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Posts: 1225
Location: Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey | I just picked up one of these last night and after using it for a few hours, I'm quite impressed. So far, I've only used the factory presets, but there are actually quite a few useful ones. It even has a setting for 12 string guitar which sounds fantastic with my Legend LX 12. Unlike many of the "multi" effect units that I've used, this one is quiet and the preset patches are set so the the effects enhance, rather than overwhelm the guitar's natural sound. My only complaint is the lack of a balanced XLR output, but it does have a "High/low" output switch, which when set to "high", works fine when I plug it in to the "Hi-Z imput on my mixer. Another cool feature is that you can edit the user patches on your computer (which I haven't tried yet). I'm looking forward to trying it out at my gig on Friday night. Anyone else tried this pedal yet? |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Schroeder's got one (AG Stomp, the original), he seems to think pretty highly of it as well. |
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July 2005
Posts: 176
| I have the purple one but I loaded the patches for acoustic on it from the website.
I just got a Korg Pandora PX4A and can't say enough good about it.
It does have a bit more background noise than I would like, but it isn't really that bad. |
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November 2004
Posts: 4413
| I haven't tried the new one, but the old one is the bee's knees and the dog's doodah. The Magistomps look so little compared to the battleship I've got. I don't doubt they are very good and very strong. I may have mentioned before I'm a big Yamaha fan. |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by schroeder:
the dog's doodah. ...? Is this the British translation of the cat's ass? |
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November 2004
Posts: 4413
| The cat's ass
I believe that is the American translation of the dog's doodah. |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | ...but here we kick the cat's ass whilst trying to avoid stepping in the dog's doodah... |
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November 2004
Posts: 4413
| I think you're mistranslating doodah. |
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October 2005
Posts: 5331
Location: Cicero, NY | Whoa! I know I was! :eek: |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Pardon me. Stepping on the dog's doodah. |
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November 2004
Posts: 4413
| :D |
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January 2006
Posts: 2120
Location: Chicago | Anyone able to set the Magic Stomp alongside the new ZOOM A2.1u and give a comparison? |
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January 2004
Posts: 1225
Location: Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey | Oh, how quickly an innocent thread can go down hill! I love it :D
After a few more days of practicing with the Yamaha, I'm still very impressed with it. I'm going to gig with it tonight for the real test. I was originally looking for a compact pedal to use instead of my current pedalboard with takes up valuable floor space in the crammped quarters in which I normally work. It turns out that this thing can do all of that and much more. This weekend, I'm going to play with the software and edit some patches. It looks fairly easy. |
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August 2005
Posts: 616
Location: cincinnati, ohio | Hey, Greg--
Don't know about the Zoom A2.1u, but I compared a Zoom 504 II acoustic processor to the old Yamaha AG stomp and bought the Zoom. It was mostly a "bang for the buck" issue. The Yamaha sounded great, and I would have gotten it if I had the money (I've got a kid in college), but I didn't have the budget for it, and soundwise the Zoom held its own.
I haven't regretted getting the Zoom; it's a road warrior, and I've also used it to record. Patch A2 is a dynamite 12-string; D1 is my "James Taylor" setting (nice chorus); D2 is a universal acoustic sound (reminiscent of Neil Young), and D3 is the same setting with a heavier bass; and C3 is my "Creedence" setting-- strum the opening chords to "Bad Moon Rising" and you'd swear it was coming from John Fogerty's guitar. There are patches for graphite tops, and an acoustic wah-wah (which works great on Jimi's "Wind Cries Mary"). A5 is acoustic distortion if you need to rock 'n' roll. These are all presets (there are 36); you can mix and match and program your own if you want to. It's nice to have 80 kajillion patches, but to be honest, you find yourself going back to about 6 or 8 that you use a lot, and every once in a while you might pull out one or another oddball setting.
Personally, I like Zoom's stuff. It's inexpensive but well-made, and often has more features than comparable higher-priced equipment. I bought their killer little drum machine, the MRT3B, for $99 new, and it's great. My band's using it on the CD we're recording, and people who hear the rough cuts keep asking us who our drummer is! We can also use it when we play live, and it's great for me when I do a solo gig. |
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June 2004
Posts: 580
Location: NW NJ | I've got the Zoom A2. Like it a lot. I built a half dozen patches that I use all the time. Compared to the 504II, it is metal and has nice, beefy footswitches which gives me more confidence that I had in the 504.
