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.

very good!! It is very easy to program this thing, within an hour i knew what i could do with it.
there is a special 'manual' mode on the thing, which makes it function like 5 stompboxes in a row. This can be activated by pressing a button, but there's also a special footswitch available for it (a keyboard's pedal can be used too, like i always do)
this thing is very good when it comes to editing, clear easy and quick!

I use a fender twin 100, ernie ball volume-pedal, and a yamaha se112. and DAMN this thing roxxxxx! Really!
i read some reviews here, and everybody is so negative about the distortions... i agree, if u turn off the EQ and use, even the metal-dist. , u won't get a cool sound. But, if u put on the eq on this thing, throw in a bit low, not too much high, turn the mid almost down and the mid-range (which is the most powerful feature of the pedal i think) about one step over half, u get a very good metal-distortion!! and i know what i'm talking about, i've compared with many many stompboxes from Boss, DOD, Ibanez, everything even a marshall top wasnt as brutal as my preset! Trust me!
The chorus is also very cool, especially the strange setting. Than there are two delays, which rule, ping pong-delay rocks!! Wah sux just like the pitch and step. E/V is pretty electronic..

man, i've dropped this thing down the stairs for TWO, YES TWO TIMES!!! I carry it around in my suitcase, and even when i'm cycling to my band-house and it drops out of the suitcase, in a pool of water, it will STILL work afterwards! I had to adjust some switches, cuz i jumped on them with all of my weight, but that was done in no time!!
I've used this thing at about 15 gigs!!!
and, i have bought this thing when it was already USED for a year!!!!!!!

i dunno, i don't NEED THEM!

i play all sorts of music, from jazz to metal to funk.. trust me, u can always use this thing, the rock-distortion is very good, u can make ur guitar sound like a real dark jazzy thingy..
just take some time trying things out, listen closely, adjust, and u will have a great tone and sound for just about everything!

very good!! It is very easy to program this thing, within an hour i knew what i could do with it.
there is a special 'manual' mode on the thing, which makes it function like 5 stompboxes in a row. This can be activated by pressing a button, but there's also a special footswitch available for it (a keyboard's pedal can be used too, like i always do)
this thing is very good when it comes to editing, clear easy and quick!

I use a fender twin 100, ernie ball volume-pedal, and a yamaha se112. and DAMN this thing roxxxxx! Really!
i read some reviews here, and everybody is so negative about the distortions... i agree, if u turn off the EQ and use, even the metal-dist. , u won't get a cool sound. But, if u put on the eq on this thing, throw in a bit low, not too much high, turn the mid almost down and the mid-range (which is the most powerful feature of the pedal i think) about one step over half, u get a very good metal-distortion!! and i know what i'm talking about, i've compared with many many stompboxes from Boss, DOD, Ibanez, everything even a marshall top wasnt as brutal as my preset! Trust me!
The chorus is also very cool, especially the strange setting. Than there are two delays, which rule, ping pong-delay rocks!! Wah sux just like the pitch and step. E/V is pretty electronic..

man, i've dropped this thing down the stairs for TWO, YES TWO TIMES!!! I carry it around in my suitcase, and even when i'm cycling to my band-house and it drops out of the suitcase, in a pool of water, it will STILL work afterwards! I had to adjust some switches, cuz i jumped on them with all of my weight, but that was done in no time!!
I've used this thing at about 15 gigs!!!
and, i have bought this thing when it was already USED for a year!!!!!!!

i dunno, i don't NEED THEM!

i play all sorts of music, from jazz to metal to funk.. trust me, u can always use this thing, the rock-distortion is very good, u can make ur guitar sound like a real dark jazzy thingy..
just take some time trying things out, listen closely, adjust, and u will have a great tone and sound for just about everything!

Bought it back in 1995 or something. The whole scrolling thing can be a bit annoying.

I used it through a Fender Blues Deville, Marshall jcm900 combo, and Roland JC-120 at various times.

