On 2003-05-30, Andrew Edwards gave this Zoom Guitar Effects a 3...(4970)
Purchase: I bought this pedal at a local music store 2 years ago for 200 dollars. I got it for the effects and multiple distortions and EQ settings.
Pros: I like how you have access to a lot of different sounds and effects. The memory bank is also handy if you plan on having a lot of favorite settings.
Cons: The pedal is made of plastic and if dropped many times would break easily. When you switch between settings in your bank there is a short milisecond delay and this is horrible if your playing live with a band. One more dislike about this unit was how you can't combine all the effects together.
Quality: The pedal is pretty easy to figure out but the durability isn't the greatest. Summary: For any intermediate pedal wanting a different distortion and some effects all in one i'd recomend this pedal. Anyone in a band don't buy this pedal if you plan on some serious playing.
Search for more Zoom Guitar Effects reviews and comparisons On 2001-12-05, Joe Torrres / REIGN gave this Zoom Guitar Effects a 5...(1031)
Purchase: Back in the day 199? i decided to buy this multi-effects device beacuse i couldn't afford a rack mounted effects unit.
I kept seeing the add in gutiar mags and it seemed to have everything i could ask for, that is to say everything the larger rack units had.
Also i lived in the same city as the company and i felt a little loyalty for them.
So one day i said to my self i'll buy it!
Stopped into my local music store and paid $99.00 for it. The power supply cost $15.00 witch was a deal.
Pros: Very important was it's cool looks, as a beginer i wanted to impress my friends.
The factory presets are a great start.
You can get a good overview of what this little black box can do, and you will get a lesson in the world of effects and what they do.
When you get more adventurous the easy programing method is actually fun to play with.
Great manual comes with it. Easy to follow flow charting makes it simple to change any parameter.
Earphone output makes it an exellent practice amp /w effects.
Great for reacording direct.
Very durable, stomp away!
Cons: Allthough this unit is very handy it is not for the pro.
You will have to spend many hours of programing to play an important gig.
I never liked the two footswitch up and down style of switching.
Must have power supply to use on reagular basis, battery's drain to fast.
Quality: I have had the 505 for many years and have used it every day for rehersing and practice.
I have never had a problem with it! Summary: Buy it!
I kid you not it is the single most useful effect i have ever owned.
With it i have learned more about effects for the guitar than i could ever have from some book.
Search for more Zoom Guitar Effects reviews and comparisons On 2001-07-04, Voland gave this Zoom Guitar Effects a 4...(469)
Purchase: I baught my ZOOM 505 in Moscow 4 years ago.
That time it was a perfect unit and i liked it very much.
I payed for it 150 USD.
Pros: Most of all i liked that i didn't need a lot of cables to use 5 or even 7 effects.
Before i had 4 BOSS pedals and You could immagine what a trouble it was.
I always took it along with me, when i was mooving a lot.
Cons: Of course its sound is the weakest point of it.
Its distortions are not so "natural".
And even after BOSS pedals it is a bit noisy.
Quality: As for me the construction of ZOOM 505 is O.K. but it is not very convinient to use it.
Quality is very good.
It cerved me for 4 years with no problems.
Summary: For its price and for beginner in playing guitar it is a perfect unit.
Search for more Zoom Guitar Effects reviews and comparisons On 2001-06-27, Greg S. gave this Zoom Guitar Effects a 5...(278)
Purchase: This unit was purchased for $69.00 at the local Sam Ash Music Superstore.
Pros: As a "rookie" guitarist I was getting bored with the 2 options I had on my barebones amp; clean and overdrive. So I wanted something with a few more options. Also, since I play simply as a hobby I wanted to get as much of a system as I could with my hard earned bucks. So, this certainly filled the void. More effects than I'll ever use. I find myself playing on the same effect most of the time, but now as I've been playing more and more styles I find myself using more settings. The batteries drain rather quickly so I would advise getting an AC adaptor. Also, the unit is sturdy and can take quite a bit of stomping. I've also purchased the expression pedal which provides a decent wah sound in addition to a pitch shift and volume swell. It does have a wide range of cool sounds. My 5 year old likes to keep stomping the pedals until he hears something cool. The chorus and delay effects sound really good. The detailed instructions provide a good description of what each patch sounds like and I always keep it handy to reference.
Cons: The instructions that come with the 505 are very detailed and will walk you through the process of editing and creating your own patches. If you follow the directions it can be done. However, the details and such make the instructions look like the schematic of the A-bomb. Also, I don't really care for the chromatic tuner function. Could be just a preference, but I think the Korg tuner I use comes closer in the tuning category.
