Zoom GFX-4

The GFX-4 is easy to use, for basic functions.

However, if you wanna know complete operations, I cannot say its easy. I downloaded the manual and studied it before buying the unit. The day I bought it, I went through the manual again. When I got home, I was still lost. In the end, I must have went through the manual 3 or 4 times.

After using the unit for sometime, I suddenly discovered a "malfunction". If you step on the pedal hard enough, you enter the manual mode. Hmmm.... But it doesn't work on every patch. Eventually, I realise that this "malfunction" is really a special function that is very briefly described on the manual. After testing out for some time, I finally decided not to use this special function for fear of damaging the unit, so I reset the pedal UP and DOWN levels again to prevent entering that special mode.

Also, the patches are grouped. You cannot switch group with the foot pedals or switches. So its a minus. However, I find that you can set up the unit for a gig with 15 patches in a group. If you need more patches, just bend down to switch group.

I'm using the GFX-4 with my RG-series Ibanez. I use different amps all the time because our band go to a Jam studio, instead of having a regular place.

I like the sound quality from this unit. The only comparison I have draw is from my old Digitech RP-3 and the one I almost bought, Digitech RP-300.

In terms of easy of use, I prefer my old RP-3. However, in terms of sound quality, I realise that the RP-3 is really yesterday's technology. Matching up GFX-4 with RP-300, I find RP-300 to give better sound. However, GFX-4 is capable of producing nice sounds too, just that I have to spend more time learning on the various effects.

Very reliable during home practices and studio jamming. So far, I have brought it to 2 live gigs and the unit hold up reliably.

NA

On the whole, I am very satisfied with this unit. It is relatively cheap, looks real cool and gives satisfactory sound quality.

If it were stolen or lost, I may buy it again. But I would research the market to see if there are any new products around of the same price range.

The only thing I hate about it is the inability to access every patch using just the foot switches.

Although there are some options to place some effects before COMP or after EQU, it would be nice to have more flexibility in designing your own sounds by permutating the effects around.

Very straight-forward, got the hang of it in a day

Most of the distortions are heavey, The booster distortion is rubbish, the wah is cool, the phasers chorus delays detune etc are all wicked. The echos and reverbs are cool.

I wouldn't pick a fight with it

It looks awesome, the pedal is realy cool, and its great for playing in the dark with all the lights. Its a bad-ass piece of equipment either for bedroom playing or live. If I could make It better I would have more lighter vintage distortions and a drum-machine. Its well worth the money and better than any othe in its league

This is my 2nd update to my original review.

We are nearing the point of playing out live. As such, I'd like to address the "Ease of use".

First off, this pedal is easy to program and change parms, though I still have to consult the manual when trying to copy a patch from one location to another. Other than that - very easy.

Secondly, how easy is it to change patches during live play? As long as your band has dead air between songs and you remember which patch you want for which song, you should be OK.

Patches are arranged in 4 bands labeled A,B,C,D. Each bank has 4 sub-banks, labeled A0,A1, and son on. Each sub-bank has 4 actual patches.

The only problems are:

1. To switch from one bank A,B,C,D to another, you must bend down a punch a small button with your finger.

As long as you group your moft often-used 16 patches in a single bank like "A", this won't be much of a problem. If, however, you have a separate patch for each song, switching banks is tricky if you don't have much dead air between songs, within which to switch.

2. To toggle certain effects in a patch, like turn off chorus, or turn on reverb, you must put the unit into MANUAL mode. Once done, then the current patch functions as if it has 3 individual foot pedals - which is very cool, but not all that useful. The problem is that you have to reach down and punch another small button with your finger to put the unit into manual mode.

If Zoom could provide two small foot tap buttons to scroll through banks and toggle in and out of manual mode, the GFX-4 would be a much more useful unit for live play.

As it is, I use mine in practice and plan to use it when we gig soon, but I do wonder if separate echo/reverb, chorus, and OD pedals would easier to control. Then I ask myself if I really want a pedal chain to worry about - especially if they all use different power sources... For that reason, the GFX-4 is more convenient.

If I were to grade this category, I'd choose "8" for ease of use when used in personal practice and "6" for live play.

