Zoom 505

Not too hard as long as you dont hit both pedels at onece by accident if you do then you are in trouble as the thing flys into ultra inaccurate guitar tuning mode. Other than that it's not too hard.

God, another 505 review, well here it is straight:
Auto wah: Don't even bother with this. It turns good settings into crap settings and crap settings into comical settings
Chorus: Not too bad actually. Can get a bit noisy. Keep it high for the best results & use it with th ZoomNoiseReducer.
Distortion: Ahhh... now this boils down to taste, I like digital sounding fuzz and this pedal is quite good at that, however It's not too hot at anything else the other effects have to be coupled with echos and the octave lowerer to get anything special.
Octave Lowerer (or whatever its called): By itself this is useless. Combined bith distortion you can get some sinister sounds out of it (and something that sounds like a church organ) Using this is the only way to get some decent realistic sounding distortion
Phaser/Flanger: Phaser = Exelent! By far the best feature on this unit! Combined it with a touch of echo/chorus and accoustic distortion for an exelent melow sound. The Flanger sounds a bit limited and a "less is more" approach should be used.
Echos: Not bad indeed. some of the setting are fairly useless. The hall echo is the best the room echos arn't bad but dont have much reverb. Turn up your amp.
Guitar Tuner: Abysmal. Dont use it. By far the crappest tuner I have ever has the displeasure to use. Tunes a guitar --> V E R Y <-- Approximatly but then again you shouldnt be buying #100 pedels if you cant tune a guitar.

Everyone moans about this being plastic, but hell I'm not going to drop it of a building and it looks tough enough to take a hard hit anyhow.

First I drop a mark for the shity tuner in the world award. Lose a mark for the Lack of Flexibility & crap distortions. Lose a mark for the Huge amount of usless features.
This pedal isnt bad at -->melow<-- songs but even then is very limited. You have to spend far too long to find decent patches Good for beginers who cant play, thats all.

I've had the 505 for several months. I liked it at first and then grew to hate it. BUT READ ON ! If you're looking for good tone ..forget it..it's great if you like a very "processed" rock tone. I'm a blues player and believe me- I've spent time tweeking this thing...you can't get a good blues tone. As for editing it'e easy once you get the hang of it. The manual is pretty basic.Overall it is easy to use (tone aside).

My rig includes a Fender Lone Star Strat and a Fender Stage 112 SE amp. So it's not the gear. The Zoom kills the Strat sound but in fairness so do most multiple effects units. It's not too noisy unless you turn up the treble on your amp. The weird effects are actually pretty good..but useless - so it doesn't matter if you don't USE them. Who cares about "jet drive" ???
The rock effects aren't bad but very, very processed. If your guitar and amp are junk this might help but otherwise forget it. I picked up a SRV patch from a web site and tried it.I know SRV inside and out and this is not SRV's tone.My Strat even has the same Texas Special pickups that are on the SRV model. The auto wah is lame and for months I couldn't find the Zoom expression pedal for the Pedal wah. The distortions are terrible and are the root cause of the poor tone. I threw the thing in a closet and went back to my overdrive and chorus pedals (currently a Boss Blues Driver and the Danelectro Cool Cat- both GREAT pedals).
Then this week two things happened. it occurred to me that you can turn off everything and use single effects on the 505. So, I hooked it up and created single patches with compression,delay, limit etc. and used them in parallel with the Blues Driver. GREAT result..it uses the Blues Driver's excellent overdrive and adds the other effects as needed. It gives me a bunch of pedals for a very liitle money. Cool!! No, the compression isn't the Boss Compression but it's useful.
The other thing relates to the Wah. I could'n even find the Zoom expression pedal in Toronto.But this week I read a great Zoom web site by a fellow named Jurgen Heinzerling (check out his page - search under Zoom 505) and he showed a way to connect any cheap volume pedal into a pretty effective wah. It works great. Again, it's not a Crybaby but useful especially in light of the 505 having so many single effects.
So the moral of the story is that as a total effects box this thing is terrible. But use it in conjunction with good overdrive or distortion pedals and you have a very flexible rig.Throw in the tuner and accoustic effect and it's woth it. By the way the way I use ut now DOES NOT change my Strat tone.

