As a now-proud owner of the Zoom G11, watching this review again, Lee and Rob made a *big rookie mistake* ...leaving the mics turned 'off' on the cabs in their custom patches. Admittedly a weird design decision on Zoom's part, all the cabs load into slots with the mic 'off' by default - which leads to an overly bright, fizzy tone, until switched 'on'. I suspect had Lee and co. spent a little more time learning the unit properly, they would have been much more impressed. As a former owner of an HX Stomp, POD Go, and Hotone Ampero, I can say that the Zoom G11 punches *well above its weight* in terms of tone, feel, functionality and ease of use. It's probably the most misunderstood MFX unit on the market right now, largely due to its polarizing appearance and asking price. Does it have the 'most' of anything on the market? No. Can you assign any footswitch to any function, or have channels nested within scenes with 500 parallel signal chains? No. Can you quickly dial in high-quality, usable tones for gigging, recording or teaching without cracking open the manual? Absolutely. Before getting my G11, I took exhaustive looks at the Boss GT-1000, Helix LT and even the Fractal FM-3. Personally, I'm glad I saved a bit of $$ and went with the underdog. This thing rules!
Well stated @JazzzRockFusion! I own the G5n and have been extremely pleased with it now for over 4 years. I appreciate your view with your experience with the other effects pedals you've owned. Rock on!
As soon as I hooked mine up, and chose an overdriven patch...the near silence was deafening! I'm keeping my Helix Stomp, but this baby is center stage now.
Presets are exaggerated on multi-effects so you can hear them and how much they can do when your in a guitar store and 20 kids are playing smoke on the water and wonderwall over and over. I love multi-effects pedals. The trick of it is, you just have to do your own presets and ignore theirs.
When I got my ZOOM 505 the first thing I did was adjust all the settings until my ears were happy. It wasn't perfect. But close enough. Especially for the money. And especially back then! It was good enough for practicing But these days digital effects have come such a long way. I've been messing around with analog pedals but I just prefer an effects unit now. Especially because I'm very deaf now. So I just want something that does it all and I can plug my Bluetooth streamer in without issues or background hum. Stream it straight to my hearing implant so I can hear it like it's coming straight from my brain. Almost literally. I hear it in the middle of my head. But that's why I need to go digital. So I can get rid of all the 'white noise' and get as clean a signal as possible I'm still searching for the perfect solution... These things weren't made to stream to hearing implants unfortunately. There's latency and all kinds of issues. But I see the potential
@@LilSirAxolotl sorry about your hearing issues. That has to suck. I hope you find the piece of kit that works for you. At least you dont have to do the Beethoven thing and jump feel the vibrations. 🍻
@@misterknightowlandco Very true 😊 like Beethoven had to press his head against a piano to hear it? Glad I don't have that problem! But the upside is I can stream a signal and literally hear it in the middle of my head. That's why I want to clean it up. So I can play background tracks and just solo over them all night long. Just looking to get rid of the humming noise... I'll get there God willing!
@@misterknightowlandco Come to think of it for me it's actually crazy remembering hearing stereo audio for the first time when I was 13. But now my ears became so bad music will hardly register as it should. Now I have a hearing implant which has opened up my world again. But it's only in mono I like to listen to G-Funk for instance. Lots of right to left to middle panning going on there. I know. But to me it's all mono. Everything is just one track and if it's not mixed right... It doesn't sit right I get it though... A producer comes from the middle with the vocal track. Volume wise. And then everything else 'dances' around that in stereo. So there's so much nuance dynamically. But all I hear is one track and individual instruments being higher or lower in volume than the other Must be nice to have two good ears 😊 and the ability to appreciate it though... I'm already happy I can hear in the first place
What a really like about these guys is that even though they sell the thing, they don't simply praise it. Funny times when 'independent' reviewers clearly get paid to praise a shitty product whereas the people who actually sell the thing offer us clear and honest opinions about it.
I think the idea is to sell you products.... but they don't care if you buy this one in particular or a different one. They want you to trust Andertons as a business.
Ugh, the multieffects guys should really just make the first 10 - 20 presets without any big effects, just let us hear some freaking meat and potatoes before you drown it in 28 different sauces.
Problem is that meat and potatoes are undercooked and not great here. Drowning them in a bunch of fancy sauces is exactly how they disguise the lower quality fundamentals. I feel bad for Zoom, but they are simply just behind when it comes to this stuff. They have their market for cheaper, beginner-level products and that's great, but they need a lot more work to break into the midrange/semiprofessional level stuff.
@Andertons Music Co It's brave from you Captain when having to sell these units but you're not fully convinced of the quality of the presets and saying it publicly. Because you care about your customers and this community I think your opinion is fair and acceptable. And hopefully Zoom accepts it as constructive criticism, stay positive and take the challenge of improving the unit in term of sounds, because it already has good components in both the interface and connectivity options. Cheers...
Zoom is so famous as multieffects unit, that in my country lot of musicians refers to any multieffect unit as Zoom. Like, have seen that new Zoom from Line6? ... etc ... But hearing them from 90ties to this day, I dont think they changed much sound-wise.
Using my G2.1U to this day. Thought it absolutely sucked at first until tweaking around, setting up the amp and guitar correctly and learning to play properly!
expecting the presets to work perfectly for you is like expecting to never have to turn a knob on a real amp. A multi-effects, multi-amp pedals take just as much knowledge, or more, to set up then a real amp. I swear it just really gets me when people say oh such and such sucks because it didn't come with good presets. I always say well did your tube amp come set exactly the way you want it? Or do you use the same sound on your tube amp for everything? If people can sit and tweak for hours on a tube amp and use pedals and everything else, why can't they take two seconds to learn how to actually use a digital amp? I don't know why but it seems to me people think just because something cost them an arm and a leg it automatically sounds great and some cheap multi effects couldn't possibly sound as good. Most of the time they are correct but there are a lot of digital amps that I think sound awesome. All it takes is actually not just dismissing the product off hand without ever taking more then 2 seconds to say that sucks lets move on. This zoom isn't the best I have heard but I bet you that with one day of learning to use it, you could get all the sounds you would ever really need out of it.
I agree. Considering these are full rigs - pedals, amps, speakers etc. - you wouldn't buy all of those individual things, plug them in and never adjust them. Presets should be a starting point. Another analogy is you wouldn't pick up a guitar in a store and expect the action to be perfect for you.
Pre-sets are to fx as tutorials are to video games. Quick run through and never touched again. That said, Lee is spot on, why not make the first ten pre-sets killer.
Having had a Zoom G3 I can already see that a lot of those presets were on the G3, very probably on the G5 and defo were on the G7. Zoom usually do one GREAT amp model and then there bread and butter are the time based effects. Delays and reverbs are usually stellar
I recently got my hands on one of these yesterday and at first I thought this review was pretty spot on. However, there has been a firmware patch up to1.30 and a lot more of everything was added, which makes a big difference. The first few patches are like wtf is this, as most outta da box presets are, but down later in the alphabet they do get better, if looking for a preset that is anyway. There is a bit of a learning curve to get all the features anyone would want out of it. I will over time add some of my patches to the Guitar Lab library for other people to try as well. Currently playing an 8 string through it using the DarkGlassPre sim on the drive through an 8x10 cab sim, POLLOX amp model with a wave shaper distortion, tri chorus, a gate at the front end, and then a ZNR on the other side of the chain, with a ping pong delay at the end. All of those can be toggled via footswitch. Sounds good so far. I look forward to drafting up some other patches as I mess around with it more.