The sounds you can get and the adjustability are really good. Tried a Yamaha Stomp for my electric once. It wasn't nearly as easy for me to get a programming handle on as I found the A2. |
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September 2005
Posts: 3619
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | I recently purchased the new Zoom acoustic with the built in expression pedal. I got it two weeks ago, but haven't had a chance to really get into it yet. Do you know if there are any downloadable effects besides the ones that came with it? |
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August 2005
Posts: 616
Location: cincinnati, ohio | Which model #? |
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September 2005
Posts: 3619
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | Zoom A2.1U |
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August 2005
Posts: 616
Location: cincinnati, ohio | Sorry I haven't gotten back. I'm not having any luck finding an official Zoom website. They don't list one in the manuals for the 504II acoustic processor or the MRT3B drum machine, and a search of the web turned up zilch. I wonder if they're a subsidiary of another company, and you need to go to the main company site? Anybody have any ideas? |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Rick, it's a Japanese company (shocker!),
Here\'s the manufacturer's site. They're distributed by Samson in the US. |
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August 2005
Posts: 616
Location: cincinnati, ohio | Thanks, Waskel. I knew they were Japanese, but you can usually at least find a website somewhere--Ibanez, for example. I "warn't findin' nuthin'!" Thanks again-- I'd like to check them out myself. |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Let's see... I googled 'zoom products'... that led me to Samson... the 'About Samson' page told me Zoom was a Japanese company... googled "zoom japan' which led me to zoom.co.jp/english...
I often have to track down obscure computer and network hardware (and lyrics and chords and tabs...), I guess it's a gift. |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Originally posted by Waskel:
I guess it's a gift. . . . . first time i've heard 'geek' described that way. |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Ahem... quiet, Lefty. |
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August 2005
Posts: 616
Location: cincinnati, ohio | When I need obscure chord/lyric sheets, Iknow who to call now-- the Waskel!
Man, that Zoom A2.1u looks SLICK!! I'm going to have to hit the local GC and check it out. |
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August 2005
Posts: 616
Location: cincinnati, ohio | By the way, I found out the Zoom A2.1u has an ADAMAS setting feature on its guitar modeling choices! |
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March 2002
Posts: 15677
Location: SoCal | You know, I bought a Zoom A2 a few weeks ago... in fact it was the same day that I came down with a real nasty-ass flu. I didn't care for the Adamas model. And I finally returned the A2 because every time I looked at it I wanted to puke. It just reminded me of the flu way too much. |
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August 2005
Posts: 616
Location: cincinnati, ohio | Maybe it was the bilious green color. I don't think they've done cases that color before. Did the Adamas sound too quacky or what? |
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September 2005
Posts: 3619
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | I've goofed around a little with mine, and Most of the modeling sounds seemed ok to me. As far as the Adamas modeled sound ... I wasn't thrilled with it. Since I am playing my Adamas through the thing, the idea seems a little counter productive. I HAVE the Adamas sound. I'm sure I will like the effects though, since I really liked the older model. Where you really make money is when you go into each effect and make your own adjustments. There are so many parameters you can adjust, you can get lost in them. What I've done with my last pedal is I adjusted/set three different effects for each one of my guitars. Starting with very little added, then adding progressively more effects(ie., chorus,reverb,delay,flanger,etc.)with each of the three settings, then I store them in different banks. It keeps it fairly simple that way. I'm sure I'll be doing the same with this new pedal, accept now I'll have a lot more control, using the USB cable and the computer software they furnish with it. I can't wait to get a chance to do it. |
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March 2002
Posts: 15677
Location: SoCal | You know, these things are fun toys, but to get a really good sound, all you really need is eq capacity, either on the guitar or off board. |
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March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | A little bit of reverb on the acoustic amp sounds pretty cool. That's about all I use if I plug in at all, but I'm the only one listening. |
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August 2005
Posts: 616
Location: cincinnati, ohio | Since I got a Roland AC60 Acoustic Chorus amp, I haven't used the Zoom 504II nearly as much as I used to. I used to use it mostly to help out my Ibanez AEF18TVS (which I use when I play places where I don't want to risk my Ovations). My Ovations don't need it with the Fishman pickups. Just a little chorus, delay, and reverb, and some judicious EQ. The Balladeer has a very James Taylor-esque sound when the effects are bumped just above threshhold and the EQ is about flat. |
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Yamaha Magic Stomp Acoustic