New Zoom G1X Four mini multi-FX pedal test

[Phantasmagoria]

Just using the first preset that comes up when you turn it on "Marshall 1978"



The first solo is with the stock patch/preset & the second is the same thing but with the mic for the simulated cab turned on. Makes a pretty obvious difference. Brighter livelier & more bite..

Don't really see the point of simulating a cab with the mic turned off (!?) ...but w/e..

Used my Ibby SA (Lace Deathbucker in the bridge)

[TwilightOdyssey]

Interesting tone. How do you like it? It definitely sounds how I remember my Zoom for sure.

[Phantasmagoria]

I think tone wise it's a big step up from my G1Xon..in that it seems more present & cuts through way better..(besides feeling a lot better to play as well). Since I pretty much don't go beyond the preset-using stage, this is actually a way better unit out of the box 'cause all the presets sound & feel better. Are they just like the real thing? No..but I think they could get pretty close with a bit of tweaking ..pretty sure someone with a gift for tthat could get very convincing tones out of it & there are some pretty nice sounding demo's out there when tones have been tweaked. I might try my hand at it myself or at least help myself to a nice patch or two from the "Guitar Lab" sharing platform/software it comes with

For $90.00 it does'nt fare that bad against the real thing either



Apparently the dude does'nt know about the 'mic on/off' thing...someone informed him about that in the comments. But it's still very nice tone.

[Phantasmagoria]

And here's what I actually got it for. Popping in my Amp's loop for FX

-> In my Cicognani Brutus Live's FX Loop...

Three clips/solo's.

The first one has the Cicognani amp (onboard 'mid voicing' switch engaged) in place of the Marshall amp sim which I disabled (but using the other FX in the preset patch ie. the cab sim + noise gate + plate reverb)

The second is with the Cicognani amp (onboard 'mid voicing' switch engaged) + Drive +Cab sim + Noise gate + Plate reverb from the Zoom

And the third is with the Cicognani amp (no mid switch engaged) + Drive +Cab sim + Noise gate + Plate reverb from the Zoom



^^ played a bit sloppy but it gets things across anyway..

I thought it was pretty transparent & a nice improvement over my old Boss GT-6 in the loop.. & if you compare the two video's I just did (and the Japanese guy's up there) ..the Zoom's own amp sim's stand up pretty well against the real amp's for recording in both cases..

The Zoom's presets use very small amounts of reverb, delay etc (no delay in my clips above actually) and it's all quite minimalistic (the FX) which is the way I'd normally dial things like reverb in anyway...though I guess i will have to figure out how to adjust the amount/types of reverb/other parameters eventually

The older Zoom G1Xon model I have ..it's presets had a tendency to be absolutely swathed in things like reverb. delay & other FX..so much so that it was pretty tough to cut through anything..still it was fun to jam with, just did'nt really record too well, which this one does.

[Phantasmagoria]

In my AMT Stonehead amp's loop using the Deizel Herbert FX preset from the Zoom (disabled the amp sim) so the FX chain is: Drive + AMT Stonehead + Deizel 4x12 cab sim + noise gate + plate reverb...

[Phantasmagoria]

^^ Same thing with the unedited Deizel Herbert preset for comparison..



Was having a look at the manual online and this thing is infinitely more tweakable (and tough to wrap my brain around ) than the Zoom G1Xon I had before.. That one was pretty much just plug 'n play and all you really could tweak was basic EQ & Mod settings ..could'nt even bypass the preamp/cabs etc so you could just use it in your amp's loop, but this has a ton more parameters & possibilities.

I mean ..take just the cab simulation. Lots of different cabs to switch around, You can switch between mic types (SM57 & e906), blend them, adjust hi/lo eq (I guess to simulate mic placement) or just disable them and use your own real cabs or IR's and pretty much do a whole lot of stuff none of which I'm able to do at the moment.

