funk/Country/Blues. been playing for 32 years. I love the sounds, but the switch problem annoys me. I do get compliments all the time on the sound that I am getting with this thing though. If it was lost or stolen, I would get something else but probably a Zoom or a Roland VG-99 because I have the synth guitar. But not this model. If you can get one used, I think you will like it if you are a casual player. I play every single weekend though.

I like the fact that you can name the patches instead of a number. I hated that about my Korg A11. Wish there was a global Volume editor. I know that one of the new pedals has that.

re: buttons stop responding - zoom used a bad source for these micro switches.

ok now that I have ownwed it for 2+ years now I must say I love it other than the fact I have now replaced (2)two of the circuit board mounted momentary switches - ones under the foot switches, lucky I am a certified electronics tech and had some on hand.

need yours repaired call me Jimmy at 7027621222
(Chiles is my stage name here in Vegas - incase you get the message)

great sound

yeah over all it is reliable and when a microbutton goes out it ussually can be pressed harder to get to work prior to complete failure

never delt with'em direct however the download page is handy other than the japenese lauguage prompts

great pedal at a good price too bad the microbuttons are sub-standard

Well... first of all.. i think is really easy to use... just push onebutton, move the parameters and you can make watevet you want.. i think all the efects is easy to make... comencing with the first button, Compresor its really helpful to make your sound, Wah and fx1 s great too... but only i think the wah it didnt sound so good but is really sound decent (in a 10 to 1 scale ill give it a 8.9). the znr is a miracle my good!!!, pre amp i think all the simulations sounds prety good, except for the marshall one and the Hudges and ketner, the eq is veary usefull, cabinet do mariacles too!!!, i think is really handy machine :)

I have a kramer 100st (my god im so lucky!!!) with a seymour duncan, and a ibanez... i think the sound... my god is amazing... i dont know why the people says that this thing didnt sound good and takes time bla bla bla... FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!! is an multiefects!!! is not a plug and play machine!!!! you need to take your time.. if you think that you dont need to take your time to make a patch sound good... so even with a gt-10 (or 6 or 8 o whatever) youll complain... every multifects takes time... when you take your time ohh my god you can make miracles... my favs are the mesa, de zoom stack, diezel, extreme ditortion souynds very very great!!!! the tube do miracles too.

well... reliability... i think i can have more in this machine that in my girlfriend xD!... when you have setu-uped you don need to have worried. Its metal construction is just really hard and is very efective.

Well i dont have too much to said here... maybe that when youre equalizing just take the treble in almos -6 and the presence and harmonics rond 6 :)

i play... metal (heavy, thrash,), Hard rock (Velvet revolver, Guns n roses, The cult), Clasic rock (deep purple, zeppelin, Sabbath(i think is more metal than clasic but bla xD)), Spanish rock (soda stereo, Heroes del silencio), Grunge (pearl jam, Nirvana, Sound garden, Creed, Bush), and so on, and for all i have the sound that i want, iv been playing for 3 and a half years and my teacher 7 and h have a gt-6... and when he hear this beauty says wow it sounds very amazing...

handle position of eq isnt comfortable - this is the first and last defect
g7.1 - very handy unit

dont listen default patches - they are awful
if you have hands and ears in right place you can get a beautiful sound. i dont know what about hard-n-heavy, but it's right for blues, artrock, funk etc - tube works

>Can you get the sound of your favorite artists? Who are they?
http://giasso.s42.eatj.com/ZooM/home.jsp

i've changed microbuttoms inside for more reliable - its the only problem with it

dont know

i like it

holy crap this thing was enoying after about 2 hours of reading the manual and playing with it i still couldnt figure out how to work it properly. was tempted to smash it.

very poor it sounded realy cheap and tinny

not sure it seemed sturdy enuf.

pain in the ***. brought it back to the store i got it the very next morning and exchanged it for some stomp boxes!!!

I have had this this unit for about 2 years. It was a bit difficult to figure out at first having never used a multi-effects unit in the past. The G7.1 has some nice effects however, there are basically 2 effects chains available and if you want to use 2 effects at the same time that happen to be in the same effects chain....your outta luck. For instance, if the "Wah/effects" chain is set up for wah pedal or volume pedal then you cannot use the "Tremlo" patch at the same time as it is in that effects chain. Not a major problem......just a little inconvenient.

