I greatly appreciate these software based vids. I'm very lazy about learning download/upgrade stuff. I use zoom bass and guitar pedals (B1x, G1x) and can say that the FX mentioned are in the pedals and quite useful.
You're welcome. I wasn't too interested in downloading the software at first either. The whole point of the R20 is that I like to keep my music making process away far away from a computer if I can. However, this free software is worth the download if you own a Zoom product that can interface with Guitar Lab.
Mr. Gaz, Charles here. I have 2 questions. Viewed the guitar Lab video. Can you audition the different effects before bringing them in to the R20, as to not overload the R20 with unwanted effects and processing power? 2nd question, the #1 record track on my R20 has stopped working, no inputs put to #1 record track register on the mixer view screen. approximately 6 projects have been created with 1 project extremely edited, with the viewing of your R20 how to videos, is all the work load my R20 received from my not so smart editing. Thanks, the old guy from Florida.
Hi Charles. If you are adding effects and effect patches via Guitar Lab you unfortunately cannot preview the sounds. I typically load new individual effects onto the R20 via Guitar Lab, and then I tweak the patches and settings for the patches directly on the R20. If you edit effects directly on the R20 you can hear the changes. That's weird about the #1 track not working. I'm not sure what happened there. One thing to check -- I believe there is maximum of 50 audio regions maximum per project. If you already hit 50 regions, you might not be able to add any more. If you are still having issues, you might want to try a factory reset. I just posted a video on how to do that...it might fix your problem?
No. The R8 doesn't work with Guitar Lab. Neither do the R16 or R24 - those all came out well before Guitar Lab was created. Just the newer R12 and R20 work with Guitar Lab (and several Zoom effects pedals).
Question...? Editor icon is grayed out and nothing happens when clicked.. I am using a usb-c to usb- c cable. Could that be the issue? Or something else? I love your videos about this product and was a factor in purchasing it.,.....Edit update... Found out you need to run the program as administrator then it works fine.
Sorry for the delayed response. But yes, you do need to run it as an administrator for it to work since the R20 "talks" to the computer, like malware would. So for security purposes, you'll need to be logged in as an admin. Additionally, you can have random weirdness where the R20 will connect to the computer, and stay connected to the computer, but somehow lose the connection to Guitar Lab. I've had this happen to me a number of times. I do seem to have more success when I'm using a USB-C to USB-A cable that runs at USB 2.0 speeds (480 Mbps) compared to true USB 3.0 speeds (5Gbps). I think that's because even though the R20 has a USB-C port, it only runs at USB 2.0 speeds. So sometimes switching to that type of cable helps. Other times you just have to shut down both your computer and R20, reboot and connect again. That usually solves the problem.
salut et merci pour tes videos.j'ai une question. pourquoi sur guitarlab je n'ai pas accès a editor? il est grisé et sur certain patch il y a un triangle orange?merci
Guitar Lab only allows you to edit the R20's effect patches. It doesn't provide any additional track editing support. You can simply take the SD card out of the R20 and pop it into your computer, though. From there you can access the individual tracks as separate .WAV files. So if you have a DAW you can easily drop in those separate tracks and do whatever editing you want to on the computer that way. That workflow works really well.
Thanks for your videos, very good! Looking at purchasing an r20. My question, as you are editing the patches, are you able to listen as you are adjusting the different effect settings, or do you just add what you think you'll want and tweak them when back on the R20?
You cannot listen to the effects adjustments when you are using Guitar Lab. However, you can listen to adjustments if you have a guitar or something plugged into the R20 and you edit the effects directly on the R20.
Nice video....I'm wondering how to map my FCB1010 to control these live, and perhaps some sliders from my keyboard to use some of the edit options live.