Let's look at it in relation to the price. I bought if for modulation effects, and for that, you can't beat if for $150. Delay, chorus, tremelo, phaser, all good, especially for the price. People say the step flanger is unusable.......I say you are WRONG! I used it as an effect at the intro to one of my bands songs along with distortion and people LOVE it. We call it "robo-guitar". You can use any effect for something cool if you put your mind to it. Be creative! For christmas sake, i hear tons of guys using ring modulators now....THOSE are musical? Give me a break. Makes a lot of hum in bypass mode if near another power source. So.......move the power source! Oh, and the distortions suck for anything except making noise......which could be cool. No, it can't sound "brown" or like SRV.........here's an idea, try to sound like something else!!!!! Ohhhhhhhhhhh, can't do that. Delay between patches is a bit too long. Typical of units from this time period.

It's plastic and cheap. Knowing that, I have had 0 problems. Zero!!!!!! I've carried the thing around in a backpack for a few years, banging around with boss, danelectro, and Ibanez distortion pedals. It's beat to hell but still works. Don't drop things on it! Would you drop something on your guitar?

Look at this piece of crap. Then listen to it. How many boss pedals can you buy for what you pay for this? 2? 3 MAYBE? This thing has a decent delay, phaser, flanger, chorus, tremelo..... that's already about $400 in boss pedals.

Its pretty easy to use. Id give it an 8. Once you figure out the zoom way of programming, you can operate about anything they make right away. I owned the first version of the 2020. It was a cool step up from stomp boxes in that it eliminated all those patch cords and batteries. Manual was helpfull and easily understood.

It didnt take me long to just wipe out a bank of programms and start programming from the ground up. I wasnt impressed with any of the factory presets. Noise? yeah it was knda noisy. I used it through an
80s model marshall artist head. The 2020 had no reeally good distortions so i just bypassed the gain and used it for chorus/delay
etc. Couldnt get any of the tones of professional rigs.

while it was cool to get rid of allmy stomp boxes, this puppy had its own issues. The power converter melted, literally melted, between sets
one time, also the input/output jacks were prone to short out. Worst of all it ahd a speaker sim feature that only worked through the 1/8 stereo headphone out put. So i rigged a plug to use that as a main output, it lasted about a month befor crapping out.

tried to get factory service, they wouldnt do it.Out of warranty.

It wasnt a complete loss, it just wasnt usefull for my power metal taste. I have since bought other zoom gear and toured and recorded with it succesfully. If it were stolen, I would not have replaced it.

Patch editing is straightforward and intuitive and - more importantly, especially during pub or club gigs when the acoustics change from your sound check - can be done quickly on the hoof. I'd never depend on this for my sound but WOULD use it to 'colour' my sound.

Used with a Fender Performer 1000 amp, Crybaby and Ibanez S540. Primary styles are R&B, blues & contemporary rock (strange mix, I know...) & it's fine for chorus/phase/delay effects. The distortions are OK over headphones but NEVER rely on them live, they are weak and lack authority and attack. Other reviewers mentioned that they suck tone, I have to agree but then the Fender is a brute of an amp & it doesn't really affect it. I like to feed out stereo to the Fender & a Marshall V65 & with a stereo chorus it's tremendous, better than the Boss GT5 which I also have. This is limited in what it does well, but those which it DOES are very good indeed.

I HAVE gigged with it, maybe 30 times. It was fine at first but then problems with patch switching, then bank change. I acquired a second one but the power system pops & farts & then the unit resets & I got frustrated. They're both now with the UK distributors for repair. Case is still intact after 5 years but you do have to be careful & light footed.

UK distributors were terrific. Sent units back, repairs being done free of charge even years after warranty expired. Will update this comment when I get the units back.

Playing for 30 years, gigging again after a 16 year gap ! Own an Ibanez S540 / Gibson Les Paul / Fender Tele, Fender Performer 1000 & Marshall V65 amps, Boss GT5 & Crybaby Wah.
This is easier to use & program than the GT5 but it's not so robust & some effects are a bit cr*p, however for the 'lazy' musician or non-live work it's generally OK & you dont need an advanced computing degree to be able to programme the thing. A good practice or 'scratchpad' machine. Get a good multi (Boss, Roland) for live work.

The designs help me very much to get a good sound out of it. And it is very intuitive.

It has a very great sound. I use it with an Ibanez Iceman and a Dynacord amp 2x12" 120watt rms. I play black, death and heavy metal.

