Zoom GFX-4

The built in patches are, as usual from zoom, over done and not much use. Editing the patches however couldn't be easier, its got buttons to select things and knobs to change them. You can't get much simpler than that. If you are playing live and something has gone wrong with your presets or you're too drunk to remember them, you can just flick into manual mode and use it as three individual pedals. The manual is as always from Zoom, easy to understand and well laid out.

I use mine with a Laney pro-linebacker amp and a Washburn guitar and it sounds great. The pre-amp on this unit can create a severe buzz but the rest are fine. The stereo chorus is one of the best I've heard and the distortion is well toned and balanced with every parameter editable. The amp simulator is superb.

I would depend on this unit. Although I've only had it a few months I have had no problems. The construction is solid yet lightweight, the perfect gigging equation. I would gig without backup of the main unit but it has one of those pesky AC/DC adapters which is a very flimsy thing. Why can't Zoom put the adapter inside the unit with a plug in AC cable?

I've never had to deal with them but I've heard bad bad thing about them.

I play things with a sort of indie rock grungy metal sort of sound and it really is great for making that kind of noise. The only really bad point is the lack of a bank down pedal, this can be overcome with clever bank arranging though. I've not had it long but it quickly became an essential part of my musical setup.

Well, i sat down at the guitar store and played with this baby for about an hour before I decided to buy it. By the end of the hour I was pretty well adjusted to the way this pedal works. I previously had a Zoom 505 pedal, so I am quite familiar with editing patches and such on these Zoom units. If you're new to multi fx rigs, programming it may take a while to get used to, overall its a no brainer. Manual is pretty basic, but gives you the info you need if you have the time to actually look through it (31 pages)

I've only had it for a day or two, but so far it sounds great. I play a Fender telecaster with the GFX-4 through a Fender Deluxe 112 Plus. A lot of the default distortion programs are kinda noisy, but this can be fixed by playing around with the equalizer and compression settings. The other effects, pitch, wahs, delays etc sound great. I really like the expression pedal... it can let you add a nice twist to some of your sounds

well, zoom has always been known for making things out of plastic, but the undercasing of the unit is metal, with plastic covering, the whole unit is pretty light. I wouldn't want to drop it from too high, but I'm sure it would stand up to regular use. I've had my old Zoom 505 for about 4 years and its been dropped, kicked, thrown, etc, still works great.... so I suspect that the rest of Zooms products will handle the same way

I've dealt with customer support once or twice, usually through e-mail. I had a problem with a setting on my old Zoom 505 and e-mailed them about it, I got a response within a day or two.... not too bad I guess, i'm not sure if they have a 1-800 number, but overall I was happy with the responses I got

I've been experimenting a lot lately with my music and figured it was time for a new pedal with more features than my old 505. I play all types, except for country. Been playing for about 5 years. Other gear I own: Ibanez rg7 and ax7 guitars, Zoom 505 Guitar multi fx pedal, Ibanez Soundtank Tremolo, Dunlop Original Crybaby, Electric Mistress, etc. The gfx 4 definately helps me create music.

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I find that the GFX-4 was fairly simple to use, ZNR Which actually stops unwanted noise is no good! Maybe its just my pedal, or maybe its just not that good of a feature to a truly amazing pedal! Editing the patches was very easy and I find the manual most useful, not that I or probably anyone else ever reads them properly, just get on with it!

I use the effects board with a Yamaha Pacifica and 100 watt custom amp, It is a little noisy as it lacks a proper noise gate! Some effects on the board are of poor quality, you should left them behind and stuck some more distortion ones in. The Pedal Pitch is an execelent effect I love it, I have been working on my Rage Against The Machine Guitar, I can get most of the sounds I want but my taste in music varies from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day and Metallica.

No and NO!
Simply because i have only had it a few days, I have a gig coming up next week and I am think of leaving the GFX-4 at home cause I am not fully used to it! I think the foot switches could be a little sturdier as I dont want to tap down to hard and snap it off

I haven't had any contact with the company at all!
I would consider an upgrade yes definately, I have a DOD tec 4, and its seriously out of date!

I play all styles of music, mostly punk and funk. this is amazing for making a good funk riff sound even better, there are so many effects you can add. I have been playing for 4 years and I have all sorts of guitars pedals and amps. If i lost it, God damn I would find it! if it was stolen i would buy a GFX-8, I love the look of the GFX-4 its very professional and its hard to compare to other products. I wish it had a good noise gate! I can make some seriously good music with this baby, I feel some excelent riffs coming up! I would like to say that Zoom have come up with a half decent pedal, Cheers!

Not the easiest unit to program, but ok once you get the hang of it.
Biggest drawback in usage in the inability to bank down. Serious flaw.