My favorite aspect is overdriven patches that almost completely eliminate the horrible noise that you get from say a Helix, or something more organic like a Victory pre. It makes recording searing leads a lot easier.
really honest review. I love it! (I'm sort of looking forward to the 'We just didn't understand the product like the Mesa Boogie Cab Clone' video after this)
New video thanks captain and chappers. That’s my commute to work entertainment sorted. And I’ve just bought a fender Strat from you and the service was faultless.
I remember my Zoom 1010 when I was 15 years old, it was the most amazing thing ever to me. I played and played for hours every day because of it. I gave it away to a guitar student I was teaching a few years ago, hopefully it provided as much fun.
I still have a G7.1ut and it’s my go to travel unit if I need an everything in one box. It takes a crapload of time tweaking until you find it’s tone sweet spot, but once you do, you save it, and you move on and use it for what it is. It’s a rock solid unit that you can use for live performances when you want all your tones and presets ready to go. It’s absolutely never going to be useful for tweaking. That being said, Zoom’s MuTron style envelope filter is excellent. Ridiculously well voiced
More demos of stuff with Danish Pete and the Capt. Their playing styles mesh so well. Pete and Cap have a nice vibe to there video, not obnoxious or juvenile.
I also have the G3Xn. I'm thinking about adding a G5n and sending the G3Xn's output into the G5n. Together they give "more" than a G11, at a fraction of the cost. Just my opinion. 😎👍
I get Rob's reaction to playing with the Helix for 6 months to replicate their sound, but guitar players spend years trading amps in and out trying to find their sound. I don't think it's very unreasonable.
Its psychological. You'll find person, to that will tweak, change order, set, try, forget, change after 5 minutes 20 pedals in front/FX loop of amp for years, yet be unable to tweak multi fx for 5 minutes.
Pro: It looks like an oversized Zoom G3XN Con: It sounds like an oversized Zoom G3XN Seriously, if you don't need the I/O and interface, a $150 Chinese MFX unit like the NUX MG-300 will run circles around this. Note, I actually like the G3XN for what it is, but I only paid $150 for it, 4 years ago, and recently upgraded to an Axe-Fx FM3. This G11 is overpriced and underwhelming. I think Zoom missed the mark trying to compete with the big boys on price and features when the sound quality just isn't there. They should have trimmed some features and gone up against the Boss GT-100 at around $500, instead, or put more into R&D to justify the price.
My experience with zoom is you really have to fuss around with settings and effects out of the box to make some decent presets. After that mine sounded great
You guys reviewed it by really using it in front of our eyes. This thing was by far reviewing itself too, pluses and minuses, but you guys seemed to have so much fun playing it through anyway. Like you both! 😃
I noticed at 15:12 you have the speaker/ cab sim set with mic to off. Did you try with it on. I've used the older G5n and this is a problem I had when I started. So many had the mic setting switched to off but I now don't use the cab on that and use IR's through a Daw and get a great sound.
In the early to mid 80's, I had a Marshall double stack, Kramer guitars (with Seymour Duncan's Invader pickups) and a huge collection of pedals. Had a couple of good tones, perfect for playing Rhoads and Van Halen. Then I bought my first multi-effects in 1986, an original Rockman. Used it only for practice. In 1988, I started playing in a pop band, I bought a Boss ME-5 and created all my presets. It was amazingly versatile and I was able to switch easily between such great guitar tones as of The Edge, Andy Summers, Mike Rutherford, etc.
For me, the problem with these is basically always the uninspiring overdrive sounds. Not a single overdrive I heard in this demo that I would use for anything, except maybe to record a quick demo to avoid forgetting a riff I'd come up with. But then again, the voice recorder on my smartphone can serve that function equally well. Zoom make great affordable recording devices, but they need to step up their game when it comes to these things.
How much interfacing do we have to do. If we practice as much as we interfaced we would be better players. But to be honest I'm not even sure what interface means.
@@guitarocd9984 Call me crazy, but if you're so worried about people wasting time with these products instead of practicing, then surely watching videos about them and getting into arguments with strangers in the comments is an even worse waster of time lol
Over the years I’ve owned a couple of multi FX units. Nothing this fancy, but one of them actually was a little tiny zoom multi effect. And yeah, the presets are always awful. First of all they always feel the need to throw in these really weird sounding presets with heavy tremolo or tons of flanger. Stuff you would never use even if it sounded halfway decent. Which it doesn’t. They also always throw in some Ambient clean tone with tons of reverb that may sound good but it’s still something you’ll almost never really use. I simply don’t understand why the first three presets on any Multi effects pedal aren’t a nice clean, a nice crunch, and a nice lead tone. In fact many times, not only are those not the first couple presets, but they often don’t have them at all! While it’s not exactly a multi effects pedal, I remember when I had a fender mustang amp and it did not come with a preset clean tone! Smh.
Take Flight! You use them as heavily as they are featured in those weird sounding presets? I have a feeling you don’t. But if you do, more power to you, brother! Doesn’t change the fact that for the rest of the 90% of us, those presets are unusable trash. And they still are an odd choice to feature so prominently on a multi effect that you’re trying to sell to a general audience.
Back in the day when I work in a music shop 90s the model we sold bucket loads of was the Zoom 2020 which was a great budget effects until probably around the same time when the original Pod came out. Zoom have always done well with the lower prices range multi fx. I still have the Zoom MS50 on my pedalboard and find it a really useful tool. I totally agree that most units fall at the last hurdle with chappy preset and as Rob pointed out, it depends on what guitar and amp etc that the original programmer was using at the time.
If the G11 was just like $400, $450 at most I could justify it. But at triple the price of my G5n I just can't. Maybe I'll find that dream Ebay auction one day.
I love the zoom multi effects boards i got the zoom g9.2tt and the zoom g5 and they are awesome keep up with the fantastic videos guys i love watching your reviews
Can you change the presets while playing with a Looper? I have the Zoom G3Xn where you have the looper integrated in the Patch. So you can't change presets because you would also change away from the looper -.-
Totally agree with Lee. I still use a 9002 from 1990 and it has the silly presets up front. You have to dig to find a basis to use and then customize to get anything decent. You'd think they would have changed the presets in 30 years but no. It's one reason I skipped getting the latest G1X0n. Yet the G11 is expensive and marketed for gigs and still does the silly presets up front.
I'm not into multi fx pedals which is why I prefer individual stomp pedals so that I can manually combine it to create a sound that I want. If I want to have a multi fx pedal, it has to be the right one for me personally. Something easy to use, and nothing too expensive.