It isn't very good for the live show but i have done 10 gig with it :P

The 2020 is relatively easy to use. If you read the manual, you won't have any problems. Manually editing patches gets tedious quickly.

I generally use the 2020 with my MIM Strat to a Yamaha 4-Track with headphones. It is very quiet in this configuration it is very quiet, but plugged into either of my amps (100 watt Crate and 15 watt Peavey) it hums terribly. The distortion effects are really disappointing. There are six types, (two clean, two overdrive, and two distortion) of which, the two overdrives are completely useless, because they are exceptionally weak. The clean tones are good, but why would I use a processor for "clean?" Both of the distortions are pretty weak, and make harmonics really tough. I spent hours unsuccessfully attempting to get some thick, chunky distortion (i.e. "Paranoid"). The EQ works fine, but auto-wah is pointlessly bad. The pitch shift has a great range, but there is too much delay between the played note, and the created note, so don't try to emulate a 12-string, or back yourself with fifths. Flanget, trim and phase are all very good. I think the chorus is excellent. It is probably the best effect on the board. The "Step" effect is the stupidist thing I've ever heard. I can think of no reason to even include this contrived, fake effect on the board other than to increase the total number of effects in the catalog. The mono delay is good, and the ping-pong delay rocks, but it's hard to think of a reason to use it. The reverb is a little mechanical sounding.

I've had my 2020 for over four years, and I haven't ever had it fail on my. It's durability would not prevent me from gigging without a backup. Unfortunately, the poor sound quality keeps me from using this anywhere but my living room.

I've never had a malfunction. That's the kind of customer support I like.

I have been playing blues, hard rock and metal for about nine years. This unit handles blues pretty well, but it is pathetic for anything else. I can make weird effects for impressing my friends, but that's not what I bought it for. If the 2020 were stolen, I would find the guy who took it, and punch him in the gut, but I'd let him keep the processor. I prefer the processor to a huge string of stomp-boxes, but I couldn't play live with this thing. I wouldn't recommend this particular processor to anybody who wants to play anything but weird Pink Floyd or Frank Zappa licks.

Easy to use.
Good effects, achevied easily.
I worked out how to use it quiclky.
Exellent to play around with, and for serious playing.

I play with a washburn, vantage amp, marshall, gibson 335 and a guild. I think the quallity of this is brilliant. I paid only $45 and i really think its brilliant. The quality is exellent for begginners, and ametures but pros may want to look for more, but thats only if youre doing big gigs. A great mix of effects can be acheved and most, almost all effects sound good. It has all the extremes and everything in between. Great

No problems with mine. Its always good to have a backup but i would rely on it, i don't have any other. It hasn't any problems.

Havent needed any!!!!

Exellent.
Good effects,
Easy to use.
Provideds good value for monnet effects which actually sound good.
4 pedals so no cycling through effects. jump straight to them.
Really pleased with mine. I mean really pleased.
I haven't given it 10 because pros may look for more, and of course nothings perfect!

Easy to edit and easy to get to use, maybe too easy, as there wasn't a lot of tweaking available.

I mostly used it to record directly to my 4-track recorder and it served me well in that capacity. I never used it with an amplifier, so I can't comment on that. The effects sounded better to me than those in the 505, which I purchased about two years later.

Reliability? Well, I accidently dropped a drummachine onto it and that was the the end of it. The drum machine was positioned about two feet above the 2020 player and that was enough to crack the circuit board inside it.

It pains me to even think of it, lo these four years... Job knows how I feel...

Evidently, the Zoom 2020 and the 2020 player were different models. I owned the 2020 Player and during the brief time in which I owned it, it pleased me greatly. It allowed me to get those cool Guided By Voices sounds that I had always wanted. I used it on guitar and vocals, and it served me well. Too damn bad Zoom puts everything in a disposable plastic box. I just bought a PS-02 and I'm hoping it holds up better. I'm hoping to Hell that I don't drop the thing. Zoom... cool while they last...

The unit is easy to use.