While that would be super cool, I don't think you'll be able to pull that off. At least...I don't see any way to pull that off with the firmware right now. The old R8 and R24 had 1/4" footswitch inputs. The R20 doesn't have a footswitch input control and it doesn't have 5-pin MIDI. Unless Zoom somehow supplies a firmware update that allows you to control effects or slider controls through USB-MIDI, I don't see it happening. And I just don't think Zoom is going to do that....I doubt the R20 has the internal circuitry to be able to do that. That is one of my complaints about the R20 and R12 - there is no footswitch control. I used the footswitch control on my old R8 to punch in and out for recording and to turn effects on/off. While it's not a huge loss on the R20, I do miss being able to do that when needed...
@@GazRendar TY for gracious reply. I'm using the R20 also as a mixer, and I wonder how good are the DACs and analog audio output quality compared to other mixers. I know the recording is very clean. TR out or TRS?
No. You just need to download the current version of GuitarLab from the website and install that onto your computer. You can then connect the R20 to the computer and adjust effects while offline. The effects are all stored in the software that'll be on your computer...they are not in a cloud somewhere.
I'm trying to make a short video about this right now to clear up some confusion for people. Many other have had related questions to this. I've actually just been using 64 and 128GB cards and those have been more than sufficient for multiple full-sized projects. And every once in awhile I back those cards up (using my computer) to a large networked hard drive I have in my home. To date, I haven't tested a card larger than 256GB. There is some conflicting documentation about the R20 - some places says it maxes out at 512GB and other places says it can take a 1TB card. So I'm not sure what the max is because the biggest card I have is only 256 right now. But practically speaking, if you just get yourself a good 128GB or 256GB card, you'll be good for a long time. The exception would be if you're like trying to record 3hour long live shows every weekend or something. Then I'd probably get several 128GB or 256GB cards.
Great video. Thank you very informative. I am having difficulty getting the effect to move over to my R20. I thought it may be because the firmware needed to be updated. I updated the firmware and I still cannot get the effects to move over. I must be missing something very simple here.
You are referring to using Guitar Lab on your computer to transfer new effects to the R20? I'm not sure what the problem is since I can't see your set up and everything, but I can provide some quick suggestions... 1) I have had random, intermittent problems connecting my R20 to Windows 10 and Windows 11 laptops. Sometimes it looks like a connection is made, but then nothing happens. For whatever reason, I tend to have more problems if I'm using a USB-C to USB-C cable. While the R20 has a USB-C port, it's actually only USB 2.0 bus speeds. So somehow I have better luck if I use a USB-C to USB-A cable. Also, I have more problems when I plug it into a USB hub that is plugged into my computer. So I recommend going straight from the R20 directly to your computer with a USB-C to USB-A cable. 2) Make sure you are using a USB cable that can transfer data. I get so many free cables bundled in with gadgets to charge them up, but those cables usually only transfer power, not data. I have to keep my crappy, charging only cables in a separate drawer so I don't confuse them with cables that can also transmit data. 3) If you have problems, try unplugging the R20 and restarting both the computer and the R20. I've had to do that a couple times to get it to work. Even had to do two rounds of restarts one time. No idea why it sometimes doesn't "catch" between the R20 and the computer. 4) If you continue to have a ton of problems, you can perform a factory reset on the R20. In particular, the factory reset will set the R20 back to it's original effects settings. I've had to do that twice since I've had the R20 and it did fix my problems. ruclips.net/video/gbW442SttmE/видео.html
Thank you for your quick response. I will try a different cable. I assumed it was OK because it communicates between my R20 and my laptop. I will say that the load to device button is not bright blue. It is clouded, and I cannot click on it. Thanks again you are amazing!
Thank you! I'm behind on replying to comments...I think I finally caught up and tried to answer your live vocal question from a couple days ago on a different video. I'll copy and paste that response here. I hope it helps: I think you could use the R20 for live vocal effects/mixing plus recording and it would be passable. However, I'm not sure I recommend it. The strengths of the R20 are it's multitrack recording, effects, and light editing features you can perform after recording or in between recording tracks. It's not really set up to be a mixer for live shows. If you want a mixer that you can use live AND record, I would rather recommend the L-8 or L-12 or Tascam Model 12. Those are true mixing boards. They just also happen to record separate tracks too. However, they are not great multitrackers to edit your tracks after recording, and they have more limited effect options.