7:11 that´s the preset from the zoom 9002, one of the very first units made in the 80´s .It´s been in almost all zoom units, it was used by Brian May in the song ¨headlong¨in the innuendo album in 1991.
I haven't bought anything like a mfx unit since I bought a line 6 pod 2.0 and floorboard back in 2001. I needed the fx as I was in a cover band and needed multiple guitar tones. Once I edited the most basic 3 sounds on 1 patch, a nice clean, a great crunch, & a boosted lead tone, I used the other patches to program whichever tones we were playing at the time. I ran it through a 50wt peavey classic tweed head from 1996, and a Marshall 4/12 cab. I didn't use any of the cab sims, just my own cab, miked w/a sure sm57, and it was the best live tone I ever had up to that point. Used it at every gig from 2001/2009 and we usually played 3 weekends per month in every bar/pub/festivals in the southern us.
My very first multi effect unit was a Digitech RP-100 which, in it's day was a nice little practice unit. I moved to Line 6 gear later, Pod, PodXT, Amplifi and now HX Stomp. Every iteration of these devices just gets better and better. But, alas one thing remains; one must still tweak the presets to taste, I don't think that will ever change. Also, I'd really like to get a Quad Cortex, but the price of entry is way beyond my modest means.
Is the technology in this this even any different than the previous Zoom G5n unit...? It really doesn't seem like it's an upgrade on their amp modelling/effects.
Come on guys - you're letting your general disdain for MFX units shine too clearly. I'm a Boss/Helix guy as well as analog pedals lover. I recently spent about 2 hours with this thing and while yes, the vast majority of the presets sucked ass [just as on ALL MFX units], there were quite a few that did sound pretty good, with a few distortion tones that I felt may actually be superior to some on the Boss GT1000 and the Helix. Some progress has been made though - nowadays, out of say 100 presets, only about 80 sound like crap. In years earlier, that would be much higher lol Then again, I was playing through a Mesa 50 watt head and Mesa 4x12 cab via the effects loop so.... One thing that Zoom definitely is on the right track with - that touch GUI and the overall knob-like layout. I was able to fully understand and navigate the unit within 3 minutes of turning it on. It's an OK unit - a bit overpriced IMO, and I could do without the boy racer faux carbon fiber look but it's absolutely NOT total trash....At 400USD this would be more compelling... And yeah, all these MFX units require significant tweaking up front. Some work indeed, but that could be fun and the results can often be surprisingly awesome.
Im sure any multi effects through a good Mesa will sound great. Convince me this will outdo the boss katana internal effects.... At $400 or less this could be more compelling
This just doesn't sound as good as a Pod Go, let alone a Helix. I don't think it's their disdain for the multi-effects, it's about getting a good tone. I just didn't like what they could do here.
This unit is incredible. Based on my years of watching this channel because it is a very entertaining channel, these fellas almost always trash affordable gear while praising the high priced gear. Think it has anything to do with the store? Of course it does.
I can hear their quality hasn't changed in 20 years. I have a 505 606 and a 707. Regretted buying all of them. Bought a Boss ME-70 and haven't needed another multi-effects processor since because the ME-70 has been phenomenal, no issues and amazing usable tones. Just go Boss if anyone is deadset on a processor.
The cabinet simulation and IRs are not meant to be used through the amplifier When is someone going to do A review of one of these going into the return of an amp so that we can hear the preamp section of the pedal and really appreciate the amp simulation
I have ,and still use the Zoom G5..not the (N) it has a 12ax tube in it , (or something like that),. I run it through the front of an old peavey Delta blues tube amp with a pair of Blue marvel speakers..... The thing ROCKS!!!! I cam emulate most classic rock sounds, Metal, country, Blues, and clean. It does take some tweaking to find your sound but once your there its really a great unit! I have yet to update as the G5N sounded like the Gyro on my Evil Knievel toy Motorcycle I had when I was a kid!!…. I like Zoom products but not sure I would trade up to this just yet. It looks like a glorified G5n...(Remember the gyro thing) !
I've got a Zoom G5N. Not the worlds best sound but not bad really. I tend not to use the distortion effects too much. I prefer to get that from my amp. it is hugely flexible and much more convenient that a big heavy pedal board. Light weight. No need to worry about batteries or power supplies. But I never use the presets. Never. I create my own patches for specific songs. All in all, I'm pretty happy with it.
I dont understand some of the comments regarding presets, No processor will sound good if you are working through those factory default presets, you need to milk your sounds out by sitting and working on the machine. I found and used the zoom G9 pretty good in live situations, yes not studio quality, but for the money you pay them, you can get some awesome sounds.
Looks like Dave Simpson got into their heads 😂👌 I agree that if it's possible to get a good sound out of these then why don't the presets reflect this? But hey then we'll just have to create our own and share them! Still kinda silly though when companies like ZOOM haven't figured it out themselves and what you'll have to do then is tweek the presets to your own preference. Instead of having to start from scratch. Especially beginners on a budget don't have that know how
The trick to the presets is that everything is exaggerated. If the gain is set at 8, set it at 4. They exaggerate the settings so when you try them in stores you can hear it.
@@misterknightowlandco Really? 😂 It's just so especially beginners playing an E chord will have their brains blown out? I guess that's one marketing strategy! It worked on me too I guess when I got my ZOOM 505 as a kid Awhile ago I got my neighbors old ZOOM 4040 and he used it on every live performance for decades. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised when I heard his settings. I discussed it with him and he reminded me "Yes I always wanted a better sound... But the audience didn't know and as long as they were happy I was happy... Means they wanted me back for another paid gig! And I had mouths to feed"
@@misterknightowlandco Or 'ace' enough anyway 😊 like my neighbor said "The audience doesn't know... They just want a good time" All this tone stuff is for ourselves really. Our own sensitive ears and specific preferences. But I wouldn't bring $20K worth of gear to a bar gig that pays $100
@@LilSirAxolotl it really is just for us. The audience couldnt tell the difference between a marshall amp and the marshall patch lol. They just wanna drink and dance around.
Just my input but , Ive used most things between the Zoom 2020 to the Boss GT10 and 1, All multi effects unit pre sets sound poopy, You have to build your patches to get the best sounds. 2, Direct into a desk sounds poopy x2. 3, You need to take time to get to know the unit. If you can master one, multi fx units are the bees knees for cover band work. Just sayin..
I took that approach with my TC Electronic Nova System, I started to know it inside out to master its full capabilities and then I found a terrible terrible bug in it. Are you ready? If I set a preset with distortion on it and I switch off the distortion to play clean parts, the distorted signal will leak and blend with my clean signal. So it's like a horrible digital sounding overtone that's sitting there with every note I play. It seems to be a common problem among users and it's really frustrating. The Nova was being advertised as a "pro" unit when it came out, though imagine having such a problem in a studio or live setting!!
In cover bands, these multi effects units are life savers. Especially when your just covering top 40/oldies and that sort of thing. I was in a band like that once. We'd go from acdc to garth brooks to bruno mars in 3 songs. It would take 5 minutes between each song and 2 guitar changes without a multi effects unit to do something like that. Whose got time for that when the drunks wanna dance!
