Zoom A1 Four

The Zoom A1 Four is a floor multi-effects processor from Zoom aimed at acoustic players. Zoom calls it "the first Multi-Effects Processor designed for a variety of acoustic string and wind instruments," so it is not simply an electric-guitar unit repackaged: its effects and presets are built around acoustic instruments, from unplugged guitar tones to wind instruments like trumpet and harmonica¹.

It was announced in September 2019 alongside the Zoom A1X Four, a version with a built-in expression pedal, and both became available from October 2019. The two follow the G1 Four and G1X Four, Zoom's multi-effects for electric guitar, and share those units' enclosures and many of their features².

A multi-effects processor for acoustic instruments

The A1 Four comes preloaded with over 80 effects, of which more than 35 are new designs aimed at acoustic instruments¹. Zoom says the unit adds "a multitude of warm and rich tones to your guitar. From live 'unplugged' performance sounds to the finger-playing style of country and blues"¹.

For acoustic guitarists specifically, the unit offers 15 presets for acoustic guitar modeling, which recreate the characteristics of different acoustic guitars, and Gearnews reported at launch that another 13 presets are available via the free Zoom Guitar Lab software². Zoom's own page gives the same split: 15 factory presets plus 13 more as a free Guitar Lab download³.

The A1X Four sits above it in the range. Like the G1X Four, it adds an expression pedal, and it comes with 8 additional pedal-controlled effects to adjust volume, pitch, reverb, delay, and wah³².

Patches for wind instruments

Two of the preset patches show how far Zoom pushed past guitar:

• "Tp MD70" tunes the Pedal Wah to the low frequency range and curve of the trumpet, so the wah resonates and adapts to that instrument's register¹.
• "Hm StevieW" modifies the chorus's wet signal to fit the frequency response of the chromatic harmonica, for what Zoom calls that famous harmonica sound¹.
• "Hm Juke" simulates the Bullet Mic (Green Bullet), so a player using any standard vocal microphone can get the warm, amplified harmonica tone the Green Bullet is known for¹.

Controls and performance modes

The A1 Four and A1X Four share the same enclosures as the G1 Four and G1X Four, whose control panel Zoom also designed for desktop use as well as floor operation²⁴. The LCD shows the five effects and amps you can run simultaneously, as Gearnews noted of the G1 Four at its launch⁵.

Zoom gives the A1 Four two performance modes¹:

The G1 Four and G1X Four use the same two-mode scheme, though there the patch-switching mode is called PRESELECT mode rather than MEMORY mode⁶.

Pickup matching and EQ

In patches you can set the AG Pickup Selector (AG PU SEL) to match your guitar's pickup type, Piezo or Magnetic, and it adds a specific EQ modeled on a variety of dedicated processors³. Each AG MODEL can then be adjusted with four parameters, Gain, Bass, Mid and Treble, to control the volume and refine the modeled sound's output¹.

Looper and rhythm patterns

The built-in looper can record up to 30 seconds and allows you to create dynamic, multi-part arrangements³. The same 30-second recording time appears across the Four-series lineups⁷. Alongside the looper, the drum machine section offers 68 rhythm patterns designed for acoustic music, including Samba, Reggae, and Jazz, with a variety of time signatures to play along with³.

How it compares in the range

The A1 Four is the acoustic counterpart to the G1 Four, and the family relationship runs through the design: same enclosures, same two performance modes, same 30-second looper, and the same power arrangement, which on the G1 series runs on four AA batteries, with the optional Zoom AD-16 AC adapter or USB bus power as alternatives⁶³. The A1X Four adds the expression pedal and its 8 pedal-controlled effects³.

For players comparing dedicated acoustic units rather than multi-effects, Zoom's own line also includes the Zoom AC-2 Acoustic Creator, and the broader acoustic pedals category covers preamps and modeling units like the Audio Sprockets ToneDexter and the Boss AD-10.

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