@@alibunford I have an R20 and an R16. The R16 would work for a stage preamp. The R16 has more extensive effects and emus for vocals. Its discontinued but about 150-200 bucks on the used market.
It can... Within a patch, if you put an EQ first, then a distortion....the audio signal will first be processed by whatever parameters you have set in the EQ...then that processed signal will be fed into the distortion effect. If you flipped it, the raw audio signal would get distorted first, but the distorted audio would then be fed into the EQ. Depending on what the original raw audio signal was, you can wind up with two different end sounds depending on where you place the EQ vs. the distortion. The patch effects run the audio signal through the virtual stomp boxes on the screen left to right, so keep that in mind when you are building a custom patch.
Hi guy Merry Xmas to you I’ve been watching your videos on the R20, which are great. Thanks for producing the content. I have one on order - inbound imminently. I am very interested in VSTi instrument plugins … looks like there’s some incredible orchestral sounds available. Wanted to ask if there’s any way to import new VSTI instrument plugins direct into the r20 …. And if not, please could you describe a high level process that would allow me to play midi keyboard and hear the vsti plugin sounds in real time (via r20 output connected to monitors) (Don’t have much experience with DAW’s but happy to learn) Many Thanks & Happy Holidays
Hey, thanks for watching and have fun with that new R20 that is hopefully arriving soon! Sadly, there is no way to install VST plug-ins onto the R20. The R20 only has a limited number of synth sounds (as of v3.00 it's 18 synth sounds, plus a drum kit) and there is no way to side load more sounds or virtual synths. Depending on what's your primary instrument that you play, you can use the R20 as an interface between your instrument (guitar?) and a computer's DAW software. So you can plug in a guitar to input 1 on the R20, and then connect the R20 to your computer via a USB cable. That will send the guitar signal onto a track in the DAW. Or depending on what kind of VST you have, you can apply effects to the guitar signal to make it sound like some orchestral sounds. In that set-up you can use the headphone output on the R20 to hear the playback with applied effects in real-time (hopefully no lag or delay) or use the headphone jack on your computer. If you play guitar and don't want to deal with a computer, but want some way to generate decent orchestral sounds you could go the old fashion route and buy an effects pedal. Electro-Harmonix makes this cool String 9 pedal that turns your guitar into a orchestral synthesizer, basically. Or if you want to record instruments with your R20, but still want to try out VSTs, you could start by using the R20 as an interface, like I mentioned above. Or you could record tracks, like guitar and bass directly onto the R20, take out the SD card, and import the .WAV file tracks into a DAW and use VSTs there...either with a regular typing keyboard or use a MIDI keyboard (like Arturia's MiniLab, which comes with a Lite version of Ableton if you want a low-cost solution) and load in some VST plug-ins. I hope that answered your question...
@@GazRendar Hi Gaz. Thanks so much for coming back. Happy holidays to you. I’ll probably mostly use the R20 for recording guitar & vocals and using the drum tracks (without using the computer) Main use case But that aside, I think the R20 also comes with Cubase LE … and I discovered Vienna Symphonic orchestra free VSTI plugins - which sound amazing. I have a midi keyboard. I’d like to get the Vienna Orchestra VSTI plugins into Cubase … and use the r20 as an audio interface … Sense checking whether this setup should work (hypothetically) - r20 USB connected to PC with Cubase/ Vienna Orchestra plugins - midi keyboard direct connected to PC - powered studio monitors connected to r20 audio outputs In this setup, I should be able to hear Cubase running through r20 audio output right? And then the r20 buttons should interface with Cubase, (so if I hit record on r20 … it would initiate recording on Cubase?) Sorry for Newbie questions. And thanks again for helping with this. It’s very much appreciated. Merry Xmas to you.
