Zoom G multi FXs...some Q's

siraxeman

G2.1u vs G2.1nu...what is the difference ie in the nu. Is it just n ?

G7.1ut...watched one of these go for a song on ebay the other day...£57!! The G2.1s are going for more than that often!

I believe there is also a G9 or summit....do all of these share the same amp modelling? My reason for suddenly being interested in these were watching some guy on youtube playing his Strat Plus thru on of these and was sounding great...always passed on the Zooms in the past years back when I started getting into multi FX boxes and went down the Boss GT road the older zooms were plastic (but still sounded good)...I believe they're now metal these dayseses. Advise me on teh zoom G's!!

Alnico

I'm buying a G3 tomorrow.

Sitting on a small pedalboard next to a Boss TU3, a Wah and a spark booster it will keep the board compact.

At home i can simply plug headphones into the G3 at the end of my board and set it up to model my amp with a reverb and more spare effect slots so it makes an amazing practice tool with the inclusion of a drum machine. It's also a DAW so i can use the included recording software on my latop to record. It also allows full editing on the laptop of effects and even patches so i can pre set patches using a very good graphical drag and drop interface.

At a gig i can quickly alter the settings before i go to switch to just the stompboxes i want and simply plug it into my amp and its a quiet, easy to use bank of effects and at some point i will be able to hook up an expression pedal to take the effects use a little further. I won't use the amp modelling live so it's just a very useful array of effects to add to my sound as and when i need them but because they are all built into a very noise free unit, there's no issues with certain effects not playing nicely with each other and my entire board will use 3 patch leads. It also has stereo output and an XLR to go straight to a PA.

It's £107 brand new and runs off an included PSU.

I honestly can't think of much better than this. I went looking for a headphone amp and when i realised this would integrate into my set up like this, i stopped looking. I havn't owned a multi FX since the HD300 in 2011 which i didn't get on with but this is something i'm looking forward to and i can't see any reason why it won't work very well with my needs for a basic, easy to use set up.

thecolourbox

I always struggled to keep up with the older Zoom units, when stuff gets to like G2.n16.89%#nsl62 it loses me.

But as the fellow above says, the G3 is a good unit and would encourage me to try other Zoom stiff definitely. I know on the G3 the Bassman and Vibro amp models are amongst my favourites of any unit I've used. If you set any of these up well from scratch rather than tweaking the presets, you can make them sound very good indeed

boogieman

I had a G9.2 tt. The delays and mods were ok but the distortions were a bit naff sounding tbh. The other thing I didn't like was the expression pedals have quite short travel. Made the wah patches quite difficult to control.

Alnico

Update.

Got the G3 and it's REALLY good.

Still in the intial mucking about, getting used to it stage but it's really well made and the sounds are very good quality to my ears.

I only realised today that it has (Among many other effects) a 'Slicer' effect. This is proving to be lots of fun and hopefully will be of some actual use.

I bought some new headphones with it and the headphone sound for practicing is very good quality indeed.

It comes with recording software so once i've got to grips with that (I have never recorded anything in my life) i will attempt a recorded demo.

EdGrip

I got a used G3. It's great for practicing and experimenting (I use rechargeable AA's - one less cable to faff with) and the drum machine is very handy in this context. It's just a really good thing - probably the best pound-to-goodness gear purchase I've made. 

EdGrip

I use mine with DT150 headphones, which are a similarly just-really-good-things-to-have type item.

Chuffola

Yep,the G3 is great but even better value, depending on your requirements, is the G1ON

Looks shite, made of plastic but is a cut down G3 - less amp models, distortions, delays etc. 

But the one's on there are the good uns!  I got it primarily for a bit of additional modulation / delay for use with my THR10, as well as the handy looper & drum machine.

£49 new. Unbelievable value.  The Rotary simulator alone is worth it.

english_bob

OP: The ones you're seeing at silly low prices on eBay at the moment are the previous generation of Zoom pedals- they're decent, but some aspects of the newer ones (G3 and G5) are much better, including the amp simulations, deeper editing options and the UI, IMO.

The G3 is fantastic value, but it's worth noting that the pitch shifting functions are not nearly as good as most of the other effects- poor note tracking and horrible tone. The tuner wasn't much cop either. Everything else was good enough that I managed to gig for the better part of a year with my band using just the G3 and a Polytune.

Eventually I switched to some analogue drive pedals and my Delaylab because I thought the Delaylab might give me some extra delay sounds but there isn't a lot it can do that the G3 can't. Overall tone is probably a bit better with separate pedals, but at the cost of a whole bunch of features on the G3. Horses for courses, YMMV etc.