I've been keeping an eye on this for a while and TBH i wasn't expecting it to be so expensive. At only £100 less than a Helix LT and almost twice the price of a Pod GO it's a really tough sell.
I just sold my Helix. I really wanted to like it but it didn’t sound that great for the money. I use the Zoom G5n. It’s just a good for live work. Presets always suck on these things. I never use them.
Preset 1: Plexi Preset 2: JCM 800 Preset 3: Fender Twin Preset 4: Vox AC30 Preset 5: Mesa Recto Preset 6: Mark IIC Preset 7: Orange Preset 8: Soldano Preset 9: Peavy/5150 Preset 10: Boutique They should all have the most stock standard boost, echo, reverb etc for the sound typically associated with that amp. The next 10 should be artist specific tones, followed by all the weird and wacky space echo, shimmer, doubler presets after that.
I've owned mine for a few months now. Honestly, if you can't get a great sound out of it, it's probably you. Not to say that every piece of gear works for everyone, of course. I skipped the presets and went right to building my own patches, as I imagine anyone who seriously considers a multi-fx unit would do. I find the UI and on the fly tweakability second to none, and I don't think I could've comfortably switched to any other multi-fx unit. My tone with it has been described as "unreasonably good" by an Axe FX/ Neural DSP fanboy, and that was without him having any idea what I was using. I can also say that the guitar player in my band that uses an Axe FX unit has objectively bad tone, and clearly has no idea how to use it. So it's really more about the user than the equipment. All that being said, I feel like Zoom rushed this unit out, and while I'm happy with it's performance for the price that I paid, I'm eager to see how future updates for this play out.
Would love to hear an example of these unreasonably good tones you are getting from a Zoom because it sounds like none of you have ears that work properly. Get a good amp, a couple of quality pedals and you are set up and have good re-sale value if tastes change.
@@dimsoneill Hey man, I don't know what to tell you. I'm extremely happy with the sounds I get. Use what you enjoy. But I stand by the notion that this unit is explicitly and exclusively "bad sounding" is pretty silly. A. I just said the guy who said that is all about plugins and digital stuff, so the comparison was strictly against similar stuff. B. Everyone's ears are different. Your favorite guitar tones, whether they come from you or another player may not be even remotely similar to mine. I may hate the sound that you get with your nice amps. C. I have very good amps. Amps that I am extremely happy with and that cost several times what the Zoom unit costs. I've got god knows how many pedals, mostly boutique. D. Tones through studio monitors without moving the real air that comes from speaker cabs being driven at volume just aren't going to feel the same. I try and use mine more traditional, played through a fairly neutral speaker cabinet with a power amp. Multi-fx units by nature present many compromises. There are times when I simply can't bring my Reeves and my big custom speaker cab. Or bands where I need to cover a wide range of sonic space. I don't think I made any hyperbolic claims in my initial comment, and I think most gear savvy players can get good tones out of just about anything. Apologies on the long response.
Thanks Lee for being real and genuine, I've used many of these types of units at some point over the years and always ended up going back to pedals. too much time spent making things when you know you can get a better sound with just a few pedals, if you need a new sound, buy another pedal. Cheers!
Looks like a gaming laptop mixed with a Civic Type R
That is way too accurate
Ah, the Honda Civic. The Zoom of automobiles🤪
@@markkozielec2200 lol no.
😂😂😂👍👍
This comment is spot on lol
As a now-proud owner of the Zoom G11, watching this review again, Lee and Rob made a *big rookie mistake* ...leaving the mics turned 'off' on the cabs in their custom patches. Admittedly a weird design decision on Zoom's part, all the cabs load into slots with the mic 'off' by default - which leads to an overly bright, fizzy tone, until switched 'on'. I suspect had Lee and co. spent a little more time learning the unit properly, they would have been much more impressed.
As a former owner of an HX Stomp, POD Go, and Hotone Ampero, I can say that the Zoom G11 punches *well above its weight* in terms of tone, feel, functionality and ease of use. It's probably the most misunderstood MFX unit on the market right now, largely due to its polarizing appearance and asking price. Does it have the 'most' of anything on the market? No. Can you assign any footswitch to any function, or have channels nested within scenes with 500 parallel signal chains? No. Can you quickly dial in high-quality, usable tones for gigging, recording or teaching without cracking open the manual? Absolutely.
Before getting my G11, I took exhaustive looks at the Boss GT-1000, Helix LT and even the Fractal FM-3. Personally, I'm glad I saved a bit of $$ and went with the underdog. This thing rules!
Well stated @JazzzRockFusion! I own the G5n and have been extremely pleased with it now for over 4 years. I appreciate your view with your experience with the other effects pedals you've owned. Rock on!
@@strumlead8741 ive had the g5n for 2 years and thinking of an upgrade but so far nothing is worth it atm.. except maybe if i build a pedalboard..
As soon as I hooked mine up, and chose an overdriven patch...the near silence was deafening! I'm keeping my Helix Stomp, but this baby is center stage now.
yes I agree MAYBE THEY SHOULD GIVE IT ANOTHER GO
They didn't study the thing to made the video
Presets are exaggerated on multi-effects so you can hear them and how much they can do when your in a guitar store and 20 kids are playing smoke on the water and wonderwall over and over. I love multi-effects pedals. The trick of it is, you just have to do your own presets and ignore theirs.
Yeah, I've got a Boss ME-80, and I think I used the presets for like 2 days. Much happier with it now that I've programmed a bunch of great tones.
When I got my ZOOM 505 the first thing I did was adjust all the settings until my ears were happy. It wasn't perfect. But close enough. Especially for the money. And especially back then! It was good enough for practicing
But these days digital effects have come such a long way. I've been messing around with analog pedals but I just prefer an effects unit now. Especially because I'm very deaf now. So I just want something that does it all and I can plug my Bluetooth streamer in without issues or background hum. Stream it straight to my hearing implant so I can hear it like it's coming straight from my brain. Almost literally. I hear it in the middle of my head. But that's why I need to go digital. So I can get rid of all the 'white noise' and get as clean a signal as possible
I'm still searching for the perfect solution... These things weren't made to stream to hearing implants unfortunately. There's latency and all kinds of issues. But I see the potential
@@LilSirAxolotl sorry about your hearing issues. That has to suck. I hope you find the piece of kit that works for you. At least you dont have to do the Beethoven thing and jump feel the vibrations. 🍻
@@misterknightowlandco Very true 😊 like Beethoven had to press his head against a piano to hear it? Glad I don't have that problem!
But the upside is I can stream a signal and literally hear it in the middle of my head. That's why I want to clean it up. So I can play background tracks and just solo over them all night long. Just looking to get rid of the humming noise... I'll get there God willing!
