so many things . . . can be confusing sometimes . . .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
INTRODUCTION ********************** I must apologize to the non musicians right here right now. I am about to describe a unit used to change your guitar sound. Most of it will sound like mumbo-jumbo to you… I know that a good review should be understood by anybody who reads it, but it would be like trying to explain quantum physics to a brain-dead oyster. No offence here, it is just if someone tried to explain me car mechanics, they would have a really tough time. As Ciao is a consumer reviews website, I aimed this review at guitarists, as they are the most likely to purchase this unit. If you are into collecting stamps, this review would not help you in anyway. So that is why I should save you the suffering… But then, if you want to go through all that, be my guest!
BACKGROUND ********************* I have been playing guitar for 11 years, but have never been too good at programming multi effects and amps. I also never liked the idea of individual effect pedals. I used for many years a boss ME-30 (which I reviewed), but last year decided to upgrade it to a Zoom GFX-5. I kept the Zoom GFX5 for about 6 months, and then upgraded to the G9. I just fell in love with the unit. First, (I know it is lame) it looks really cool. Then I read many reviews about it on various websites, and the specs looked really good, and also it sounded like it was really easy to get a nice sound. With my years of struggle to get a sound I like, I felt really attracted to this unit. They also upgraded the processor in there, making it clearer, faster, better. I tried the G7 (model below the G9, but same specs, just a few effect less), and purely felt in love with it. I just played with it using stereo headphones, and playing with the factory presets. (which most of the time sound like crap), and this purely stunned me. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The sound was so pure, clean, precise… And that was just the factory presets!!! It was love just after the foreplay. I HAD TO get the G9. So I did… Sold my GFX 5, and bought the product of my dreams.
WHAT DO YOU GET? ************************** - The unit: It looks really cool, kind of retro, but futuristic at the same time. Think the New Beetle of guitar effects. It is also very heavy (about 5kg) due to the metal casing. That means STRONG. You get 2 expression pedals (completely tweakable, but I'll get back to that), with one having the new Z pedal: a vertical action AND horizontal action. You get the main knobs you'd find on the front of an amp, and 2 sets of tubes (pre and post effects). - Main power supply (that is new for Zoom to do that) - Programs: You also get the program Cubase LE, but surprisingly no USB cable. - Manuals, and quick guide (with details of the amp simulations)
THE SOUND ******************* Well. That is where it shines. This unit is HIGHLY tweakable. You can change almost everything. Every effect is tweakable to the extreme. So you can get the sound you are looking for with a bit of work. The amplifier simulations are very good, and sound very real. This is difficult to explain, because sound is very subjective; although, you can hear sound samples on the zoom website: http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/g92tt/index.php I personally managed to get decent sounds without struggling too much (that's new for me). This unit has a 6 band equalizer, so you really can fine tune your sound. Each patch has 2 channels, allowing you to have a clean / dirty channel without using 2 slots… that simulates the 2 channels you would get on a real amplifier.
I'll include the part about the noisegate in the "sound" bit: Basically this unit is very silent. There are 3 types of noisegates, that are tweakable. You can have a maximum of distortion, a flanger on, and your hands away from your strings, and still you will hear no noise coming out of the amp.
OPERATING THE UNIT **************************** I was used to older Zoom / Boss units, and this took very little reading to understand how things were organised. It is very intuitive, and finding what you are looking for is not demanding. Once you'll get used to the unit, you will browse through options, menus without trouble. The LSD screen is good, and can be read clearly when standing up. Switching patches has never been faster. You press, you new sound is already there. On previous units (GFX-5 included) there was a lag between 2 patches of about 0.5seconds, so when playing you had to press slightly in advance to get the new sound. That is no more, the new processor allows the fast switching. It is instant (7ms). That is great, you can focus on your playing. Once more, programming, tweaking and saving sounds is very easy and straight forward. You have 100 slots to save 100 sounds.
EFFECTS / MODULATION ******************************* I do not know exactly what all the effects are about as I do not use all of them; furthermore the G9 has LOADS of different effects that are tweakable to the extreme; this machine has no limits.
- Preamp module: This is basically the amplifier / stomp simulator part. You can choose between about 10 different amps and 10 stomp box pedals. - ZNR module: that is the noisegate module. - Compressor module: For various compression options - Wha / FX1 module: Auto Wah, Tremolo, Ring Modulator, Crybaby Wah, Octave, Auto , Resonance, Phaser, Slow Attack, Multi Wah, Booster, Fixed Phaser, Vox Wah, Pedal Resonance. This one is mainly for the wha wha effects. All these can be assigned and controlled by the expression pedal 1 (on the left of the unit) - EQ module: this is the equalizer part. This is a 6 band equalizer, so you get a maximum control on your tone. Each setting (bass / treble / medium…) has its own knob, which gives an amplifier feel to it. - FX2 module: Chorus, Modulation Delay, Pedal Pitch, Delay, Dynamic, Flanger, Pedal Mono Pitch, Bend Chorus, Stereo Chorus, Flanger, Vibrato, Tape Echo, Mono Pitch, Cry, Comb Filter, Chorus Ensemble, Pitch Shifter Step, Dynamic Delay, Harmonized Pitch, Reverse Delay, Air.All these effects can be assigned / controlled by the expression pedal 2 (on the right of the unit) - Delay module: where various types of delays (echo) can be assigned to your sound - Reverb module: various types of reverberations. - With this unit, you get what Zoom calls the "Z-Pedal", which is a special feature of the right expression pedal. You can press down on the pedal, but also slide it to the side, so you can manage 2 effects at the same time on the same pedal. You can make an interesting mix of effects, which adds an extra originality to this unit. There are a few effects preset in the unit ready to use: Z-Delay, Z-MonoPitch, Z-Step, X-Flanger, X-Vibe, Z-Dimension, Z-Oscillator, Z-Talking, X-Phaser, X-Wah, Z-Echo, Z-Pitch, Z-Tornado, X-Step.
