Zoom GFX-707

When i first took it out of the box i was satisfied using the pre-set patches. But after a while i found it extremely easy to set up my own patches. I liked how it had parameter knobs just like most stompers.

I got this when i first started learning guitar. I loved the metal, wild fuzz and the acoustic sim. But after about 2 years i settled on the Compression/Crunch tone. I love this sound combined with the expression peddle. It really kicks ass because you can sweep to any level of Distortion in real time with your foot. With the Comp/Crunch tone you get chimey clean all the way up to insane crunch. But the compressor kicks in when the gain gets to high and you lose some volume. not a huge problem though. More on the tones later in my summary.

I give big points to Zoom for making a unit that preserves the natural sound of your guitar. What i mean is this: you can plug in a strat and a les paul. They will both sound different as they are supposed to. Big plus when compared to other digital FX gear.

I have gigged with this unit many times and it stood up excellently. I am very careful with the plug in jacks. Although it is mainly plastic, it is very tough.

I had a solder problem but in my first week. I took it back and it was fixed in 2 weeks. I can't complain.

I have had this unit for 5 years now and i am still i love with it. I wish there were more units like this that had it's flexibility. It has every effect that you can think of, with infinate adjustablity, and real time control with the expression pedal. I found the effects to be very versatile themselves. The phaser for example has 4/5 different types that you can pick from. The tremolo is setup so you can control the shape, rate and depth...just like a real trem box. this thing has a Harmonizer and a half decent pitch shifter (whammy effect) as well. The wah is a little hot when it is slammed down, but it is cool that you can set before or after the pre-amp. You can go from Kirk Hammett wah to Porn theme wah. The overused effect is Delay. Zoom has always made good delays and this one is great. i just hate how it is on the same bus as some other useful effects...but there is a seperate delay in the reverb bus...that doesn't have as many parameter options, but it works good.

Now...after 5 years what do i do with my GFX? When i started out I had a very simple setup. GFX - Amp. That's it. I got a Cry Baby to replace the wah on the GFX. It worked great when plugged in before the GFX. I borrow a Line POD from the lead singer in my band, and i discovered that the POD sucks for FX but kicks ass on Tones! So...my signal path is POD - Cry Baby - GFX - AMP. Here's another advantage of the GFX over the POD...a bypass option. If you want to turn off the tone bus and use it as a multi-tasking stomp box collection...go for it! I use the POD for my tones (switchable with an optional FB4 accessory), my cry baby for that extra solo punch, and the GFX for my whammy pedal, digital delay, reverb unit, tremolo, flange, phase, talk box, vibrato, ring modulator, and chorus. And it sounds amazing.

If you are wondering about amps, just keep in mind that Line 6 amps suck with this thing. Why? You are plugging in the wrong side of the pre-amp, and most (if not all) don't have an FX loop. Blech!

But i have played this with a 30 watt practise amp, a 240 watt stack, a 100 watt Crate, and many large miscellaneous mongrels at live shows. It sounded great all the way.

So there you go.

I bought this a little over one year ago now...its very easy to use..but there arnt really enough knobs for the amount of options you can change..

I use nasty line in ussualy...but i will buy an amp soon...Most of the effects sound suprisingly good for the price of the pedal.
Now, Overdrive on the otherhand is extremly bad...very nasty, but everthing else is great.
SOmetimes i get some crackling with chorus, but i think it may be my set-up...

now here is the downfall...Many times ,i have to wiggle the cables to get sound out...and the input/output connectors are comming loose...

never used it

I probably would not but it again. Although it is very cheap and decent sound, i would much rather go with a BOSS pedal despite the price diference. This was my first pedal, without it i would be done in =) so i guess it very practical for starters.

Straight out of the box this is a simple and easy to use unit. It has loads of patches(40 I think) half user and half system, a lot of effects too, I seem to remember from the manual that you can link up to 9 at the same time.

Editing patches is a breeze with the three rotary knobs doing all the work.

Changing between patches quickly can be a chore as there is only a up and down system of moving around the patch library - however with some editing you can store all your most used ones side by side.

Manual is good and covers all the basics including the use of the inbuilt drum machine.