My guess is that it's 2-fold. First, the R20 has a limited amount of on-board memory. So you can't just load all the effects on there. You have to be little picky about what you load. Second, Zoom does update Guitar Lab effects over time. They only seem to do it every couple of years, but by keeping the software separate on their website and by keeping it to computers, it allows them to update the interface easily, but still keep the individual effect files the same. This way the R20 can theoretically work with whatever new Guitar Lab effects that are developed 8 years from now. If Zoom tied all that interface functionality inside the R20 itself, it would be outdated quick. That's my best guess.
Hello! Have you tried wet/dry recording/monitoring with the R20 in interface mode? as in recording to a DAW dry but monitoring with guitarlab effects on? that would be extremely handy if it's doable
You have the Guitar Lab software installed, right? Sometimes this happens. I usually shut down the R20 and shut down my computer, and restart both and plug them in and it usually works. Also make sure you are using a USB-C cable that also sends data and not just power.
Thanks! It would be awesome if Zoom gave us some VST plug-ins that you could actually modulate. However, I don't have realistic hopes for that. I am holding out hopes that they will at least give us more than 18 (mediocre at best) synth sounds. If they could give us around 50 synth sounds, with hopefully some of them more usable, I would be very excited about that. And I'm hopeful that they continue to update Guitar Lab so we can get new effects and patches every once in awhile.
Something likely went bad with the USB connection. It sometimes oddly happens. You'll want to unplug everything power down (sometimes even the computer too) and then turn stuff on and reconnect. That always solves the problem for me.
As far as I can tell on v3.00, the maximum number of patches is 50. You can add as many individual stomp box effects as you like, as long as there is enough memory. Some effects occupy more memory than others, but on average you should be able to have a good 100 individual effects loaded on the R20 at any given time.
@@GazRendar Awesome thank you. I just purchased the r20 so far i love it. 1 more q, do you knoe if there is a way to increase memory? or could you store some on the sd card?
At least on v3.00, there is no way to increase the internal memory to add more effects. It would be nice if they left you store all of the effects in a separate folder on the SD card so you could load them up at any time, but I'm guessing that would be too complicated of a file management system for the processor in the R20 to handle. But who knows....maybe Zoom will be creative in a future firmware update and give us some kind of capability like that?
Hi guys, not sure of the r20, but with other zoom multi effects, each patch can have 100 percent of cpu, so the score per ent allows how many effects. For example, the boss d's 1 is 22 pct so 78 left
![[Eng Sub] Zoom R20 multi-track recorder](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rGzhgW8HA1o/mqdefault.jpg)
Got my r20 recently, thanks for the tuts!
Thanks! Happy recording!
Again, thank you. You explain this in an amazing clear way.
Thanks for your kind feedback. Always happy to help.
Thanks so much for the coverage of this unit. I love mine.
You are welcome and happy to hear you are having fun time recording with it. Thanks for watching!
Great Video. Helped me out a bunch. Thank you!
You're welcome!
I greatly appreciate these software based vids. I'm very lazy about learning download/upgrade stuff. I use zoom bass and guitar pedals (B1x, G1x) and can say that the FX mentioned are in the pedals and quite useful.
You're welcome. I wasn't too interested in downloading the software at first either. The whole point of the R20 is that I like to keep my music making process away far away from a computer if I can. However, this free software is worth the download if you own a Zoom product that can interface with Guitar Lab.
@@GazRendar I've been impressed with guitar lab even though I only watched a friend show it to me on his computer.
Mr. Gaz, Charles here. I have 2 questions. Viewed the guitar Lab video. Can you audition the different effects before bringing them in to the R20, as to not overload the R20
with unwanted effects and processing power? 2nd question, the #1 record track on my R20 has stopped working, no inputs put to #1 record track register on the mixer view screen. approximately 6 projects have been created with 1 project extremely edited, with the viewing of your R20 how to videos, is all the work load my R20 received from my not so smart editing. Thanks, the old guy from Florida.
