Zoom G9.2tt

I found it to be a bit intriuging, and i think its the first time that i have really read a product manual thru n thru.
The manual is not perfect (somehow, i think Line6 hits the right note in that dept). Am still fuzzy about assigning mods to the Pedals.
Apart from the pedals, i think everything is pretty straightforward, and marked out clearly, so u need not have a steep learning curve to get the most out of this one.

The Z-Pedal is an intuitive control. You can spend hours experimenting on the possible combinations of sound that you can make up with this. Not to forget the extra pedal on the left is always handy for vol or mod effects.

Another gripe is u need a MIDI interface to edit patches using the computer. Crazy!
Also, the USB audio monitor seems to have a very low sound. Am not sure how to work this out. But again, the manual is not of much help.

Out of the box, it is amazing. Actually, about half the patches are really great and need very little tweaking. The artist tones seem to be okay. Not perfect, but usable.
The tubes really set this baby apart.

I play a Kramer 422SM Striker (1 Quad rail, 2 Dual rail pix).
I use and old (really OLD) indian made amp (which is basically a speaker, connected to a amp circuit, with 3 knobs, bass, treble and vol, packaged in a wooden box). Damn thing doesnt even have a plug. And I have never gotten any sort of "tone" out of this amp.

Until now. The tube adds an amazing amount of warmth and crunch to the tone. I used a Korg 3000G on the same amp and it gave a muddy and digital tone. The 9.2tt seems to just take the amp for a spin and churns out an amazing tone. And there are two tubes! And u can hear the distinct difference in tones from either of them very clearly.
The option to mix the analog signal with the solidstate signal makes this a true hybrid.
Tried the 7.1t at the shop. It just cant compare to the 9.2tt in terms of sound. Podxt Live sounded as good (maybe slightly better, if you are not into metal), but was ridiculously expensive (1.5 times the cost of the 9.2tt).

I luv it.

Have had it only for a day now. But the damn thing is built like a tank as I have read on so many reviews. Apart from breaking the valves, i cant think of a way how the 9.2tt can go bad in the immiediate future.

In India... hah!

The website is good. Got to download some interesting stuff. Not bad i guess.

I play stuff from Satriani, Metallica, to a bit of Indian classical and pop rock.
The tones I get from the 9.2tt seem to be very versatile. What really blows my mind is that I can get a great tone from a screwed up amp like the one I have.
In fact, I think the best option for an amp would be one without any drive/effects channel. I plan to buy a bass amp to use with my 9.2tt.

And I got it cheap (comparatively). I actually went to buy a Podxt live. But when i heard both 9.22tt and Podxt live, they sounded pretty close to me in terms of quality. The two tubes on the 9.2tt make all the difference. And its way cheaper than the Podxt live.

I have recently purchased this Zoom Pedal from local dealer. This is a Multi-Effects pedal.This pedal comes with a manual and it tells you want certain things do, but it is not very informative. You have to spend some time with it in order to get the fullest amount of it. I still dont know how to use Two amps to produce different sounds from each one. If someone does please tell me.

This is very good from what I used to use (an old Digitech multi-effects pedal). Turning up the TUBE control to drive the 12AX7 produces warm crunch with rich harmonics. Popular names such as Fender, Marshall, and VOX to modern amps including MESA BOOGIE, Hughes & Kettner, and Diezel. G9.2tt comprises 120 effects in 10 modules. I am trying to run a VOX ac30 Combo one the right and a Marshall JCM 800 stack on the left. I dont know how to switch from the two I dont know if it is capable of doing it.

Only owed it for about a month.

Its a great Multi effects pedal only it doesn't really go into detail of what certain effects do and how to do different Sets ups and why.

It's easy for me though, maybe cos I'm used to most of the multieffects. If you're having a hardtime with editing it use the editing software(you need to download it) The manual that came with it is very detailed as well.

This is got to be one of the best at the moment, I've got digitech and line6 product this item is just badass, seriously though I sold off my podxt for this, this damn thing have got two tubes in it, I think that's the main reason it sounded damn good, it's just thick and juicy, The preamp modelling too is great, I've never tried any other amps that it modelled after but I do try the fender twin reverb and it just react and feel the same way as the original. I normally use this product bypassing other preamp. The ZNR that came with it is just magic, it doesn't suck the tone like the normal noisegate, and it's just damn quiet. The other effects like the delay and the chorus are just great!

Yeap I can but the knob drop off and I need to use glue to stick em back, other than that it looks like a tank.

I've emailed em before buying, and I have to say the reply quite slow.

I'm playing for a progressive metal band, and this thing just handle it like a pro. At home I play mostly blues and rock stuff and it's jsut great.

It's not really plug-n-play. There are a lot of functions and settings and in order to get the most out of it you have to spend time tweaking it. That said, you don't need to be a rocket scientist either.

The sounds here are really top notch. You can find everything here from crystal cleans to Hi-gain stuff and everything in between.
The accelerator tube really adds warmth and dynamics (The crunch sounds are really dynamic compared to other digital processors).
The effects are very good. You have all kinds of choruses, delays, reverbs and others to choose from.
The only thing I don't like is that you can't change the order of effects freely. You can control the order of general blocks, but not everything. That said, this is not that annoying.
The cabinet sims are also great and I use it a lot when playing through headphones.

This thing is built to last. All metal with heavy duty switches.
I wouldn't kick the expression pedals too hard though

Never had to use it.

I've been playing for 5 years on and off, and this thing is very good for the price.

Its more easy to use than my old Boss GT-6, changin patches its really a matter of taste and almost all Pre amps are really good
Got to be carefull when creating a patch and giving it the precise amount of Accelerator (tube or solid state) and again with the Energeizer (tube and boost)
Creating Patches its much more easy if you use the Editor Librarian that you can download at zoom web site. Some things are a bit dificult to understand in the manual concerning Midi Capabilities of this monster, and yes i think in the future The firmversion will be available as the zoom guys told me in an email.