Sound quality wise this thing rocks - well it did for the first year anyway, but more on that later. I use it connected to my amp but also as a mobile practice tool since it will run on batteries for about 14 hours and fits snugly into my rucksack. On earphones this sounds great, and using the built in rythmn unit set to metronome is great for nailing those tricky timings.

I use it with both my Strat and my Les Paul, previously ran a Westone Spectrum through it as well but I have since sold that guitar - and all sound great. When connected up to my solid state Peavey it adds tonal qualities to my sound that the amp alone could never muster.

What really makes this baby come alive though is the amount of patches and settings you can download from the web. I originally bought a Zoom GFX8 before this and apart from the confusingly large number of rotary switches, knobs and buttons on it, there just wasn't any info on it kicking about on how to get a Clapton tone or a tone for a particular solo by a favoured band etc. Now I know that a lot of the fun is trying to sort this stuff out for yourself, but then how many of us say "pah!" to tab and refuse the help it offers when working out a solo? anyway, there are numerous sites for the GFX707 and the amount of info on them for drum settings, patch settings etc are great.

A quick note on the drum settings, some might think it cheesy, but some of the looping tracks on it are great for jamming along too and the metronome is fab for practice.

This is my only bugbear. About a year after I bought it, the patches which featured modulation effects started sounding a little weird, but only after moving the footpedal. If you went on to the patch with the footpedal at any angle then the sound was great, move the footpedal at all in any direction and it went totally crazy like high pitched warbling. I tool=k it back to the shop I bought it from and the guy there checked it out and told me thats how the patches were meant to sound ... which was bullshit really as it was either broken when I got it and had got better, or was broken at the time I was in the shop.

Anyway they wouldn't do anything about it.

I still use it but get annoyed with the broken patches some of which I used to love using before they went wonky.

My old guitar teacher had one for about 5 years before I got mine and never had any trouble, so maybe I just got unlucky and picked up a bad one. I thought about replacing it, or writing to Zoom to complain (I may still write to them), but I have since purchased a Line 6 Guitar Port and use it as my main practice tool and the range of amps, effects and patches on it far outweigh those on the Zoom and the internet aspect is great and getting better all the time.

Haven't dealt with Zoom directly, but may do in the future so can't comment on it. The dealer support was negligable, but then it was out of warrently and not a high end product to begin with and to be fair to them they have been good at other times when I have bought other gear from them, so maybe they weren't too familiar with the product and didn't know that the sounds weren't as they should be.

I lay all sorts but nothing too heavy, I like clean, crunch and slightly over driven sounds and the Zoom delivers al of these .... if you like insane gain, it'll do that too.

Once you start writing your own patches on the thing is when you really start to get your money's worth. One day I was messing about with the presets, the next I sounded exactly like Dave Gilmour .... the next day Hendrix etc ... okay so I am not talking about my playing ability, but sound wise I had them nailed :o)

I tried out a few other effects, one by Boss, the GFX8 and a couple of Digitech ones and although they all sounded good, the only one I was trully happy with was the 707 ... can't explain it, but it was easy to use, portable, sounded great and was not too expensive.

Would I buy another one? Mmmmm not sure, the Guitar Port now covers my main bedroom practice sessions and I now only use the Zoom for travelling and weekends away etc, and if it were lost or stolen I could use my portable MD for this so I'm not sure about replacing it. However, if I didn't have the Line 6 GP in my arsenal, then I would most certainly buy another one.

---NOTICE---

---THIS IS FOR ANYONE WHO HAS EXPERIANCED WORN OUT JACKS WITH THIS PRODUCT---

Its not actually the jacks that are worn out. The solder joints inside the pedal where the jacks attach to the main circuit board are prone to cracking. This is easily fixed. All you need is a soldering iron and some VERY basic skill with it.

Open up the back by removing all of the screws on the metal back plate (duh). Find the points where the jacks meet the circuit board. they are easy to find. Each jack is connected by 3 rectangular solder joints that are in this shape (the top of the diagram being the part of the circuit board closest to the back of the pedal):

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☼ ☼

If you trace from the back of the pedal where the jack is, you can lead right to them. Notice how the solder around the joints is cracked? Heres how I fixed mine:

Before you start, you may want to mask the areas around the joints with some sort of tape (I used masking tape) to keep solder from moving around and possibly damaging the board. Also bear in mind the soldering iron may cause heat damage to the circutry so dont keep it in contact with the board for too long. Also, use a 15 or 30 watt soldering iron, higher wattages may damage the board. And finally, use 60/40 rosin core solder. Its designed for light electronics work. Many other solders are acid core. Avoid it, it damages electronic components.