Personally I'd be happy if I could just learn to switch effects around in a patch/swap effect types etc & create my own presets ..been trying to do that but have'nt really had much luck so far ..I'm stuck at trying to swap effect types in a preset (ie switching a Klon out for a TS / Deizel for a Marshall..stuff like that) ..all I can do right now is turn them on and off

[Phantasmagoria]

Same Deizel preset as above but with with the Cab mic switched 'off'

Apparently the manual says the mic should be switched 'on' when your playing with headphones ...did'nt realize that. I guess it needs to be off for recording etc. or maybe you can just use it either way (?) according to taste. 'On' is brighter/more bite/presence ....'Off' sounds a bit fatter/less bright. You can also disable the cab sim entirely & use your real amp/cab or your own IR loader or w/e...

[Phantasmagoria]

Finally after messing around for a while I think I've kinda got the hang of editing the presets a bit

Here's my first go with the (edited) Deizel Herbert Preset in the video(s) above ...turned out pretty sweet I think.

[NecroPolo]

Good sounds mate.

Zoom does pretty decent stuff now'days IMO. Our other guitarist just bought a Zoom G5 for DI->PA onstage use and it has a pretty impressive performance, especially for the price.

[Phantasmagoria]

Thanks it's been a ton of fun to mess about with, no doubt about that. I don't really hear a massive difference between it's tones & some of the higher end modelers out there to be honest, especially when used with one of my real amps. This thing sounds great ..the more I get the hang of tweaking it the better the tones are getting..even from just the little unit all by itself I've even been giving a little thought to picking up a G5n for gigs ...the price is decent & I like the idea of the built in usb interface.

[Phantasmagoria]

It's got another trick up it's sleeve that I wanted to check out..stereo Lead.

The 1/4 inch output is apparently in stereo if you use a stereo 'Y' cable to split ..so I did that & recorded the two channels through separate interface inputs/on 2 separate tracks & panned it about @45 (L-R). Patch was the same edited Deizel path I used for the last solo (but with stereo output) ...sounds pretty massive/sweet I think



Followed by a kinda cheesy sounding wah solo (not in stereo), just for kicks

[Phantasmagoria]

And hopefully one last thing I had'nt thought of (using my edited Deizel patch from the video before the one just above this post) - but with an IR from my Mooer Radar (V30 4x12 IR from Celestion IR's). Disabled the Zoom's own cab and used the Radar instead.



Does'nt really make much of a difference to the sound quality I think...the Zoom's own onboard cab sim/IR is no slouch

[GuitarStv]

The last zoom effect I used was their 505 multi-effect pedal. Looks like they've come rather a long way since then!

[Phantasmagoria]

Tried it out in my 15W Goldea Rex's loop (speaker output from the amp -> DI box -> Interface/DAW) using the Bogner Ecstasy Blue patch for a change (Bogner pedal disabled ..so just a TS -> Noise gate -> Goldea Amp -> Bogner 4X12 -> Delay)



Dialed a little extra bass in from the amp maybe..but it sounds cool I like that it does'nt mess with the way the different amp's I've tried it with so far actually sound (& even feel) and is really very transparent like that..

[Phantasmagoria]

Same preset with my 30W Laboga The Beast Plus (Zoom in the loop ..same as the last vid)...



First solo with The mid Switch engaged & next with it off...


At this point I'm just doing new ones 'cuz it's fun

[Phantasmagoria]

The other evil twin ~ Laboga The Beast Classic 30. Everything the same as above (2 solos ~ Mid sw on/off)

[Phantasmagoria]

Boogie jam (...that's short for 'Bugera' ) with the same Zoom G1x Four Bogner Ecstasy Blue patch as the last couple of videos. Ch 1& 2...two siolo's.

So...Zoom + 333XL Amp (Bogner pedal disabled) + Charvel + Bogner cab (same chain as above)

[Phantasmagoria]

Actual Bogner Ecstasy Blue unedited preset from the Zoom..forgot about that...

[Phantasmagoria]

And w/ my Randall T2HL (Tube/SS hybrid) ...the last of my metal amps

[Phantasmagoria]

Hadn't done the Cicognani Brutus Live with this Bogner Ecstasy preset... switched between the three voicing settings on the lead 2 channel. First one's flat, second position slightly boosts upper mids & the third one's a bit of a treble/upper harmonic boost. Obviously pretty fed up of this backing track by now so it's all a bit sloppy