This is where the G9 comes best performing, with internal 32 bit audio engine chipset and output at 24 bits you get the best of the best. I have worked with it in my simple stereo and sounds pretty pretty amazing and tweakin the Energizer and Accelerator knobs the right way you can feel you are playing a Tube Amp (sounded much better than my Marshall Valvestate, wich i used to love) and get amazing tube sounds with my current Marshall Stack 100W and with the right Pre Amp you can get distort as hell. The ones i like personaly are the Marshall JCM 2000, the Engl Drive, The Rat Stomp box and the Extreme Dist, but you can choose others like Metalzone fanatics, Peavy, Diezel, Fenders, etc. I dont know why some G9 users claim 2 things. First, they claim that the Wahs are not good, Damn i recorded some track with my sonar along with Timmo Tolki Song "Are You The One" and the Vox, Crybaby and MultiWah sounded Exactly the same as for Range and Sound....yeah yeah you probably want to buy an external Wah that use Mr. Vai or Mr. Satch but then is just impressions, i found the Wahs better in sound/range than my old boss GT-6 (when run high gain sounds on gt6 the wahs go almost unreachable) with the G9 i can use Xtrem Dist and the Wahs does not lose Range or Sound (sorry, i cant explain better in English, i am a Colombian user. the other thing was the Pedals to be fragil. i cant understand those words, mine is built like a tank. i have to recognize triggering the wah with any of the expression pedals its hard but i found a way to get them more easily. Just put some kind of sticker into the trigger button under the pedal, the amount you think you need and problem solved.

Ok, finally i am very happy with a Multieffects, Nice sounds Nice Cleans and Nice Crunch and High Gain Sounds

And guys, learn to dial your own tones, the Cleans are ok not bad as some users claim.

I only use it Live and in the Studio so i depend on it a lot.
One advice: you can have the G9 to act like a professional Audio Interface and play with all your Amp Sims the best way and use the G9 Tubes to get tubes sounds from let me think...ohh yes, that amplitube 2, Guitar Rig 2 and Revalver 2. The Combination of sound are endless and dont worry if you only have one Cab Sim, get it to work with The Cabs Sims on Revalver II and/or Trash Cabs and you will rock hard, Althought The G9 Cab Sim is pretty Amazing only thing is that lack on Parameters

I have mailed at Zoom several times, and several answers i got.

I Play Almost Every music i can lay on my guitar and hands and yes, its a good match but i think is aimed more for Metal Users than for lets say Jazz or Pop users (better stick with Boss Gt-8 for those Special Effects). I??ve been playing for 3 years and owned a Boss GT-6, Pod XT Live, GT-8 and some Amp Sim Plugins and nothing of the above match the quality of my Zoom G9 that i think personally of course so dont go to discuss with me, the G9 does the Job for me because i Love Metal and Guitar Playing. If it were stolen then i buy my self another G9 or expect to Boss to come out with a unit that has same features like the G9. Personally i think GT-8 is the winner in Modulation Effects and G9 wins on its Killer Tones, Clean, Crunch or High Gain Sounds.

Great sounds right out of the box, some editing is tricky (for me), but read the manual a couple of times and you'll get it down, REALLY versitle!!! Extra assignable/programmable pedals are the best thing since sliced bread!!!

Use with a B52 AT212 or Boogie Nomad 212 100 combos and it sounds killer with either. Only downside I could find are the wah simulations. Just can't tweak them enough to sound right so I'm using an external Crybaby 535 since my OLD DeArmond weeper went out on me. Also wish I could get that "strings" sound that my Boss GT-6 gets.

Here's where it's hurting. After about one year, the right pedal started to get this loud "squeak". After numerous messages left and emails written to Zoom, they finally told me to return it for repair since there is nobody authorized in metro Atlanta GA. Rather then packing it up and paying $20. shipping, I decided to take it apart myself to check out. Amazing what a little WD-40 can do!!!! BUT! One month later the #2 footswitch went out completely and again numerous phone calls and emails finally got me an RMA # to return to factory for repair so I shipped it right away. THREE WEEKS LATER I still have not received it so 2 more phone calls I got a guy who told me repairs should take 4 to 6 weeks from day of receipt!!!

See RELIABILITY above! They are BAD...Nice guys but the service is SLOW SLOW SLOW!!! Still waiting so I am glad I didn't sell my GT-6 which I am rediscovering.

I'll play just about anything from country to metal and everything in between. Been playing about 30 years and have the BOSS GT-6 and a gazillion stompboxes, an original Line 6 AXYS, and misc. vintage heads, cabs, and combos. Main Axes are an older Parker Fly Deluxe, 69 Paul Goldtop with mini 'buckers and an Ibanez 540S LTD w/ Dimarzios. If it got stolen I would definetely shop for another brand. Been looking at zoom drum machines but after this I will have to go with Boss. I LOVE the sound and versitilty and especially the dual pedals but the reliability is just not there. I shopped ALL the other multieffects before buying this. Really do love it but it is way too FRAGILE...

This unit is pretty simple to use when it comes to editing patches. There are several amp models. Combine this with a ton of tone-shaping controls (3 band EQ, presence, lo-mid, harmonics, etc.) you can come up with any sound. Zoom even took the time the describe each amp model with their actual real-world counterpart names a separate sheet. Needless to say, the manual is good. I didn't even read the whole thing, I just read as much as I needed to understand how to start creating patches. And they aren't kidding about the save speed, this thing saves your patches instantly. The USB output is nice, except I have Windows Vista and getting the drivers to work was too much of a pain. Besides, I prefer the sound of the unit through my amp and mic'd rather than the built-in cab simulator, which I find muddies the sound.

I've used a PodXT Live before and the only thing I prefer on the PodXT are the larger "pad" buttons which are easier to tap with your foot on stage as opposed to the little stomp buttons on the Zoom G9. Also, the unit is tremendous (2 feet wide!) because of the extra pedal. Also, the placement of the Channel A/B switch can cause you to easily misstep and hit a separate bank...

My amp is a Marshall AVT20 with a replacement tube and a new Eminence Ramrod speaker. People say that you should use MFX with a flat-response amplifier like a keyboard amplifier, but I actually really love the sound of it through the AVT. A lot of people don't like AVT's, but running this through the clean channel sounds great in the bedroom or for recording.