I took a nail and put a small amount of flux on the tip. I melted the old solder on the joints, and while it was melted, I stuck the tip of the nail into the melted solder, then pulled it out. This removed most (dont remove all of it) of the old solder.

Next, I just melted and applied the solder as I would any other joint, do this however you see fit. I lightly fluxed the joint, and added the solder, but I used a bit more than there was before, to help prevent this problem from reocurring too often.

After the fix, it should work fine

If you need help, post you're questions in the effects forum at http://forums.tabcrawler.com . I can help you there. My screen name is Zeppo.

Well I read the manual before diggin into it... I used my Roland Cube-15's distortions to play with my garage band, and I had to write patches for the musics I played into the Zoom... it took me about 10 minutes and 1 or 2 times playing the music and making little arragements with the equalization... preety much easy to use... The manual is particularly good, and easy to understand, though the effects descritpion isn't very informative (but hey, how can you describe in words a sound ;) )

I use it with my Ibanez GRX70 and a Roland Cube-15, but I've tryed it out with other amps,and it always sounded good!It isn't noisy, and even if you need to cut the noise, ZNR (Zoom Noise Reduction) is very effective!
The distortion effects are normal, but if you twitch gain and equalization, you'll get the most out of it!
Chorus is pretty good, Flanger too (but I don't use it).The 3rd module wich includes reverb and delay is very good...I don't even like delays much, but have started using them since I bought it :)
The expression pedal is good for controlling the modules... I don't use it for wah, I've used a cry-babay wah and now the wah on the zoom doesn't seem very effective... but as I said,controlling Distortion, Modulation and Reverb with it is VERY HANDY :) At least for me :)
I've tryed some patches I got from the net, and they worked out fine, but I'd rather do my effects and toy with the thing.. It will take me quite some time yet to master it.
The Drum Machine is funny, and I use it to make my drummer practice faster :)
The 6 second recording/loop is just a luxury...The tuner is normal :) All in all it gets a 9 because of the price I payed for it, otherwise it would get a 7, because the modulation module isn't as good as it should be!

It seems solid, even the expression pedal, but I've had it for only 2 months, so I can't really talk about it!

Never broke down (not even with it's previous owner)

I payed 50 euros for it, I get a tuner, a distoriton pedal, a chorus pedal, a flanger, a delay and reverb pedal, an expression pedal!Ok they aren't top in their category, but I got a sound almost the same as a Boss simulated effect Overdrive Distortion... So I really can't complaint!Will it broke down in the future... I'd say it's likely... Is it the best... no it isn't... Is it good enough for starters and medium players without money (aaaaaah here's the right question).I'd say definitely.If it broke down would I get another? Probably get a better one if I had money...Do I regret buying it... not a chance... It's quite cool, and I find some reviews to be excessively on blaming the Zoom, and not the bad guitars and shity amps...People need to realize that they are not using professional material ;)

for me the worst part in the gfx 707 is the ease of use: this unit has got so many possibilities that it is very tough to get a good sound.
there are too few knobs for too many sounds.

I use the gfx 707 via a sessionette 75-amp & PA. I have got a Squier Stagemaster and Ibanez Blazer.
The unit isn't noisy at all. The effects in itself are basically good, but the factory-settings are weak. There are great heavy sounds and clean sounds but there's nothing in between.
My favourite guitar players are adrian belew and robert fripp (both king crimson). Besides I like davids gilmour's (pink floyd) sound a lot.
Just the other day I found out that the internet is LOADED with settings for the gfx 707 (just get www.google.com and press settings zoom gfx 707 and you will get hundreds of seetings.) With these examples it is quite easy to get that pink ployd-sound. stilll looking for a great belew.

My gfx 707 has never let me down, I would definitely rely on it for a gig.

If you take time to programm, the gfx 707 delivers great sound for rock.
If this unit would break down I wouldn't buy a new one. When I bought it al coupole of years ago it was top of the bill, but now the gfx 707 is already oldfashioned.