Quality: The unit is "rock star basic black" and as mentioned previously is pretty sturdy and can take both my repeated stomps and my overzealous 5 years old's as well.
Summary: To sum it up: big bang for very little bucks. If you just like to goof around in your basement and annoy your wife with your guitar; this Zoom's for you. It will provide a variety of sounds so you can sound like everything Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughan to Joe Satriani; provided you can play like them!
Search for more Zoom Guitar Effects reviews and comparisons On 2001-06-27, Beest gave this Zoom Guitar Effects a 4...(282)
Purchase: Two years ago the pieces finally fell together, and I had the right group and a steady place to play. That's when I realized I needed more umph than I was getting from the simple pedal effects boxes I had. Multiple pedals where hard to keep track of, and I was constantly losing those power adapters they use. That's when I turned to the zoom 505. At the time $100.oo bucks for a stomp box multi-effects processor was a deal.
Pros: With a single purchase, I was able to set aside all of my other effects pedals and still have a plethora of sounds to choose from. Fact is, with the zoom 505 I had more effects from that one box than with all of my other pedals. When you compare the price of effects pedals, the zoom 505 gives you the most bang for your buck.
Cons: The zoom 505 does have its drawbacks. If you haven't used a multi-bank type effects processor before, you might be a little intimidated with the instructions. I thought I was going to need an engineering degree to use it. But thanks to the pre-set configurations, and a little time exploring the unit, I was soon configuring my own settings.
As far as sound quality, well it's not exactly rack-mount, but it does offer line out to your recorder, and when you consider the price, I don't think you can beat it.
Quality: When I first took the zoom 505 out of the box, I had my doubts about its plastic type construction. I thought it was too flimsy and it would never stand up to the constant stomping my old boxes had endured. That was over two years ago, and my zoom 505 is still my go to stomp box. I don't know what its made of, but that little box hasn't let me down yet.
Summary: All in all, the zoom 505 lives up to its press. It's inexpensive, and has proven itself to be both durable, and versatile. For the price I believe the zoom 505 is the best value in a multi-effects processor.
Search for more Zoom Guitar Effects reviews and comparisons On 2001-06-27, Ron Harris gave this Zoom Guitar Effects a 2...(283)
Purchase: I got this poop from Musician's Friend for $99 duckies. I thought that I needed some more sounds and instead of buying a full size processor, I thought I might as well try out this small one. I figured why not, it has tons of effects doesnt it? must be good enough. Well, I was in for a suprise.
Pros: Actually, when I first purchased this creative little box, I loved it. I mean it has almost every effect that you could hope for. Pitchshifters, phasers, distortions, tuner, etc. I "finally" found a distortion that I liked and a phaser sound that was almost as good as my EH small stone. The pitchshifter was cool because it was the first time I had ever dealt with guitar harmonies and it blew me away. It was like having a orchestra behind you. My friends were also amazed at the little gadget that could produce big tones with ease. On to the next story>>>>>>>>
Cons: Even though I loved this unit when I first bought it, I quickly grew a deep hate for it. First off, If you plan on using a 9 volt battery to power this baby, think again. My battery would run out in five minutes flat. I ended up having to purchase a adapter because of this. Second of all, If you ever plan on playing with this pedal live, think again. If you were going to use more than one setting, you would have to pan through the other settings to get to the one you are looking for. This is what made me hate this pedal. It was just way too much trouble and I guess that Im not quite as fast a foot tapper that must be required for using this thing. Third of all, if you think this pedal switches between setting in realtime mode, thing once again. If you are going from clean to distortion, then you will hear a small delay betweed going back and forth. This is something that is not a problem with analog pedals (the main reason i still use those handy little gadgets). This is reason enough not to buy this, stay away unless you are a newbie without a band.
Quality: It was built tough, i must state that. I stomped on it pretty hard a few times and no breaks. I spilled coke on it a few times and nothing happened (except the pedals sticking together). Zoom makes good, tought pedals, for newcomers to guitar. This pedal would have broke eventually im sure, but it showed no signs of it when i disposed of it.
Summary: Dont but this pedal if you plan on using it with a band, bottom line. If you just began playing guitar or you dont have a band, go for it. You can get some really great sounds from it. Great to experiment with. If you are in a band and think this pedal will work in a band situation, you are dead wrong (unless you are using one effect all through the song). These things are pretty cheap now and arent bad for their price. But remember, you get what you pay for.
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© Chris Bereznay - Gear Review Network / MusicGearReview.com - 2000
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