Hi Charles. If you are adding effects and effect patches via Guitar Lab you unfortunately cannot preview the sounds. I typically load new individual effects onto the R20 via Guitar Lab, and then I tweak the patches and settings for the patches directly on the R20. If you edit effects directly on the R20 you can hear the changes.
That's weird about the #1 track not working. I'm not sure what happened there. One thing to check -- I believe there is maximum of 50 audio regions maximum per project. If you already hit 50 regions, you might not be able to add any more. If you are still having issues, you might want to try a factory reset. I just posted a video on how to do that...it might fix your problem?
Salut et merci pour tes video très instructives . est ce qu'il existe un effet guitar to bass ? ou bien il faut faire un patch ? Merci
Thank you. Just got an Zoom R8 used to start recording. Do you know if the zoom R8 can use Guitar Lab?
No. The R8 doesn't work with Guitar Lab. Neither do the R16 or R24 - those all came out well before Guitar Lab was created. Just the newer R12 and R20 work with Guitar Lab (and several Zoom effects pedals).
Question...? Editor icon is grayed out and nothing happens when clicked.. I am using a usb-c to usb- c cable. Could that be the issue? Or something else? I love your videos about this product and was a factor in purchasing it.,.....Edit update...
Found out you need to run the program as administrator then it works fine.
Sorry for the delayed response. But yes, you do need to run it as an administrator for it to work since the R20 "talks" to the computer, like malware would. So for security purposes, you'll need to be logged in as an admin. Additionally, you can have random weirdness where the R20 will connect to the computer, and stay connected to the computer, but somehow lose the connection to Guitar Lab. I've had this happen to me a number of times. I do seem to have more success when I'm using a USB-C to USB-A cable that runs at USB 2.0 speeds (480 Mbps) compared to true USB 3.0 speeds (5Gbps). I think that's because even though the R20 has a USB-C port, it only runs at USB 2.0 speeds. So sometimes switching to that type of cable helps. Other times you just have to shut down both your computer and R20, reboot and connect again. That usually solves the problem.
salut et merci pour tes videos.j'ai une question. pourquoi sur guitarlab je n'ai pas accès a editor? il est grisé et sur certain patch il y a un triangle orange?merci
unfortunate that the audio tracks can not be downloaded to guitar lab for editing since the on device screen is very tiny and hard to use.
Guitar Lab only allows you to edit the R20's effect patches. It doesn't provide any additional track editing support.
You can simply take the SD card out of the R20 and pop it into your computer, though. From there you can access the individual tracks as separate .WAV files. So if you have a DAW you can easily drop in those separate tracks and do whatever editing you want to on the computer that way. That workflow works really well.
Thanks for your videos, very good! Looking at purchasing an r20. My question, as you are editing the patches, are you able to listen as you are adjusting the different effect settings, or do you just add what you think you'll want and tweak them when back on the R20?
You cannot listen to the effects adjustments when you are using Guitar Lab. However, you can listen to adjustments if you have a guitar or something plugged into the R20 and you edit the effects directly on the R20.
Nice video....I'm wondering how to map my FCB1010 to control these live, and perhaps some sliders from my keyboard to use some of the edit options live.
While that would be super cool, I don't think you'll be able to pull that off. At least...I don't see any way to pull that off with the firmware right now. The old R8 and R24 had 1/4" footswitch inputs. The R20 doesn't have a footswitch input control and it doesn't have 5-pin MIDI. Unless Zoom somehow supplies a firmware update that allows you to control effects or slider controls through USB-MIDI, I don't see it happening. And I just don't think Zoom is going to do that....I doubt the R20 has the internal circuitry to be able to do that.
That is one of my complaints about the R20 and R12 - there is no footswitch control. I used the footswitch control on my old R8 to punch in and out for recording and to turn effects on/off. While it's not a huge loss on the R20, I do miss being able to do that when needed...