@@misterknightowlandco Come to think of it for me it's actually crazy remembering hearing stereo audio for the first time when I was 13. But now my ears became so bad music will hardly register as it should. Now I have a hearing implant which has opened up my world again. But it's only in mono
I like to listen to G-Funk for instance. Lots of right to left to middle panning going on there. I know. But to me it's all mono. Everything is just one track and if it's not mixed right... It doesn't sit right
I get it though... A producer comes from the middle with the vocal track. Volume wise. And then everything else 'dances' around that in stereo. So there's so much nuance dynamically. But all I hear is one track and individual instruments being higher or lower in volume than the other
Must be nice to have two good ears 😊 and the ability to appreciate it though... I'm already happy I can hear in the first place
Pay Pete Thorn to do the first 20 presets and you will be all set.
Yes! Or Leo Gibson!
What a really like about these guys is that even though they sell the thing, they don't simply praise it.
Funny times when 'independent' reviewers clearly get paid to praise a shitty product whereas the people who actually sell the thing offer us clear and honest opinions about it.
Walmart regularly takes a temporary hit to match Mom & Pop's prices, until Mom & Pop go under.
I think the idea is to sell you products.... but they don't care if you buy this one in particular or a different one. They want you to trust Andertons as a business.
Yup. Which makes it all the more foolish when I see trolls try to call them shills. They clearly aren’t paying attention.
nah, they criticize stuff juuuuust enough to make you think they're impartial. they're pushing products, don't misunderstand
@@judosailor the channel exists to sell products
Someone created those presets on their last day in the office.
they zoomed out of there....
The only question is - did he make those presets because he was sacked or was he sacked because he made those presets?
😂😂
@@kenmasters007 Probably a drummer who was told to beat it.
Haha poor guy getting blamed, maybe it was the janitor all this time
Dave Simpson would make it SING and sound a million dollars.
He's going to make it sound INSANE
Dave Simpson is one the best guitarists around, but with the worst possible tones. I think he is slowly moving towards better sounds lately.
@@DroneCorpse yeah in your opinion. But who asked?
@@void0094 He doesn't need your permission to give his opinion, why so hostile?
@@DroneCorpse Stop smoking crack
It's the most usable unit I've ever seen with all those real knobs, love that
Do you have functioning ears.
@@dimsoneill no I mean the hardware, sounds shit lol
I'm fairly certain that way lower priced, better sounding pedals have knobs as well.
check out the Boss Me 80
@@TheDilligan ME-80 is trash, had one and my g5n is a huge upgrade
chappers: wasn't the krampus a creature that ate children
the captain: i hope so 😂😂😂
In two weeks, they are going to redo this review with Pete dressed as a Zoom rep holding them hostage.
Ugh, the multieffects guys should really just make the first 10 - 20 presets without any big effects, just let us hear some freaking meat and potatoes before you drown it in 28 different sauces.
Problem is that meat and potatoes are undercooked and not great here. Drowning them in a bunch of fancy sauces is exactly how they disguise the lower quality fundamentals. I feel bad for Zoom, but they are simply just behind when it comes to this stuff. They have their market for cheaper, beginner-level products and that's great, but they need a lot more work to break into the midrange/semiprofessional level stuff.
@Andertons Music Co It's brave from you Captain when having to sell these units but you're not fully convinced of the quality of the presets and saying it publicly. Because you care about your customers and this community I think your opinion is fair and acceptable. And hopefully Zoom accepts it as constructive criticism, stay positive and take the challenge of improving the unit in term of sounds, because it already has good components in both the interface and connectivity options. Cheers...
The presets on every single multi-effects unit sound as good as the presets on every new car radio.
Ha that’s great and true !! 😂
Zoom is so famous as multieffects unit, that in my country lot of musicians refers to any multieffect unit as Zoom.
Like, have seen that new Zoom from Line6? ... etc ...
But hearing them from 90ties to this day, I dont think they changed much sound-wise.
wow! jaja
Using my G2.1U to this day. Thought it absolutely sucked at first until tweaking around, setting up the amp and guitar correctly and learning to play properly!
expecting the presets to work perfectly for you is like expecting to never have to turn a knob on a real amp. A multi-effects, multi-amp pedals take just as much knowledge, or more, to set up then a real amp. I swear it just really gets me when people say oh such and such sucks because it didn't come with good presets. I always say well did your tube amp come set exactly the way you want it? Or do you use the same sound on your tube amp for everything? If people can sit and tweak for hours on a tube amp and use pedals and everything else, why can't they take two seconds to learn how to actually use a digital amp? I don't know why but it seems to me people think just because something cost them an arm and a leg it automatically sounds great and some cheap multi effects couldn't possibly sound as good. Most of the time they are correct but there are a lot of digital amps that I think sound awesome. All it takes is actually not just dismissing the product off hand without ever taking more then 2 seconds to say that sucks lets move on. This zoom isn't the best I have heard but I bet you that with one day of learning to use it, you could get all the sounds you would ever really need out of it.
Well, on good amp, you can leave all knobs at noon and be happy to the end of your days ...
I agree. Considering these are full rigs - pedals, amps, speakers etc. - you wouldn't buy all of those individual things, plug them in and never adjust them. Presets should be a starting point. Another analogy is you wouldn't pick up a guitar in a store and expect the action to be perfect for you.
@@stanislavmigra I disagree. If that were the case for everyone, they'd just have an on/off switch and save time and money.
Agreed, good sir! And the "Captain" has always been a whiny, insufferable twat when it comes to hear reviews.
@@JPTyler that is very rude from you.
Pre-sets are to fx as tutorials are to video games. Quick run through and never touched again. That said, Lee is spot on, why not make the first ten pre-sets killer.
Excellent hand modeling from the captain. Great waves, specific points, it's a hand you'd want to have a beer with. 9/10
Having had a Zoom G3 I can already see that a lot of those presets were on the G3, very probably on the G5 and defo were on the G7.
Zoom usually do one GREAT amp model and then there bread and butter are the time based effects. Delays and reverbs are usually stellar
I recently got my hands on one of these yesterday and at first I thought this review was pretty spot on. However, there has been a firmware patch up to1.30 and a lot more of everything was added, which makes a big difference. The first few patches are like wtf is this, as most outta da box presets are, but down later in the alphabet they do get better, if looking for a preset that is anyway. There is a bit of a learning curve to get all the features anyone would want out of it. I will over time add some of my patches to the Guitar Lab library for other people to try as well. Currently playing an 8 string through it using the DarkGlassPre sim on the drive through an 8x10 cab sim, POLLOX amp model with a wave shaper distortion, tri chorus, a gate at the front end, and then a ZNR on the other side of the chain, with a ping pong delay at the end. All of those can be toggled via footswitch. Sounds good so far. I look forward to drafting up some other patches as I mess around with it more.
My favorite aspect is overdriven patches that almost completely eliminate the horrible noise that you get from say a Helix, or something more organic like a Victory pre. It makes recording searing leads a lot easier.
"Rob Lead' . We all know how that sounds.... :)
Whoever edits these videos is hilarious. 15:57 he slaps a beach ball 😂
I love Pete but its good to hear Rob and the old team back together. Has Rob improved???
That thing costs $1500 Australian dollarydoos, insane.
It's more affordable than it's competitors, so maybe that says more about the Aussie economy or currency....
