ZOOM G11

review
ZOOM G11
96
GUITARIST DECEMBER 2020
The ability to load
third-party IRs to the
amp means that you
can really tailor the
degree of realism
main purpose is to move the colour-coded
effects chain left or right so you can access
them all. In addition, these footswitches can
call up the tuner, operate tap tempo and take
care of looper functions.
Sounds
Running through the 100 factory
programmed presets, our first impressions
weren’t exactly positive. Many of them are
not really ready for any practical musical
use straight out of the box as they’re
laden with exaggerated use of effects,
The treadle can be
assigned to an effect in
Zoom’s pedal category
Software lets you edit and back up
patch memories, and add effects
that are distributed online
The footswitches change
banks and patches, and
scroll your set of effects
odd EQ, inappropriate ambiences and so
on. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean the
component sounds are bad. There’s plenty
of good stuff among the individual models;
you simply need to get tweaking or create
your own from scratch.
Fortunately, touchscreen editing is a
breeze. Swiping to change effects order
and adding effects to the chain is easy. The
amps are a mixture of vintage classics, more
contemporary designs and Zoom’s own
creations, including some specifically voiced
for seven- and eight-string guitars and
dropped tunings, which may give a clue to
where Zoom’s target audience lies.
A careful choice of the onboard IRs added
to the amp can add a useful touch of mic’d
amp flavour, although the ability to load
third-party IRs means that you can really
tailor the degree of realism. A full patch
with amp and speaker simulation plus
effects will give you a wide range of options
for recording or direct into a PA or FRFR
3
THE RIVALS
Considering that a major asset of
Zoom’s G11 is its footswitching setup,
its nearest equivalents really have to be
units that are similarly endowed with
plenty of footswitches and a treadle.
Line 6’s Helix LT (£989) and the
HeadRush Pedalboard (£739 street
price), with its seven-inch touch display,
or even the older Boss GT-1000 (£799
street price) all fall into that particular
category. All of these, however, are more
expensive options than the Zoom on
review, but if you’re looking for
something closer in price there’s
Mooer’s GE3000 at £749 (with a £599
street price), the company’s flagship
unit, offering a pretty comprehensive
feature set, including its Tone Capture
instrument matching technology.
Where some amp and effects modellers
these days seem to have a minimal amount
of footswitches and mode-switching to use
them, this Zoom floorboard offers 11 in an
ergonomic layout that’s presented for a very
logical way of working, which will make
immediate sense to anyone used to an amp
and effects setup.
In fact, the unit is laid out in three distinct
sections from top to bottom. To the right of
the touchscreen you get your amp section
with a standard six-knob array: Gain, Bass,
Middle, Treble, Presence and Volume.
The middle section is set out like a row
of five stompboxes, each with a chromed
footswitch, a window to show the name
of the effect and four parameter knobs for
each effect – you just switch effects in and
out and tweak them at will. The final section
has six red footswitches for more general
tasks. There’s an up/down pair for selecting
patches, a similar pair for selecting banks,
and a pair for horizontal scrolling whose
GIT466.rev_zoom.indd 96 24/10/2020 13:16