Multi-effect processors can get a bad rap.
Most of us as guitar players usually start with something like this, usually cheaply built with little routing capability and more effects than you could ever use packed into it all. With the advent of technological advancement, more processing power being available than ever before, these multi-effect pedals are getting better and better. One of these, the Zoom MS-50G+ MultiStomp could find a home easily on the board of a seasoned professional session musician who needs multiple sounds available at all times, or a budding guitarist foraging their own path on their way to a signature sound.
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The Zoom MS-50G+ MultiStomp is a mono in, stereo out guitar pedal, housed in a road-ready, albeit compact, enclosure that’s dominated primarily by a screen and a handful of simple controls. Inside it are 100 effects and amp models, an onboard tuner and some versatile power options.
MS-50G+ MultiStomp
The Zoom MS-50G+ MultiStomp is powered by two AA batteries (R.I.P. to the 9V battery industry being held up by guitarists and smoke alarms!), as well as having the option to be powered by an AC adapter or bus-powered via USB. This’ll be handy when using Handy Guitar Lab App for iOS, where you can view, download, and delete effects to customise your MS-50G+. This serves two purposes, both making the most of the storage space available as well as keeping your rigs organised i.e. as a session player for multiple bands, acts or artists. It’s all good and well to have everything you need available at all times, but scrolling through countless menus is easier said than done on a darkly lit stage! The MS-50G+ has space for 100 memory patches (85 factory presets + 15 user) at any given time.
The Zoom MS-50G+ MultiStomp also features a Power Management function that turns off the pedal when unused for extended periods, as simply inserting a jack into the ¼” input point turns the pedal on. The main footswitch is surrounded by four Cross Key switches that are easily controllable by foot to scroll and access menus of patches and parameters.
On the other side of the pedal are stereo outputs, with the left channel serving as the Mono out for the more simple minded amongst us. The MS-50G+ picks up where the original MS-50G left off, with more advanced tech than before!
Impulse responses
While the MS-50G sounded great, the MS-50G+ really lives up to the little ‘+’ annexed to its name. Tech has come a long way, particularly in the amp emulation and impulse response (IR), the MS-50G+ incorporating Zoom’s Multi-Layer IR technology for amplifier preamp emulation. Sonically, there’s not much to say beyond how great the MS-50G+ sounds! While some amplifiers and emulations have me thinking about the circuit, what may be lacking, the MS-50G+ was immediately inspiring, true to source and again—great. The absence of any hindrance, sonically or emotionally is what made the MS-50G+ stand out, as some emulsions might be theoretically accurate but lacking the feeling and grit of a real amp. Lacking, the MS-50G+ is not!
In use the MS-50G+ is really simple to cycle through the drive and effect sounds, the multi-colour screen changed to remind me what settings I was on, easily noticeable from wherever you are on stage. What’s more, the tuner has expanded support for different tunings, and as a player of primarily metal that really likes to push the tuning boundaries of their chosen scale length, this was a great addition. More tuners than you realise struggle at Drop C or lower!
The MS-50G+ builds on the success of its predecessor, well-packaged and revised with all the modern tech since the MS-50G was discontinued. With not only more power under the hood, but more storage, Zoom has been able to preserve everything about the MS-50G and build. Because of this, this pedal offers better amp emulations with Multi-Layer IR technology, as well as more effects and more space to store your own sounds. The gig-ready metal housing hasn’t changed much, besides an additional knob for scrolling through menus on a well-lit screen, and the Cross Key switches are easier to control with a foot than ever, leaving your hands free to feel the push and pull of the fantastic sounding amp and drive tones.
As we discussed earlier, multi-effects have a bad rap as a cheap, entry level option for players. While the accessible price of the MS-50G+ might continue to make it an option for entry level players, the sonics and design of the pedal would make it a welcome addition to any player, with professional-grade effects, drives, amp tones and more. The MS-50G+ had a lot to live up to, but here we are singing, or more so shredding, its praises.
For local Zoom enquiries, and a list of stockists to buy a Zoom MS-50G+ MultiStomp Guitar Pedal, visit Dynamic Music.