Lately I've been playing Eric Clapton, Eric Johnson, and Dream Theater stuff and you can land all those sounds on this.

At first, I played mostly with the hi-gain models. The 5150 model is very "thrashy" and gives a lot of feedback. Harmonics are easy, but its way too dirty for me. The Marshall JCM models sound nice too, but my favorite model for distortion must be the ENGL model. You can get a wonderful all-purpose crunch sound without getting too dirty and it palm-mutes well.

The clean settings are excellent. There unit has built in reverb, chorus, and delays so you can really layer your clean tone if you're into that. There are models for Fender Twin Reverb, Bassman, Roland Jazz Chorus, VOX, etc. There are also slightly overdriven Fender and VOX models simply called US Blues and UK Blues, which I assign as Channel B of my clean tones. Works great. I'm not the type to try to exactly match the tone of my favorite players, but this gets me pretty close and what more could you ask for?

It comes with many presets of specific artists, but I haven't touched them. I start tweaking right away. As for noise, there's built in Noise Reduction can make your guitar dead silent based on the threshold you set, but I turn it off because it kills the sustain. But its there if you want it...

I do use this at gigs without backup, but only because I can't afford more than one! I bought a cheap case for it from Rondo Music because it would suck if this thing messed up. Its pretty tough except that one of the knobs fell off while it was in the case I bought for it. Not too big of a deal since it went right back on. Otherwise, this thing is a tank. I bring this everywhere now, despite its size simply because I can get great tones easily with any guitar or amp. If I ever purchased a backup, I would probably get the G7 because I never use the extra pedal on the right (nor do I use the Z-axis functionality).

Never dealt with Zoom, never had to.

I play whatever I'm enjoying at the moment, whether it be progressive metal, blues, rock, funk, whatever... this handles it all. It is equally adept at handling hi-gain models as well as clean models.

I've been playing for 7-8 years. I replaced all my stompboxes with the Zoom because I didn't like tap-dancing on stage. I have an Ibanez RGT42DXFM with Evolutions, Epiphone Les Paul Standard with Seymour Duncan Jazz/JB, and my amp is a Marshall AVT20 with an Eminence Ramrod speaker.

If this were lost/stolen, I'd be very pissed and I'd probably have to raise money to buy another one. I love the versatility and variety of tones you can get and I love that it replaced a multitude of my other gear (tuner, recording interface). I wish the channel A/B switch was easier to hit. I don't care for the Z-axis pedal. I've tried a POD XT Live and I prefer the Zoom to it because it sounds much more natural and organic compared to the POD.

I don't understand how some guys saying this thing is just fair to middling. So far I never got a tool with such easy to use effects. You easily put it on, pick a Bank and an effects set and then start to take off. Modifying the presets the same manner. Select a bunch of effects by pressing the according button in the effects block, check the details by turning the right knob in the detail block and thats it. Than it may be important to put the controll of one or more effects to one of the 2 pedals. Nothing easier! Press the pedal button and select the preferred effect with preferred control parameters. Now store it down to one of the user presets. Than get started. And thats only the hand operated part. With the MIDI interfaces and a notbook or something like this and the provided application, all settings are in perfect overview.
Reading the manual is nearly unnecessary. Nevertheless if you have to, the manual is very easy to use.

Don't get me wrong! But my rapture for this thing is almost unlimited. For example the Marshall JCM 800 not only sounds is very close to the original but also during the act it feels like the original - perfect! The same to the ENGL or VOX AC30 Sound. Same to the effects. The Delay delays, Flanger flanges and the others do what they should do. No particular howlers.
I play it directly to the music stand with a DI box in between and a speaker simulation (4x12). The capacity is like a real tube amp, however without the well known dubbing problems.

I've got the impression of a very robust chassis. The buttons and knobs too. The pedals are looking a little bit fragile. However during the up to now appox 50 gigs there are no damages.

So far (1 year) I didn't need it.

My favorite style is Rock and Heavy metal. Sometimes a little bit Jazz and Folk. For this and in considering of size, weight and price its the ultimative hard worker on stage. I'm now playing the rock guitar since 12 years and the ZOOM G9.2tt definitely helped me to become a more soulfull player because of the abundant great sounds and effects. For me: Classic Tops and Amps are out.

I give it a 5 on ease of use, because of the many settings and tweaks you can do with this one. If you like to experiment with dialing in a multitude of sounds, then you will love this unit. If you just want to plug and play, then you're in for a bit of learning curve.

I've owned a PodXt (biggest hunk of junk I've ever heard) and have played Digitech RP350A and Boss ME-50, and this thing blows them all out of the water. I was easily able to get real tube tone of it (well duh, it does have 2 tubes inside) and emulate the best hard rock sounds. In fact, and I'm being totally serious about this, I took it to my rehearsal room that I rent and cranked it through the clean channel of my Randall stack. After I finished jamming, someone was waiting outside the door and said "oh, I'm sorry, I thought George Lynch was rehearsing inside." I got embarrassed but just said "thanks, I wish". (I later learned that George used to rent rehearsal space at this place, so that could explain the mistake)

Like I said above, I've cranked this thing flat out for hours at a time and have never had a problem with it. I imagine the tubes will need to be replaced eventually, but I can't foresee any other issues with it. I will use it at gigs.

Never had to get support for it as of yet.

No matter what style you play....blues, country, surf, hard rock, nu-metal...this thing can dial in any sound you've heard on album or in your head. But you gotta be patient with it due to its many setting possibilities.

This is not a review, but a response to one reviewer who expressed that he could not find a gig bag or case for the G9: I had the same problem. There is no official case or gig bag, and the G9's dimensions are unusual enough that nothing seems to fit it well.

However, after 10+ hours of searching, I found a gig bag that fits it just about perfectly. It is a gig bag for a midi keyboard called the "Edirol PCR30." Many sites (American Music Supply, Zzounds) have the wrong picture posted for this product. Sweetwater has the correct picture posted and that's where I bought mine from. It works great and runs for about $40.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PCR30Bag

Some of the pre-sets are over-effected and would need tweaking. To get the best out of this effects unit you do really need to read the manual and dial you're own tone in. Then editing patches clicks into place and is an absolute cinch. The manual itslf is very readable and simple to understand. Once I started to see what the capabilities of the unit are, I wanted to read the manual anyway to make the most of what it offers.

