Zoom 2020

With all the programming options, it takes a bit of trial and error to determine what effects to use and what not to use. Most of the fixed preset effects seem like option showcases more than usable effects, but they can be copied to user patch presets for editing, and editing is fairly easy. The individual effects in a patch can be switched on and off fairly easily, but finer parameter adjustment is not something you'd do in a live situation. With the pushbuttons it gets too cumbersome.

I mainly use it in the effects loop of a Laney all tube amp, where it works nicely. For most of the effects I have the mix set to effect only on the pedal, and adjust the effects mix on the amp. Noise is audible on some settings, but low compared to other Zoom models I've heard, even when the noise gate is switched off. Using the ZNR eliminates noise.
The "stepper" effect is a fun effect with no musical use. The compressor is very weak (if present at all), so I use an additional compression pedal. Other effects have a suitable range of intensities and generally sound good.

Very dependable. The plastic top looks flimsy, but is heavy duty, and the metal base braces everything, giving extra support on the loaded spots. The electronics are well protected from physical strain. A stress relief hook prevents the power cord from accidental disconnection.

Editing patches is very easy and I've had no problems getting a great sound out of it. I've never used the manual so no comment there.

The delay between switching patches is a bit annoying. And the pedals are spaced a little too close together so that it happens I hit the wrong one occasionally.

There is no favorite artist I'm trying to emulate so no problems there. I agree with most that the step effect is, well, useless. I found the distortion rather good actually, though I did need to tweak the equalizer and other effects a little to get it to satisfy me.

I've used it with various amps from high-end to cheap-o over the years and not once thought it was weak.

I have depended on it in the past and will do so without delay again.

It doesn't look very sturdy but I has been with me for years and has been transported in gig-bags, gym bags rucksacks and what have you. I've had beer, water and other drinks spilt on it and it has been kicked around quite a bit.

The housing now looks scratched faded and dirty as a well used piece of equipment should but it has never ever let me down.

Never used them

I play a kind of crunchy, dirty rock and roll and the distortion is just fine for that. I can't really comment on the various other effects as for me they are just fluff and I've never used them or anything similar in the past.

I didn't really choose it but was given it and when my main distortion broke down once I started using the zoom and never looked back.

The one thing that has always annoyed me is the very noticable delay between switching patches and even between just switching a patch on or off. Other than that I love it.

Since I probably couldn't get its like again and better products have come along since it was released I'd probably upgrade it it was lost, stolen or (shudder) broke down. But definetly not before!

Zoom 2020 is the PERFECT multi-effect pedal for me... It's very easy to use, VERY EASY to editing patches, and I did not need the manual.

I'm a LeadGuitar-player, and I play The Shadows music, and this pedal is worderful for that kind of music, GREAT delays and reverb...
My guitar is a white Squier (Fender) Stratocaster with KINMAN "Hank Marvin Classic" Pick-Up's (I use 010 strings), and my Amp is a Behringer GX112 Blue Devil with a Eminence "Red Coat - the Governor" 12" speaker.
I use Send / Return on my Amp... Zoom 2020 is very very little noisy, but setting the ZNR on 1 (from 0 to 15) the nois is gone...
All the effects are great in this pedal, well I don't use Overdrive, Distorsion, chorus that much, I use Compressor, Delay and Reverb.

For me Zoom 2020 is a WONDERFUL multi-effect unit...

(mine looks different than the one on the picture but since it's called zoom 2020 I'll tell my story here) I've bought this when it just came out... could it be around '93/'94? (don't really remember) editing patches is easy because the simple schematics on the casing. playing live I often had problems with the "bank" button wich is above the "1-4" buttons, so you sometimes hit the wrong one, especially with low lights. I've never taken a look at the manual so I won't say a thing about it.

Warning: Never play this one wearing all stars sneakers, you might have to hit the same button 5 times before something happens :-)

Setup is very simple (I like a fast start): a Washburn Nuno Bettencourt model (the cheap one ;-)) or a Maison Les Paul imitation
through the zoom 2020 to a 120w Black Widow equipped peavey deuce.