I am currently using my GFX-4 with my Sunn T50C amp and Gibson ES-137 P90 semi-hollow archtop. My gosh, what a fantastic combination for blues and rock!!! Whew, I love the tone I get from this combination - and I'm talking about tone at gig level volumes.

With just the processor, I'd grade this category an "8". With the amp and guitar, an "11"!

HI I THING THIS MODEL OF ZOOM IS 1 OF THE BEST PRODUCTS OF HER UNTIL NOW.INDEED I DON'T FIND AN EASY WAY TO USE THIS PEDAL AND THE MANUAL IS NOT HELPING AT ALL.AND FOR THIS REASON THE RATING TO THIS GATEGORY

GREAT FEATURES ON MAKE YOUR OWN SOUND AND ALLREADY GREAT SOUND QUALITY FROM THE FACTORY SOUNDS.
I THING THE WORK TO THIS MODEL HAVE DONE TO THE DISTORTION AND GAIN CATEGORY.CHORUS SOUNDS ARE PURED THAN DISTORTION BUT THEY ARE STILL GOOD TO PLAY AND SEARCH.
ALSO VERY GOOD FEATURES TO REVERB,DELAY,ETC... EFFECTS

BECAREFULL NOT I DO NOT SUGGEST IT FOR VERY CLEAN GUITARIST

THIS MODEL EASILY CAN WORK IN STUDIOS FOR RECORDING AND MAKE A SHOW WITH A BAND. A LEAD GUITARIST HE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR WITH THIS GUITAR EFFECT PROCESSOR

IN THIS GATEGORY
I HAVE 2 RATINGS
1:3 ABOUT PURE ONLINE AND OFFLINE SUPPORT
2:10 BECAUSE IT HAVEN'T NEED REPAIR UNTIL NOW

I LIKE HARD ROCK MUSIC(DEEP PURPLE,LED ZEPPELIN,ETC...)I CAN FIND MANY SOUNDS THAT ARE LIKE THE SOUND OF RITCHIE BLACKMORE OR JIMMY PAICE.
I PLAY FOR 4 YEARS WITH A PREVIOUS MUSIC EDUCATION
OTHER GEAR ARE FENDER STRATOCASTER USA,SOME MIDI DEVICES 2 BOSS PEDALS 2 AMP(1 FRONTMAN AMP AND 2 FENDER JAZZ)1 STARLITE BASS 1 ROLAND KEYBOARD KORG TUNER 1 G4 MACINTOSH COMPUTER 1 PC MUSIC SOFTWARE (CUBASE,SEBELIUS,DIGITAL PERFORMER,ETC...) AND OF COURSE ZOOM GFX 4 .
IF IT WHERE STOLEN I THING THAT I WOULD BUY IT AGAIN
I LOVE THE DISTORTION GAIN AND EFFECTS FEATURES THAT HE OFFER
I HATE THE OPERATION MANUAL
A COMPARE WITH KORG 1500G NOTHING TO TELL JUST THE GFX 4 IS 10 LEVELS UPPER THAN THE KORG
I WISH IT HAD A FEATURE LIKE GF8 LIKE A MIDI PORT
IS NOT HELPING TO MAKE MUSIC JUST HE FIX THE SOUND QUALITY OF MY MUSIC

if you can read the manual, or have used multi FX boxes....you SHOULD be able to use this. EASIEST? nope..but that dont matter...SOUND matters..

SOUND matters. I used this as my main effects unit for about a year.
It sounds better than any Digi-crap, or Boss, or Korg multi that I played in that price range, and i have played most of them. WARM and Fuzzy, IF you dont use too many FX at once...I only used the mods, Echo, and reverb...usually 1 or 2 at a time..Very Nice envelope fiter...decent Wah, nice chorus, trem, phase...used moderatley..Amp sims? dunno....overdive and dist ...they all kinda sound the same to me..I use a TS-9/808 mod and a Zoom PD-1 for OD.... OK I guess..but the mods and echo ROCK...very warm...Run into Crate VC-6112 all tube amp with all my analog FX in front of it. It's at the end now, for backup. retirement, the good life!

