Zoom G5 arrived last week. I was very sick (not the flu) and then my daughter got really sick (pneumonia) and had very little time to monkey with it. However, I was able plug it in and give it a go. I used an Ultimate 57 plugged straight in and then to my computer. I only used studio speakers to dial in tones, so I have not tried it with a PA speaker.
The only amp I messed with was the FD Combo, which is a Fender Twin. Preferring clean tones, I turned the gain all the way off, left the "tube compression" at only 15% and mixed from there. I was VERY pleased with the tone and dynamics...especially the huge bottom end. Very clear and very tight.
I primarily purchased the unit for effects. I knew 9 slots wouldn't be enough, but after running through most of them at their stock settings, was floored with the mods and filters. Going with a few basic harp-friendly effects, I found the following (will hopefully be of use to anyone getting a G5 or G3...will do a recording sometime this week):
Aut-wah...works fine, but you lose bottom end. There are other effects like the M-Filter and Resonance that are similar and have better tone
Phaser...the first one is awesome. The other are not traditional phasers, but I love me some phaser and this is my favorite (having used Line 6 and Digitech before)
Octave...the Boss OC2 model stinks. Don't use it. Use the Pitch Shift tuned down. That sounds really good. I thought the DT one was fantastic. This one is just as good at tracking and sounds a bit warmer
Rotary...Huge for me...it works fine. I liken it to the DT one. I preferred the Line 6, which is weird as it is supposed to suck, but the G5 will work fine for my intended use. There is an Organ patch that actually blew me away for its tracking and tone. I generally just go for rotary, but the Organ is way cool
Delay...all have their merits and I had no problem dialing in a great analog tone. The Filter Delay is like the Sweep Echo form L6, which I loved. That is my default long delay for rock. I really was after the Pitch Delay, which also works really well. I wanted to cop a Popper effect (Eventide H8000 mode which is also no the Timefactor). I couldn't quite nail it as I think his is simply a +2 octave delay set to 3-4 repeats. On this unit, every repeat goes up an octave. My solution was to set a rather short time and get the first delay at +1 so that the +2 octave sounds a bit later and adds space. I am VERY content with how it turns out.
Reverbs...better than L6, not as good at DT, but I'll have zero issues. I don't use a lot of reverb anyways.
Chorus...works fine
Flanger...works fine
There are a TON of other effects link Ring Mod and such that I gave a quick listen too, but didn't spend any time with. I spent about 30min with the unit and could gig with a basic effects chain tonight if I had to. I need to learn how to shuffle the pedal order should I decide to change it and how I can best change from bank to bank. I quickly found that 8 effects plus 1 amp model wasn't enough, lol. Just doing an auto-wah and octave effect with the amp model and delay is four patches.
The con of this being that if you create a new bank, you'd have to tweak the amp patch to match the other banks. The easiest solution is to free up the space and tweakability by using a preamp for your tone instead of the G5. This means more gear, though. For the time being, though. I am set. It will be a long time before that is a problem for me. Right now, I am torn on what I want from the first bank as my "main rig" in terms of effects. I think the amp model and delay I have going are really really solid. There are just too many fun sounds on the unit to try and narrow it down. ---------- Custom Harmonicas