@@TheEchelon How does a zoom pedal being cheaper than a helix/kemper correlate with the Australian economy or currency??
@SR Are australian dollars worth more if you spend them?
@
Pod Go is $950 Australian. Helix is $2,500+, Helix LT is $1,800+
That's a bloody outrage it is, I'm going to take this right to the prime minister
really honest review. I love it!
(I'm sort of looking forward to the 'We just didn't understand the product like the Mesa Boogie Cab Clone' video after this)
New video thanks captain and chappers. That’s my commute to work entertainment sorted. And I’ve just bought a fender Strat from you and the service was faultless.
I remember my Zoom 1010 when I was 15 years old, it was the most amazing thing ever to me. I played and played for hours every day because of it. I gave it away to a guitar student I was teaching a few years ago, hopefully it provided as much fun.
Haha, me too! I shudder to think what it probably sounded like, but I also thought it was the greatest thing ever back then.
I still have a G7.1ut and it’s my go to travel unit if I need an everything in one box. It takes a crapload of time tweaking until you find it’s tone sweet spot, but once you do, you save it, and you move on and use it for what it is. It’s a rock solid unit that you can use for live performances when you want all your tones and presets ready to go. It’s absolutely never going to be useful for tweaking.
That being said, Zoom’s MuTron style envelope filter is excellent. Ridiculously well voiced
It’s so good to see rob and the captain together
More demos of stuff with Danish Pete and the Capt. Their playing styles mesh so well. Pete and Cap have a nice vibe to there video, not obnoxious or juvenile.
Me: tries to focus on Lee talking the through features of the pedal
Rob: wipes hand sanitizer all over his head
It was great to simply see Rob and Lee enjoying being together talking through it, was a great visit, thanks guys
I haven't heard a ZOOM since the 90s and it sounds like they've modeled that 90s tech perfectly! :-)
It looks as if a Chav who once burgled Halfords for crap to stick on their Corsa, won a competition to design this effects unit.
Underated comment!
I have the G3XN and I love it. G11 might be my next
I also have the G3Xn. I'm thinking about adding a G5n and sending the G3Xn's output into the G5n. Together they give "more" than a G11, at a fraction of the cost. Just my opinion. 😎👍
I love my g5n. Lets me tinker and then rock out even when the Mrs. is on a zoom call in the next room.
@@SpinTwistPaintRig if youre buying both of those new you might as well just spend the extra 50 and get the g11 or just get the new g6.
I get Rob's reaction to playing with the Helix for 6 months to replicate their sound, but guitar players spend years trading amps in and out trying to find their sound. I don't think it's very unreasonable.
Its psychological. You'll find person, to that will tweak, change order, set, try, forget, change after 5 minutes 20 pedals in front/FX loop of amp for years, yet be unable to tweak multi fx for 5 minutes.
they should get dave Simpson tp do some presets as he is the man with zoom stuff
They should pay well known guitar enthusiast to create the presets.
They do it AFTER they release the product... That's what happened with the G5n
So awesome to see chappers and the captain back together again! Missed that.
I really like my G5n. I've done side by side comparisons between a bunch of my original FX and there is little to no difference on most of them.
Hay Captain, thanks for honesty. Rob too. Real reactions and commentary. Not a lot of channels do that.
Reunited and it feels so good
Pro: It looks like an oversized Zoom G3XN
Con: It sounds like an oversized Zoom G3XN
Seriously, if you don't need the I/O and interface, a $150 Chinese MFX unit like the NUX MG-300 will run circles around this.
Note, I actually like the G3XN for what it is, but I only paid $150 for it, 4 years ago, and recently upgraded to an Axe-Fx FM3. This G11 is overpriced and underwhelming. I think Zoom missed the mark trying to compete with the big boys on price and features when the sound quality just isn't there. They should have trimmed some features and gone up against the Boss GT-100 at around $500, instead, or put more into R&D to justify the price.
My experience with zoom is you really have to fuss around with settings and effects out of the box to make some decent presets. After that mine sounded great
Same.
You guys reviewed it by really using it in front of our eyes. This thing was by far reviewing itself too, pluses and minuses, but you guys seemed to have so much fun playing it through anyway. Like you both! 😃
I noticed at 15:12 you have the speaker/ cab sim set with mic to off. Did you try with it on. I've used the older G5n and this is a problem I had when I started. So many had the mic setting switched to off but I now don't use the cab on that and use IR's through a Daw and get a great sound.
Yeah, I had a G7.1ut and the speaker would be off sometimes when I started it.
In the early to mid 80's, I had a Marshall double stack, Kramer guitars (with Seymour Duncan's Invader pickups) and a huge collection of pedals. Had a couple of good tones, perfect for playing Rhoads and Van Halen. Then I bought my first multi-effects in 1986, an original Rockman. Used it only for practice. In 1988, I started playing in a pop band, I bought a Boss ME-5 and created all my presets. It was amazingly versatile and I was able to switch easily between such great guitar tones as of The Edge, Andy Summers, Mike Rutherford, etc.
For me, the problem with these is basically always the uninspiring overdrive sounds. Not a single overdrive I heard in this demo that I would use for anything, except maybe to record a quick demo to avoid forgetting a riff I'd come up with. But then again, the voice recorder on my smartphone can serve that function equally well. Zoom make great affordable recording devices, but they need to step up their game when it comes to these things.
That's just what we need more effects. They haven't come up with anything new in 40 years. My 1982 flanger sounds the same as a 2020 flanger.
It's all about user interface though... Multi fx pedals were a pita back in the day, many still are.
How much interfacing do we have to do. If we practice as much as we interfaced we would be better players. But to be honest I'm not even sure what interface means.
@@guitarocd9984 Call me crazy, but if you're so worried about people wasting time with these products instead of practicing, then surely watching videos about them and getting into arguments with strangers in the comments is an even worse waster of time lol
I didn't think we were arguing. I thought we were interfacing.
Those presets in the beginning are exactly what you would expect 2020 to sound like.
Over the years I’ve owned a couple of multi FX units. Nothing this fancy, but one of them actually was a little tiny zoom multi effect. And yeah, the presets are always awful. First of all they always feel the need to throw in these really weird sounding presets with heavy tremolo or tons of flanger. Stuff you would never use even if it sounded halfway decent. Which it doesn’t. They also always throw in some Ambient clean tone with tons of reverb that may sound good but it’s still something you’ll almost never really use. I simply don’t understand why the first three presets on any Multi effects pedal aren’t a nice clean, a nice crunch, and a nice lead tone. In fact many times, not only are those not the first couple presets, but they often don’t have them at all! While it’s not exactly a multi effects pedal, I remember when I had a fender mustang amp and it did not come with a preset clean tone! Smh.
I use all those weird effects. I have them on my record
Take Flight! You use them as heavily as they are featured in those weird sounding presets? I have a feeling you don’t. But if you do, more power to you, brother! Doesn’t change the fact that for the rest of the 90% of us, those presets are unusable trash. And they still are an odd choice to feature so prominently on a multi effect that you’re trying to sell to a general audience.