Seems pretty reliable..but don't jump on it

Don't know...haven't sent it back

I think I covered all this stuff above.

it was hard to use at first, but after an hour of fooling around i figired it out. it was so easy to find a sound i like, tons to choose from any thing blues, metal, grunge. any sound you want.
editing patches is a breeze the manual explanes every thing.

i use a b.c, rich platnum seris and a fender frontman amp (15 watts) i have to say the it sounds nice at low volumes on my amp, its too muddy but on a good tube amp or any loud amp it blows me away its not noisy, got a noise reduction (znr) i can get a perfect metallica sound, white zombie, pantera, almost any thing! the chorus is pretty weak, but it all kicks ass

i can rely on it, all though its plastic so treat it with care! i alwasy take a back up to a gig, but it could get the job done!

havent delt with zoom, the dealer was nice and explained every thing

i play metal, its a good match. it sutes almost every style. i'v been playing for 3 years, i have a b.c. rich platnum series and a fender frontman amp, getting a new amp as soon as i get cash! and a cheap acoustic guitar. i'd buy a zoom again! its a kick ass pedal! i wish the zoom could combine the mod effect with each other, or combine 2 distortion togather, stuff like that. it helps with creativity greatly with all the features, lots of driffrent colours.

It's a bit hard to browse through 24 effects just using up and down pedals...

Using it with an American Fender Stratocaster and a Dean 50W amp, the sound it really good... I have no complains at all

The one bad thing about it is that if you use battery, it lasts for 1 hour or so. So you have to buy that plug in power supply, and it doesn't come with the pedal, so you have to buy it (45 dollars in Brazil). How many plugs I'd need if I wanted to use 505/7/8/9/10 at once?

Never needed it

I'd buy it again, although a large ME set (1010/2020/3030/etc) would be much cooler if you want a large amount of sounds. This one is pretty much a basic ME, as you have the usual effects (and it's much cheaper too). Other problem is that if you set the delay too long, it'll only echo once...

It would probably help if you know a particular sound you are looking for before you attempt to program this thing (as with any processor, I guess.) Once you get the hang of how the "modules" are laid out, programming could not be simpler. When entering Edit mode, the 505 displays "Edit" on the display. To bypass the message and go right into Edit mode, just press the edit button twice (or "double-click" it!)

The 505 will definitely sound different in different setup situations. Through headphones, it's immaculate. I'm using a Peavey Bandit 112 and I needed to do some major tweaking to quiet the unit down. Some of the factors are the EQ on your amp and the level set on each patch. Simplay cranking each patch to 30 would just be noisy. I have them set around 20-23 and I'm content. The Acoustic Simulator is going to give you some "hiss" no matter how much you try to get rid of it. You might find that cutting down on the Compression or Limiting will cut down on noise (especially on patches with more distortion or the Acoustic patch.)

I suppose one of the main reasons the 505 is so cheap is because of the cheap plastic they used to build it out of. I'm not overly thrilled about this. Transporting it will take a lot of care. I recommend making a padded case for it. I built a footswitch for it to replace ZOOM's rip-off footswitch and I found that the jack for the footswitch is a little awkward. The cable does not rest completely in the jack and it can occasionally come out. Whe the footswitch is disconnected it cuts the sound off and you have to turn te ZOOM off and back on again. Other than that, it should be OK.

I hope I never need it but I don't think ZOOM has a large support team in North America (if any).

It's ideal for what I was looking for. I absolutely love ZOOM's chorus and distortion (although I use a BOSS Chorus Ensemble after the ZOOM as well.) I don't have much of an interest in picking up the optional volume pedal but someone else might. You can get pitch dives and foot-adjustable harmony (like Digitech's Whammy Pedal.) As I mentioned before, depending on your setup, you will probably have to do some tweaking to your amp and the ZOOM to get rid of excess noise, but no matter what your setup is, I think it can be worked out.

I've heard better sound, but don't get me wrong. With 24 programmable patches at this price, it's well worth the money.

