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The GFX-3 is a revelation.

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The GFX-3 comes out of the box complete with an AC adaptor, which should be a popular move, even though Zoom tells us that the alternative method of supplying power (using four AA batteries) will give 11 hours of continuous operation.

You can flick between the banks either with the small up and down keys or – and this will come into its own when you are using the unit live – by using combinations of the three footswitches – 1 and 2 together for bank up, 2 and 3 for bank down.

Zoom's studio-quality digital effects have long been lauded by the most pernickety of players – just ask Brian May – and dialling in a lush blend of chorus, delay, hall reverb and a hint of compression allows you to simply drift away on lapping Gilmouresque waves.

Units such as this stand or fall on the quality of their overdrives and, although the associated high-end efficiency suits ultra-heavy scooped tones, getting an SRV urgency or Santana neck tone has often required a compromise.

Not with the GFX-3, as both of these examples use the Classic FDR model for the first challenge and the Standard BG for Carlos, and are ready to go in minutes.

Down sides? Well, the wah isn't as satisfying as we'd have hoped, and it seems to have a rather limited use as a way of adding extra body to an already driving amp, but for this price, that's not too much to worry about. Accept these restrictions and you'll be as impressed as we are.

It is a revelation, with its shiny new tank-proof chassis protecting a digital heart that can produce some excellent tones any player would relish.