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.

Right - the 20-20 even though a ow discontinued line is a resonable efects box. The best bits about it here you can use the pedals as separates effects boxs (essential for live use to save farting around making up a patch for every song.). It only has 20 user presets however and the factory presets and really poor with loads of reverb and delay on each. It is easy to store ptches though but you can acidenlly wipe over other patches whilst mid gig. Doh.

Arhhhhhhh - noise. I am using a valvestate 65R and on distortion with the master on the amp at 5 it hisses more than next doors cat. It really is too loud to talk over and it hurts the ears. This is apparent on all settings - especially distortion. Arhh. Some effects are all right on it (i.e. chorus, reverb, delay and flages etc) but the distoritions are horrid and don't work at all well with my amp. THey are weak and lifeless. You can't get that metallica esq. lead metal solo sound but a MOR indie guitar sound is apporachable. It does have stereo output though for ping pong delays (novely at the price) but my expression pedal is unreliable and sometimes putting it in the volume pedal adds more noise to the procedings.

Its fairly reliabel - no very stablely built though - bit cheapo ploastic. Use it for lots of gigs but am about to upgrade cause of the noise it generates at high volumes. No need for a backup at a gig as I only use it as something to add too my sound and not as a mojor part of it.

Never had any thing I coulnd't fix myself go wrong with it.

Thios is not someting I would brag about owning. Considering it was desgned ages ago it has stood up well in time but not well enough to make me want to buy a nother one. I would prefer to buy separates pedals for distortion and then a 505 for the lettle extra btis like chorus.

I only had this product for 1 hour and I could get most sounds out of it. The manual is very clear and easy to use. Editing patches is also quite easy and changes in a patch can be made within ten seconds.

I'm using a B.C. Rich Bich with two humbuckers and a Park 20w amplifier, and I haven't got a lot of noise or feedback, but with some other guitars it screams like hell, but the Zoom noise reduction works very well. The reverb, delay, chorus, flange and phaser are quite good, but the distortions are not very versatile and the overdrives are a disaster. There's no way to get a cool overdrive from this thing. The pitch effect is funny in combination with distorions, but there is a slight delay in it, and in extreme parameters the sound is 'strange'. Auto arpeggio is unusable. If you like Metal, like myself, there are ways to get pretty heavy distortions, if you put a flange or chorus in it wich is almost turned off, for example.

It is made of metal and plastic, but I would'nt stand on it, because the pedals are made of plastic(why?)and the buttons are easely damaged. I would NOT use it on a life performance because there is a slight delay between the pressing of a pedal and the next effect(with a small silence between them).

never dealt with them.

I play death/black metal, and i think i'm going to by a distortion pedal to backup the distortions in my zoom. I would not buy it again, the 4040 is much better.

The user interface is very clear and intuitive. It does have its shortcomings; there is only one button for scrolling through the banks, which means you may have to push it several times to get the bank you want. Also, you can't name the patches, there isn't a separate volume control for the headphone output and it is easy to accidentally switch the unit to bypass mode because this is done by pushing the active patch button again and not with a separate bypass button. But given the price, the 2020 deserves high marks. Programming is so quick and easy that you can tweak your sounds during rehearsals without your bandmates getting annoyed.

The distortions and overdrives are usable, though the choice of different types is limited. The chorus is very good and I use it a lot. The rest of the time-based effects are mainly ok, though not stellar. The pitch shifter is almost useless due to the delay in the shifted note. The only thing it is good for is the chorus-type sound you get when you set the pitch shifter to produce a slightly detuned note. The reverb is adequate for playing live, but if I was going to record with this, I would probably use something else for reverb.

The unit has taken three years of rough treatment without giving any significant trouble. People complain about the external transformer; yes, it is a bit flimsy but at least there is an decent strain relief built to the rear of the unit so the cord won't disconnect too easily. Once there has been a software crash of some sort (the display went erratic).

When I bought it in 1995 it was definitely the best floor multi-effects unit available for the price. If your budget is really tight, a second-hand 2020 is still a good buy. But if you can afford a new one, you should perhaps check out some of Zooms present models instead.