When gigging out with my band I have a couple of "patch banks" set up for the styles of music that we do. Don't need to make many changes other than an occasional EQ tweek. However when I am playing with my Church band, I get a number of different styles of music thrown at me and making patch or effects edits on the fly gets a bit challenging. Not impossible but usually requires pulling the users manual out. The user manual is not great but if you study it you can figure out how to make the unit do what it is capable of. Just takes time.....and time usually does not permit.

This unit is capable of producing just about every kind of guitar sound known to man. It will just take some time for you to get it dialed in.

My usual rig consists of 2 or 3 different Strats, a Tele and a "boutique" Tele with humbuckers. I usually play thru a Boogie Studio .22 cal or a Boogie MKIIB or sometimes both in stereo. At the Church gig I plug into the house thru a direct box. I gave up trying to emulate other artists a long time ago and now just try to sound like me. I get good results with all my different set ups. Of course the Humbucker guitar is quite a bit "hotter" than the Strats or Tele and is alot louder than the single coil guitars as one would expect. The unit has an "output volume" on the back panel and compensation for the difference in volume is easy. However, the hotter your pickups are the more emphasized your effects will be. Nice warm distortion with a Strat turns into Big Time distortion with the humbuckers. Set up patch bank for each guitar and your all set. Turning your guitar volume knob down is ok down to about half way. The G7.1 starts to get very "digital" with a low guitar input signal.

As far as sound quality of the amp simulations and effects go......your own ears will have to be the judge. In a live stiuation, the average person in your audience will probably never be able to tell the difference between the G7.1 and "real" analog effects. It is my experience that the digital emulation of the effects are not quite as good as the "real" thing....but close. I am basing that on side to side comparason with a "real" TS-9, TS-808 and an old vintage Hammond Organ Co. Wah-Wah pedal.(before Jim Dunlop bought the rights to produce them.)

All of that having been said......The beauty of it is this......for a little more cash than a Boss Delay pedal you get a unit that will do practically everything.

This unit has never left me stranded at a gig. I usually go to the gig and leave my back-up analog pedal board at the house because I am tired of schlepping gear in and out of clubs. One day I will probably be sorry. My only gripe with the reliability is this......do not be fooled by the "Big Metal Switches" on this unit as I was. The "Big Metal Switches" are nothing more than spring loaded "plungers" that press a tiny 6mmx6mm PCB mounted "TAC" switch underneath each plunger. After two years of stomping in these "switches", a couple of mine have become very intermittent. Makes it a bit difficult to jump between a rhythm and lead patch in the middle of a song when you have to STOMP on the thing 8 times to get it to react. Not quite a solid a unit as it appears to be.

I did not have a very good experience with Zoom, Samson, Sam Ash customer support. I spoke to their Tech Support three times concerning the "Switch" issue. The T.S. rep acknowledged that the "switches" were an issue that they had seen with many units. (all ZOOM pedals that uses those switches.)My unit was past its warranty at the time. I begged them to take my money and send me several of the tiny TAC switches and a replacement power supply to have as a back-up. They could not come up with a part number for the power supply and lied to me about sending me switches free of charge. Got tired of calling them and waiting on hold just to be lied to. I will just order some replacement switches from Mouser and find a replacement PS somewhere else.

I believe that if this unit were stolen or lost that I would probably replace it with the new Boss GT-10. The G7.1 is not a bad effects pedal. It works well for me both in stage and recording situations with the exception of the switches. The reliability issue with the switches makes me wish I had coughed up the extra $200 bucks and gone with the Boss unit in the first place. I have a few old Boss pedals that I bought in the early 1980s that still perform just like they did when new. I compared this effects unit to the other brands that were out there at the time such as Digitech, Boss, Tone Works, Vox Tone Lab, Line 6 and what have you. Based on the perceived level of solidness of the unit and sounds it produces I felt this was the best value (at the time). I mainly play Classic 60's 70's Rock (oldies to you younger guys), Blues and Praise music. I have been playing guitar for about 30 years and have collected an assortment of guitars, amps and effects along the way, mostly Mesa/Boogie, Boss, Ibanez and Fender products.