The only thing you got to do is spend some minutes reading the user's guide. Doing that, and practicing some with the multi-effects, you can really change parameters and create some new effects in seconds. Just like the other ZOOM multi-effects, is really easy and friendly to work with. The possibility to store a 6-digit name for the patches is really good to avoid some problems about finding the correct patch to the moment you are playing.

I'm using it with a Epiphone Sheraton II (semi-acoustic body) and with a Fender Stratocaster American Standard. The effects are good, generally. Some distortions are really good (lead/dist/metal), but some others are really awful (fuzz/overdrive). To avoid some problems about losing the expression and the sound of a long note, you have to increase some compressor to these distortions. Some modulations are really good; Chorus is really beutiful; Flanger and Pitch sounds like some computer midi files; The Expression Pedal isn't really good (just like every expression pedals built-in these multi-effects) - You can't expect a "Dunlop CryBaby" sound for 707. But that's good for using it as a volume controller. Reverb is REALLY good, much better than some other multi-effects (the other guitarist of my band have a Digitech RP-200, and the ZOOM Reverb is much better). The Delay isn't really good, but the Ping-Pong Delay, when used through a stereo amp is cool. ZOOM GFX707 is good for some clean effects, and bad for others. That happens with the distortions too.

Everything you can see is plastic-made. You really need to look after and try not to drop it too often.

Never needed.

I've been playing for 6 years. I play some latin rhytms (like bossa) and other "light" things, like jazz. The GFX 707 isn't really apropriate to these sounds. But I play some other sounds, like Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Yes, and some Progressive Rock Bands. Is a good match. It's really good as the first multi-effects pedal. If it were stolen, I wouldn't buy it again. Actually, I'm selling it. I'm looking after some BOSS pedals or any better multi-effect.

707 has five knobs and few more buttons, two stomps and expression pedal. I migrated from 505, so I had some problems at start, because it is absolutely different to control. Manual is relatively good, general use is nicely explained, just effects are not very good described. After set up it is easy to use. Switch and express...

I use Squier Tele (sounds more like mexican Telecaster, good piece) and Squier Strat (same quality) and it works really good with it. Tele can be twanging or growling, Sound can scream or bell. I also tried Les-Paul like imitation and it was really good either. I mostly use Peavey Microbass amp and with 707 it sounds better (for me) than guitar amps in same class.It is enough for rehearsals and home playing. Good combination.

It is cheap digital multieffect, keep this in mind. I was quite dissapointed with factory presets, they are mostly useless and/or noisy. You have to get used to it and make your own effects. This costs some time, but sound you can get from it can be real. Amp simulators are mostly useless, unless you play directly to speaker without guitar amp. Distortion effects have wide range, and mostly very very usable when properly equalized they have crunch and growl, almost ecerything, just they get a bit broken when turned to maximum. Some are really unusale for chords. Compressor, I think, only makes it play louder or enhance with Bright or Flat. Modulation effects are nice, delays, choruses, vibes and so, some that look unusable can be very good when tuned properly.
Chorus is nice, V-Chorus is very warm, delay sounds ok, vibe is good if set properly, tremolo too. Pedal-Wah is somehow not very accurate but usable when tuned carefully. Reverbs are nice and deep, only problem is you really hear it is digital. But, hey, what you expect from cheap multieffect? Afterall it doesn't sound much worse than analogs. Only you can't expect that detaility and dynamicity of sound.

Well, I have it for about three years. I had to repair jacks and AC plug, because it got broken, but i was only prob I had. If you know a skilled or medium skilled engineer no problem. It felt me on ground few times and plastic is still ok in one piece. I am not very gentle to it so I give it what I give it for reliability, again, only jacks were problem.

Never dealt with, never knew about :o)

I think it is really usable thing, I even made a recording with it through a Musicman 100watt full tube amp. It sounds good. Really good. If tuned carefully it can be compared to a little collection of analog effects, it doesn't so THAT good, but not bad either. My effect memory is full and I can't do anything with it, I would need 3 times more to have enough. With expression pedal you can really do some havoc, so I think it is really good piece for peaople that want to get used to guitar effects, or need many effects (like me) for lower price.

Its Easy to use, a baby could do it.