Everything is excellent- manual, and a panel of the processor. You have perfect table which helps you to choose the wanted effect and to edit it's parameters by choosing a column, row, and pushing +/-. Everything is simple. 5 pedals each works with it's own effect during the editing. I spent about 20 minutes to understand all the stuff. To get a good sound is much more difficult. You must play with it a lot. Because the most presets are rude and ugly. So, if you have this product and you don't like the presets, just have patience. It tooks a lot of time to understand wich parameters affects which category of sound and which cobination is going to be nice to your ear. But this is the only problem and it's individual problem, nothing about ZOOM. Presets are bad - that is the negative point!

I use guitar Aria II pro (japan) with humbucker and Floyd Rose system. I use mostly the headphones. My amp is 15 watts only. But also using my amp gives me good sound. But the headphones is the best. If you hate phones, you can connect the phones output to the in-line of your tape or stereo-system - perfect sound. The Effect is a little bit noisy, but you can handle with it. There is a noise in high and low frequency range. I hate the noise that makes phaser and flanger effects, when you are not actually touch the strings! The copressor is very weak. But it also effects your sound. Edge is great! Noise Redusction (ZNR) - does the job! EQ - is great. Good mid-frequency floating point. MODULATION: Pitch is bad. It dobles the sound good, but what an ugly propagation delay between the moment you touch the string and the moment when pitch doubles the note!! I can use this effect only at low balance. Actually it works good with distortion. Flanger and Phazer are not bad ones, but too noisy. Tremolo - I don't use it much, but it seems to me that it's OK. Step - the stupid effect. Why did they put it in anyway?! It's just stupid, ain't no use of it! Chorus is a good one. It does the job. I use it in a "small portions" to make the sound some kinda spacy. DELAY: Great. Great Ping-Pong one. Good range (about 1 sec), feedback is also perfect. Reverb: Also the cool part of the 2020. But I think it's a little bit dirty..I prefer more crystal reverb. But it's ok for the money you pay. If you want a perfect delay and reverb for $200, just forget it. Nothing can be perfect in multi that costs $200! A word abou distortions: Many people said that they are bad. I do not agree. I use distortions a lot. At the beginning I didn't like them, but when you play with parameters, with EQ, it sounds quite good. I found really good havy Metal sounds, Hard rock ones, smooth ones... With Nirvana-sound there is a prob. I didn't find something cool. But in general the effects are quite good.

Yeah I depend on it. I would use it on a gig. The only problem is that bad power plug-in. There is a danger that with the time your power-cord will not functionate properly. There is a danger that the power will be down and all your temporary settings or real-time-using combination will be lost. Take care of it! If you will plug the power-cord in gently and pull it out carefully, I'm sure there will be no problem.

No I had no deal with the company yet.

I play blues, Hard, psychodelic, rock'n'roll. The 2020 helps me a lot. I've been playing for 7-8 years. I have a wah-wah pedal (MORLEY). I donno if I would by it again. Maybe. I like this product. But you know, when you go to buy something new, you gonna bye something better than you had (if you have money). I choose this one for a price and for the ability ty change a lot of parameters. ZOOM 505 is a good product, it has better sound, but it has no ability to change parameters of the effect. It really sucks! Other products of the 2020's class cost more. I liked RP6, but it's price is higher. And most effects of 2020 is better then RP6's. I choose it also for a good range of the delay. People, if you want to share interesting ideas and patches with me - WELCOME! I'll exchange my knowledge with you.my e-mail: sd0c@techst02.technion.ac.il or d0c@MAXHO.com

well it works, but the plastic cover sucks. sometimes if you change the patch during the song you can put it too easy and accidentally to bypass mode. the power adapter is also cheap made small, and getting too hot during the use. At the moment my 2020 is somewhere to be repaired cause power adapter began giving 15 volts instead of 9.

well if you are using high patch levels it can make some feedback and that makes me angry. the distortions are also crap like when you need some crunchy tones it's hard to hear anything some of the effects are ok.

well i'd take the distortion from some another analog pedal cause analog distortion is always better than digital. i wouldn't use it without some backup cause it's made for home use.

well it was ok for three months until the power adapter got broken the customer support works.

I play everything from blues to metal, but i think it's not the best.

Very easy to use and anyone can do the editing without problems. The manual is well explained and quiet helpful.

