Beginners Guitar Effects Processor Review : The Zoom G1Xn or Digitech RP55

The Guitar effects processor from Zoom – the G1XN, first released in 2009 is one of the cheapest and easy handling multi-effect gadgets available. The device is designed and Engineered in Zoom Corporation, Japan and the units are manufactured in China. It provides a metal base with soft-pads, and the top is designed with top quality plastic.

The processor comes with t a built-in tuner, which cuts the sound when tuning on stage, plus you get easy tuning if you are seeking to tune half step down or up. It is very convenient to switch patches without any type of feedback or noise, and it is best suited for guitar players looking for their first processor within a small budget. It has a built in drum machine with 40 different types of beats and rhythm pattern, with the master knob, you can also control the volume of the background beat and also alter the tempo according to your need.

There are 80 patches in total, A0 to D9 being the user patches which the user can edit and configure to his needs, and 00 to 39 pre saved factory patches which provide artist like sound. A user with good ear of tones can blend his notes and use the processor to make amazing and unique sounds. The clean tones are pleasant and sweet, and distortion is heavy and noise free.

There is a Compressor, a drive, an equalizer, Delay, ZNR/Amp setting, Modulation, Reverb, all being digital but have the feel of analog pedals. There is equalizer for each patch setting, with high, mid and low to suit the sound modes. You get ample amount of cabinets and pre-amps to choose from. There is a button to assign the pedal modes and it comes with an expression pedal attached to it. These several features make this small processor a must for many budding guitarists as you can always implement your favorite artists’ sound with it.

It requires a 9V dc supply, and requires an input current of 300mA, the adapter does not come with it, and you need to buy it separately. You should always use an appropriate adapter to suit the gadget, else a greater voltage or higher input current may burn the circuit. You can even run the system on 4 “AA” sized batteries which can provides you the same crunchy tones for 4 hours.

In the end, I would like to suggest every beginner guitar player to try out this pedal.

Another affordable boon for the beginner guitarists is the Digitech RP55. Unlike the G1Xn, it is engineered in the USA and manufactured in China. Its built quite sturdily and has a metal base and its size is such crafted that it easily fits in a guitar gig bag. Since its designed in the USA, it gives the guitarists much more options to select from.

The processor has a built-in chromatic tuner, and is equipped with a noise gate, with low noise 24-Bit analog digital converters. There is a 2 digit easy to read LED display. It is a very user-friendly gadget, with 80 patches. There are 40 factory patches (though these are below standard) and 40 customizable. Editing patches to required needs is very simple as its manual provides step by step instructions. You can customize to any preferred tone as the processor comes with 11 Amp modes, 4 Cabinet presets and 27 different effects.

A user can get a decent range of tones out of the RP55. With little changes to the factory patches, it sounds much more aggressive and crunchy. This small but useful processor delivers sound quality equivalent to analog pedals. Made available with digital delay, the tempo being adjustable, Reverb modes ranging from Hall to Spring and impressive decay, and improved Modulation. It also has a 30 built in drum machine patterns with a tempo controller like the G1Xn, making itself worth every penny you paid for.

You can play genres ranging from blues to funk to metal with the RP55. Only defect of this gadget is that it does not provide a pedal, but has expression pedal inputs for whammy, wah and volume. The system can be run by 6 'AA' batteries or a 9V DC supply with negetive polarity, hence an appropriate adapter should be used.

I would suggest you to go with the Digitech product as you you get much more options to select your tones and customize them. Zoom is at par to it, but the RP55 is equipped much better quality of sound. As a beginner guitarist, you should try out both these amazing products.