ZOOM G2.1U

I’ve had this Zoom G2.1u processor for more than 3 years and I really like this multi-effects pedal. When I first started playing the lead guitar I used to use a Zoom 505 that I borrowed from a friend of mine. Since then I’ve really liked the sound that a Zoom processor gives. I’ve tried some other multi effects pedals like the Digitech, Korg and Boss but I’ve never really liked their sounds. But in their defense I actually haven’t had too much time to test them out. I’ve usually just tried some patches that friends of mine had already set in those processors and I always felt my Zoom sounded way cleaner.

I’m not too technical and am more used to setting things based on sounds I hear and how I like them. There are features I’ve never used in this processor. I just thought I’ll talk about some of the effects that I generally use. I mostly play only in Church so the drives and effects I use are based on that.

1. The Drives: There are only two drives that I use. The first is BG Crunch (bC) – This is my standard distortion/overdrive sound. I mostly use it during the chorus of the song or the heavier parts of the song where riffs or general power chords are played. It sounds somewhat like the overdrive sound that contemporary Christian artists like Hillsong and stuff use. The gain is set to max. The second drive I use is US Blues (bL). I feel this has a better sustain so I use it to play solos. 99% of the time, I will turn on the delay while using this patch because I use this for soloing. I set the volume of the BG Crunch lesser than that of US Blues because when I go into the solo of the song it gives a volume boost automatically without me having to increase it with the pedal
2. Clean tone: I always use the FD clean (FC). It gives a very nice clean tone for plucking notes during the quieter part of the songs.
3. Noise reduction: I use this for the distortion/overdrive patches. It is always set to the max 16. It really helps to cut down the noise from these patches.
4. Equalizer: This is really important when playing with a band. I make sure that the highs are increased and the lows are cut. There are no specific values but if the lows are increased then the guitar’s sound will be lost in the mix. I mostly play on the bridge pickup in Church because the sound from the neck pick up gets lost in the total mix when the other instruments come in.
5. Delay: I really love the sound of a delay. I recently bought a TC electronic nova nd-1 delay so I’m now using that. But the zoom has its own delay options. I use the dL, which is the normal delay. The feedback is set to 20 and mix is also set to 20. You can increase both of this but the delay will become stronger as it’s digital. You have to be careful not to overdo it or the subtle effect will be lost. The first knob lets you control the time of the delay. It is measured in milli seconds, so increasing the time will result in longer time delay between each repeats. The delay tempo can also be tapped in with the tap button in the pedal or an external footswitch. I recently learned how to tap in a dotted eight note delay in the Zoom processor using a foot switch. It’s pretty cool. I sometimes set my Nova nd-1 delay to dotted eight and the zoom’s delay to quarter notes. The dual delay gives a really nice sound.
6. The Pedal: The Zoom G2.1u comes with a pedal which can be used for Volume control, wah and many other effects. But I’ve only been using it as a volume pedal. An annoying thing is that if the pedal is set to wah for a patch and you switch to that patch, the overall volume suddenly goes to the maximum. So live it’s impossible for me to control the volume when I use this pedal for the wah. Recently I bought another boss FV-500L volume pedal. Now I can use the Zoom’s pedal for wah and still control the overall volume. So only now I’ve started trying to play some stuff using the wah. Still a long way to go for me there.
7. Other effects: The pedal obviously has many other effects like the chorus, flanger, reverb, tremolo etc. But these are totally dependent on songs. I might use them for different songs. I recently tried using the tremolo for one of delirious’ songs – I loved how it sounded.

I really like this pedal and would definitely suggest it to someone who has just started playing the lead guitar. This model though is not manufactured anymore, it’s next version Zoom G2.1nu is available and is almost the same with some improvements. The pedal is very easy to use. You’ll definitely need to refer to the manual to know each option and how it can be tweaked. As I already mentioned, I’ve used it for more than 3 years now and carry it around a lot. I’ve had no problems with it till now, so I guess it is pretty solid. By the way, I’ve ordered a Zoom G3 and should be getting it in a couple of weeks. I’m pretty excited about that. I’m also in a dilemma if I should start buying analog pedals. But they are way more expensive and give you lesser options than digital ones. So for now I’m sticking to the digital multi-effects. If you want to know anything more about the Zoom G2.1u, do let me know.