It's a damn noisy effect except you turned the distortion off. The compressor is almost "absent"! It doesn't change anything. When you want to dial up the Noise Reduction, it sucks up tone as well. The more the noise reduction, the weaker the tone and the distortion becomes very murky. This unit is cool with headphone only. I use a Peavey Bandit 112 and it makes my amp sounds like a Hoover vaccuum. The Distortion and the Overdrive sounds very bad. Those modulation effects are good but not very flexible. Reverb and delay is ok. Auto Wah sucks. It sounds like some wacky cheap wah.

It's very durable. I have been using it for 2 years. I even dropped it once and this thing didn't cracked (it made with plastic)! I have never used it on a gig because it sucks. I'd rather run my guitar dry.

Never deal with the customer support.

I will never buy it again, NEVER! This is my first ZOOM effect and will be my last ZOOM product. I totally lost all my confidence on any ZOOM products If you wanna buy a ZOOM, forget it... save some more and buy Boss or Roland.

The manual explains pretty much everything there is to it. Easy read, and easier to try it out. The pedals are a bit small, perhaps. Really simple to use.

It's not a noisy processor, and the noise reduction system works ok although it does affect your sound (attack) at high settings. Some effects are ok, like flanger, phaser and chorus. I use the chorus a lot. The delays are very nice, in my opinion and the reverbs do the trick although are not excellent. But the downside of this processor has to be the distortions. I just cannot get a decent sound out opf it. They are all CRAP. I use it with a Boss MT-2, which works, but it gives noise. The EQ section is fine. I don't like the auto-wah much, and I just bought an expression pedal for the manual wah which I don't like too much either. The wah affects my tone so much that it's like having two different set-ups altogether. I would like to keep my nice tone, and then switch on the wah... just wah, but it's not possible. It can be used, but I'm looking to buy a Dunlop 355 or something like that instead. The Step effect I find useless, and the pitchshifter is quite bad when shifting up. I use it a lot for direct recording, and also as the effects console in mixdown from a 4-track machine. The speaker simulator is not the best, although you can fiddle with the settings in the EQ and get a decent distorted sound on tape. But I prefer the Marshall DRP-1, only it hasn't got stereo outputs, and I love the stereo chorus and delays in the Zoom. So I sometimes use one, sometimes the other. Great clean slightly chorused sounds, plus delays and some reverb. Flanger & phaser ok. But forget about distorsions, really. I wouldn't buy it again. Oh, I forgot another thing: the delay between pressing the pedal and getting the effect working is annoying when you try to switch between patches precisely.

Very reliable so far. Never gigged it, only used it at home. But it's a plastic cover, so I'd be a bit wary... There're animals out there!

Never had to deal with them.

I don't think I'd buy it again. It is my first pedalboard, and when I bought it it sounded good for the price. And it was. But a couple of months later I found that by spending just a little more I could buy a lot better stuff. I use the chorus, reverb and delay a lot. They are cool. But distortions suck. Now you can buy it used for less than half what I paid two years and a half ago. It is a cheap processor, and if you are in a budget, and have a nice distortion device, the Zoom 2020 might be a good thing. But I am already looking for a substitute, something like a Boss GT-5... somewhat pricier, but good quality usually is.

This is a very easy pedal to use. I bought this in stock condition, used without an instruction booklet and figured it out all right. It is far less complicated than the 3030. Distortion and overdrive is difficult to get a good sound out of. Editing patches is very easy. You just select the wanted parameters in the edit mode, select the desired bank, and hit store twice. The footpedal are small, and sort of hard to step on while wearing large shoes. I find myself programming patches used for a song in the same bank so I just have to switch patches, not banks. The external volume pedal is easy to use.

This pedal has some pretty good effects, such as chorus, delays, flanging, reverb, phasing. These are great and I used them a lot. The auto wah is not used a lot, but it's a pretty good envelope filte. However there are a couple of effects which I find to kinda suck. For example the "STEP" function (an auto arpeggiator) is a useless bunch of shifting noise. Also, the tremolo is loud, scratchy, and is not very smooth. The distortion is this unit's real downfall. Although there are 2 types of distortion and 2 overdrives, they are really plain jane, so it is hard to get that warm and dirty sound for the songs I play. However, it satisfies my play for the most part. The Zoom Noise Reduction is good at a range of about 10, which cuts out a lot of the excess humming, but if over that, the pedal sounds way to plain and compressed.

