The Zoom G3 G5 B3 ashbass Tap Tempo Mod
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Click to see examples of this mod sent in by other players.

Click to see the ashbass Patch Select Mod

Click to see Zoom G5 Instructions




These mods worked for ashbass and are not guaranteed to work for anyone else. Some modders have ruined their pedals.
Most agree that too much heat, or heat left on too long, burnt something up. Some symptoms are the lights at the top of
the pedal not working. And of course, the pedal not working.
So if you are going to do the mod, you are doing so at your own risk.

The Zoom G3 is a great multi-effects pedal.
I like that I can see a graphic representation of effects and models. I like that I can use the same effect three times if I want to. Three TubeScreamers with different settings for gain and level for instance.
Zoom G3
To turn on the G3's Rhythm function you have to press the small RHYTHM button above the display screens. If you leave Rhythm mode by pressing footswitch 2 or 3, there is now no way to start/stop the Rhythm except to press that same little button.

Tap Tempo is the same. If you don't have the external footswitch to tap on you have to press the little button for TAP.
Zoom G3 Patch mode
I modded my G3 by creating a switch pedal that has large buttons which are spaced well apart. These buttons I can access with my feet and they function just like the small buttons at the top of the G3. Zoom G3 Ashbass Patch Select mod
Now I've added some functionality that makes the G3 even more cool.

The following steps show how to do this mod yourself.
Zoom G3
Here are the parts you'll need. The ones with a white background can be found at Radio Shack. The others are some that I've had lying around for a while. If you don't have extra parts lying around, this project can be completed using just the Radio Shack parts.
1/8" Stereo Panel-Mount Audio Jack (2-Pack)
Radio Shack search "1/8 cable stereo"
Radio Shack search "momentary switch"
Radio Shack search "project enclosure"
Zoom G3
Remove the six screws from the bottom of the G3 and put them safely aside. Lift up the back panel. Zoom G3
Unplug the battery compartment wires from the circuit board and put the back panel safely aside. Zoom G3
Unscrew the two circuit board screws circled in yellow.

Unscrew the four nuts from the input jacks on the rear panel.
Zoom G3
Carefully pull the circuit board away from where it was connected before. Don't disconnect anything else. The space we have now with the board pulled back is all that is needed. Zoom G3
Each white circle represents one of the buttons on the top of the G3. When a button is pressed, the two soldered spots in its circle are connected and a signal is sent to the G3.

The third circle from the right is for the TAP button. The forth circle from the right is for the RHYTHM button. Click the image to see a larger version.

The first and second white circles from the right are for the 'Patch Down' and 'Patch Up' buttons. These same instructions can be used to create the Patch Select Mod.
Zoom G3
Solder the ends of three wires to the soldered spots as shown in the image. I used some extra pickup wire in the photo. I could have used three individual wires as well. Remember what color wire goes where.

Here, the red wire is responsible for TAP. The white wire is responsible for RHYTHM. The shield wire is connected to the spot between the red wire and white wire spots. This middle spot will be shared by the red and white wires in the new pedal.
Zoom G3
Put the circuit board back into the G3. Screw it down with the two screws you set aside earlier. Screw the four nuts back onto their jacks on the rear panel. Make sure that the wires you attached to the circuit board are accessible after putting the board back in place. Zoom G3


Drill a hole in the rear panel. I chose down and to the left of the Control In jack. My hole in the photo is too high. I found that out when I went to put a jack into it.












Click the image to see a larger version.
Zoom G3

Zoom G3


To make the jack fit, I used a small file to cut the hole lower. I also trimmed off the top edge of the L\MONO and Control In jacks inside the G3. Click the image to see a larger version.
Zoom G3

Zoom G3
The metal parts of your jack cannot touch the sides of the drilled hole. You can use a small washer or electrical tape wrapped around the jack's threaded area to insulate it. I used a multimeter to test the connection of the lugs on the jack to the metal of the chassis. When none of the lugs showed as connected to the chassis I soldered the three wires to the three lugs on the jack. Solder the sheild wire to the 'sleeve' lug on the jack. Solder the white wire to the 'tip' lug of the jack. Solder the red wire to the 'ring' lug of the jack. Zoom G3
The rear panel doesn't look bad with my newest switch pedal jack. Click the image to see a larger version. Now we need to make the Tap Tempo box. Zoom G3
I had a small aluminum enclosure already so I used that. I laid out my controls where I wanted them and then put them into the box. I used two jacks so that the box could be connected on either side of the G3 unit. Zoom G3
Now we're ready to wire up the box. For the jack inside the G3 I soldered white wire to the 'tip' lug of the jack, red wire to the 'ring' lug of the jack, and the shield wire to the 'sleeve' lug of the jack. Make sure that you use the same pattern when wiring the jacks inside the new box.

The momentary switches seen here have 4 terminals on them. The Radio Shack switches will typically have two or three. Two is all we need. The outer sets of terminals for each switch in the photo are not used.
Zoom G3
Each jack is sharing its connection with the other jack so first connect a long wire to the same lug on each jack. Here the white wire is soldered to the 'tip' lug of each jack. Then a smaller white wire gets connected to one of the terminals on the momentary switch. Remember from before that the white wire is connected to the RHYTHM spot inside the G3, so we want it attached to the switch that will be on the right when the new pedal is facing upward. Zoom G3
Here the red wire is soldered to the 'ring' lug of each jack. Then a smaller red wire gets connected to one of the terminals on the momentary switch. Remember from before that the red wire is connected to the TAP spot inside the G3, so we want it attached to the switch that will be on the left when the new pedal is facing upward. Zoom G3
Here a black wire is soldered to the 'sleeve' lug of each jack. Then two smaller black wires get connected to the terminals across from the white and red terminals. When either button is pressed it will momentarily connect the red wire to the black wire or the white wire to the black wire, just like the little buttons at the top of the G3. Zoom G3
The finished switch pedal. I made the graphics in PowerPoint from images taken from the G3 manual. I printed them out on water-slide decal paper and a laser printer and put the decal on the box. I spray-painted some polyurethane on it for protection from scratches and rips in the decal.

[Box setup: 1- drilled the necessary holes. 2- put the decal on. 3- did the polyurethane. 4- put the jacks and switches in. 5- wired it up. 6- attached the bottom to the box.]
Zoom G3
Here's my current set up after plugging a 1/8 stereo plug patch cable into the new jack on the rear panel of the G3 and the right-side jack on the rear of the new pedal. Zoom G3

Take a picture of your modded setup and send it to ashbass to add it to the User Examples page.





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