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mooseherman « Cheap (and cheap-sounding) multi-effects pedal »
Published on 01/17/11 at 13:20This is a multi-effects pedal made by Zoom. I had it for awhile but it was discontinued and I have since sold it. It has 1/4" input and outputs. It's kind of old so it doesn't have much in the way of MIDI or computer connections. It's a digital effect, and an old one at that, so it doesn't have the sophistication or nuance of today's digital technology. It's not a rackable unit as it's a floor pedal and needs foot control to bypass and use the expression pedal.
UTILIZATION
Editing this pedal isn't that difficult, it has an easy interface to use. It has a total of 35 different effects, though only 9 can be played simultaneously (which is admittedly a lot). The controls for these effects are somewhat limited, and it certainly takes some time to control them. As convenient as it is to have all of these effects in one place, the specifics of each effect are very difficult if not impossible to really perfect and tailor to your needs. The manual explains how to do it but doesn't really change the fact that it's still difficult to make any of the individual effects that good.
The expression pedal goes a long way in customizing your sound, and making it more flexible while playing. But dialing in the right tone takes a lot of time and effort and it really leaves you with little wiggle room.
SOUND QUALITY
Quite frankly, this unit does not have good sound. It has very cliche sounds and the tone of each sound gets really muddy, unclear, and dulled by this pedal. The distortions are very fake and cliche, and would only work as an effect in a techno or other type of poppy, overly produced type of sound. For me, that's not the sign of a good pedal. Considering you can use good pedals for those ends anyway, there's nothing really that great about these sounds other than quantity, but that's not really important when it comes to sound. I honestly feel I'm being generous by giving this a 4.
OVERALL OPINION
This isn't a very good pedal and I was glad to be rid of it. It has been discontinued for good reason. I'm hoping that Zoom has updated the pedal enough to sound good and perhaps have more controls, though I'm very skeptical. Basically I'd say that the best course of action for people who are interested in this type of pedal is to buy a better one, which will probably be more expensive. Or perhaps just buy individual pedals, which will pretty much guarantee good sounds, if not as many.
UTILIZATION
Editing this pedal isn't that difficult, it has an easy interface to use. It has a total of 35 different effects, though only 9 can be played simultaneously (which is admittedly a lot). The controls for these effects are somewhat limited, and it certainly takes some time to control them. As convenient as it is to have all of these effects in one place, the specifics of each effect are very difficult if not impossible to really perfect and tailor to your needs. The manual explains how to do it but doesn't really change the fact that it's still difficult to make any of the individual effects that good.
The expression pedal goes a long way in customizing your sound, and making it more flexible while playing. But dialing in the right tone takes a lot of time and effort and it really leaves you with little wiggle room.
SOUND QUALITY
Quite frankly, this unit does not have good sound. It has very cliche sounds and the tone of each sound gets really muddy, unclear, and dulled by this pedal. The distortions are very fake and cliche, and would only work as an effect in a techno or other type of poppy, overly produced type of sound. For me, that's not the sign of a good pedal. Considering you can use good pedals for those ends anyway, there's nothing really that great about these sounds other than quantity, but that's not really important when it comes to sound. I honestly feel I'm being generous by giving this a 4.
OVERALL OPINION
This isn't a very good pedal and I was glad to be rid of it. It has been discontinued for good reason. I'm hoping that Zoom has updated the pedal enough to sound good and perhaps have more controls, though I'm very skeptical. Basically I'd say that the best course of action for people who are interested in this type of pedal is to buy a better one, which will probably be more expensive. Or perhaps just buy individual pedals, which will pretty much guarantee good sounds, if not as many.