When I owned this unit a thought hmm all distortions are very bad. A mild overdrive was acceptable but you could never get any harmonics to pass throught it, so for really stupid Van Halen type stuff it was terrible. Eventially I used it exclusively through my (Marshall Valvesate 8080) effects loop for basically delay and chorus. The chorus was not very warm (see later)

I owned a Zoom 5050 choir which was also pretty poor in the chorus department as it was way to lush and killed the tone.

The unit is VERY!!!! noisey. It hisses even when no effects are being used, hence useing the effects loop with -20dB setting??? or 0dB dunno which made it be quiet. It didn't seem to have been designed for going into the front end of a guitar amp - just a piece of shit with the hiss, but in the effects loop it was quite.

The two delays is a good feature. You can set up a very pronounced delay and a more ambient one later in the mix.

I had an expression pedal with mine, and it seemed to drop out and sort of loose track of where it was - crappy wah.

I ended up using a BOSS noise supressor with a BOSS Metal Zone and a Turbo overdirve and an original FUZZ FACE. All these are great, although you may as well make your own Fuzz for the rediculous price they cost.

A Jim Dunlop Wah was also used so eventually the 2020 came down to a hollow sounding digital delay, and a very non transparent chorus.

Never buy this piece of shit - consider using it if someone gives it to you for free but the operative word is condisder it!

At the time it was the absolute best value multi unit around, but really it is a piece of tone sucking shit.

Very relible - never need a backup unit

never needed them

Good unit for a myriad of effects but virtually unusable at anything above bedroom volume.

Just don't bother - for example a 505II is way cheaper new and about twice as good in sound quallity compared to the 2020, 4040 or that era.

very easy figured it out in about 15 minutes of plugging it in without a manual ( i already have a 505 )

Crap sound i got it given to me by a friend who is a session guitarist and i can see why. There are no good distotions or overdrive it is very noisy the noise reduction only helps so much and when distortion is on it just gets mega feedback
I managed to make so really nice clean sounds with chorus and delay effects
it is just to muddy and i would not recomend using it with a marshall or roland amp ( i have a roland )
cause the amp has better distortion a clearer sound and if you want a delay, chorus or flanger pedals better ones can be found.

not had it long but i would watch out when stepping on it

I prefer my 505 but i gonna get a digitech alongside a boss ds1 cause they works really well but im happy with it as i paid nothing for it but if i was going to buy i would look around 505 is good and cheap for beginers I got mine after playing for about three years to boost my amp cause i had a crap one
And after this definately WILL NOT buy any more zoom products.
Not bad for a first unit but there is better units that give better distotion/overdrive sounds its not really suited to me cause i play hard rock, punk quite a lot but it great for when im playing clean and blues stuff love the delay chorus flanger and wah isnt too bad
i would like to talk with other owners who have one so feel free to email

Easiness of sounds depends on your taste. I got an easy dry metal sound with a touch of chorus kicks a pack. On editing patches, well, its kinda hard because its made out of plastic and i got stories that when you kinda pushed it too hard, IT BREAKS. Manual, well oriented, but i dont use it anyway (Trying to deal with it by myself). About my unit it sucks bec. its an old japanese model.

Well sound quality(like i was talking about), depends on your music style. I play a melodramatic-metal, neo-metal,classical, sentimetal leads so i needed a chunky boost to my leads and zoom did a great job on providing me those (with a lot of frustrating dialing of course). Except zooms ZNR doesnt make any difference, it just cut and cut until you suceed to die out of tone. Yup its pretty noisy especially with my setup. I have to turn up the EQ's level so i can get a cool mid. For my setup I've got an Ibanez copycat to a Jim Dunlop Crybaby to the 2020 to a local amp (RAGE amps). Actually I got an almost Eddie Van Halen sound out of it but a Marty Friedman (MEGADETH) it does pretty well. All i can say is analog distortions are pretty old-fashioned but natural sounding, chorus, and delay are pretty cool except for the Rev. that only Fracks the sound.

I depend on it like its my last effect on earth. But for a single guitarist like me, i know hoe to use it as one without backers. I can make it as loud as i can (By turning off the eq). Or heavy as it must.

Nope not at all. Except for the powersupply and the footswitches.