I'm using the pedal on an Ibanez Custom S-Series guitar with a Peavey Bandit 112 amp. I've had a problem with background fuzz when I use some of the distortion patches; I have to turn down my guitar's volume whn I'm not playing. Some of the distortion patches are kind of fake-sounding, but when you get this many patches for this price, you don't expect a perfect tube sound. The acoustic patch (makes electric sound like an acoustic) sounds really great. The blues distortion sounds good, but it takes some tweaking with the EQ and compression to get it to sound just right.

I've found the pedal to be pretty reliable, but on a gig, I'd take the AC adapter. The Zoom 505 sucks power like crazy if you use cheap batteries. With a Duracell 9-volt, it lasts for about 8 hours. The only other complaint I have is some of the small buttons on the sides. I play in a garage band, and dust from the floor has gotten into the button mechanism, causing it to stick from time to time.

Never needed it... hope I never do.

This was my first FX pedal, and it serves well as a basic all-around effects processor. However, when I need a specific sound for a solo, I use a single-purpose pedal, purely for a higher-quality sound. It's good for what I bought it for (a pedal for several entry-level effects), but if I were to have this pedal stolen, I'd spend a little more cash and get a higher-quality pedal.

As easy as it gets. You don't need prior multi-fx experience to operate this unit. Editing the patches is actually fun compared to programming one of the higher end units. You don't have many choices for each module (dist., mod., etc...) but there's enough to work with. For chorus, as an example, you have nine choices, each increasingly "deep". You can't tinker more than that, but hey, it's a hundred dollar unit.

I'm using the 505 as a preprocessor to my RP-12, into a Roland JC-77, and it sounds great - even by itself. A lot of people have complained about noise; this seems to be a common complaint about all processors in general. I have not found the 505 to be any more noisy than anything else. It's a case of how you use it, and watch your levels - the higher they are, the more noise you get. The distortions on the 505 are very "metal" oriented, and very limited in their palette. Get a good overdrive pedal. But, as for the rest of the time-based effects, I like 'em. The unit has a good chorus, delay, reverb, and flanger - which I can't say for my Alesis Nanoverb. It works really well for lush, girly dream-pop stuff. It's very hard to find a digital multi-fx with a good flanger, but this one actually does. Made it worth it.

Obviously it can't take much of a beating, but it's 10x more reliable than your average tube amp (which I've blown DURING a show). I have used it in gigs, and will in the future.

n/a

If you want a decent chorus, delay, reverb, and flanger for a hundred bucks - get the 505. Don't buy it for the distortions alone, I think you'll be disappointed. I was unsure about buying such a cheap little multi-fx, but I'm very happy with it, and would definitely get it again. For its price/power ratio, I give it a 9.

This unit is very easy to use, but has so many features not immediately apparent that it dupes those who do not look colesly enough. Tinkering with the 505 is a MUST however before getting a good sound

Off the top- there is a minute miniscule tiny bit of hiss in the line, but I only really noticed it once, amy have a been a bad battery. Okay, here she goes: the presets that come with this unit absolutely stink. They are useless, without a doubt. HOWEVER (and that's a gigantic HOWEVER), a little tweaking and this thing really does the trick- ANY trick! Sound quality is great, even beyond. The disortions are extremely useful for everybody and that is VERY hard to come by even on extremely expensive rack units. By the way, the 8 distortions are all analog, another big plus. the eq section (with a 1-50 value system) is funky but again, VERY effective. All of the modualtion effects are musical and useful and I have run the gammut on pedals, BELIEVE ME! I give this category a 9 only because it's a $110 unit and doens't sound ablsolutely "dreamy", but it's got SO much bang for the buck, it's rediculous.

I have used it day in day out, gigging and at home. It has kept up with me quite well- though, make note- I am NOT a stomper, ESPECIALLY not with this unit. But then again, that's not really what it was built for, heavy-footer can stick with BOSS (which I have many of), but this unit really is, despite its flimsy looks, a quality piece of gear. 7 only cause it doesn have the plastic housing rather than metal, etc.