Right, I've had this 3 weeks, gigged it twice in that time. It is easy to use and I've been very happy with the sounds I have been getting. The manual is worth keeping around to refer to, as there are a lot of useful functions that you may not use every day.

Unlike probably most owners, I use this unit with the cabinet simulator into a keyboard amp (I'm primarily a keyboard player but double on guitar in a couple of situations). The guitar is a Patrick Eggle Berlin, twin humbucker. I've also used it with a mandolin.

The sounds I am after are either clean or on-the-edge overdrive, I don't use the heavier sounds at all. This is the only multifx I have used that nails these mild overdrive sounds (I've tried line6, korg and digitech stuff too). The "boost" parameter is very useful in getting these sounds, as is the tube (set about 1 o'clock and not moved). The Zoom Overdrive is particularly impressive, as are the fender and vox amp models.

Other effects are of comparable quality. One issue I did find was that if you have the ZNR (noise reduction) at high levels it can suck notes in a strange and unmusical fashion. But for humbucker guitars you can safely leave this on the lowest setting, the unit is very quiet.

This is a very full featured bit of kit, I've not found a weakness yet and sonically it seems to do whatever I ask of it

Seems solid and not had any issue. I did hard-case it immediately but I do this with all of my kit.

No dealings.

I've been using multifx since the mid 90s. This is the first one that has genuinely impressed me, particularly with milder overdrive sounds (which is where most of them fall down to be honest).

It has a lot of features and sounds (and feels) pro quality, despite actually being quite a bargain. There is a perception of Zoom being for beginners, but I would urge people to try this out... I was very pleasantly surprised.

It's quite easy, if You get to know it. At first glance its tricky, but after one day You'll know everything about this one. Editing patches is easy, the manual is very handy<since the G7.1ut doesn't have to many knobs, some of them have multiple functions>. This unit wasn't upgraded in any way.

<read the whole review:) 2 opinions here for you to know>This effects sounds flat and devoided of character, when You plug it directly to the amp. I'm using a Laney VC30<wonderful amp by the way>. When you plug it directly, it lacks bass and middle frequiencies, and has to much treble. This is whith the factory patches. Fiddle a bit with EQ and You can get a decent tone, not a rich one, but one with which You can get by at, say, a church with people who never played on good rigs, or, even better, never played any instrument at all. I was really dissapointed, when I heard this. It sounded nothing like the demos on the net.

But.

I plugged it to the amps effects loop. ****! This thing's came to life when I mixed the amps signal and this one. I don't use the distortions and overdrives provided, I think that my drive channel on the Laney is superb and adding the zoom distortion only makes it muddy. When mixed, the tone I get is rich, the modulations sound really good - I can get everything from sweeping phaser sounds, rock flanger effects, to Mars Volta and King Crimson strange sounds. You can make short loops<5s max>, so You can try doing Robert Fripp-like soundscapes. When recording, You can adjust the delay time to ms, so that everything fits into place, and when playing live, You can use the tap tempo function. With the expression pedal<looks solid and trustworthy> You can also adjust the settings of anything, from level of distortion, the speed of some modulation effects, feedback on delay, volumne... Amazing.


Plugged directly - sucks. I'd give it maybe a 6.
But because God gave us people, who invented the effects loop, I'm giving a 9. It deserves it. The effects are rich, theres no sterility in them as far as I can hear<I've never used the legendary, vintage stomp boxes and thus, I compare what I hear with what I can hear on various records.>

The other good thing is, that You can get both a minimalistic, hard rock sound with maybe a touch of delay, and You can create fantastic innovative new, trippy sounds which can make Your music more interesting.

What more do You want?

Had it for a year now. I wanted to wait before writing this review. Very reliable. The only thing is that the pedal got loose, and didn't stay in place<sucks, when You found, say, the right rate of a phase effect>, but that was easily repaired by adjusting the screw underneath.

I would gig without backup with this zoom. No worries.

Never dealt with them.