I am using this with a 7-string Washburn fitted with an 81-7 and 70-7 and a PA2 booster, a Peavey 5150 head and a Marshall 1960 4x12 cab. This is for gigging and recording.

It is possible to get the sound of your favourite artists, using the amp simulations, without too many problems. For me this means Dimebag, Hetfield etc. This unit is infinitely tweakable, possibly even too tweakable. You could spend a lifetime fiddling with the knobs, making very fine adjustments. But I love that about it.

The distortion affect of the dual rectifer and diesel amps are great for 7-strings, picking out the harmonics that other amps can't. This unit is great for metal, which I what I use it for, but I reckon it'd be equally good for for any other style, which I have tinkered with.

The chorus, modulation patches are all to a very good standard and ver useable. I haven't yet come across an effect it doesn't do well.

This unit is amazingly silent even at gig volume - the noise gates on it are fantastic and the ZNR is great for leadwork when you need sustain.

I haven't had it long enough to comment on this but I will be using it without back-up so we shall see.

No need.

I've been playing guitar for nearly 20 years and have built up a huge collection of effects pedals in that time. I have now sold ALL my individual pedals because with this multi-effects unit I just don't need them. I spent many months reading up on multi units before deciding to buy this one and I couldn't be happier with the performance - it is above and beyond my expectations. I also considered a Line-6 XT Pro, a Korg 3000, Boss GT8 amongst many others.

I love the fact that it looks the dogs bollox, before you even switch it on. The only complaint I have is that it doesn't come with a gig case and as far I can tell it isn't possible to buy one for it, although I am still looking.

My favourite feature is the energiser and accelerator tubes which add real warmth to your tone - just don't overdo it.

It makes producing my tone and switching between sounds much much easier. I play metal and this unit is perfect for the sound I want. If it was lost or stolen then I would replace it (and kill the person who nicked it if I ever found them).

Anyone who can't get a good tone with this piece of kit needs their head examining.

I have two guitar effects before this unit came,BOSS ME-50 and Pod XT, so I find easy to get the tones that I wanted.

I have to say that the Zoom G9.2tt has a much better sound quality to Pod XT, BOSS ME-50 and even Boss GT-8. My friend has BOSS GT-8 and I found that the distortion effect of GT-8 is quite weak (rather thin). Zoom G9.2tt has this rich sound to it when playing metal. For Amp modelling, ofcourse you cannot compare to the real thing like the tube amps but it sounds way better than other multieffects can provide like GT-8, or Pod XT(I previously owned one). Overall, I am very impressed with this unit and it costs way cheaper than Pod XT Live or a GT-8.

It feels solid.

Never have to deal with the Zoom people.

I would give this unit a 9 for its tone and ease of use. I can get alot of tones that I really like eventhough some of the tones are not applicable to the kind of genre that I am playing. I am happy with it..:)

I DO NOT USE ANY OF THE AMP MODELS AND I DID NOT BUY THIS UNIT FOR AMP MODELS.
This is my 2nd review of this unit since I???ve now been using it for over 6 months. I am running this unit into a Rivera R-55 and using the Zoom as a pre-amp controller. For $400 it is a good deal when considering what you can do with it even if you turn the amp models off. This is a quality unit made by someone who understands guitar players. Here are some features that I think make it a good unit:

1. Gain booster for twin channel amps. You can use the input and internal volumes to get all kinds of gain boost if you want. You do not need distortion boxes with this unit if you are running into a twin channel amp with gain knobs. I am overdriving my Rivera with this unit and I have some of the warmest overdrive imaginable. Very similar to EVH brown sound. You can also use the EQ settings as a gain booster.

2. You can use the patches to store all kinds of different patches, as you desire. Each patch can have its own volume as well so you can have pre-set volume/gain boost settings and switch by changing patches. You can make patches specifically for your clean channel and specifically for your distortion channel.

3. Volume pedal. Works great!

4. A/B channel switch: You have A/B channels in each patch. I set the EQ for Humbucker/Single coil sounds. All I have to do is switch the channel and I get a different EQ in the same patch. It sounds like I???ve just changed guitars.

5. Wah-Wah: I like it. It???s probably not as good as some separate units, but most people will not know the difference and it is programmable.

6. Noise gate: This unit has a nice one.

7. Compressor: You can set one of your patches to have some compression and get nice sustain if you want.

8. Whammy: You can have a nice whammy with this unit.

9. Tremolo: You can also have a tremolo that is controlled by one of the expression pedals.

10. The reverb & delays are nice. If you run this through your effects loop, you can do stereo effects. But the amp models may not work properly in this set-up.




Unlike the review below this one, this unit did not color my sound. I tested this many times while working on my sound and I find this unit to be very transparent. I turn all the speaker simulator stuff off.
The only other effects device I use is a delay that I run into the effects loop. I could use this unit for my delays, but effects sound better in the effects loop.

Overall this device works well with my Rivera amp and I have good tone with this set-up. If you buy this unit, maybe try from someone who can let you return it.

I have been playing guitar for 34 years and my current sound is by far the best I???ve ever had. And this unit is a large part of it.

Is fairly easy to set up and get good sounds, but when editing it can be hard to know what your original settings are since the 'E' comes up if anything is changed. Is also very touchy as the four main knobs are overly sensitive.

You can get great sounds, but it is very finicky when used with a tube amp. I use a Mesa/Boogie Mark II and it is easy to go overboard with the tube pre- and post sections.

This is where it failed BIG TIME for me. The vacuum switches began to fail only a couple months after buying it, especially the up/down bank switches (of course the ones you need the most for live use). They also began squeaking very loudly. Then one of the patch ones began to fail. You could step on them repeatedly and they would do nothing. Sent it back to Sampson and had them replace all switches. Took them over five weeks to fix it and they had the nerve to tell me only one of the switches was faulty. It was sent back in the same box I sent it with but with no packing material! I got it back a month ago and am still having problems with one of the bank switches. Played a gig last night and had to step on it repeatedly to get it to switch banks.

