Zoom G5n

[musketeer58]

Because I've been making patches for all the Zoom range of pedals I was curious about the Zoom G5n, the flagship,of the fleet.
I picked one up at a very good price last week and it arrived today so I took it down to the studio to give it a blast after I stuck eight patches in to suit what I wanted to play.
I routed it through the Pinnacle and then the Vox AC30/4 and I can honestly say it's terrific and one that I will be using in the future.
It's larger in every way than the G3 and has more to offer, but I think it sounds better as well. I may of course be mistaken but it took me ten minutes to install eight patches and I played some Shadows, Duane Eddy, Gary Moore as well as some chords for songs we do in our show and I loved it. I can categorically say that it's better than my Vox ToneLab SE because of the ease of programming the echoes. You can have up to nine separate pedals linked so most things are possible. Recommended and not silly money.
I will share my patches for this as I do the others.

How`s it going Dave.

I`ve heard very good reports about you patches for the G3 so, I thought I would like to give them a try but I haven't been able to find them so, I just wanted to ask if you could please point me in the right direction.

Many thanks

Adrian

[dave robinson]

Here is a link for anyone who would like the Zoom G series patches.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

[dave robinson]

We're back 'at it' on Thursday at our local residency ay The Royal Oak in Barlborough, so I'm going to try my Zoom G5n to see if it does indeed tick all the boxes for my needs and it will help me make decisions going forward.
My Meazzi will be back with me this week and I've got my lovely TVS3 too - they are going nowhere. I shall use them in my home and studio and sometimes I'll gig them, it's great to have the choice. Also I've got my Tone Bender that Gary Hurst built for me along with my DeArmond 610 from my Dave Berry days so I do intend to use those 'old school' items at certain gigs.

I want to prove that the Zoom G5n will do the job as well as my Vox Tonelab LE has done, then if it does I'll consider all the other bits and pieces that were collected on my journey and maybe sell them to people who will benefit from them.
I have many other echo and effects devices that will never be used and they are all damn good units, but the lockdown has given me time to evaluate all my stuff and what I will need for the remainder of my playing days.
What I have found during the last four months is that the G5n for me is the most versatile of the Zoom offerings and I have enjoyed the experience of trying many different ones, programming them and selling them on as I realised what I wanted.
I was happy to get my money back for all the ones I tried and it occupied me and kept me sane for months during lockdown.
I also had the kind assistance of several good friends who lent me bits and pieces and it helped me enormously, thank you.
It was also a learning curve and I was able to help others along the way, what's not to like ?

[dave robinson]

At the risk of seeming to be going on about this, I did say that I would pass on my experience to those interested so here goes.
As I said, I would be trying the Zoom G5n at the Royal Oak and I did with great success. It is slightly more versatile than the G3, but nothing major for home players.
Also I think that it has better echoes than my Vox ToneLab LE because of it's more accurate editing facilities, but I seriously doubt an audience would notice the benefits of such fine points. My co-guitarist Damion used his ToneLab LE and sounded no way inferior to my efforts with the Zoom G5n playing the Shadows sounds on the night. He played Riders In The Sky and Dance On and I played Apache, FBI and Going Home and all sounded equal from where I was standing.
If anything the Zoom scores slightly higher because of the way it's laid out with easier viewing of what your selections are on any given patch, but that's something for player convenience and not an audience concern.
I think I'll take the TVS3 on Thursday and see if anyone comments on the sound, though I doubt people will notice unless they spot it as something new on stage.
At the end of the day from a purely selfish point of view, having these things make me feel good and as long as I don't become too self indulgent and entertain and please people, then to me that's a result.

[leddo]

Just a thought Dave, but have you had a look at the Zoom G6?
it has slipped under the radar a bit but looks like a good bit of gear although I think it is maybe £100 more than the G5n.

[dave robinson]

At the price it's not a cheap option, unlike the stuff I've been checking out.
I had the very expensive Line 6 Helix in 2018 and it failed seriously, leading me to sell it on. It was no better sounding than the Zoom G3xn of G5n, so there for me is the key factor.
For me it's about ease of use, reliability and does it produce the desired sound at an acceptable, sensible price. so lines have to be drawn, otherwise I may as well stick with my real deals such ad the TVS3 or Meazzi, ToneBender and expensive add ons such as ColourBox 2 and EHX Compressor, meaning back to the pedal board.