ZoomMS-70CDR+ MultiStomp guitar multi-effects pedal for reverb and modulation | 149 different effects | Chorus | Delay | Reverb | Phaser | Flanger | Tremolo | Vibrato and many more | blue

Would like a few more common combinations were not all shoegaze.

As an owner of the previous CDR70, the key improvement here is the digital conversion - the old model had 'tone suck', and (for me) a background hum, but I don't discern any here, which allows me to use the unit with my 'serious' guitar fx.The new buttons are nice too. Having four knobs rather than three is a bit fiddly, but I'd rather have the extra parameter accessible than not.I love the zoom interface that lets you chain multiple fx and have easy hands-on control of the parameters.In terms of fx quality, it may have improved a bit, but I'm not sure. The quality level is still a touch below premium, but very useable. There are a few fx that are hard to find elsewhere for the price. I'm a particular fan of the Particle Verb and Ice Delay. There are several nice choruses.I use the CDR partly to compensate for the block limitations of my GT1000 core. E.g. the GT doesn't really allow more than one simultaneous reverb. The fact that the zoom and GT are both very low latency makes them a good combination.A plus point of the old multistomp series was that, after a time, it became possible to combine fx from different multistomps within one pedal - e.g. amp sims from the MS50G in the CDR70. I'm aware that some are finding ways to do this with the new editions, but at the time of writing I'm not aware of a straightforward way that doesn't involve more programming knowledge than I possess. Hopefully that will change, as this edition is less useful than the old one in this respect atm. Clearly Zoom want to encourage people to buy more than one multistomp, but it is unfortunate that this puts the new models at a disadvantage. This especially applies to the new MS50, which uses IR only for the preamp stage and lacks cab sim, forcing users to buy the IR pedal (or that of a 3rd party) to have a self-contained amp sim setup - terrible decision. So I hope that at some point I will be able to use this as I did the old multistomps - as a self-contained setup for preamp, cab, and multi-fx.As with the old version, midi program change is available via the usb connector; to have that on a pedalboard, you need a usb host like the very good CME h4 midi that I use. The CDR allows the midi receive channel to be specified.Things it would be nice to have that are lacking: an expression pedal input; the option to pass a mono signal through and use the spare in/out as a loop to place e.g. an analogue stomp box in the middle of the CDR70 signal path. The only routing flexibility I'm aware of is the Line Selector block, that lets you toggle bypass of x blocks at the back end of the chain.In summary, I really like this stomp and recommend it, but be aware of the limitations vs the old models.

Really wanted to love this — the effects are genuinely great, especially for the price. But in my home studio setup (running through a mixer with proper power and cables), I kept getting a noticeable hiss and interference. Tried a few different configurations but couldn’t get it quiet enough to be usable. Shame, because it’s otherwise a brilliant little box. Probably fine in a different setup, but just didn’t work out for me.

If compared with the BOSS Ch-1 Chorus pedal, the Zoom MS-70CDR+ (plus) is excellent value for money. It's also a definite improvement on the earlier 3 knob version of the same pedal, with some extra effects on-board. Both mono and stereo inputs and outputs are available. The build quality compares with BOSS pedals.There are 3 ways to power the pedal, USB-C lead, 2 x AA batteries or a power supply. However, none of these are supplied with the pedal and have to be purchased separately. Also the manual, effects list and user guide have to be downloaded from the Zoom website.The pedal comes with a shed load of pre-set patches, some of which are quite useable, but others are not. User defined patches can also be 'built' and saved with up to 6 effects 'chained' (like on an guitar pedal effects board). There are around 140 effects to choose from in total from the on-board effects 'Library'. Some are very good but some sound similar to each other and need to be 'tweaked' using the knobs.The pedal is fairly easy to use just from reading the downloadable 'Quick Start Guide'. However, it's a real pain to operate only with your foot if wearing shoes. The selection pads are 'awkward' to press and this requires the user to bend down and operate them with fingers (as do the knobs).Overall the pedal is well worth the money but may be not for everyone. It's worth pointing out that CDR stands for Chorus, Delay and Reverb so don't expect any distortion or overdrive effects in this pedal. It also seems to suit some synth players due to the 'Ambient' sounds that it can produce.

It's a very decent sounding unit for what it is but if you're running purely analog FX chain it might not be the best choice.

Good fun to use