It gives really weak, no-bottom-end, staticy sounds with most fx. only good ones are z-lead and stdcho (chorus)

I trust this thing about as far as a cat can throw it. The jacks are completely worn out and the way they assemble it you cant fix them. Its the disposable pedal. It lasts 3-6 months, then kicks out. 95% of the time im playing, and the thing just stops, on account of the fact the jacks are so loose the cable doesnt touch the connectors. It blows, you cant gig with it, and even practicing at home is becoming a stretch because I'm always having to stop and shake the cable around. Its in a shitty ass plastic shell thats about as strong as a burning anorexic toothpick on crack.

Its bull shit. In the time ive owned it ive played metal, nu-metal, pop-punk, hardcore punk, pop-rock, hard rock, classic rock, alternative, grunge, blues and jazz. Its impressive to a newb, but its usefulness wears thin. Im upgrading to a boss or digitech as soon as i get the money. DONT BUY IT

It is a fairly intuitive device. It was my first multieffects unit. I was a multiple single-effect pedal guy until about a year-and-a-half ago when I got this thing. I was able to plug right in and play without any trouble. It delivers a good sound, but does tend to be a tad noisy. However, you can tweak it and your amp a bit to work around that. Editing patches is no problem, just use the three knobs to increase or decrease. The manual is fine, neither stellar, nor hellish. I was not aware of the "firmware revision number" and have not "upgraded" my unit.

I do a variety of things with it in my home studio and in live performance. Mostly, I'm running my fairly cheesy Yamaha 311MS guitar through it into a Fender Bassman. Sound quality is pretty impressive, considering the price. I have used it straight into the mixer, both live and in studio as well and it sounds pretty good, though not quite as good as mic-ing my Fender amp. The rather simplistic, but good sounding, amp simulations do give some variety. I find it can be noisy, but mostly in PC-based recording. This was probably an artifact of some sort of impedence-matching or sampling rate issue, but I'm not sure. I stopped using the PC program and got a freestanding multitracker and the problem went away. Gives a pretty good imitation of The Edge's digital delay (I think he used to use a Memory Man) sound. The detuned sound is very close to what a lot of '80s alternative bands used. Generally, though, I'm not trying to copy others, so never really looked at the pedal's job as being to emulate somebody's tone. One of my favorite distorted sounds on it is the one called "Flash". One problem is that the distorted sounds are way louder than the cleaner tones, but this is simple to adjust for and is a rather natural issue. It is a good first multieffects pedal either for beginners or for guys like me just testing the water as regards giving up all those cool little metal boxes. The tones are unexpectedly good and I have used them on our latest album for layers, but it is also clear to the experienced ear that it's not quite professional quality. Close enough for most purposes, though.

Here's where the only real problem with this thing shows up. It is all plastic. I'm not one to jump on my pedals (though I do trip over them sometimes; very embarassing!) and I always treat my equipment, no matter how inexpensive, as something I'm very lucky to have. However, despite babying this unit, the output jack has become loose. I now have to brace a chorus pedal against the output cable end to keep the jack in place. I cannot depend on this anymore as, even when I remain relatively still, it cuts out. Pretty horrible during a solo. If you need something that will last reliably for more than a year-and-a-half, better try another product. I will no longer use it for gigs. I can still use it for practice at home, but I imagine it's time is limited even there. But, for the price, you can't have it all.

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I am lead singer and guitarist for Phlox Parallax, an alternative rock band in the Midwest. I have been playing with guitars most of my life and I'm 36 now. I own too much gear to list here and most of it isn't that impressive, just by name. Is there a 12-step program for gearoholics? This unit is a good match for me, particularly as it was my first multieffects unit. I would not buy the Zoom GFX-707 again as I am ready to go forward with a rack-mountable unit now and leave all my little metal boxes at home. This pedal convinced me that I can do that. I will consider Zoom products again in the future. All the variety available in tones and the onboard drum machine are quite lovable features. The main problem is the lack of durability, but I knew that going into the purchase. It is made of plastic. Plastic fails if used repeatedly. The machine also has a loop sampler that was a little fun, but I had trouble getting it to synch just right. The original choice to buy this unit was based on price and availability at zZounds.com. Didn't really compare it to anything else. This unit is great for experimenting with new effects, but don't expect it to hold up to years of use, even if you baby it.