Very reliable....MANY OUTDOOR Florida gigs at Skippers Smokehouse and other dives. No probs. One knob fell off. BFD.

never did need none.

the bottom line with this product for me is, ALMOST ALL of my effects are now analog...this sits at the back of my chain as a very reliable backup...I can mute the front end of my pedal setup, without putting the amp on standby, and if an effect takes a dive I have a good backup for all of my sounds. I use it to record direct at home..It sounds fine...No noise. No problems. Very nice sounds. I'd buy it again as a backup, and now they are even less expensive.
Listen, compare...this is NOT an AMP modeler. It is a stompbox multiFX. No triple rectifiers in here. But Buffalo Springfield's "For What It' Worth" is...!!

There are a lot of great preset patches ready to use from the moment you turn it on. Editing patches is very simple, and once you know the basics described in the manual, you can explore the features very easily. The manual is great and really helpful.

I use this with my Washburn BT-2 guitar and a Peavey Rage 158 amp. At low volumes it sounds great, but the bass on the GFX4 nearly kills my amp. but when you play it through a big amp it sounds great. It can be noisy with very high gain and some modulation effects. my favourite bands are oasis, dire straits, u2, and metallica. the USBLUE setting gives me a sound that sounds very much like Mark Knopfler, and one of the metal presets satisfies my need for metallica sounds. i'm still working on U2 and oasis... :)

I haven't had this long enough to be 100 % sure, but it seems to me that it is very solid. i would rather get a backup guitar than a backup effect set if i had to choose.

never needed to contact them

i play many forms of rock, and the GFX 4 suits me perfect. i have been playing electric guitar for about 2 years now, but once i got this, i experienced a new glow in my guitar playing... (it was my first shot at guitar effects!) so it is definitely inspiring. My favourite features on it has to be... the metal and USBLUE settings in the DRIVE section, and the chorus effects. if i had to mention a negative thing about it, it has to be that the board it self is a bit small, and in the heat of playing i sometimes manage to hit the wrong pedals with my big feet... :) i also agree to what other people have written, it should also have a bank down switch. but these are no big issues, i'm extremely satified with this, a great sounding set at an affordable price!

I have owned the GFX-4 for about half a year now and love it...
I used to own a korg ax1000g which was way to clunky and to analog for me.. The patches are very easy to edit ..just press the button and turn the knob its so easy...and its nearly always sounds good..
I had the manual a few nights before i bought the unit and after reading it once or twice i understood the basic ins and outs of the unit which helped me so much ..and after buying it i found out how easy it all really is!!

I own an EPIPHONE les paul series guitar through a peavey 112 bandit which was the perfect PUNK sound that i wanted ...The noisiness ..?? i did nt notice much at all as i use low gain distortoins and if there is any noise i use the noise gate on a low setting ...but even on a high setting it doesn,t block any of the sounds i produce that my freinds new dod effects pedal does ..it always cuts out the harmonics..yes i can get the sound i want ..i have a sound nearly exactly like my fav band no use for a namewhich is a nice smooth distortion.i use the lead ,and chorus aswell which i love to fiddle with all the time.. and if it doesnt sound good through say a recorder i can turn on the amp sim which only has a bit to fiddle with but gives such a good sound..all up i love the sound!!

I use this all the time giggin but i do have back ups all the time while playing...and yeah i suppose i do depend on it allthe time so yeah its quite dependable as i play it every day and use it 1-2 times a week giggin...

It doesnt have the best customer support...i had trouble with the drive module button sticking and they told me to just go to the shop i got it from and ask them...and then to make it worse the shop said id have to send it interstate and pay $150 to fix it nearly a third of what i payed overall...i ve just learnt to live with it....overall there is no customer support.

I am a punk musician and its a great match it gives me the smooth distortions and lead that i want to hear for the low price...
i have only been playing for 3-4 years now but i played bass guitar in a ska-punk band for3 years before hand...if it was stolen i would definently buy a new one...or hunt the bastard that stole for a few years..
I love the easiness of use and how i can customise the effects to my liking my fav thing is the distortions easily kicks ass over the other pedals i own..
i wish it had a bit more stuff in the amp simulator as it doesnt have to much in it..
it doesnt exactly help me make the music but it helps me get the sound i want in the music and since their is so many effects i can use a vast array of effects in all of my songs..
i also love the look of it..this isnt what drew me to buying it but its more of an added bonus when people see it and just go f%#k how cool is that...so yeah i really love it!!!