Overall they were way too slow and did not follow up at all on something that is pretty expensive and crucial for a working musician.

Overall rating is that it is a great product (much better sound than the GFX8 I had before) but is made with cheap components that are unacceptable for live situations.

Its fairly easy to use and get around. Some EQ parameters are difficult to adjust because the controls are scattered all ofer the board. Its difficult to know what a patch controls, especailly the foot controllers. The LED is very limited. Editin patches are easy too. The problem herer is that there are many things to take into account to get the sound you may want. The manual is okay for the most part. I did notice that it doesnt tell you where the tuner is located in the signal chain. I think the firmware version is 1.02 and it has not been upgraded sinc I purchased the unit 3 months ago in January 2007.

I the unit has some pluses and minuses. On the plus side is that it does have decent AD/DA converters and sampling rate. Not much complaints about the digital noise due to conversion and bandwidth limitations. It has all the effects and controls that one would evere want and they sound very decent when the unit is used generically.

On the minus side there are many things that are troublesome to me. The preamp models are okay but to me they do not have the dynamics that a real amp would have. You cannot control overdrive or distortion with your guitar volume or pick attack like that of an amp. The unit also colors your guitar tone. Even with everything off when the unit is in your amps effects loop you can hear the difference when you switch the amp loop on and off. The preamp section colors the tone more than the effects section. I wish there were a way to have the model section on without and amp selection to take advantage of some of the preamp controls. Since I dont find much use for the preamp models the input tube isnt that impressive. The ooutput tube selection is also not much use to me either. Besides, you cannot change the settings from patch to patch anyway which is a big limitation in my book. The units effects loop is verry noisey and has very limited headroom. The I/O amps in that section are subpar. It is very difficult to control the volume of this unit between patches and even in the same patch. I have heard my unit change in volume, on the same patch, without changing andthing, over time. This is annoying and unsatisfactory. I think its the preamp section (tube).

I would like the I/O section to be improved so that an amps preamp can be used in the effects loop of the pedal (4 cable method). Right now its too noise and verry limited. As stated above the preamp section should have a selection where you can select no preamp and use it with the preamp controls such as the stomp boxes. You should be able to move the pedal loop anywhere in the preamp chain or in the intire effects chain for that matter. In addition to being noisey, the effects loop has very little headroom and is easily overdriven. Maybe its has inferior I/O amps and AD/DA converters in this section.

I have tested and tested the unit in many different configurations using a Marshall TSL 100 and a B-52 AT100 and received similar results.

I first used the entire unit in front of the amps and tried out all the presets and preamp models. Like I said above, I didnt like the lack of dynamic control of the preamp models so I wanted to try my amps preamps (both sound great with dynamic control from clean to distortion with your guitar volume)in the preamp section of the Zoom. Turned off the Zoom preamp and this setup sounded okay but the noise and the limited headroom (can we say digital distortion) made this unusable. Too bad too as this configuration would allow me to use the Zoom's cool pre-preamp effects before the amps preamp and the cool modulation, delay and reverbs after.

I then placed my amps preamp in front of the Zoom, going out the loop send of the amp to the input of the Zoom. The output of the Zoom went to the loop return of the amp. This, I learned was limited in that all the cool effects such as WAA, Phaser, Compression, and those that sound cool befor the preamp, sounded terrible. This is also where I experienced problems controlling the volume of the Zoom. You could never know what level the Zoom would be at. This was very annoying as I chased this problem for weeks and couldnt figure it out.

My current setup is my amps preamp, out of the amp effects send, into the effects loop return of the Zoom and out of the Zooms out put back into the amps effects return. This setup sounds real nice as I have pretty decent sounding modulation, delay, and reverb. Althought I still have a headrooom issue at times and I cannot use any other part of the Zoom except those thre effects.

It seems pretty sturdy. I dont like the volume swells.

I have tried to contact them via their website and havent heard from them.

This thing would be excellent to me if the above issues were resolved. Its a pretty cool toy for some but does not have the flexability that I need or want. This pedal is the closest thing to my utopian pedal but just not there yet. The GT-8 was also close, but it has its own issues. I would rather zoom, or any pedal manufacturer, pay more attention to the effects, I/O, flexability, and overall sound of a pedal instead of modeling amps and preamps. These models are not there yet either.

If you are familiar with multieffects units its fair easy to get a good sound out of it. The manual its ok, I would like to have more parameters in the Whammy effect (it has no Mix for dry and affected signal) , other than that is a very good unit.

For me this is the best multieffects unit I have used, definitely its not perfect, but it works great, this is one of the few multieffects in which I can obtain a decent distortion (not digital sounding), modulations and delays are very good, whammy needs a mix control I feel it is a little weak but sounds real !
I bought this after a gig nightmare I had dealing with bad patch cables, so again I send my pedal case to rest for a while(Boss delay, chorus, flanger, noise supresor, ibanez tube screamer, jekyl & hyde distortion, bad horsie & whammy) and gave a try to this zoom, I can tell you that I do not miss the pedals, I can not hear quality differences between them.
I am using this unit in front of a Carvin Legacy head for my main set up, and also with a Roland cube 60, great results both.

Looks undestructible but who knows, ...

I play in 2 bands one is a heavy metal / hard rock band who plays in clubs (from 70's - 2000's rock hits) and other one who plays at weddings and family parties (latin, pop, ballads, some jazz) this unit is working for me right know, I used to have : boss gt6, gt8, m e, toneworks korg, digitech rp2000, pod xt live. this zoom sounds real and I like it better, I also still keep my rack (Rocktron piranha, TC G Major, Mesa 50/50 and BBE) but there is long time I dont use it. Zoom + Legacy has worked great for me.

Its easy enough to use

It trys to be this and that and fails!! comes nowhere near the quailty of modded pedals. Just one modded Boss DS-1 by Monte Allums blows away any overdrive/distortion sound this can do!. Also I dislike amp sims!! stop thinking your getting loads of pricey amp sounds out of this unit? your not!

