Zoom Multistomp MS-70CDR

ManualsBrandsZoom ManualsGuitar & Bass EffectsMulti-effects device / pedal

NINEBOYS / ZOOM

REVIEWS

TYPE: Cigar box fretless guitar

BODY: A cigar box!

NECK: Multi-laminated wood,

flat mahogany-like fingerboard

HARDWARE: Die-cast enclosed tuners

ELECTRONICS: Onboard piezo pickup

w/volume control

FINISH: La Aroma De Cuba or

Arturo Fuente boxes

CONTACT: Nineboys Ltd

01284 828933 www.nineboys.co.uk

FEATURES

SOUND QUALITY

VALUE FOR MONEY

BUILD QUALITY

USABILITY

OVERALL RATING

SUMMARY

A smokin’ slide guitar made from a cigar box…

NINEBOYS CIGAR BOX

G U ITA R

£99

WE’VE

played some

unusual

instruments, but this CBG (that’s

Cigar Box Guitar) takes the cigar.

Its roots date back to the late

1800s, and kindred instruments

have been played recently by the

likes of Seasick Steve.

Nineboys has already brought

us the one-string Delta Wedge

diddley bow, and here, made in the

UK, is the ‘upmarket’ three-string

version. The body is literally a cigar

box, with a 40x15mm central

spine, laminated for strength. At

the body end, it anchors the

strings, while the long extension

forms the neck and fingerboard.

The neck’s pretty square, crudely

stained and barely sanded, and the

fingerboard is what looks like

cheap mahogany, with no frets or

position markers – rudimentary,

but true to the spirit. Some CBGs

use a threaded bolt for the nut and

saddle; here, it’s a little more

sophisticated, but not by much.

There are decent tuners for the

three strings, and an onboard

piezo pickup with volume control.

Tunings-wise, 1st, 5th, 1st

(octave up) works well – so, DAD

or EBE suffice for basic open D and

open E tunings. Grab your slide,

set up a dirty blues crunch tone

and you’ll find that piezo pickup is

lively – while it also picks up any

pick-hand slaps and percussion,

it’s not great at volume. Hardly

essential, then, but it has an

undeniable appeal, and it’s fun.

Dave Burrluck

Zooming in on chorus, delay and ’verb

ZOOM MULTISTOMP

MS-70CDR

£99

THE

latest pedal in Zoom’s

MultiStomp line

does away with the MS-50G and

MS-100BT’s amp and overdrive

models, and instead focuses

its efforts on chorus, delay and

reverb. The MS-70CDR features

exclusive all-new models of pedals

cloned from the likes of Eventide,

Strymon and TC Electronic.

Three push-button knobs adjust

onscreen parameters, while four

cursor keys scroll through effects

and add or remove them. You can

chain up to six together and save

them as one of 50 patches.

Assigning a patch to a letter of the

alphabet lets you to scroll through

them using the footswitch.

On the whole, the effects are

impressive, with the reverbs a real

highlight – soundscapers will love

Space Hole’s modulation and

Particle’s mangled reverberations.

The huge range of delays also

inspires, from analogue-voiced

classics to more out-there settings

such as Trigger Hold Delay, which

samples your guitar. Choruses

range from the pristine Mirage to

the warbly Clone, and while the

tones aren’t quite as chewy as a

good analogue chorus, the choice

is staggering.

So if you’re after a highly

tweakable chorus, delay and

reverb pedal, the MS-70CDR is a

worthy investment. We would

have liked a few more modulation

options, but at this price and with

these sounds, it’s hard to go wrong.

Michael Brown

AT A GLANCE

TYPE: Multi-effects pedal

CONTROLS: 3x parameter knobs,

4x cursor keys

EFFECTS: 86 (27 chorus/modulation,

26 delay, 29 reverb, 4 other)

SOCKETS: Stereo inputs, stereo outputs,

power, USB

BYPASS: Buffered

POWER: 2x AA batteries (included),

9V power supply, USB bus power

CONTACT: Zoom UK 01462 791100

www.zoom.co.jp