For the music I play (or for the lead guitarist i am), 2020 is an absolute average to semi pro. effects. ive been playing guitar for 3 yrs. (a fast learner)and ive used almost all kinds of analog and digital effects e.g. MT-2, 505,707, MT-1, 4040, etc. but a 2020 is fair for me replacing those effects for a change (for the spacE). If it were stolen id say i must look for the bastard and then get my 2020 slap it into his face and ask him if hes interested on a 2nd hand 2020 (maybe i can give it to him for about 1/4 of its price!). I love the mod. delays, reverb. except for the dist module hope they can make advances. I wish it had a HARMONMIZED PITZ-SHIFTUR (damn icant get any of those really cheap!). If you'd like to buy this thing, well, it depends. If youre a beginner i think a 505 would be better and if youre a pro and has a lot of Greens (andhas a lot of room space) i would go for a series of BOSS EFFECT PEDALS. But for a amatuer ,yngwie wannabe like me and doesnt have enough bucks to own a heck of multieffects. Then buy the damn thing anyway.

At first it seems very easy and a lot of fun considering the built-in patches. I loved the sound but when I switched between amps the sound began to change dramatically! The amps settings are the same but the sound has changed 40%! Editing the patches is quite easy but the down side is that you have to spend a lot of time to get the sound you really want. My unit is brand new I just bought it last week! The manual is ok but the problem is that it is very TECHNICAL!

I use a Squier Stratocaster (by Fender) and a Samick VG-100 Amp. There is some noise when using distortion/overdrive related effects but overall it sounds great. I can get some sounds that I want to mimic but it is very difficult to duplicate! I like the Chorus and Delay effects the best! The things I hate are the distortion/overdrive effects cause they give off too much NOISE!

I can depend on it on some instances but when it comes to "quick thinking" on the effects I wanna use it is really difficult to cope up with! I would use this always since it's the only effects processor I have!

From my experience ZOOM has good quality. I've got friends who have said that their's could last for as long as 5 years!

I play slow rock, blues, pop and a bit of classical guitar. I would say that "for now" this effects processor is worth it. I have been playing for almost 3 years. I also own a Boss Turbo Overdrive Pedal OD-2R that I use often. If it got lost or stolen, I would get another effects processor. I might consider getting a Boss effects processor instead. I wish it had a built-in wah pedal! So far I can make music with it really good, especially when playing the blues! I'd say this effects processor is ONLY for begginers!

real easy to get a good sound and the editing patches cool.yes,i had a manual, but the editing and stuff so easy you dont have to read it. sorry dont know the firmware revision number and unit is the same old junk.

I use a fender strat and a stranger amp and man its so fuckin, noisy and the ZNR doesn't seems to help much either and it weakens the tone alot.it's really difficult to get your desired sounds unlike the zoom's other patches like the 505 & 3030 e.g (just want to add the 505 real cool,you'll get your money's worth)Ofcourse the chorus delay reverb& flanger's cool i can't get even one desired patch for distortion. Man, this really lets you down specially if you play for a heavy metal band.The compressor is useless and of course the autowah.

how can i depend when i can't get my desired patches.Of course the effect is compact except for the small footpedals and only one up bank pedal, but i won't use for a gig without a backup.oh ... when you switch from one patch to the other there is a small gap (silent) which i really find it sucks.

no, comment.

I play rock/haevy metal.So it doesn't match to my satisfaction.I will never buy a 2020 or any zoom products. I prefer DIGITECH,BOSS or ROLAND.I don't love this gadget except for delay and chorus.AND for the last time I advice prospective buyers to think twice before buying the most famous gadget ZOOM'S 2020.

Easy to edit, The manual was easy to follow.

I ran a lespaul and a fenderstrat with it, along with a mesaboogie stack.

I had this thing for six months, then kicked it to the curve. I wanted some different types of distortions for different songs, and the 2020 just didn't pan out. Only one distortion sounded decent, the rest were garbage. I played with the patches for hours to try and get a good distortion, but their was nothing. It also was noisy, even with the reduction turned up full blast. The other effects also sucked. They sounded weak, and had no tone. The only thing that sounded good, was the pitch shift. I tried other zoom processors, with the same story. I guess the thing is good if your a kid, and are just starting out playing guitar, but I would not put it on stage with me. I would not buy any zoom products, instead I will pay the money to get something good. I guess you get what you pay for.