It's perfect for making noise. When playing grindcore, punk, Raggende manne-style (ask a dutchman) this baby makes the perfect sound you want. If you want to make more sofisticated loud music (like rush for instance) go find something else. Completely the opposite it's also very good in making those nice soft sounds you need to play like marillion or any other symfo-like band. (when you have a second amp on the other side of the stage and you use the ping-pong delay you WILL make people cry)

I don't have much noise problems, sometimes it's even hard to get some feedback! Maybe it's a bit to good at that.

I also take part in a lot of jamsessions, but I leave it at home then. If you deceide on the spot that you need a little more or less of something you have to stop playing, get on the floor and start typing button combinations. But when playing with a band, when you've made the right presets before you play, you're a happy man/woman.

I have never had a problem with reliability. It always works and you can easily kick it around the place and stand (jump) on it by accident. I never bring a backup for it.

no experience with the company.

Though I love this machine, it's perfect for what I play (usually the very loud or the complete opposite) We all have to admit it's somewhere around 10 years old, and when it would break or be stolen I would start looking for something more modern. It's great as long as it lasts but I'm not married to it.

VEry easy in getting your overdrive tone

The distortion is not really applicable to my playing....but the overdrive sound is totally awesome....i can even get the tone of neo-classical players such as malmsteen and becker....forget the distortion...but the overdrive is fantastic!!!

Really dependable

n/a

I play instrumental guitar...neo-classical, mr.big, vai and some prog stuff...very good for instrumental guitarist...I've been playing for about 17 yrs.....indeed the overdrive is what i will look for.....Overdrive sound rules!!...i hate the distortion...not too good for me...favorite feature is the delay!!!.....I choose the overdrive sound of this one to lets say a boss multi-effect or Korg multieffects...i wish for a whammy on this effects!!

As long as you have some idea/experience with menu and FX, it is as easy as anything else. I would have given it a 10 except that I recently got a Boss ME-50 and for the ease of use category, the ME-50 is an absolute trail-blaser.

now: Fender standard strat->Boss OS-2 (combo dist./o'drive)->Boss ME-50->Boss CH-1->Boss Dimension C to two amps: Vox Cambridge 30R and a Yamaha G50-210. Used to be no Dimension C and replace ME-50 with Zoom. My first multi-fx unit. I had it for about 2 yrs and swore by it. Just remember...it is entry level. But it's VERY good for what it is. Distortions are crap but everything else is quite good- delay is fine, modulation FX are fine. I got an external footpedal for the wah and it was good. Fine for what it is but nothing like the Boss units.

Always reliable but sometimes you really had to let those footswitches know you're there.

This is where Zoom has it all over Boss and Digitech, Ibanez etc. Excellent!

We play indie guitar pop. It did well for the time I had it and I have no real complaints. Until I tried more expensive stuff, I didn't know there was any better. But great for the money and for what it is. And if it were stolen...well..I've got a job now so I can afford Boss stuff. But it certainly had its place as a solid, reliable unit for 4 years and helped shape my sound. Boss stuff is definitely better but I don't think there's any shame in owning one of these.

No problem ingetting a good sound.
Easy to edit.
Manual easy to follow.

Yamaha SG200, Musicman 65 & 2 x 12 Celestion GH100s in open back cab.
No problem with noise except on distortion settings. Echo & chorus sound good.Not too impressed with distortion, so I use a Dean Markley Overlord.

It only let me down once when the underneath cover shorted out the PC board. A little scraping & insulation soon sorted that out. If you own one check this out, it is the deep depression with a screw through the centre that causes the problem.I always take a couple of pedals as back up, but I am paranoid about potential failures.

No comment.

I play a wide selection of music from rock to slow smoochy stuff. Played for forty years on & off, Yam SG2000, Yam SG200, Fender Jazz Bass, Hofner Club 50, Arbiter SG, Ovation Applause Electro Acc., Fender Strat & Tele, not to mention the Marlin Sidewinder that I keep at work for practising.