Back in the day when I work in a music shop 90s the model we sold bucket loads of was the Zoom 2020 which was a great budget effects until probably around the same time when the original Pod came out.
Zoom have always done well with the lower prices range multi fx.
I still have the Zoom MS50 on my pedalboard and find it a really useful tool. I totally agree that most units fall at the last hurdle with chappy preset and as Rob pointed out, it depends on what guitar and amp etc that the original programmer was using at the time.
That prince pre-set was cool ..... It supposed to be for the When doves cry intro.
“Definitely selling my kemper and buying one of these. Sounds great”. Said no one ever.
Well, the point is giving an option to those who can't afford a Kemper
Ricardo Rodríguez true, but then again: PodGo, HX Stomp
i said that
If the G11 was just like $400, $450 at most I could justify it. But at triple the price of my G5n I just can't. Maybe I'll find that dream Ebay auction one day.
I love the zoom multi effects boards i got the zoom g9.2tt and the zoom g5 and they are awesome keep up with the fantastic videos guys i love watching your reviews
Can you change the presets while playing with a Looper? I have the Zoom G3Xn where you have the looper integrated in the Patch. So you can't change presets because you would also change away from the looper -.-
love these, please keep them coming
Totally agree with Lee. I still use a 9002 from 1990 and it has the silly presets up front. You have to dig to find a basis to use and then customize to get anything decent. You'd think they would have changed the presets in 30 years but no. It's one reason I skipped getting the latest G1X0n. Yet the G11 is expensive and marketed for gigs and still does the silly presets up front.
I used to use a Zoom G3xn and never used it for its presets but custom preset options on those pedals are pretty good.
If you want a good sound out of a zoom, get Dave Simpson in 👍
I'm not into multi fx pedals which is why I prefer individual stomp pedals so that I can manually combine it to create a sound that I want.
If I want to have a multi fx pedal, it has to be the right one for me personally. Something easy to use, and nothing too expensive.
where's pete? chapman ffs no thanks 🤦♂️
7:11 that´s the preset from the zoom 9002, one of the very first units made in the 80´s .It´s been in almost all zoom units, it was used by Brian May in the song ¨headlong¨in the innuendo album in 1991.
Nice bit of trivia there mate!
I'm glad it sounds 'O.K.' for £700, you wouldn't want to waste your money, would you?
I had no idea this unit was that much.. I would've thought like $249.99 give or take.
@@brandonproctor3639 thats what the g3Xn goes for new.
I haven't bought anything like a mfx unit since I bought a line 6 pod 2.0 and floorboard back in 2001. I needed the fx as I was in a cover band and needed multiple guitar tones. Once I edited the most basic 3 sounds on 1 patch, a nice clean, a great crunch, & a boosted lead tone, I used the other patches to program whichever tones we were playing at the time. I ran it through a 50wt peavey classic tweed head from 1996, and a Marshall 4/12 cab. I didn't use any of the cab sims, just my own cab, miked w/a sure sm57, and it was the best live tone I ever had up to that point. Used it at every gig from 2001/2009 and we usually played 3 weekends per month in every bar/pub/festivals in the southern us.
I'd love to compose 20 presets if I could have a Zoom G11 in return. I'm thinking AC/DC, VanHalen, Queen, Jimi Hendrix.... 😁
My very first multi effect unit was a Digitech RP-100 which, in it's day was a nice little practice unit. I moved to Line 6 gear later, Pod, PodXT, Amplifi and now HX Stomp. Every iteration of these devices just gets better and better. But, alas one thing remains; one must still tweak the presets to taste, I don't think that will ever change. Also, I'd really like to get a Quad Cortex, but the price of entry is way beyond my modest means.
Is the technology in this this even any different than the previous Zoom G5n unit...? It really doesn't seem like it's an upgrade on their amp modelling/effects.
They listened to Dave Simpson !
Dave would make it rock out.
Good honest review. Thanks!
Thanks for finally covering this fellas. Ive got a soft spot for Zoom pedals, but yeah. Cant justify the price for this one.
Wow! Honesty in an equipment review, what a concept!
Come on guys - you're letting your general disdain for MFX units shine too clearly. I'm a Boss/Helix guy as well as analog pedals lover. I recently spent about 2 hours with this thing and while yes, the vast majority of the presets sucked ass [just as on ALL MFX units], there were quite a few that did sound pretty good, with a few distortion tones that I felt may actually be superior to some on the Boss GT1000 and the Helix. Some progress has been made though - nowadays, out of say 100 presets, only about 80 sound like crap. In years earlier, that would be much higher lol
Then again, I was playing through a Mesa 50 watt head and Mesa 4x12 cab via the effects loop so....
One thing that Zoom definitely is on the right track with - that touch GUI and the overall knob-like layout. I was able to fully understand and navigate the unit within 3 minutes of turning it on.
It's an OK unit - a bit overpriced IMO, and I could do without the boy racer faux carbon fiber look but it's absolutely NOT total trash....At 400USD this would be more compelling...
And yeah, all these MFX units require significant tweaking up front. Some work indeed, but that could be fun and the results can often be surprisingly awesome.
Im sure any multi effects through a good Mesa will sound great. Convince me this will outdo the boss katana internal effects.... At $400 or less this could be more compelling
This just doesn't sound as good as a Pod Go, let alone a Helix. I don't think it's their disdain for the multi-effects, it's about getting a good tone. I just didn't like what they could do here.
This unit is incredible. Based on my years of watching this channel because it is a very entertaining channel, these fellas almost always trash affordable gear while praising the high priced gear. Think it has anything to do with the store? Of course it does.
That 3rd setting they made sounded pretty good to me. Mind you I am listening on my phone.
It's like they are trying to sabotage their own product.
Will be better than my old 2020 used to own
I can hear their quality hasn't changed in 20 years. I have a 505 606 and a 707. Regretted buying all of them. Bought a Boss ME-70 and haven't needed another multi-effects processor since because the ME-70 has been phenomenal, no issues and amazing usable tones. Just go Boss if anyone is deadset on a processor.
The cabinet simulation and IRs are not meant to be used through the amplifier When is someone going to do A review of one of these going into the return of an amp so that we can hear the preamp section of the pedal and really appreciate the amp simulation
I have ,and still use the Zoom G5..not the (N) it has a 12ax tube in it , (or something like that),. I run it through the front of an old peavey Delta blues tube amp with a pair of Blue marvel speakers..... The thing ROCKS!!!! I cam emulate most classic rock sounds, Metal, country, Blues, and clean. It does take some tweaking to find your sound but once your there its really a great unit! I have yet to update as the G5N sounded like the Gyro on my Evil Knievel toy Motorcycle I had when I was a kid!!…. I like Zoom products but not sure I would trade up to this just yet. It looks like a glorified G5n...(Remember the gyro thing) !
I've got a Zoom G5N. Not the worlds best sound but not bad really. I tend not to use the distortion effects too much. I prefer to get that from my amp. it is hugely flexible and much more convenient that a big heavy pedal board. Light weight. No need to worry about batteries or power supplies. But I never use the presets. Never. I create my own patches for specific songs. All in all, I'm pretty happy with it.
smooth intro solo! loved it!