Built well

Do you want afew top notch sounding pedals of your personal choice or a unit with tons of average effects? any self claimed pro that praises this is deaf! if your a serious guitar player! keep it real

How easy is it to get a good sound out of it?

Pretty easy, you need to read the manual though! tried using headphone and it rips my g2.1u in sound, in front of an amp its awesome

How about Editing patches?

confused at first, with a lot of button and parameters to choose from, but after reading the manual, its a breeze.

How is the manual for it (if there is one)?
easy to read, no rocket science here, but have some errata that s not too serious

Do you know the firmware revision number? Has your unit been upgraded?

no idea!

Can you get the sound of your favorite artists? Who are they?

i like to have my own sound with this unit so no comment on this one

Are certain effects (distortion, chorus, ...) very good? Very bad?
preamp/distortion sound is a topnotch, i can make a very close sound especially to those high gain sound, very authentic.

What setup (i.e. what guitars and amps) are you using this with?

im using a yamaha AES620 through a p1 tube amp, and it rocks!!

Is it noisy? On what settings?
high gain, noisy but you need to use the ZR (zoom noise reduzer)

Are the effects weak or do they always sound great?

very usable effects, its what i need

looks and built like a tank

not dealt yet

from blues to rock to metal, this is a good match. i use pedals before , but i need to switch from clean to high gain distortion so i purchase this unit and it suits me well

How easy is it to get a good sound out of it?

\It takes a little manipulation.

How about Editing patches?

\Same as most similar units. Just grab a knob or click an effect module. Then save if you like what you hear.

How is the manual for it (if there is one)?

\Decent. A little non-linear.

Do you know the firmware revision number? Has your unit been upgraded?

\No, and I wont upgrade. This only adds new patches, Not new sound engines. I can achive any sound I need with the unit stock. And if I need to restore it to factory defaults (which I had to do when the unit arrived from Music123)I can do so with out loosing any upgrades. I can just re-load my saved paches from my other G9.2tt.

Unbeleivable... This is like having a massive rack system including multiple preamps. The two tube cuircuits operate as individual pre and post amps. Adding three stages of gain with enough eq to get whatever you want. I am a Tube and Solid State user and this would satisfy tube purists. The modulation effects are plenty but not necessarily spectacular. The Z-Pedal is groundbreaking however.

I have never had this type of equipment fail in 16 years. Boss, Zoom, even digitech is all extremely reliable. If you have good gear and have not abused it you will allways trust it.

Never.

What style of music do you play? Is this a good match?

\I play Blues, Jazz, Metal, and Rock.

How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?

\17 years. Many different 4x12 cabs and combos with celestion g12t7516 speakers, G12H100s, G12M70s, and peavey Sheffield 1230's and Black Widows. Too many effects and multi effects to mention.

If you decide to purchase this....Enjoy..I sure have.

* How easy is it to get a good sound out of it?

alot of the presets dont sound good, but they are a good starting point to see what is possible, and you can use them as a starting point to get a sound you like.

* How abou2100 player t Editing patches?

i had a zoom before this, almost identical system of editing, except you have alot more controls to use, i didnt read the manual to start editing stuff on it, i only needed to read the manual for a few extra features like the AARM and assigning the custom buttons.

* How is the manual for it (if there is one)?

fairly well layed out, except the special patches that are meant for using the Z pedal are on a separate sheet of paper, i understand this is because they were added after the original specs were finalise and manual written.

* Do you know the firmware revision number? Has your unit been upgraded?

1.07, no upgrade is available

* Can you get the sound of your favorite artists? Who are they?

i dont really try to copy other artist's sounds, but as for my own sound that i like, i have no problem finding numerous sounds that sound great. i like guitarist like Adam Jones, Omar Rodregez, Jeff martin, and so call post rock, bands like mogwai, Isis and GYBE!, but i like alot of different genres of music.

* Are certain effects (distortion, chorus, ...) very good? Very bad?

there are alot of distortions and amp models, personally i haven't tried all of them, but generally with a bit of EQing you can get them sounding good. im not obsessed with all the amp tone stuff, so im not concerned if they dont sound identical to the original, the Gt9.2tt has 2 tubes, one at the input, and one on output, the first is a parallel circuit of a transistor amp, and tube, so you can blend a digital or analog signal as the pre amp before any of the effects, adds warmth to the sound, and alone can be used as distortion. unfortunately it can not be turned off, and you cannot store different parameters with each patch.

generally the effects are good, ill list all my gripes with the individual effects:

Wahs: dont have alot of range, and sound quite weak in comparison to other stand alone wahs.
Phaser: not as much depth as say a small stone, and compared to the phaser on my old Zoom 2100, it lacks the different tones that were achievable. there is only 4 ranges of colour, where as the 2100 had 10 different depths of the 2 phaser types (like the colour switch on most phasers, then 1-10 of the depth from subtle to over the top.. i like over the top ;) )
Flanger, much the same as the phaser, it doesnt have alot of options, but i really liked the flanger on the 2100, the flanger on the G9.2 sounds alot more like the boss flanger on the GT8.

Overall i wish all the effects had more parameters, there is already a Page button, which is only used for setting up the ARRM feature. it would be nice to see this used for the effects, so each effect could have more then 4 parameters, to allow them to have more variation.
ild love a more customizable pitch shifter (whammy) there are 8 different presets which you cant change, ild like to see one that has the Low pitch, High pitch, Balance, for me it would be more useful.

the unit does contain some nice effects that you cant find in other pedals,

Reverbs are great, as are the delays as far as digital go.
also has a compressor, which i guess is ok. i HATE THE ZOOM NOISE REDUCTION. it destroys quite dynamics when using distortion. ill take a bit of hum over that anyday.

one problem with the delays is when you switch the amp position (before or after the delays/effect2) it will cut the signal of anything that is delaying. so does changing the delay tone or delay time. can be annoying if you have the delay held, and the delay feedback is set to one the pedals, and you bump it, all your delay disappears

the Z pedal is realy great, but setting it up does get a bit difficult. it lets you assign 4 different effects parameters to each axis (4 to the left pedal, 4 to the horizontal right, and 4 vertical right) setting the range (can also be set inversely) and each vertical has the ability to switch the effects on and off, when you stomp down hard (switch under the pedal) it would be great if this could be extended so you could set the parameter range, and also the range of the pedal the effects it,

EG. you have the wah pedal going from the pedal fully down, to half way. then at half way the pitch shifter goes up to the fully depressed state.

the AARM, forget what it stands for... but is an oscillator that can be assigned to any effect parameter, has alot of different wave forms, but unfortunately can only be assigned to 1 effect, would be cool if it could be assigned to 2, and have an offset on one of them.

