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Zoom G2 Multi Effects Pedal

 

Review of the Zoom G2 Multi Effects Pedal by The Man in the Jar

Features of the Zoom G2 

Construction - The Zoom G2 is still resolutely constructed from plastic but it feels a lot chunkier and more robust that some of the earlier incarnations. 

Ins and Outs - On the back-panel you'll find your guitar input jack, a single output for amp, mixer or headphones, an input for a footswitch or expression pedal, the DC 9V input (adapter not included) and the on/off switch.

Power - 4 x AA batteries, but I recommend you stretch to the optional power supply.

Controls - The first knob on the top is the module selector which sets the unit to play or edit mode. In the edit mode you can step through the effects modules to edit Compression, Drive, Delay, Reverb and a whole host more. Next are the three parameter knobs that control different things depending on what is set on the module selector. Different functions across the three knobs include Gain Tone and Level; Bass, Mid and Treble; Depth Rate and Resonance; and for the drum machine, Pattern, Tempo and Mix.

Next is a series of push-buttons. The first two move you up and down through the banks of saved sounds. In edit mode this pages you through the effects on the selected module. The store button saves your edits to memory. On the other side of the unit we find the Rhythm button that starts and stops the drum machine and the tap button to manually set the tempo by tapping your finger (especially useful for noting the beats-per-minute of a song you want to cover from a CD).

The footswitch on the left pages down through the saved sound patches in a bank, the footswitch on the right pages up. Pressing both switches together puts the unit into bypass and activates the tuner. The face of the unit is finished of with a large round porthole display.      

 

Sound of the Zoom G2

The manual has a nice step-by-step guide to operating the various functions. I started as most people will by paging through the presets. This is always fun to do as Zoom don't group them in any logical order. So patch A5 is a heavily processed Fuzz and A6 is a dreamy phased funk. Along the way you'll come across some real gems - A6 is a lovely jazzy "Sultans" tone that makes it a joy to explore the five-way selector on my Fat-Strat, then B0 is a saturated thrash metal tone that had me punching off the my coil-tap and chugging out some power-chords near the bridge.

And so it goes. Some sounds are inexplicable (D9) and some are sublime (D7). Such is the Jamboree bag of the Zoom Multi-Effect. One of my favourite surprises was the acoustic guitar emulator at C9, another was the jet phase at D3 (try the Paranoid riff with this one). And don't forget all of these settings can be tweaked on the fly.

In reality the preset patches are simply serially linked combinations of effect modules with differing parameters. The Zoom has a bewildering array of options including modelled stomp-boxes and classic amp sounds. The manual is a little thin in this area, but the controls are simple enough, once you get used to them, to allow your progressive discovery of the possibilities. And there's a special feature that delivers your live sound optimised for modern recording techniques.

The tuner is a nice easy to use feature. The display is essentially two figure-of-eights, parts of which light up to form characters. When the tuner is activated (in bypass mode), simply play a single string and the left part of the display shows the closest note, E for example. If the note is flat the lower half of the right figure of eight will light in a spinning pattern. If your note is sharp, the upper half will spin. Tune in the required direction and the rate of spin will slow. Hit the note exactly and the whole figure-of-eight lights up and stays steady. If you're tuning to a non-standard note, Ab for example, then a dot will appear next to the A in the display to signify you are approaching Ab. Then simply nail it to the figure-of-eight as you would a natural note.

Another extremely useful feature is the drum machine. This has a selection of 40 drum patterns. These range from simple 8 and 16 beat patterns to Rock and Thrash, through Funk and Pop to Dance (yawn), on to Latin, Blues and Jazz with some weird 6/8 and 5/4 beats thrown in along the way. The Tempo can be altered using the second parameter knob. The beats-per-minute are displayed in a strange code in the porthole panel, but the manual is clear about this and once you know the secret it's easy to decipher. Vitally the mix of the beat track can be blended against the level of the guitar sound. I'll admit these aren't the greatest drum sample sounds in the world, but through headphones there's a satisfying furry depth to the bass drum. This is just the kind of thing to tighten up and enliven solitary guitar rehearsal.        

 

Overall Impressions of the Zoom G2

I hardly touched the surface of the Zoom's sonic capabilities in this short review. Digital boxes are becoming so versatile that I suspect only a small number of users discover all there is to know about them. But I've now got leisure time to explore the Zoom G2 more fully because I actually bought one for myself. The usefulness of the unit when weighed against the price makes it almost impossible not to own one. The inline drum machine is an absolute boon for small-scale rehearsals without the rhythm section being present, and knowing the beats-per-minute of your songs means that solitary rehearsal has solid integrity. You must rehearse at consistent tempo, a solo learnt at too high a tempo will lose all its phrasing when the drummer forces you to slow down. The Zoom G2 also represents an attractive option when travelling on business or on holiday - an axe, headphone, the G2 and a couple of short leads and the hotel room becomes your rehearsal room.

Buy one, 'cos I did.

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