u/noizblud

For any player who wants to record/gig/cover songs of certain genres but are stuck with their amp limitations, or they dont have cash to dump in amp sim VSTs on their DAW, there are solutions in the market, and for times, one stood out prominently as the first timer's entry to using Pedal effects and amp Sims without dishing out too much, with the convenience to carry it in a gig bag with a small amp and turn any stage into a small arena where you can play live.

Meet Zoom G1X Four, a compact, battery powered multi fx processor with an expression pedal (wah, volume, Octave switch, whatever you wanna assign it to). me being sorta intermediate in guitar, i needed a way to physically be able to control the effects i wanna use, straight to my trash 20w osha violating abomination of a practice amp (Vault Frenzy 20) with my Schecter Standard C1. while searching for pedals vs multi effects, having debates and conversation with other fellows in discord, i dropped being a purist and went straight for this machine because ever since I picked up a guitar, this processor always stood out as a compact and practical way to have effects in your playing.

Pros:

• Can work with 4 AA batteries or a 5v Centre Negative adapter you'd usually find with Casio keyboards or Yammie Synthesizers. I use batteries cause its compact to store

• It's usage is more tactile physical interaction based rather than using a touch screen TFT display with glorified graphics work. The screen on it is a Dot Matrix Panel with an option to turn off/on/keep the backlight on for 15-30 seconds

• The software, Zoom Guitar Lab is simple to use in both MacOS and Windows PC (tested on Apple Macbook Neo and a Windows 11 Gaming rig). you can connect the processor to the PC using a Micro USB data cable you'd find in old Smartphones, making it accessible without specific cable requirements.

• All the amp sim, effects, cabinets are based on real life equivalent of some of the famous gear used in recording (Marshall Amp sim and cabinets, Mesa Boogie Amp sim, Orange Crush Speaker cabinets, Vox British sim, Mooer/Boss/TC Electronics/Ibanez/MXR/Dunlop effects and pedals) with pre loaded patches based on real life artists and particular songs or albums or genres.

• Looper system can be set to record in bars (4/8/16), or how many seconds of playing do you need by setting the BPM using the stepper pots used for knobs. record a loop in one effect chain and play over it with another using the box switches.

• Tuner is easy to understand and tune, you can change the tuning hz setup using a knob and the 7 control buttons work as the indication for Flat/Sharp while tuning meanwhile the screen displays the note. and its chromatic by default so you can do any tuning as accurately as you can.

• Rhythm (Drum Machine) offers a range of pre recorded acoustic/electric simulated drum kits/drum machines. with a metronome playing in background you can use either some basic drum machine patterns or full on genre based kits pre loaded in the processor.

• You can use headphones/studio monitors with the processor running on batteries without any signal loss or high power consumption for isolated practice sessions.

Cons:

• if someone uses the processor for heavier sessions, 4 AA batteries won't suffice as much as a power adapter, Zoom could've provided a power adapter and probably increased the price a bit and it would still make sense for first timers because its still affordable compared to other processors.

• memory bank could've been a bit bigger to add pedals or effects chain without removing the old ones in case someone has a complex song structure and they require 3 separate chains with effects and stuff.

• You cannot use the processor as a MIDI/Codec device to record straight to DAW. you'd still need an interface to record as audio signal waveform in DAW.

• the screw lock joint on the expression pedal sort of feels flimsy with ABS plastic pedal and metal hinges. probably due to price point this might be the case but it can be ignored so I'd say its not a proper con, its just one thing specific to some people

• To use Headphones you'd need a 3/4 TRS plug on the output side. headphones are majorly available with 3.5mm stereo jack and there is no separate 3.5 port for headphones, you'd need a good 3.5mm to 3/4 TRS converter just to use headphones on it.

Final review verdict: For its price point, discounts available, and mass availability in both offline and online Shops, this pedal is a bang for buck, VFM, compact and easy to learn/use, no nonsense practical processor. In guitar terms, this processor is the Yammie Pacifica of multi fx, straightforward, gets the job done. you won't need to burn a month's paycheck after 12 hours a day shift and 4 paid leaves saved and later cashed out to buy it. It's available in the price range of 9900 (Bajaao, 8100 after discount available as of now), to 10200 (amazon, discounts and cashback on credit cards/amazon pay) and offline its available around 9500-10000 (Delhi NCR). If you're getting into pedal game first time, go for it 100%. it's not glorious, it's grounded, but it's still greater than you'd assume.

~ KB Narsus