I previously had a Zoom 9002 and so was fairly familiar with the way Zoom processors work. I still refer to the manual sometimes for certain functions but it's very easy to edit the patches once you've played around for an hour or so. Manual is good enough to explain the simple procedures required to edit and uses plenty of disgrams which can be helpful. It has a built in tuner which I find to be much better than the tuner on my Digitech RP2000. The GFX4's tuner is more stable whereas the Digitech can show a string as sharp, and then flat a couple of seconds later without touching the tuning head. The Zoom unit seems to be less sensitive to whether the note has just been attacked or is in decay which may be a negative for some people, but for me it gets me close enough as I'm not fanatical about getting tuning to within a nano-cent. The longer I take tuning, the less time I spend playing.
Unfortunately the only input is for your guitar and so it misses a CD input for backing tracks. I suppose Zoom consider this as a processor for live use and have the PS04 for practise and jamming, but it would have been a useful addition.

I use a number of guitars, namely:

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Ibanez RG770
Jackson PS4
BC Rich Neck Thru Mockingbird
Epiphone Les Paul Classic 7 string with a complete hardware overhaul and DiMarzio pickups
Hohner G3T
Vintage VJ6 (Jackson clone)

And a couple of amps:

Marshall AVT150 with AVTC112 extension cab
Peavey Bandit 112

I was pleasantly surprised by the sound quality provided by this processor. OK, so maybe half the factory presets were naff, but they gave a good basis to tweak parameters to match things up with my amps and guitars. Some of the distortion patches were great and I didn't have to make ANY alterations whatsoever to some of them (VAIDRV is great!). The built in noise gate (ZNR) helps for some of the distorted patches which may otherwise be quite noisy.
The clean effect needed a bit more work in my opinion as the clean factory patches are pretty weak, but you have to accept that these companies can't produce a processor that will sound superb with every guitar/amp combination and so tweaking is generally a must. With a little time I got the clean effects sounding great. I think that these multi effect processors have come on leaps and bounds in the past couple of years and I can get just as good sounds from this as I can from my individual stomp boxes and all in a much more compact package.

It's never failed me yet, but I don't think I'd ever gig without a backup. It does seem quite plasticky and flimsy compared to my Digitech RP2000 which is my main processor. I use the GFX4 now as a backup but only because of the quality and features of the RP2000. I would be quite happy to use the GFX4 live as it sounds good enough which is the most important thing. I also use the onboard effects of the AVT150 quite a lot (pareticularly the distortion) and just use my processors for additional effects such as harmony and delay.

Useless! When I first got it (3 months ago), I wrote an email to Zoom, basically saying that I wanted to tweak patches and I would find it incredibly useful if they could provide me with a list of the parameters for the factory presets. I've not heard from them since despite sending a second email asking if it is usual for them to simply ignore their customers. Despite the fact that I'm very happy with this unit, I doubt I'll ever buy anything from Zoom again as I like to deal with companies who stand behind their products, not sell them then forget about them.

I've been playing guitar for 20 years, play mostly rock and metal and have owned a multitude of effects from individual stomp boxes to pedal style multieffects to rack mounted units and the sound quality from this after editing to my preferences is up there with the best of them. Some of the distortion effects are at least as good as my RP2000, if not better, and although it may not be as good an overall package, it is still excellent considering it is #200 cheaper than the Digitech. I don't think that Boss multi-effects are as good as either Zoom or Digitech (I owned a GT3) particularly the distortion effects patches.
If stolen or lost I would dearly love to buy again, but like I said earlier, I won't do so unless there is a complete turnabout in Zoom's customer service.

If you are content to use the preset patches right out of the box, this thing is a snap. Pick any one of sixty presets, press the foot switch, and you're in business. However, the distortion settings are a lot more aggressive than I like. Any parameter is editable, but READ THE MANUAL several times before you go too far into the editing. The good news is that this unit is extremely versatile and every setting is changable. The bad news is that finding out how to get TO the setting to change it can be a challenge. More good news: you can't screw things up too much. There are sixty presets and sixty identical "user" patches. The presets can be edited on a one-time basis. You can't save them, though. Not to worry. If you like the editing, you can save it in the "user" location. If you really bollux things up, you can reset the whole unit to as-it-came-out-of-the-box and just call it a day.
The manual is well written, but very spare in its descriptions. As I said, be prepared to read through it several times. It will be worth the effort.
I like this unit because of its versatility. You can get everything from subtle little tweaks to rip-raging thrash-n-bash. The expression pedal can be assigned to numerous effects. There's also a not-very-well-docunmented foot switch under the toe of the expression pedal that switches you from "program" to "manual" mode on the fly. This is neat during a performance, because you can call up a preset patch that has, say, distortion, modulation and reverb. Press the expression-pedal footswitch into "manual" and you can switch on and off one or more of those effects with the "module" foot switches while you're playing.

