Members jkelter Posted May 29, 2009 Members Share Posted May 29, 2009 I play a fender Stratocaster through a zoom G7.1ut into a Roland JC120 amp. In general this setup sounds harsh and tinny. I have tried changing guitars amps effects etc but the problem is the zoom. Strat straight into amp is pure heaven! I have spent weeks changing the zoom settings and at this stage I give up. If you cant dial in some decent sounds after weeks of tweaking its just not worth the effort! I am looking to go back to basics. I am thinking of replacing the zoom with some stompboxes. I will use the chorus and reverb on the amp. What would the best distortion / overdrive pedals be for the amp and guitar I use? I am looking for pedals for 1. A crunch type sound for rock / blues. Not too distorted or heavy. (Clapton, U2, police, the who, etc)2. A heavier sound for rock / heavy rock. Heavier distortion without being overly metal. (Thin Lizzy, Rory Gallagher, Whitesnake, AC/DC etc.)3. Some sort of boost for lead / solos to cut through and add sustain. Can anyone make recommendations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cats-o-caster Posted May 29, 2009 Members Share Posted May 29, 2009 Ibanez tube screamer should cover base 1. and 3. For distortion, Boss DS1 will be ok - not overly metal for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cats-o-caster Posted May 29, 2009 Members Share Posted May 29, 2009 Forgot to mention, i use screamer TS-808 for rehearsals and gigs, and i have small Behringer T-100 tube overdrive pedal at home. It's made of shit, but works very nice, and for 20$ ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StompBoxLover Posted May 29, 2009 Members Share Posted May 29, 2009 DigiTech Bad Monkey & Hot Head (that's overdrive and distortion) SD Pickupbooster to err... boost... or check out some DIY websites: www.diystompboxes.com uk-electronic Musikding Tonepad overdrive, distortion, boost and fuzz boxes are pretty easy to build and it's lots of fun. also, just because the Zoom sucks (well THAT'S news, hehehe) you don't have to give up on all multieffect boxes. the Vox Tonelab series sounds very good and is worth a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor49 Posted May 29, 2009 Members Share Posted May 29, 2009 I have spent weeks changing the zoom settings and at this stage I give up. If you cant dial in some decent sounds after weeks of tweaking its just not worth the effort! Granted the manuals are fairly useless for these things, but still surprised you can't get close to the sounds you have listed. Try http://forum.thestompbox.net or http://giasso.s42.eatj.com/zooM/home.jsp Plenty of people with the same stuff to share settings with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Flogger59 Posted May 29, 2009 Members Share Posted May 29, 2009 There are choices in the Zoom menu that are optimized for different situations,eg: into a PA, into a pwer amp, or into a guitar amp. Make sure that the appropriate setting is used for the output. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StompBoxLover Posted May 29, 2009 Members Share Posted May 29, 2009 Make sure that the appropriate setting is used for the output. sometimes a deliberate mismatch can be useful, too. some Marshalls, for exsample, sound pretty dull when you use the fx return as modeler input. going from the modeler into the 'normal' input and adjustig the eq worked much better for me on more than one occasion. btw. how do you like the sound from the Zoom over headphones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jkelter Posted May 29, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 29, 2009 Granted the manuals are fairly useless for these things, but still surprised you can't get close to the sounds you have listed. Try http://forum.thestompbox.net or http://giasso.s42.eatj.com/zooM/home.jspPlenty of people with the same stuff to share settings with. Yeh I might try some of these user patches again but they rearly work out. I guess if someone is after creating a patch using a les paul and marshall it will sound totally diferent when I use a strat into a jazz chorus. I think the main problem with this unit is that it changes the sound of the guitar even with the unit in bypass. Straight into the amp i am happy with the clean tone. Plug in the zoom and turn off all effects the guitar sounds tinny and harsh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor49 Posted May 29, 2009 Members Share Posted May 29, 2009 sometimes a deliberate mismatch can be useful, too.some Marshalls, for exsample, sound pretty dull when you use the fx return as modeler input. going from the modeler into the 'normal' input and adjustig the eq worked much better for me on more than one occasion.btw. how do you like the sound from the Zoom over headphones? agreed - you have to be creative with any multi-option modellers. Its easy to write it off if you don't succeed at first. The standard stuff has a lot of bad shredding setups. Headphones or recording seem OK, as does output to power amp ie using it as a tube preamp. I have G 9.2tt and that can be made to sound pretty good, especially keeping the cabinet models in. After all you want the sound, not what the instructions tell you.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Into Nation Posted May 29, 2009 Members Share Posted May 29, 2009 I use a Dano Transparent Overdrive for #1, MXR Dist + for #2, and the TOD into the MXR for #3. FWIW order seems to be important. The MXR into the TOD didn't sound nearly as good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newmaxnew Posted May 29, 2009 Members Share Posted May 29, 2009 Fulldrive 2 and an OCD is what I use to get those tones that you described. Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor49 Posted May 29, 2009 Members Share Posted May 29, 2009 I think the main problem with this unit is that it changes the sound of the guitar even with the unit in bypass. Straight into the amp i am happy with the clean tone. Plug in the zoom and turn off all effects the guitar sounds tinny and harsh. I can only get by-pass by switching to the inbuilt tuner. That sounds OK though, bearing in mind it is flat and all the patches are equ'ed, compressed etc. I don't get tinny and harsh, it is noticeably different from patches. It is much the same as direct input to the amps.I guess yours is the same arrangement for bypass? I have no idea what turning off all the effects would do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wader2k Posted May 29, 2009 Members Share Posted May 29, 2009 tinny and harsh? I use the G7 and my only problem is it seems to be slanted towards high gain....but i have settled on several patches that work great for me and are definitely not tinny and harsh...... Are you using the cab models? this thing has a very nice eq section...7 bands if i remember correctly.... maybe you got a bad one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dimibetan Posted May 29, 2009 Members Share Posted May 29, 2009 I have a G7, too. One of the best, so far... Got no problems using it.Maybe, you just have to blend the settings with your amp. It will get harsh if you dial-up all the settings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newbuilder Posted May 29, 2009 Members Share Posted May 29, 2009 I traded my G7.1 in on a small tube amp with a boost and enough gain to cover all of the territory listed above. I had to ditch the reverb tank add a digital reverb/hush to the effects loop and retube the amp before I was happy. But I have all I want right here except a phaser and a wah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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