I play rock, jazz, electronic music, sometimes I mix'em up. It's a perfect match. I've been playing for 4 years I think. I won a Laney VC30 and a Epiphone Del rey guitar. If stolen, I'd replace it, or, if I had a bag of money, I'd buy a lot of better stompboxes. But for now I don't need anything else. What do I love about it? It's everything I need and more. I don't really hate anything about it. I compared it with some PODs, and it sounded fuller. The only thing I wish it had would be tap tempo for the tremolo.

slightly confusing, but easy over all. patch editing is lengthy, due mostly to the sheer number of parameters. there are A LOT of tidbits to tweak. the manual is straight forward, but for the most part you don't really need it. i perused through it once or twice and have actually lost the manual due to its lack of use, and that was almost a year ago. i don't refer to it anymore. the specification catalog got me so "amped" that i couldn't contain myself (sorry for the corny pun).

i use ibanez and bc rich guitars, namely an rgt42, an xpt700(xiphos) and an rg7321 7-string from ibanez (the xiphos has dimarzio d-activator pickups) from ibanez and a 2005 platinum virgo from bc rich. i run one output of the pedalt through the efx return of a hartke gt100 head/marshall mg412 cab and the other through the pwr amp in of a 100 watt peavey 212 efx combo. all my guitars have d'addario stings. i would say about a third of the effects feed back really bad, and an effect will feed back on one patch and not on another (i suspect codec conflicts). HOWEVER, the znr loop has a noise gate and a dirty gate, and enabling one of these and plugging through the back of the amp as opposed to the front fixes this 100% of the time. the amp select feature lets you choose the voicing that suits your sound/amp best. some of the distortion emulations sound better than the original (in my opinion). the zoom originals sound amazing, especially the extreme ds and distortion +, as well as the z-stack z od and z clean. the modulations are good; some could be a little better but most are high end.

as i mentioned before, i have had this thing for almost a year. it has been dropped, tripped over, and even heavily drooled on by my baby cousin. i have taken it for use in my guitar class it my high school and now i'm a music major in college and i lugg it to and from school every day.

n/a

i play most types of rock music from classic rock to grunge to modern metalcore. i listen to and play songs from bands as diverse as creed, lamb of god, dimmu borgir, trivium, dream theater, mastodon, van halen, lynrd skynrd, molly hatchet, korn, incubus, greenday, goo goo dolls, etc. i listen to just about everything that is rock, blues, and jazz, all but country. it matches all of these well. if my *pride and joy* were lost or stolen i would buy the same thing over again. you would have to pay ME to get me to buy something else. i have friends and neighbors who have digitech, boss, ad pod multi's for similar prices and i honestly like mine best.

-- it took some time for getting a good distortion sound.
-- editing patches is as easy as drinking water.
-- u dont need manual for editing, storing, transferring patches... cos its real easy. USB connection, Midi connection etc are clearly discussed in the manual........

-- fine
-- no noise at all with ZNR on
-- sometimes effects are weak.... as i said u have to spend some time with this box to get good sound
-- iam not using any amp now. just my headphone
-- no i dont hav any fav tone of any artist... i make my own
-- Clean tone is awesome....

-- ya i depend on it 100%
-- i just use a shoulder bag to carry it... no other hard casae

-- no idea, never tried....

-- i play death metal
-- 3 years iam playing, i hav a ibanez GRX40
-- if its lost or broken i wud must buy it or g9.2tt.
-- i love its look... hate some distortion tones
-- i tried Boss GT6. which is great but costs more......
-- it helps me making music a lot... i record a lot with it.
-- never make any comment about this pedal unless u spend some time with it.... cos its factory presets are too bad.

if youre into multifx.. this ones easy to tweak... press a module... control the parameter knobs... voila!!... :) tube intensity and the Energizer (Boost) works fairly good getting the grit to blend into the output of the fx... some editing especially using the Tap switch and the EXP pedal is a bit confusing... all in all easy to use...

ok after using this Unit for almost a year, on a pc recording theme, and on live situations ive come to a certain point that this is not the unit i was looking for...

im not after having a nice SIMULATION of a brand of amp... instead i look for the ones that will suite my taste... the thing here is that i use this as my main Distortion unit... so to tell you my story here goes... i wanted to buy the G7 because i have the G2 once.. and wanted to have a bit more of pedals to push (patches to be made).. plus the added tube and other stuff im willing to upgrade my mfx.. of course you can dial in a nice MS Drive and get its natural saturated sound but the fact of the matter is you have to COOk the damn drive to get what you want.. i know some enthusiasts will get mad because they'll say that its a multi for christ sake!! but for me the true color of the distortion is by itself... nothing more... maybe a little eq'ing will help but its simply is the ability of that drive to stand alone... and guess what... it DIDNT...