I dont understand some of the comments regarding presets, No processor will sound good if you are working through those factory default presets, you need to milk your sounds out by sitting and working on the machine. I found and used the zoom G9 pretty good in live situations, yes not studio quality, but for the money you pay them, you can get some awesome sounds.
Thank you for an honest, informative review. I'll stick to my Line 6 Pod Go for the time being.
Digging the DYNAMIC DUO back together👍🎸👍
Looks like Dave Simpson got into their heads 😂👌 I agree that if it's possible to get a good sound out of these then why don't the presets reflect this? But hey then we'll just have to create our own and share them! Still kinda silly though when companies like ZOOM haven't figured it out themselves and what you'll have to do then is tweek the presets to your own preference. Instead of having to start from scratch. Especially beginners on a budget don't have that know how
The trick to the presets is that everything is exaggerated. If the gain is set at 8, set it at 4. They exaggerate the settings so when you try them in stores you can hear it.
@@misterknightowlandco Really? 😂 It's just so especially beginners playing an E chord will have their brains blown out? I guess that's one marketing strategy! It worked on me too I guess when I got my ZOOM 505 as a kid
Awhile ago I got my neighbors old ZOOM 4040 and he used it on every live performance for decades. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised when I heard his settings. I discussed it with him and he reminded me "Yes I always wanted a better sound... But the audience didn't know and as long as they were happy I was happy... Means they wanted me back for another paid gig! And I had mouths to feed"
@@LilSirAxolotl yeah when you program your own settings you can almost any multi effects to sound ace. 🍻
@@misterknightowlandco Or 'ace' enough anyway 😊 like my neighbor said "The audience doesn't know... They just want a good time"
All this tone stuff is for ourselves really. Our own sensitive ears and specific preferences. But I wouldn't bring $20K worth of gear to a bar gig that pays $100
@@LilSirAxolotl it really is just for us. The audience couldnt tell the difference between a marshall amp and the marshall patch lol. They just wanna drink and dance around.
Just my input but , Ive used most things between the Zoom 2020 to the Boss GT10 and
1, All multi effects unit pre sets sound poopy, You have to build your patches to get the best sounds.
2, Direct into a desk sounds poopy x2.
3, You need to take time to get to know the unit.
If you can master one, multi fx units are the bees knees for cover band work. Just sayin..
I took that approach with my TC Electronic Nova System, I started to know it inside out to master its full capabilities and then I found a terrible terrible bug in it. Are you ready? If I set a preset with distortion on it and I switch off the distortion to play clean parts, the distorted signal will leak and blend with my clean signal. So it's like a horrible digital sounding overtone that's sitting there with every note I play. It seems to be a common problem among users and it's really frustrating. The Nova was being advertised as a "pro" unit when it came out, though imagine having such a problem in a studio or live setting!!
@@rhcpmd
Analogue pedals all day every day 🤘
In cover bands, these multi effects units are life savers. Especially when your just covering top 40/oldies and that sort of thing. I was in a band like that once. We'd go from acdc to garth brooks to bruno mars in 3 songs. It would take 5 minutes between each song and 2 guitar changes without a multi effects unit to do something like that. Whose got time for that when the drunks wanna dance!
@@misterknightowlandco
Hahaha that is true!
I've been keeping an eye on this for a while and TBH i wasn't expecting it to be so expensive. At only £100 less than a Helix LT and almost twice the price of a Pod GO it's a really tough sell.
If you want to see a serious review of this go see Jonathan Koh's video. Nuf said.
I would recommend the Helix LT a thousand times over this!
So happy to see and hear rob play again
I just sold my Helix. I really wanted to like it but it didn’t sound that great for the money. I use the Zoom G5n. It’s just a good for live work. Presets always suck on these things. I never use them.
Forget the board... what kind of PRS is that? That thing is gorgeous!
Preset 1: Plexi
Preset 2: JCM 800
Preset 3: Fender Twin
Preset 4: Vox AC30
Preset 5: Mesa Recto
Preset 6: Mark IIC
Preset 7: Orange
Preset 8: Soldano
Preset 9: Peavy/5150
Preset 10: Boutique
They should all have the most stock standard boost, echo, reverb etc for the sound typically associated with that amp. The next 10 should be artist specific tones, followed by all the weird and wacky space echo, shimmer, doubler presets after that.
I've owned mine for a few months now. Honestly, if you can't get a great sound out of it, it's probably you. Not to say that every piece of gear works for everyone, of course. I skipped the presets and went right to building my own patches, as I imagine anyone who seriously considers a multi-fx unit would do. I find the UI and on the fly tweakability second to none, and I don't think I could've comfortably switched to any other multi-fx unit.
My tone with it has been described as "unreasonably good" by an Axe FX/ Neural DSP fanboy, and that was without him having any idea what I was using.
I can also say that the guitar player in my band that uses an Axe FX unit has objectively bad tone, and clearly has no idea how to use it. So it's really more about the user than the equipment.
All that being said, I feel like Zoom rushed this unit out, and while I'm happy with it's performance for the price that I paid, I'm eager to see how future updates for this play out.
Would love to hear an example of these unreasonably good tones you are getting from a Zoom because it sounds like none of you have ears that work properly. Get a good amp, a couple of quality pedals and you are set up and have good re-sale value if tastes change.
@@dimsoneill Hey man, I don't know what to tell you. I'm extremely happy with the sounds I get. Use what you enjoy. But I stand by the notion that this unit is explicitly and exclusively "bad sounding" is pretty silly.
A. I just said the guy who said that is all about plugins and digital stuff, so the comparison was strictly against similar stuff.
B. Everyone's ears are different. Your favorite guitar tones, whether they come from you or another player may not be even remotely similar to mine. I may hate the sound that you get with your nice amps.
C. I have very good amps. Amps that I am extremely happy with and that cost several times what the Zoom unit costs. I've got god knows how many pedals, mostly boutique.
D. Tones through studio monitors without moving the real air that comes from speaker cabs being driven at volume just aren't going to feel the same. I try and use mine more traditional, played through a fairly neutral speaker cabinet with a power amp.
Multi-fx units by nature present many compromises. There are times when I simply can't bring my Reeves and my big custom speaker cab. Or bands where I need to cover a wide range of sonic space. I don't think I made any hyperbolic claims in my initial comment, and I think most gear savvy players can get good tones out of just about anything.
Apologies on the long response.
Great job for the honesty you put here. For the price I might just as well buy a PodGo or a GE 300...
Thanks Lee for being real and genuine, I've used many of these types of units at some point over the years and always ended up going back to pedals. too much time spent making things when you know you can get a better sound with just a few pedals, if you need a new sound, buy another pedal. Cheers!
My first multi effects was a Zoom 2020 into a Marshall Valvestate 80w circa 1995. Loved it. Not anymore though.
It was my 1st pedal! Gawd that thing was awful... LOL
How is it compared to Zoom G6, will you going to have separate test for Zoom G6? Thank you