I cannot explain the characteristics of each effect, as it would take very long, and as they are fully tweakable, the limits are virtually endless… I am sure most of you wouldn't want to read an endless review… So the best thing I suggest is to go on the Zoom's website and listen to the sound samplers of the G9 (link mentioned above).
I forgot to mention that there is a loop connector, so you can insert your personal effects (extra stomp boxes or whatever you have) to the mix… Send/return level as well as on/off status are stored as part of the patch. There is also a chromatic tuner, which is very good, and very accurate. Very easy to use.
On the overall, the effects quality is pretty good. this is how I feel, but some people will always complain about the Zoom sounds. They definitely improved on their distortions. All the modulation effects (chorus, flanger) sound great, even the wha wha are good in my opinion (it can be the weak points on the multi effects)... Again, that is subjective...
THE GEEK'S PARADISE: SPECIFICATIONS *************************************************** ● ;Effect Types : 120 ●Effect Modules : 10 ●Maximum Simultaneous Effects : 10 ●Patch Memory : User 100+Preset 100, Total 200 ●Sampling Frequency : 96kHz ●A/D Conversion : 24bit, 64times over-sampling ●D/A Conversion : 24bit, 128times over-sampling ●Signal Processing : 32bit ●Frequency Response : 20Hz-40kHz+1.0dB, -3.0dB(10kΩload)●Guitar Input : 1/4" phone jack(Rated input level : -10dBm, Input impedance : 1MΩ)●AUX Input : 1/8" stereo phone jack(Rated input level : -10dBm, Input impedance : 10kΩ)●External Return : 1/4" phone jack(Rated input level : -10dBm / +4dBm)●Line Output(L/MONO, R) : 2 x 1/4" phone jack(Rated output level : -10dBm / +4dBm, Maximum output level : +19dBm, Output load impedance : 10kΩ or more, Output Impedance : 1kΩ or less) ●Headphone Output : 1/4" stereo phone jack(Rated output : 60mW / 32Ω load, 20mW / 300Ω load, Output impedance : 47kΩ)●External Send : 1/4" phone jack(Rated output level : -10dBm / +4dBm)●Tube Circuitry : 2 x 12AX7 ●MIDI : IN/OUT ●USB Interface : 16bit, 32kHz / 44.1kHz/48kHz ●Display : 2digit 7segment LED, backlit LCD ●Power Requirements : 15V AC, 1.5A ●Dimensions : 595(W)x 235(D)x 85(H)mm ●Weight : 5.5kg ●Supplied Accessory : AC adaptor(AD-0012) · 0dBm=0.775Vrms THE COMPUTER BIT Ok, this unit comes with programs that can store your patches on a PC or Mac, and also record your compositions. I haven't used this feature at all as I have a recorder to record my stuff. Therefore I cannot really comment on that bit. MANUAL The manual is thorough, but not fantastic. It is a pain to read through everything, but everything is in there. You also have some quick guides explaining the type of amps etc just for the pre amp module.
CUSTOMER SERVICES ***************************** I asked a few questions over the net, I got my answers, but within 72h; so not the fastest, but then I do not know what they are like when it comes to repairs etc etc (and I hope I won't have to either).
PRICE *********** I bought it about a year ago for £230, but I saw it dropped down to about £180 (April 2007)... At this price, I find it to be a pure bargain, as it plays in the leage of its more expensive competitors.
MY OPINION ****************** I love this unit. I purely love it. I play in a band, but as a bassist; I therefore doesn't get to use it on stage, but I purchased the bass version of the new Zoom effects, and I use it on stage. I always get a good sound, and I am waiting at the moment for Zoom to release the bass equivalent to the Zoom G9. I would definitely use it on stage if I was to play guitar as the sounds are really good. However, I believe that the Zoom G7.1U would have been sufficient for me, as I am not using the G9 to its full potential (far from it). The Z-pedal is a fun addition, but I didn't find a use to it just yet. Me, who is crap at finding nice sounds for myself, I have actually managed to get really nice sounds… Sounds I do not get bored of over time… I played with the acoustic simulator to get nice clean sounds… I got nice overdriven sounds, and now I need to focus on the heavy distorted sounds, that I still haven't found… I find it exciting to work on this unit. You can spend hours tweaking to get THE sound, but then, when you want a break you go all crazy on the weird funny effects…
I definitely recommend this unit, but I would recommend you to try it before you buy, as like almost everything, some people do not like the feel, the sound…
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