@@GazRendar TY for gracious reply. I'm using the R20 also as a mixer, and I wonder how good are the DACs and analog audio output quality compared to other mixers. I know the recording is very clean. TR out or TRS?
Do you have the computer with guitar lab app connected too the web when loading effects into zoomx20?
No. You just need to download the current version of GuitarLab from the website and install that onto your computer. You can then connect the R20 to the computer and adjust effects while offline. The effects are all stored in the software that'll be on your computer...they are not in a cloud somewhere.
Hi Gaz
What SDs cards so you use and what size
I think R20 takes 1 Gig
Do you use 256
I'm trying to make a short video about this right now to clear up some confusion for people. Many other have had related questions to this.
I've actually just been using 64 and 128GB cards and those have been more than sufficient for multiple full-sized projects. And every once in awhile I back those cards up (using my computer) to a large networked hard drive I have in my home. To date, I haven't tested a card larger than 256GB. There is some conflicting documentation about the R20 - some places says it maxes out at 512GB and other places says it can take a 1TB card. So I'm not sure what the max is because the biggest card I have is only 256 right now.
But practically speaking, if you just get yourself a good 128GB or 256GB card, you'll be good for a long time. The exception would be if you're like trying to record 3hour long live shows every weekend or something. Then I'd probably get several 128GB or 256GB cards.
Great video. Thank you very informative. I am having difficulty getting the effect to move over to my R20. I thought it may be because the firmware needed to be updated. I updated the firmware and I still cannot get the effects to move over. I must be missing something very simple here.
You are referring to using Guitar Lab on your computer to transfer new effects to the R20? I'm not sure what the problem is since I can't see your set up and everything, but I can provide some quick suggestions...
1) I have had random, intermittent problems connecting my R20 to Windows 10 and Windows 11 laptops. Sometimes it looks like a connection is made, but then nothing happens. For whatever reason, I tend to have more problems if I'm using a USB-C to USB-C cable. While the R20 has a USB-C port, it's actually only USB 2.0 bus speeds. So somehow I have better luck if I use a USB-C to USB-A cable. Also, I have more problems when I plug it into a USB hub that is plugged into my computer. So I recommend going straight from the R20 directly to your computer with a USB-C to USB-A cable.
2) Make sure you are using a USB cable that can transfer data. I get so many free cables bundled in with gadgets to charge them up, but those cables usually only transfer power, not data. I have to keep my crappy, charging only cables in a separate drawer so I don't confuse them with cables that can also transmit data.
3) If you have problems, try unplugging the R20 and restarting both the computer and the R20. I've had to do that a couple times to get it to work. Even had to do two rounds of restarts one time. No idea why it sometimes doesn't "catch" between the R20 and the computer.
4) If you continue to have a ton of problems, you can perform a factory reset on the R20. In particular, the factory reset will set the R20 back to it's original effects settings. I've had to do that twice since I've had the R20 and it did fix my problems. ruclips.net/video/gbW442SttmE/видео.html
Thank you for your quick response. I will try a different cable. I assumed it was OK because it communicates between my R20 and my laptop. I will say that the load to device button is not bright blue. It is clouded, and I cannot click on it. Thanks again you are amazing!
Great work 👏 👍 👌
do you have any idea if this mixer is good for live music vocals. thanks
Thank you!
I'm behind on replying to comments...I think I finally caught up and tried to answer your live vocal question from a couple days ago on a different video. I'll copy and paste that response here. I hope it helps:
I think you could use the R20 for live vocal effects/mixing plus recording and it would be passable. However, I'm not sure I recommend it. The strengths of the R20 are it's multitrack recording, effects, and light editing features you can perform after recording or in between recording tracks. It's not really set up to be a mixer for live shows. If you want a mixer that you can use live AND record, I would rather recommend the L-8 or L-12 or Tascam Model 12. Those are true mixing boards. They just also happen to record separate tracks too. However, they are not great multitrackers to edit your tracks after recording, and they have more limited effect options.