* What setup (i.e. what guitars and amps) are you using this with?

i got a Tele 68 custom, and an

* Can you depend on it?

it looks like you could beat someone to death with it and it would still work, it weight in at 5KG. sturdy metal case... only thing i recon would kill it easily is someone spilling beer in the tube vents

* Would you use it on a gig without a backup?

i do, have no worries ever

* If you've dealt with the company, how helpful/friendly were they?

i find the language barrier the biggest problem, as Zoom are japanise, i have emailed them a few times and have got help, but not as percussed as i would like.

* Ever get an upgrade, or try and get it repaired?

nope

* What style of music do you play? Is this a good match?

i play what kids these days call post rock, which as far as equipment goes is large pedal boards, and anything goes. i recon the G9.2 does the job great, as well as some effects i dont think would be possible on single pedals. one pitfall is to edit effects you have to press a few buttons, that is understandable, but when an effect is off, you can not edit the whole block, so say its on wah. to change it to a ring modulator, you have to go through all the other effects while its on, which makes a few clicks and glitches.

* How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?

8 years... to much to list

* If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?

buy another one of these.

* what do you love about it? What do you hate? What is your favorite feature?

ive listed my loves and hates though out this review. one other thing that i dont like, is it doesnt have a full midi implementation, well not as much as i would like.
it would be great if the pedal would receive MIDI SysEx data, so you could change the effects type, or parameters from external devices. afaik most roland equipment lets you do this, and it would be a great feature for the G9.2, but it is not something alot of others might find useful. the unit will send midi SysEx data, but not receive it.

it would also be great if the signal path was more routable, currently you have 2 switches, effect1 before/after distortion, and distortion before/after effect2/delay giving you a total of 4 options, expanding on this, and allowing any pedal in any order like the GT8 can do would make it so much more versatile.

the computer editing software is really nice, shows everything layed out well.

* Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?

i tried the GT8, POD XTLive, and researched many rack units on the Internet, i found this to be the best i could get for the price, with out going for a expensive rack unit.

* Anything you wish it had?

alot of things listed thought out the review

* Does it help you make music, or does it get in the way?

ive practically mastered it now, so if im thinking of a sound i can get it fairly easily, but it was hard to start with, cause there are so many effects, and so few buttons and knobs

* Anything else you'd like to share?

no

Firmware version 1.07

Well the g9.2tt is difficult to use at first and some time is required to learn the g9 and how each patch re-acts wih the accalerator and energiser settings.

After about a week of use it should be very Easy to use and program

Literally Perfect; really

If you take the time to learn how the unit operates with each effect and setting you can get some truly amazing tone from it.

i'll give you some tips; using a fairly low gain sound with NO ZNR (it cuts off notes too soon even at setting 1) turn the tube accelerator knob up full for a truly astounding dynamic reactive tube distortion. Hell I was even able to get the Guthrie Govan sound from the unit.

there is no flaw in sound once you have programmed your own patches

never had any problems; solid and sturdy piece of equipment

the only thing I could see go wrong with it would be a powercut LOL

never dealt with them

I'm 19 and play guitar more than I sleep; I love all music styles especially all types of shred guitar (huge shred freak)

I love the sound quality of this thing (turn the znr off though, unless you are a sloppy player)

he unit can get fantastic sounds for any style (try the jc clean with a booster in efx 1 and some chorus, tasty clean patch) the Z stack distortion sounds fantastic for any metal type shred and us blues is great for soulful soloing


if stolen; i would buy two more and maybe a g7 as a spare spare LOL

After opening the box the first impression is one of confusion. But i found that although the manual is very good, it is better to have a fiddle with it before reading the manual. This is because the manual refers to some of the components on the effects box which will seem alien to many. It is very easy to get a good sound out of it as it has the same knobs that a conventional amp has. Editing patches is very easy as you just turn a knob to add more bass and press store/swap and you can store it wherever you want to. The manual is very good, it explains every parameter and component in high detail.

The sound quality on this unit is very good. The overall tone that comes from it is amazing. I am new to effects pedals, and i wasnt expecting a large amount of tone and sound quality to come from it. The unit has many patches that recreate the tones of favourite artists: The edge, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Kobain, BB King, Slipknot and more. Some certain effects are especially good. The Marshall TSL and DSL patches are great. A friend brought his TSL 60 stack for a practice and it sounded identical. Hughes and Kettner patches are also good. You can of course save all of your favourites in your own custom banks.
I am using this board with a PRS Santana SE running into a Crate Powerblock 150W head and 4x12 cab. The Crate Powerblock 150W Head is very good as it only has one channel and no effects, so i am using the zoom g9.2tt solely for sounds and effects.
The board is not too noisy as it has built in ZNR (Zone Noise Reduction) which you can set the sensitivity for, it can eliminate all of the hum of any loud pickups or other pedals.
The effects are very good. Some are virtually useless but are great for a mess around. The delays and Wahs sound good and the reverb is very nice.

I have had this unit for 3 months now, it has never turned off or malfunctioned in any way. It is very sturdy and rugged - encased in metal and hard rubber ends. However i do want to buy a hardcase for it as I have found one scratch on the base. If anyone needs one a very good site with the correct size is at >>http://www.flightcasewarehouse.co.uk/music/typeproducts2.asp?id=3149-2678<<. I would defianately gig with this without a backup. This is a very reliable piece of kit.