Warm and fuzzy. By far the best sounding unit in the price class and I have played almost ALL of them.. 2 Digitechs, DOD, Boss, Everything from a Big Muff sound that is better than the real thing, to clean chorus, to crunch. Vibrato, trembolo, chorus, reverb, delay, auto wah, overdrives and distortions and wah all sound great. Very non digital. Use with Musicman 110 RD 50 and 112 RD 50 and Strat 40th anniversery. Some noise on high gain settings, some hiss thru the amp, I run it thru an old BOSS me-6 to bring the outout down before it hits the amp as I have no effects loops. Sounds great, no loss of tone or dynamics anywhere.

Seems sturdy. Havent gigged with it yet , but will soon. No worries mate.

none needed yet.

I've played for over 20 years. Play live 4-6 times a month, originals and very working Grateful Dead/ San Fran cover band, and this is what I need to travel lite and sound great.

Very easy to use even when performing live quickly adjusted

rather good, you just have to play around fine tuning a little and you get the exact sound you`re looking for

sure

nothing really on the net yet since it`s pretty new

I love it and i`ll stick with it

Easy I'd say, once you've fiddled with it for a while to find out what everything does, you don't really need the manual.

I am using a BC Rich Mockingbird with twin humbuckers into a Peavey Studio Pro 112. The sou d is usually terrible but with this unit it sounds quite good. The reverb and delays on some patches are gorgeous. The drive sounds are much improved over the earlier zooms, some of them are really nice (eg. EVH Drive).
Some sounds are just useless though and could never actually be used in music. (at least not with my ability, but maybe other people could find something to do with them).

Hmm... haven't had it long so couldn't really say. It's lightweight but it seems really well built, but I'd never use anything without a backup, no matter how good it is.

Pathetic, hopefully they will improve on this soon but for now it is virtually non-existant.

I play a wide reange of styles from blues to metal, this unit is very versatlie. It has good preset patches and the user definable ones are eassy to get good sounds for virtually anything out of. Only thig is, not being expensive, you still get what you pay for. Value for money wise it is great, but you might be better off spending a little extra for a Digitech RP-2000 or Boss GT-3.

it's too easy to use.., have a good system to create very good effects.

mmm it's good...but the distortion it's little noisy... with the compresor turn on.

bad.. maybe cuase it's a new product.. u don't find good information online for it.

so.. i have a ibanez rg570 guitar and a create gx-212 amp.... and i like to play metal so... my instruments(amp, guitar and zoom gx4)....sounds very well together.

Idiot proof is the best way to describe it. Everything is set out in a nice logical pattern for you. I had every function under contrtol within 10mins of buying, without using the manual.

Some of the distortion patches are excellent, perfect for alternative and heavy rock, with some nice british style rock tones. I found it much harder to get smooth blues tones and what I generally came up with wasnt worth the effort compared to just setting up the amp right. Chorus and delay effects are both lush and highly usable, the best Ive heard on a unit in this price range. The amp sim is highly usable and gives good, but not great tones straight to tape.

Reliablity should be fine but some of the construction feels a bit flimsy. The pedals are a bit light weight weight for my liking and Im worried they wont take much abuse from my size 12s but I'll see.

Lack of email facilities and online support at the moment, but that should hopefully change soon knowing ZOOM so I'll give my rating as a potential.

For most of the music Im liable to play with the unit it always verges on being excellentbut never quite attains it. My personal tone preferences are clean delays, chorus's and big muff style distortions, akin to the Smashing Pumpkins and the unit gives a credible performance with my equipment (Custom Fender Strat with humbucker, Gibson Les Paul Standard and vintage Burns Vibraslim). However I do wish it was possible to combine more of the effects for sonic terrorism rather than just having access to seven banks (before amp sim asnd noise reduction). However, I compared the unit to Korgs 1000AX-G and Line-6 POD and found the unit delivering considerably better tones than the Korg and my pewrsonal favourite JCM800 style grunge tones just as well as the POD. However the unit is not as great for direct recording as the POD but then again, thats not what the unit is intended for.

Operation is dead easy. Even a kid could operate it. The manual is nothing special. It has the well-known Zoom standard and explains all the important stuff. No problem's here.

I'm using a USA Fender Strat with DiMarzio's Super Distortion and PAF humbuckers directly into the unit and to a Marshall Valvestate 265 or headphones. The sound is good. Not noisy if you are using the noise gate. The effects are all in the standard GFX-8 quality. Although I must admit that I like the Reverbs better on the GFX-4. The clean sound on the GFX-8 is better but the Distortion of the GFX-4 tops the GFX-8. It's tailored to my kind of music (Iron Maiden). But go check it out at a local dealer for yourself. I'd say, the sound quality is very good but not perfect. But than again, what IS perfect?

Yeah. It's quality-built. Very dependable. I use it without a backup.

Very poor. They don't even have e-mail. Worst support I've ever met

It's a very good unit for Rock and Heavy stuff. Definately better than the GFX-8. That's why I traded it. I don't like the fact that you can only switch banks in one direction. For live, it's a bit disturbing. This was better on the GFX-8. But overall, I'd say it's a good unit which doesn't follow the standard of trying to duplicate amp models. It's more like a distortion-modelling-processor. I say: Thumbs-up!