@@GazRendar thank you
@@alibunford I have an R20 and an R16. The R16 would work for a stage preamp. The R16 has more extensive effects and emus for vocals. Its discontinued but about 150-200 bucks on the used market.
Excellent video!
Thanks, Floyd!
Does it matter which order the 3 slot effects go in? thanks!!
It can...
Within a patch, if you put an EQ first, then a distortion....the audio signal will first be processed by whatever parameters you have set in the EQ...then that processed signal will be fed into the distortion effect. If you flipped it, the raw audio signal would get distorted first, but the distorted audio would then be fed into the EQ. Depending on what the original raw audio signal was, you can wind up with two different end sounds depending on where you place the EQ vs. the distortion. The patch effects run the audio signal through the virtual stomp boxes on the screen left to right, so keep that in mind when you are building a custom patch.
Hey mate, I’m trying to decide if I should get a r-20 or a L-12. I haven’t found any comparisons out there. Any thoughts?
Hi guy
Merry Xmas to you
I’ve been watching your videos on the R20, which are great. Thanks for producing the content. I have one on order - inbound imminently.
I am very interested in VSTi instrument plugins … looks like there’s some incredible orchestral sounds available.
Wanted to ask if there’s any way to import new VSTI instrument plugins direct into the r20 ….
And if not, please could you describe a high level process that would allow me to play midi keyboard and hear the vsti plugin sounds in real time (via r20 output connected to monitors)
(Don’t have much experience with DAW’s but happy to learn)
Many Thanks & Happy Holidays
Hey, thanks for watching and have fun with that new R20 that is hopefully arriving soon!
Sadly, there is no way to install VST plug-ins onto the R20. The R20 only has a limited number of synth sounds (as of v3.00 it's 18 synth sounds, plus a drum kit) and there is no way to side load more sounds or virtual synths.
Depending on what's your primary instrument that you play, you can use the R20 as an interface between your instrument (guitar?) and a computer's DAW software. So you can plug in a guitar to input 1 on the R20, and then connect the R20 to your computer via a USB cable. That will send the guitar signal onto a track in the DAW. Or depending on what kind of VST you have, you can apply effects to the guitar signal to make it sound like some orchestral sounds. In that set-up you can use the headphone output on the R20 to hear the playback with applied effects in real-time (hopefully no lag or delay) or use the headphone jack on your computer.
If you play guitar and don't want to deal with a computer, but want some way to generate decent orchestral sounds you could go the old fashion route and buy an effects pedal. Electro-Harmonix makes this cool String 9 pedal that turns your guitar into a orchestral synthesizer, basically.
Or if you want to record instruments with your R20, but still want to try out VSTs, you could start by using the R20 as an interface, like I mentioned above. Or you could record tracks, like guitar and bass directly onto the R20, take out the SD card, and import the .WAV file tracks into a DAW and use VSTs there...either with a regular typing keyboard or use a MIDI keyboard (like Arturia's MiniLab, which comes with a Lite version of Ableton if you want a low-cost solution) and load in some VST plug-ins.
I hope that answered your question...
@@GazRendar Hi Gaz. Thanks so much for coming back. Happy holidays to you.
I’ll probably mostly use the R20 for recording guitar & vocals and using the drum tracks (without using the computer) Main use case
But that aside, I think the R20 also comes with Cubase LE … and I discovered Vienna Symphonic orchestra free VSTI plugins - which sound amazing. I have a midi keyboard.
I’d like to get the Vienna Orchestra VSTI plugins into Cubase … and use the r20 as an audio interface …
Sense checking whether this setup should work (hypothetically)
- r20 USB connected to PC with Cubase/ Vienna Orchestra plugins
- midi keyboard direct connected to PC
- powered studio monitors connected to r20 audio outputs
In this setup, I should be able to hear Cubase running through r20 audio output right?