I am in a blues/rock band and I also play in a very lively church. This suites the style to perfection. The abundance of great sounds has really boosted my playing in both situations.
I have been playing for 5 years now and am at a high skill level. I own a PRS Santana SE II and a crate stack (which is very pleasing).
If it was stolen or lost I would defianately buy another one without a doubt. I have tried the Boss GT-8 and the Line6 Pod XT Live and this exceeds them by far. The two 12AX7 tubes really make a difference.
I love the sounds and range of effects on offer. I dont hate anything I just love it!
It defianately helps my music as I said earlier it has boosted my skill and ability to try new things and to play "outside the box".

I wouldn't say it's easy to use. There are so many options, it's easy to get confused with it. The instructions are good, however, and it doesn't hurt to keep them close by. I've never owned anything that has this many choices. It's incredible!

I'm playing a Gibson SG standard with EMG's into the G9 into headphones mostly, but also into a Marshall JCM800 sometimes. Great sound. When into my amp, I only use the noise reduction, compression, and Eq. I then switch on the Univibe, delay, and talkbox as necessary. I've got it sounding just like "Rocky Mountain Way" and "the Star Spangled Banner". At this point, that's enough to make it worth the price and that's not even the main reason I bought it! Into headphones, I'm getting almost any tone I want(although it takes awhile to find it). I haven't tried to record straight into the computer yet, but I definitely will. It also sounds great with my cheap back up guitars, a Squier Strat and an OLP Axis copy. I'll put up a few samples on my soundclick page in a few days.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=460225

This thing is solid!

I just got it for Christmas '06. Last year I got a G2.1U and never had troubles with it. That's why I decided to upgrade.

I like to play old rock in the AC/DC and Led Zeppelin style. This is great for that, either into headphones or an amp. There are so many amps, effects that it's mind boggling. I can't wait until I master all of the possibilities of this thing! The different settings of the pedals can give you so many tones at an instant. It's amazing!

Highly recommended for tube amp users.

I have had this unit for about 6 months and am still getting used to it.

This is a good unit if you are picky about your sound and are still playing a tube amp. This unit has true bypass and will not change the tone of your guitar unless you turn something on that is supposed to change it.

I have spent a little time with the amp models, but so far have not been using any of them. Instead, I use this unit only to overdrive my amp and to use compression, EQ, noise gate & pedal effects. I play a Gibson LP DC customized with Duncan pickups into a Rivera R-55 amp. The LP has coil tapping as well so I get both humbucker and single coil sounds similar to a PRS. I also still use the channel switching in the amp which means both clean and distortion channels are used.

The G9 switches patches so fast you can just hit the buttons and change patches while you are playing without any problems. It also has quite a few effects that I???ll never use but are fun.

The compressors in the G9 are some of the best I???ve seen in a multi-unit and I like their noise gate.

Having 2 expression pedals are also very nice. You can set the range of the volume pedal and actually control the gain on your amp with it as part of one of your patches. I use the right pedal for wah-wah and a few other effects like whammy, depending on my patch.

While I???m sure this unit could have had some more controls added, the key is it is a player's unit designed for simplicity on the stage so you can just hit your buttons or pedals and go without lots of other complications. This helps for people who play and sign and cannot look down all the time at the unit.

I???m sure some of the other reviews have covered the other details of this unit, but in a nutshell.???this unit works well with tube amps and can be used to replace quite a few stomp boxes. Once you get used to the layout and figure out how you want to use it, you can set-up this unit to perform quit a bit of stomp box functions and have more control over them as well.

Easy to use i thought, though sometimes the layout of the EQ controls can be a bit annoying (the Low Mids and Harmonics are over on the left, the rest are on the right).
Manaul is good though i still haven't got to grips with all the pedal assigns :(

Editing, saving etc are pretty simple, everything is in the manual

Well..... I am comparing this to my huge pedalboard full of classic pedals (Boss CS2, CE2, BK Butler Tube Driver, DAM Ramhead, Electric Mistress, Barber LTD, Dynacomp, Mojo-vibe etc... etc....), my Boss GT6 and a few other multi-fx i've owned.

Ok, the preset sounds are ok but nothing special, too many unusable sounds and generic tones. However, im not interested in presets, it's all about creating my own patches.

Overdrives/Pre-amp: Great, the highlight of the unit. The Muff, OD1, Fuzz Face and other simulations are really fun to use, pretty accurate and sound analogue rather than the usual fizziness of digital FX. The amp models are good, again very useable and pretty authentic. 9/10

Wah/FX1/FX2/Modulation: The Wahs are not good, the Delays are nice but not brilliant (a little digital thud in the repeats), the compressor and noise reduction are very good, chorus and phase are great but the uni-vibe lacks that sticky gnarly sound of the real thing. Most of the modulation effects are good but not spectacular. For live use everything in these modules is certainly good enough, but i feel the GT6 has the edge here.

Delay/Reverb: Again, lots of options, very adaptable, competent sounds. Nothing brilliant, but good solid sounds. The ability to layer multiple delays is great, and the overall quality is high.

Overall Sound: Great. I intend to use this for live use, straight into my Hiwatt Custom 50, for that scenario this is the perfect multi-fx. It sounds great live.

Dont know yet, but i had a Zoom 5040 and 3030 for years without any trouble.

I play in a Pink Floyd tribute band, i've been playing guitar for over 19 years. I own several Strats, Les Paul and other good quality guitars.
I use Hiwatt amps and have spent a lot of moeny getting the best gear over the years.

This is a great unit. I had decided a few years ago that multi-fx were not for me, but this one is good enough to make me want to use it. Its easy to set up, has loads of options and above all, sounds great.
Like i said, there are a few negatives - the wah sounds are weak and some of the modulation effects are a bit flat, but the overdrive and pre-amp sounds make this worth the money alone. The Muff almost sounds as good as my DAM Ramhead and sounds better than my USA Muff and Frantone Sweet. The Fuzz Face and Rat are great to use and even the more over the top distortions still sound good.
Clean tones are very important to me, i reckon the Hiwatt and Fender clean models are actually very good on this, but its better to turn them off and just use the compressor/delay/EQ to get some nice cleans.

Overall, i love it...... the 2 12AX7 tubes do add some warmth and tone to the overall sound and even though there are a few downsides this is still the best multi-fx available.