in order for you to get that nice chunky feel is that you have to either add a BOOSTER (included on the G7), and/or a bit of Compressor, a bit of over eq'ing!!! and thats gonna be your drive... to mee its just damn too much.. really... the only drive i was happy to be playing with is the Big muff emulation... of course with the added Booster option to chunk up the tone...

as far as the distortion goes (or preamps on others) there are nice and there are not good ones... let me enumerate a couple... starting from the clean ones... fenders doesnt do well,

but the Vox and the Hiwatt is very very usable...
going to the crunch mode... Bg crunch is great + the booster
High gains... MS is just fucking Muddy, Bg + booster works for me, DIEZEL + booster, good... some are pure Muddy i tell you!!!
stompbox... the DS-1 and Od-1 are good copies but not really excellent maybe a rating of 9... the ts808... passable... Fuzzface... never tried one... Big Muff + booster probably the MOST NATURAL OD in this unit... Metalzone??? is not not not good... Guvnor, Hothead passable...

ZOOM's distortion however is really usable... and the Zoom Clean?? is remarkable good... and did i mention the Zoom OD? its really dynamic!! .. like a guitar driven on a Sonic Maximizer.. Zoom Drive... is a hybrid of like a marshall and a fender... good for new age metal... Acoustic is somewhat like an electric acoustic guitar... the Extreme dist is the meanest and very close to DIMEBAG'S Sound...

there are other od's and preamps in this unit that i havent mentioned because i never have used it...

now comes the good parts... and i dont want to ellaborate them all coz i was into the preamp of this thing... Modulations are excellent!! and the delays are superb... also the reverbs... nice blend of wet and warmth... Delay can be tap tempoed (also reason for buying the thing)... the chorus especially the Ensemble... is fascinating... phaser has 4 colors... which is very versatile... Harmonized pitch shift is nice and sounded much better than on the GFx8... The Whammy is thin sounding... its just a bonus added feature i guess... as this one really is not useable... but for the poorman that i am... i still use this as a substitute...other than that some dynamic delay and flange that is pick-responsive... good :) The tremolos are very basic.. and has a nice float on them.. the Wha's are great and now as close as the Crybaby's... forgot to mention that the COMPression are nice and thick...

THE THING IS SO DAMN QUIET!!! and this is a plus for the UNIT even in its fullest gain... but when a Wah or a booster is added it cant control it... obviously.. (booster cranked + preamp cranked? NOISE MAYHEM!!!!)

Ive used it on a peavey bandit 112, peavey studio pro 112, on a marshall valvestate 50w, and my altec speakers and other cheap sounding Guitar amps... each amp has a different tone.. so if not tweaked right.. it will emit that digital highs

heres the thing after a year of using it..some knobs and footswitches wont work... one button died with it... its not realiable i guess even if it was made of metal... the damn buttons are flimsy... jocks and the pedal is sturdy though... always brought (and the reason for selling) is a damn cheap behringer GDi21 for backup

mine is an upgraded one...

i have forgotten if ive already posted my comments here from some time now but the point is... if you really wanted an all in one pedal that is cheap and dont want to argue whether you want to over process your sound.. then go with this one... it can sound good with a few COOKING... my only gripe was that the OD's and Preamps doesnt feel natural... and it is seriously bothering me... compared to the GDi21... damn...

This doesnt feel right... i know its a processor but why did the Gt-3 has that nice analog feel? the Gdi21 is better (but with a lot of noise though) try it...

im gonna have both the GT-3 and Gt-5.. i prefer this units as they both have Nice clear and better sounding distortions than the GT-6 and they have EXTERNAL LOOP Options so if you dont want their od's or somthing.. yuou can patch in your favorite pedal to the effect chain... :) sorry but i guess if im going to buy a zoom product maybe a cheap g1 or g2 just for practice...

This is really a follow-up review to a previous one of mine. Scroll down a bit for the original.