And then the r20 buttons should interface with Cubase, (so if I hit record on r20 … it would initiate recording on Cubase?)
Sorry for Newbie questions.
And thanks again for helping with this. It’s very much appreciated. Merry Xmas to you.
Was there a reason that, all, guitar lab wasn't just included as hardware in the R20?
My guess is that it's 2-fold. First, the R20 has a limited amount of on-board memory. So you can't just load all the effects on there. You have to be little picky about what you load. Second, Zoom does update Guitar Lab effects over time. They only seem to do it every couple of years, but by keeping the software separate on their website and by keeping it to computers, it allows them to update the interface easily, but still keep the individual effect files the same. This way the R20 can theoretically work with whatever new Guitar Lab effects that are developed 8 years from now. If Zoom tied all that interface functionality inside the R20 itself, it would be outdated quick. That's my best guess.
is there any way to save the zoom patches to a hard disk from guitar lab?
Hello! Have you tried wet/dry recording/monitoring with the R20 in interface mode? as in recording to a DAW dry but monitoring with guitarlab effects on? that would be extremely handy if it's doable
Brilliant As Always
Thank you! And thanks for always coming back to watch!
Hi Gaz
What Stylus Do U Use
Any capacitive disc-style stylus should work. The one that I use a lot is called MIXOO on Amazon. It's like $8 or $9.
Load to device icon is not highlighted. What do I do?
You have the Guitar Lab software installed, right? Sometimes this happens. I usually shut down the R20 and shut down my computer, and restart both and plug them in and it usually works. Also make sure you are using a USB-C cable that also sends data and not just power.
Great video as always! It would be great if we could load VST midi sounds or have Zoom add some better quality patches.
Thanks!
It would be awesome if Zoom gave us some VST plug-ins that you could actually modulate. However, I don't have realistic hopes for that. I am holding out hopes that they will at least give us more than 18 (mediocre at best) synth sounds. If they could give us around 50 synth sounds, with hopefully some of them more usable, I would be very excited about that. And I'm hopeful that they continue to update Guitar Lab so we can get new effects and patches every once in awhile.
Hi, for some reason the editor button doesn’t work for any is there any solution you can recommend
Something likely went bad with the USB connection. It sometimes oddly happens. You'll want to unplug everything power down (sometimes even the computer too) and then turn stuff on and reconnect. That always solves the problem for me.
Mr. Gaz, Charles here again, note my R20 is running firmware 3.0 with the BTA1 adapter
with
Thank you!!!
You're welcome. Happy to help.
Can you add a patch or do you only get 50
As far as I can tell on v3.00, the maximum number of patches is 50.
You can add as many individual stomp box effects as you like, as long as there is enough memory. Some effects occupy more memory than others, but on average you should be able to have a good 100 individual effects loaded on the R20 at any given time.
@@GazRendar Awesome thank you. I just purchased the r20 so far i love it. 1 more q, do you knoe if there is a way to increase memory? or could you store some on the sd card?
At least on v3.00, there is no way to increase the internal memory to add more effects. It would be nice if they left you store all of the effects in a separate folder on the SD card so you could load them up at any time, but I'm guessing that would be too complicated of a file management system for the processor in the R20 to handle. But who knows....maybe Zoom will be creative in a future firmware update and give us some kind of capability like that?
Hi guys, not sure of the r20, but with other zoom multi effects, each patch can have 100 percent of cpu, so the score per ent allows how many effects. For example, the boss d's 1 is 22 pct so 78 left
firmware 3.30 released on 9/25/2023
Yeah, I made a brief video about what's in the 3.3 update:
ruclips.net/video/9j6tSraUc74/видео.html
R12 user here - It's a shame how much DSP an amp/cab combo uses. I barely have room to add a reverb!
I should say though, apart from some small quibbles i love this unit
Thanks so much for the coverage of this unit. I love mine.
You're welcome. Happy to hear the videos help!