Voxman

The G3 seems to have had lots of good feedback.  I understand that patch changing is fast,it has a 40 sec looper (20 secs in undo mode) and connectivity options are also good - plus it can even run on batteries in an emergency which could be handy if anything happened to the power-adapter.  Haven't tried one yet, but am thinking of getting the G3X (with the expression treadle and latest v2.0 firmware) so a few questions if I may re build quality and functionality from a gigging perspective:

1. I believe the G3 has a metal case, and the foot-switches are reportedly decent - would you guys class its build as 'gigworthy'?
2. Fast, easy switching on stage via a single button press is a must for me - the G5 (that I have tried) was a nightmare when switching between presets and stomp mode.  I've had a look at the manual and watched some vids but I'm still unclear here; is the G3 similarly cumbersome or does it allow fast changes between patches and stomp mode?  Logically it should do because its laid out as 3 stomp pedals, but I'd appreciate any clarification you can give me.
3. I know that to move along screens to tweak the next three stomp effects you have to scroll by bending down & pressing a button or holding two footswitches down simultaneously (awkward).  Its not a deal breaker but can this be done by connecting external switches e.g I have a couple of latching switches - could these be used to control certain functions more easily in the G3X?  

If there are any other gigging bug bears you've found, or if there's other good gigging features to emphasise, please do let me know your thoughts. 

Finally, Andertons are selling the Zoom G3X at £129 and the Pod HD300 at £149.  For those with experience of both which do you think is better from a) tone/amp modelling and build quality perspective and b) gigability and ease of use on stage?

english_bob

@voxman: I'd say the case is gig worthy. Of course, if you really put the effort in you could break something, but the jack sockets and footswitches seem sturdy and everything else is at least recessed.

Patch switching is a little cumbersome if you use the G3 like a regular MFX, switching between patches with multiple effects. It's better suited to use as a sort of "virtual pedalboard" like the M9/M13. The problem with that is that with the v2 firmware each patch has up to 6 effects but the unit can only show three at a time, meaning you can only control three at a time without scrolling through the screens. v2 lets you do this with the footswitches, or mods exist to allow you to use an external footswitch (with unlatched switches).

Other than that I found gigging and rehearsal with the G3 pretty painless. It does a ton of stuff but it's very intuitive and very simple to learn.

Voxman

Thanks EB appreciate that. Just found a very good pedal review site and neither the HD300 nor the Zoom G3X come out well on the gigging functionality. Best one from that perspective seems to be the Boss GT100 and I really like that each patch has a channel A/B switch just as in the Vox TLSE. Downsides are a basic looper and no usb backup/storage option, and its a fair size, but other than that the gigability and sound quality scores highly. I can't commit funds at the GT100 level at the moment but once I'm back in the land of employment I'll definitely check it out. In the meantime looks like I'm sticking with the Vox TLLE.

Bidley

I gigged my G3 for a few months and it put up with all kinds of abuse.

Voxman

Bidley said:

I gigged my G3 for a few months and it put up with all kinds of abuse.

I'm confident its construction is rugged enough, but its the gigging functionality and ease of use that I don't think fits what I need.

bluechargeboy

I would say if you want to go up and down the patches (e.g. patch per song) it is decent but if you want to tinker with six effects within a patch then it is not giggable in that sense. You would be wanting one with six buttons for that.

p90fool

I've been gigging heavily with my G3 for over two years, it's solid, and obviously has "gigging functionality" for me.

It's a pedal. It does the pedal thing well, but if you want it to give you an entire new rig four times in every song like some 90s Prince wannabe you'll need to look elsewhere and spend a fair bit more.

I'm currently using it as an effects box, but used it direct to desk as an amp modeller for 18 months, which it's surprisingly good at. As is usual with these things you need to set up your patches alongside a favourite amp so you can constantly A/B it, but it sounds good at high volume and feels right, even for someone who favours a simple sound and uses the guitar controls a lot.

It's one of those rare "just right" bits of kit for me, which I would definitely buy again.

monquixote

The G3 is good and giggable but does not have patch switching.

Gt-100 is the king of giggable for me.

I'd part with mine if you were interested

bluechargeboy

I use mine live as a DI box and FX unit for acoustic guitar. I have it set up on one patch with three effects to choose from (compressor, modulated delay, EQ), plus wah if I want to be silly. It works very well for this application.

The only downside from a DI point of view is the lack of a pad switch, although the global volume control control helps in this regard.

Also it runs off batteries if there is no mains handy, which can be useful.

Voxman

I guess I'm just used to my Tonelab LE because its so easy to use live and instantly go in and out of stomp box mode in any patch. Patches are quick and easy to scroll through, and it has a clear lit LCD screen. Its not perfect because I can only use one pedal section effect at a time and it would be nice to have modern amp modelling. But tones are still good and I can run an external Vox 847 wah outside.

Nomad

I went out and bought a G3X today after reading this thread. My interest (home use) is mainly the amp models and EQ options, with a bunch of modulation toys on the side (wanted the foot pedal to tweak modulation parameters on the fly). Just been playing with it through headphones, and it sounds pretty good - I like the Bassman and one of the Marshalls for crunchy amp sounds. I'll hook it up to the stereo setup in a little while and see what it's like through that. 

UnclePsychosis

I've got a B3 that I love and a G3X in the post! Looking forward to playing with the guitar amp models. I'll be using it mainly at home and I know from the B3 that it'll be perfect for that.