I'm using this with a Strat, a Tele and an Ibanez AF120 jazz box. I play into a Peavey Classic 30 or my Mackie mixer/tape deck. There is a bit of noise on some of the more distorted settings. there's a "noise reduction" setting which helps a little.
Geneally I play at fairly low levels, so I'm not the guy to ask how "meaty" some of the effects are. They sound darn good to me, but I'm not really cranking the volume.
The pedal wah is not as full as the Vox wah I used to own. Otherwise the effects are convincing. Especially for the price. I got a whole lot more than I expected. I doubt I'll ever use some of the patches, but having them just gives me something more to edit around with.

Have only had the thing for about a month. Yes, I'd take it on a job without backup. but then, if it were to conk out in the field I'd just make do without.

Have not needed to contact the company.

I really like the fact that this unit comes complete with the power supply. I don't trust batteries and I resent paying 25 to 30 bucks for plug-in power. Not a problem here. There's no provision for battery power at all, which might be a problem if you're going abroad.
I play jazz and R&B. This is a good match in that I can get almost any sound I can think of. I can also get a lot of sounds outside my style, and I have to be careful to call up the patch I really want. There are some pretty unlikely neighbors in the patch bank, and if you want a smooth "fusion" vibrato, make sure you press bank pedal 3. If you step on one of the others, you might get something reminiscent of Hendrix or Grand Funk. Doesn't do much for a Cole Porter slow dance.
If this were lost or stolen, I'd probably buy another, just because I've already invested so much time learning the ins and outs of the editing process. Like so many other effects, familiarity and practice time give you the ability to really make music with the thing.

This is a follow-up of my review of 03/26/02. In that review I stated that "the pedal wah-wah is failry lame, but usuable and convenient for those of us who use wah-wah very little anyways". What a goofus I am!

I was paying more attention to what others said than trying to exercise the wah pedal effect fully for myself.

The patch called CoolWah is excellent. The pedal is very responsive and I could easily do 70's funk with it. Crank the overdrive on my amp with the GFX-4 in the effect loop set to "Coolwah" and Jimi Hendrix watch out. Excellent breadth of tone.

The more I play with the GFX-4, the more I like it. The chorus are, as I said before, excellent! So are the delays.

I don't use phaser or tremelo much in my types of music and I never did like vibrato, so those effects don't get much use from me.

As for noise, yes there is some. There are several wasy to decrease the noise:

(1) lower the master volume knob on the GFX-4. Doing so also lowers the amps overall volume, so you have to decide...

(2) incease the noise gate setting. I don't want to unnaturally cut off any notes, so I have steered clear of this for right now.

(3) run it through the front panel instead of the effects loop. Unfortunately, if you do that, then the amp's distortion doesn't sound as good when combined with clean settings on the pedla like delay+chorus. It really does sound better in the effects loop.

(4) edit the patch and lower Zoom's volume setting in the patch. This cuts down the noise while not overly affecting the overall volume when you use the master volume knob.

You may actually have to use either of the 4 methods enumerated above, depending on the effects you are combining, keeping mind mind that the compresor, phaser, and OD effects are the noisiest.

The gFX-4 is not as noisy overall the the GFX-8 and is really no more noisy than any other multi-effects pedal. So keep that in mind when shopping for your next multi-FX pedal - they all are noisy on certain settings, certian amps/guitars, etc.

I've had many of these things and I know.

Great pedal. I'd buy it again. I love the way it looks - almost as if it was designed for my Sunn T50C, but that's not why I got it. In fact, I couldn't tell what it would look like from the pix.

I bought it because I like Zoom multi-effects pedals, having graduated through most everyone they've made in the last 4 years (including the GFX-8).

They are generally easy to use, are generous with the number of effects and sound decent.