Any G1X Four users out there that can give their opinion of this multi-FX pedal?
I have a little Christmas money to spend before it gets wasted on bills, and this popped up as an option. I have Amplitube Max so it wouldn’t be my main source of effects, but software ties me to my PC… the only other amp I have is an old Roland Micro Cube. I thought it might be nice to have a little compact effects unit, with looper and rhythm options included, so that I could just plug and play rather than requiring my whole PC all the time. Also the portability, which may come in particularly handy during my imminent emigration.
I’m also open to other options, but please bear in mind that my budget is strictly limited to the cost of this unit… I cannot stretch any further so the Boss GT-1 et al is out of the question.
For a more sturdy construction and better unit overall - even though you will necessarily have to go used and slightly out-of-date - a Zoom G3 or G3X is better.
Funnily enough I was looking at those too, as the G3n is currently on sale over at Andertons. Still out of my price range though, and I’m always wary of second hand… when something gets stomped on repeatedly as part of it’s design, you can’t be sure how much abuse it has suffered. Aside from the better construction and extra buttons, is there anything else that makes it superior? Is the sound quality the same?
They look pretty good but have no looper or aux input.
I understand where you’re coming from though, the plastic construction of the G1X is definitely a concern. It seems to be the cost cutting measure that allows it to offer so many other features for the price. Unfortunately that’s just where my limited budget is at right now.
One big feature of zoom products is exceptional customer service. I bought zoom mic and about 4 years later, well out of warranty period, i noticed the plastic cover was sticky. I looked for answers on the internet to no avail so I emailed zoom’s customer support. They said it was a known issue and sent me a complete replacement at no cost.
That’s interesting, thanks. Good customer service is hard to come by these days, so it’s a definite plus if Zoom actually care about the reputation of their products long after the cash has changed hands.
Indeed. I had the opposite experience with Hercules (guitar / mic stands) where the product was still in warranty, failed and they refused to honor their warranty. I like the Hercules products a lot but won’t ever buy from them again.
The do have a 30s looper, and a decent drum machine, which you can sync with the looper.
I had one during “circuit breaker” in Singapore in 2020. It was a decent FX unit and I would recommend it to someone on a budget.
The only downside I could find is that, whilst you can install different effects via the PC editor, the number of simultaneous effects you can have installed at any time is limited by the unit memory, so you have a bit of a juggling act if you want to use some of the nice effects, like shimmer reverb (I recall I had to remove all the other reverbs).
Are you talking about the G1X or the Vox Stomplab that Richard mentioned? I know the G1X does as they are two of the selling points, but I didn’t find any mention of either when I looked up the Stomplab.
That’s also the case for pretty much every other device in or near this price range, including the Boss GT-1.
Plastic doesn’t mean “fragile” and both the GT-1 and the Zoom G1X Four (as I recall) are pretty sturdily built if think you would need to be very heavy-footed to damage them.
I think I would be tempted to look at the Mooer GE100, it’s about the same price and has more looper time, having messed around with a few of the Mooer FX I don’t think that you would go far wrong with one.
True enough. So often I read reviews on products being “poor quality” because they broke within a few days. Yet when I buy the very same product I’m at a loss as to how someone could have damaged it without treating it extremely harshly. I take care of my gear, but I guess some people expect everything to be bulletproof.
Thanks for the replies guys. I would have liked a little longer to explore the Mooer GE100 and was even warming to the idea of second hand gear, but I’m out of time. With my impending move I need something ordered and delivered within the next week, as after that I won’t have a guaranteed address to deliver to. I have no idea what availability of gear will be like in Romania, so need something before I go. Ordered the G1X this morning.
The G1X arrived and I spent a few hours playing around with it yesterday evening.
I have to say that for the money I’m pretty impressed with this little box of tricks. Many of the preset tones are better than expected, with some being excellent. A few substandard and silly ones too, but everything can be tweaked, changed or replaced at will so it’s all good. The drum kit is much more fun than a metronome and the looper is perfectly adequate for my current needs. The expression pedal is fun too… my first experience of using one.
I’d definitely recommend it to those on a budget. One tip for anyone who does get one… don’t bother using the Zoom software, Guitar Lab. It takes ages to recognise the pedal and uses a three page interface to make edits. There is an alternative on offer by ToneLib which is free and doesn’t require an account. It does the exact same job but picks up the pedal instantly, and provides all functionality on a single, user friendly interface.