Have not dealt with Samson/ZOOM

I play and love a whole array of different music. This unit does the blues this very nicely, the overdrive thing devinely, the full-on distortion bit very well, the metal-head mania superbly, and all other distortions you can and cannot think of are awesome. The delay and reverb effects are also superb. There is one little issue that I have a beef with- especially with the delays. You can control the delay time, but neither the level or number of repeats cna be controlled. Now, granted, the guys at ZOOM picked some prett good setting for each given delay time, but I tend to back off the delayed signal level a bit more than the unit lets me. That really is my only beef with the whole unit and I'm not being fairytale-wonderland about it either. Excellent value and great piece of gear for either a main setup or backup. it really does do everything. Oh, before I stop- a couple hints... DO NOT base your judgement of the 505 on the presets alone, mess around with it AND- the ZOOM sounds WORLDS better running through a tube amp rather than solid state. I run mine through my Fender Hot Rod DeVille 2x12 60 watt tube combo.

I just got the unit and have been playing with it for a while.... essentially, it's a small effects unit crammed into a pedal format... Editing is easy and the manual (info sheet) is simple to follow, as far as sounds go, it is easy to get a cool sound from it, but only if you like your effects WET!

Kind of noisy, but the ZNR cleans it up good... THe chorus/Flange is pretty weak, but the rest is good. I am using this unit for practicing and recording to 4 track, so I can afford some extra wet effects... The compressor is pretty weak too, but not as weak as the one on the dod g7 processor...

It kind of light plastic, but it can probably take a hit... I would bring a backup (as always) to a gig, just a distortion and eq pedal though, I could live without the other effects...

nada, bought it used

This unit is great for tooling around with effects... I had a DOD G7 processor (I think I did a review) and I HATED it! it was cool through headphones (like the zoom) but it stunk with my amp, no good in front or in the effects loop... THe 505 blows it away, and being a pedal it is easy to just kick down and change effects no problem.
NOTE: I don't know how much the FP-01 costs, (i heard like 140 canadian!) but you can easily replace it with a simple 100k pot based volume pedal (25 canadian) and a stereo 1/4" to dual mono 1/4" cord... considering the limited amount of controllable effects (only volume, wah and pitch up/down) I don't think it is worth it to buy the FP-01... well, I've babled enough, bottom line, a good unit for beginner's or people just looking for a new toy, it doesn;t sound as good as my buddy's Digitech 2101, but it's like 1/20 the price! (besides, the money you save, you can spend on a good guitar and amp... and that's where your sound REALLY comes from... along with your hands, keep rocking
Dave

The Zoom 505 is great for beginners who have never used a multi-effects pedal before because you can just sit there and tap your way through 24 factory settings and go "Wow, that's cool" or "Nah, that's shit". As I said easy to use and easy to program but if you want more than two separate effects in one song, you really need to set them up in order. Once you learn how to program your own sounds in, it's great because you can piss off the many wah-type effects and the bizarre random-step effect (Zoom's own creation), and line up a good series of patches for yourself. You can bypass the Zoom 505 easily and go straight through your amp too which is very handy. Possibly as a function of my own uncoordination, I did find problems when I accidently pressed both pedals simultaneously and instead of switching to a new effect, I bypassed and went straight to clean amp (pretty embarrassing). If you wear big boots on stage, this can happen a lot and in desperation of recovering your mistake, the song can end up ruined.

Like other people, I think the distortion and overdrive sound too washy. There isn't a hell of a lot of grunt behind them. I use a Marshall Valvestate 80V and the amp distortion is muchmuch better. The more girly effects of the Zoom 505 are pretty good though (flanger, delay, etc). The compression and equalizer functions can dramatically improve the sound you are after.

It hasn't broken down on me yet, but do NOT rely on batteries. They don't last very long at all.

I've never tried to gain customer support.

I chose the 505 because it was by far the cheapest and most versatile multi-effects unit I could find. It looks poxy because it is made of black plastic, but it really does deliver. I would prefer not to be restricted to two pedals that switch up and down in your series of patches, but if your just into effects that last the duration of the song without too much stomping, than I recommend it and might even buy it again. Distortion is crap, and overdrive is too much, but if you have a good amp, you can get around this.