Zoom A3 Pre-Amp and Effects for Acoustic Guitar

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $334.99
Sale Price: $199.99
Today's Bonus: 40% Off

• Pre-amp/effects pedal for acoustic guitar, Easy-to-use interface includes LCD, footswitches, analog-style cursor keys/parameter knobs and LED indicators, Remodeling presets for 16 body types and 28 popular acoustic guitar models.
• 40 effects can be used in any combination, Use two effects and one acoustic guitar model simultaneously, Acoustic guitar pre-amp with Mic and Pickup mixing options, 3-band EQ, Balance control and super-low noise design.
• Anti-feedback footswitch filters up to three frequency ranges at once, Clean Boost footswitch for up to 12dB of additional amplification, Create and store up to 20 original patches, Integrated auto-chromatic tuner.
• Tap tempo function, Direct box capability with balanced XLR output, Ground switch eliminates ground loop hum, Dedicated pickup input with pickup compensation switch (Flat, Magnetic, Piezo).
• XLR-1/4-inch combination Mic/Line input with phantom power, 1/4-inch stereo/headphone output, Up to eight hours of operation using four AA batteries (not included), AC (adapter included) and USB bus powered.

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First... the sound is very very good. I will not dispute that.

This box has limitations. You can only do four "effects" at once (including the fixed, global EXCELLENT 3-band EQ).

So... for me, that mans guitar modeling (the first bank is always guitar modeling, you can't change it) + parametric EQ (which I found necessary) and then you can add either reverb or delay or compression or chorus or mike modeling, but not two of those. I can live with that limitation, and chose mike modeling (I play in a big room, no need for reverb, and I detest chorus on acoustic guitar).

But... the user interface is measurably the very worst I've ever encountered in any digital effects processor in over 20 years of working with them, and in order to set it up to cycle between 3 different effects settings (a must for the way I do things), you have to "set it up" by hitting an unintuitive sequence of button and switch positions EVERY TIME YOU TURN IT ON!

In addition, after A/Bing it with my over-10-year-old Yamaha AG Stomp, the AG Stomp was the equal or better of this in every possible way. Most of the folks who I asked to listen to an A/B test I did thought it sounded better... so... I kept the AG Stomp and returned the A3 to the store.

I love Zoom and will probably try another product from them some day, but I can't imagine a more complete and total failure of a product.

I'd say it gets 3 stars for the guy who is going to set up one patch and use it with one guitar the same way every time.

I'd give it 0 stars for the rest of us.

So...

One star it gets (reluctantly).

Yes, I hated this product...

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Many, many impressive features in this product for the serious or amateur musician. Designed in Japan, quality outside build with nicely appointed metal casing and quality aluminum milled control knobs. Basically, an all in one acoustic Swiss Army knife-blending of onboard pickup (piezo or electromagnetic) with dynamic or powered condenser mic, modeling to mimic the great acoustic standard body types, effects processing, EQ'ing, feedback detection with autofilters and a balanced XLR out or 1/4 plug unbalanced stereo out feed. An acoustic performers dream, right?? Well... let's talk about sonic performance.

This pedal is very quiet and quiet is good when you are playing acoustic guitar and singing. You do not want a high noise floor or annoying 60hz hum disrupting your artistry. Don't worry about noise with this pedal. Again, it is very quiet. But, lets talk serious about sonic clarity and fidelity. The pedal leaves me wanting for more on the pickup side. The sound is truncated and thin with everything in a neutral position. A-B your piezo or electromagnet with and without the pedal and you will hear what I mean. Add a microphone and this is not especially noticed in the ambience of the added mic sound. But what if you don't want to play with a microphone? Zoom needs to work on putting some quality in that aspect of the sound. Blended with a microphone and into a decent console or guitar amp(s) and the unit sounds nice, but it could sound so much fuller and balanced.

Now to my super big beef with this pedal. The person in production responsible for these control knobs needs to be drawn and quartered. A bit harsh I know, but these knobs are a pain in the arse as you will discover for yourself. They are made of milled aluminum. Durable and nice looking, right? Absolutely, but how is your bear pinch and grip? The circumferential milling has left these knobs like buttered metal when you are attempting to grip and turn them... extremely annoying as you are attempting to get those sweet spots for your settings.

I plan to keep and use the pedal. I will make some modifications to the control knobs for sure or spray stick-um on my fingers. I will augment the thin sound of the piezo with the additional sound processing of the pedal. The utility of having everything this pedal does in a small, compact format outweighs the inconveniences for me. But if you are a purest in your sound and ease of use, pass this one by. Zoom needs to re-work this pedal a bit. But I guess if it was a perfect product I would stop at this one and future purchases would go un-made.

Would love to hear comments of other users as well. Have a nice day.

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I sent mine back. It definitely added to the sound but tweaking the effects was a bear. The manual just didn't tel you enough. It's very sturdy, nice looking, but it gives the impression that you can do things like make your acoustic 6 sound like a 12. I got no result even close. To me, music is hard enough and it's kind of an emotional and impulsive thing where you want to just play and not get bogged down in models and the like. Very rarely does any kind of modeller give you an interface that is "transparent"--i.e. one so easy it doesn't get in the way and become what you're doing. For the Zoom A 3 I would need consulting advice. So I bailed on it. I had just gotten rid of my electric guitar modelling amp and decided to just play acoustic. The promo for the A 3 made it look so easy that I went for it. But it turned out to be another time and study intensive think to get sounds that don't really enhance yur acoustic but over-power it with electric simulations of other things you won't use if you're an acoustic player.