I said before that this unit sounds terrible in front of an amp, and it's no good through a PA. Well, I can take back some of that. It can sound good in front of an amp and into a PA, but it takes A LOT of tweaking and perfecting. In the end, you can get a good, usable sound (good for live gigs that don't require top-notch tone), although good stompboxes in front of your amp will still sound a lot better. That shouldn't be surprising - this unit costs under $300, and it gives you everything. Of course a $100 overdrive pedal will have a better overdrive sound - that's all it's made for. This can give a respectable overdrive sound along with a host of other respectable sounds. If you put in the time, this can be a worthwhile purchase. But like I said, it takes a whole lot of tweaking to sound great.

Some tips are to use the booster effect and the air delay effect. Both can round out rough edges that you can't tailor with the EQ (one of the disappointing things on the G7). Also, try cutting gain in the EQ rather than boosting to get the tones you want. For instance, if your tone is too fat, cut the bass rather than boosting the treble. Usually, you get a better outcome. That may be rookie advice, but hey - not everyone's a pro at working an EQ.

Fairly easy to tweak. Includes software editor which makes it easy and fast. Also comes with Cubase LE which is nice.

Now, for the price this unit sounds pretty good in the area of amp modeling, overdrive, distortion, etc... But for other types of effects it is pretty weak, like tremolo sucks, wha is tricky to use, reverb is totally awful(as with most pedal boards)
Also, tremolo and phaser are in the same section, so can not be used together:(

Overall this is a very good board for the price and for rock and blues styles of music. For a more modern and... effecty sound, boss or even korg can be a better choice.

It is not really complicated but it is not exactly a walk in the park either. Once you look at the manual for specific functions it is easy to follow and you can make your own slots within minutes. But particularly for beginners or players who don't know anything about processors, I guess it would be quite difficult to get the sound they need. Manual is pretty clear and understandable 'though. Also there is an information sheet showing the amp models and their patch numbers, so you can use this as a good reference to create your own sound.

I am still having difficulties with the wah/volume pedal. Although I have my Ibanez WH10 (the best wah pedal ever!), I wanted to give this unit's wah a shot (several times), but I wasn't able to do so. It works fine with the preset slots but I couldn't make it work with my personal ones. This is although I read the related section of the manual several times and I did everyhing it says, still nothing.. :) This is probably just me but I am trying to tell you that mastering in this unit is not so easy as it looks.

I don't have favorite artists in particular, I play all kinds of music from blues to heavy metal; any kind of guitar based music.

Currently I am using the unit with a ESP Horizon Custom (Duncan SH-13/ESP Hot Blade) and a Schecter FR (EMG85/EMG81), plugged into a Marshall DSL401 Combo. I was about to buy a Marshall 1959SLPX Vintage 100W tube head, but I changed my mind and instead I bought this G7.1ut because obviously this is the cheaper way and you still get the tube :) I am really happy with my decision.

The effects are smooth and transparent but I don't find myself using al 45 of them too much because the amp models are so good. But I should say, this unit has the best noise gate I have ever used and believe me I've seen a lot of pedals, including many Zoom's.

I would definitely use this G7.1ut on a gig without a backup.

The chassis is metal, buttons are really solid; the whole unit is built like tank.

I bought this unit online (brand new) and when it arrived it was in it's original packaging and it was sealed. Everything was perfect until I decided to use the bundled USB cable to connect the unit into computer for direct recording. Unfortunately the software/driver CD was broken during postage.

I contacted Exclusive Distribution Limited (they are the main distributor of Zoom products in UK, located in Hertfordshire). I sent them maybe 10 emails with the pics of the broken CD attached. No replies, not even a single word, nothing! Can you believe that? I paid 150GBP for this unit and they don't even reply.. They are basically worthless.

Not sure about the support in US or in other countries but I am giving 1/10 for the UK support. They suck big time.

Pedal is quite flexable in sound and amp simulations are great. You can really get very high quality tones out of it. It is silent, very solid and looks nice too. 80 total patches (40 for user) is way too many for me but that's OK. Noise reduction is perfect as usual as in most of the Zoom guitar pedals. Analogue knobs are always my choice and this one has good knobs.

High gain and high volumes are not an issue anymore with this unit. There is a preamp tube (Zoom names it as "the energizer", it is a real tube) which you can use it to adjust the amount of tube signal you want.

This is a really good pedal for the money and a fantastic value imho.

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.