Zoom reveals its new multi-effects guitar pedal: G6

GEAR 2021: We know how it is with multi-effects pedals by now; classic amps and effects modelled in fine detail… better than anything the company has ever done before… yadda yadda. But Zoom has an interesting opening gambit in the announcement of its new G6 Multi-Effects processor for guitarists. It's taken the old gold to make new combinations.

Zoom engineers looked at the tonal qualities of the best guitar amps in history and combined those signature sounds to create new amp models. And it's got brand new effects too.

Of course, there's also the classic effects and amp models with cab emulations players want and expect in the Zoom G6, and 70 pre-loaded impulse responses captured with different mics and positions (you can import over 100 IRs of your own too).

• NAMM 2021 is cancelled, but we'll be covering all the big January gear announcements right here on MusicRadar.

Zoom says it's new amp models that reference old classics range from vintage blues to progressive metal tones (they use the term 'Djent' that some people can't stand being used to describe progressive metal… but you get the idea). Further details on these new amps or effects isn't forthcoming as yet - but you can hear it in action for now in the video at the top. 

What we do know is the Zoom G6 features a 4.3-inch colour touchscreen with drag and drop signal chains. There's 135 preloaded effects and compatibility with Zoom's Guitar Lab software, plus 68 rhythm patterns to jam along with.

The G6 has room for 240 user patches, including 100 user presets. And you can create patches using up to seven effects. 

An Infinite Looper provides up to 256 loops with a maximum time of two hours when using an SD-card. 

The G6 offers four Play Modes: one for that looper, Memory (for organising patches and each of the unit's four footswitches will activate a patch), Preset Banks (scroll up and down your banks and patches) and Effects Board (a visual representation of your pedal chain and you can effects on and off with assigned footswitches). The touchscreen and footswitch layout will change accordingly. 

The unit also has a mono input, stereo outputs with output volume control, a mono FX loop, aux in, control in and headphone out. You can also use the G6 as an interface for recording via its USB port. Steinberg's Cubase LE software also comes with it. 

The Zoom G6 is shipping in Spring 2021 for £442.80.