Easy to get decent sounds as long as you spend a bit of time getting used to it. I've managed some Metallica style distortions which sound wicked!
Editing is pretty easy and the manual explains how it is done pretty well.

Using an ESP Explorer and Torque amp the sound is pretty good. The wah could have been better but delays, flange, phaser is pretty good. I've had no problems with the distortion either!
The expression pedal is pretty cool.

I had a zoom 1010 before this unit and gigged with that one with no problems at all. I guess I'd rely on the 2020 too!

Never needed it!

Generally a pretty good budget floor unit. I play in a rock metal band and most of the sounds are pretty good for the style we play.

Extremely easy to use, edting patches is intuitive and a breeze. It's impossible to not find a good sound for any patch (except the distortions). Didn't get the manual with it, don't know if it's even necessary (if anyone can direct me to a d/l of the manual, please contact me).

My main guitar is a Warmoth VW with a chambered mahogany body and quilted maple top and a maple neck. It's got a traditional fender-style six point trem and a DiMarzio Tone Zone pickup with only a volume control. I run it through a 60-watt all-tube Peavey Ultra 1-12" combo with a Sheffield speaker. I also sometimes use an extension cab fitted with a 12" eminence.
The 2020 is quite noisy, even when bypassed (not a true bypass unit, incidentally).
Any of the time delay/modulation effects are killer, even the T-wah is cool. The only thing I use from the 1st family of parameters is the compression, which is not very flexible. The distortions are just awful through an amplifier. Through headphones they aren't bad, so using it as a private practice amp is an enjoyable experience.

I've used it for two gigs so far, one very short, the other a few hours. I've had no problems with it, but I have stand alone pedals that correspond to some of the patches. I have these pedals just to have them, not necessarily as backups.

Bought second (3rd? 4th?) hand, so customer support is a non issue.

I play anything from blues to grunge to neoclassical to classic rock to progressive. It's not unusual for me to play Bach lines in a Fleetwood Mac tune or blues licks in a Nirvana piece. I need to have flexibility without prissiness, and this unit fits the bill perfectly.
I've been playing for about 25 years and have been through tons of pedals (if I told you how many TS-808s I've owned from time to time...). I don't have patience for fiddling to get a "perfect" tone. I want something useful and quick, like my girlfriend. If it were stolen, I'd get another one, but only at the same price. I love that this unit is so flexible and easy to use, hate the noise. Wish I could figure out how to use the pedal wah function.

I have the old version of this, bought second-hand. It's dead easy to use and reprogramming is simple and intuitive. Remembering where the effects you want are can be a pain. Best just to duplicate the most useful ones into a single user bank. Also setting up the patch volumes is vital if you want to blend them into a song without having to tweak the volume on your guitar.

I generally play a cheap strat copy through a Peavey Bandit. The distortions can be a bit thin, for blues and rock you can get warmer, crunchier distortion from any decent amp. But the variety of other effects make up for it at this price. I'm convinced that the trick is to spend a bit of time tweaking the user patches to suit your set up and playing conditions and you'll be able to get some really good sounds out of it. Never found it to be too noisy, but probably best not to put it next to the power supply.

Very reliable so far. Has survived lots of moving around and living on the floor in my room. Not gigged yet but will do so with confidence. Build quality is good and pretty sturdy. Wouldn't jump up and down on it but then people who complain about not being able to do that deserve to end up with broken kit!

Never had to use them, not that I could since I bought it used.

Used to play blues and rock which didn't suit this too well. Could always get nicer sounding distortion out of my amp. Now shifting to funk and more eclectic stuff and I'm really appreciating the flexibility it gives me. Wah/Trem/Phaser/Flanger all come in very useful and sound pretty good once you've spent a bit of time customising it to your set up. Good value, might not replace it if I Iost it but good for learning and adding a lot of variety and imagination to your playing.