The reliability is great. I bought it used a year ago in excellent shape and have yet to have any trouble. I do not, however, stomp on the footpedals because the are plastic and don't want to risk any damage. I would use it in a gig without a backup, but wouldn't let anybody mess with it. If someone messes with the buttons, it is very easy to change the desired patch effects. It would probably be in your best interest to have a written copy of the parameters for each patch written down somewhere, just in case of a change.

I haven't dealt with the company, so I can't say either way.

Before I bought my Zoom 2020, I had other pedals such as a Boss Chorus, an Ibanez delay, a DOD Classic Fuzz, and a DOD Envelope Filter. I got rid of these after I got my Zoom since the unit could do them all. I did, however buy the pedal without knowing that the unit was discontinued, so I don't know if I'm screwed or not if there is a breakdown. For the money I paid for this pedal, and the hundreds of hours that I've used it in the last year, I would definitely buy it again. I especially like the digital delay, because you can set specific intervals of 0-100 ms of delay to match the tempo played by most of the Floyd songs. The chorus also adds some good harmony. The flange is anywhere from a little noticeable to razor sharp, depending on how you set it. Phaser is pretty good too. I hate the step function, which is pretty stupid since I have yet to hear any songs using it, and the fact that you can't combine certain effects. For instance, you can only have chorus, flanging, tremolo, phaser, step, and pitch shift; you can never combine say, chorus and flanging. So, I wish I could combine a couple of these six effects. There is a hum that comes out of the amp when using some of the patches, but can ususally be eliminated by switching my Strat pickup blade in position 2 (front/middle pickups). I wish the tremolo was more quiet and the distorion was better. I probably should buy an Ibanez tube screamer, or better yet a tube amp if I want true tube sound. To be honest with you, I wouldn't upgrade to a 3030 or a 4040. These come with rarely used patches that are kind of stupid and it is extremely more difficult than the 2020 in setting your own patches.

This unit is fairly easy to use. The manual is pretty straight forward I't took me about 2 to 3 weeks to get it down. I had the most trouble editing patches. besides that it's a breeze.

This unit has alot of different sounds. Thats one of the things I like about it. The chorus and reverb is cool as ice but the distortion and overdrive aren't nearly as cool.

The first year I had mine was excelent I never had a problem with it but after a wile I experienced alot of problems with it. First my power input stop working I had to tape it in an awkward possition for it to work. Then my valume pedal and wah pedal inputs completly stoped working. Finaly my batch pedal only worked when it wanted to. I would never ever even think about useing this unit for a gig!

The company was very helpful to me with my problems. Very nice people!

I like Zoom effects alot but I don't recomend the Zoom player 2020 I would go the couple extra bucks for the 3030 or the 4040 becouse they are much more dependable and sound a hell of alot better.

The unit is pretty straightfoward and if you need any help, the manual should tell you what you need to know. It easy to get a good sound right away, but a custom sound will take a little practice.

Depends on what effect we are taking about. When I bought this 3 years ago, I thought THIS WAS IT. Now, being an experienced player, I can tell you - if you have the money, buy something better. The Compressor does nothing to your sound and only confuses. The distortions are decent, but are lacking for metal or hard rock. The effects, I must say, sound pretty good for the price. They all can be tweaked and modified. Love the patch U2-2. Another problem with this unit is that it will squash your tone in the effects loop. You lose some top end and some gain - not a good thing!

Reliable, yes. Although I don't use it much, I never had a problem and used it for a ton of gigs. It's usefull in the fact that you can alter some patches to adjust to different amps. Try revamping the EQ section on a Digitech RP-10 in under 10 seconds.

Never had a problem, so I never dealt directly with the company.

It's not a bad unit at all. But technology is always changing so better products are being made as we speak. Since this model is outdated now, and you will probably be buying this used, you can get a good price. If you never have tried multi-effects and aren't into metal or hard rock, you'll save some money and get an effects education. If you love your amp's distortion, and are looking for a cheap way to add chorus and delay to your setup, you will be dissappointed.

I've had a few people contacting me wanting to know what kind of settings I'm using, so I finally got tired of answering e-mail and wrote a few of my favourites down. If you want them, check out http://www.infomatch.com/~michow/zoom2020.htm

It's really easy to use, though I'd prefer to dial in my levels than use the buttons, but other than that it's fine.

This is the problem, when I plugged it into my setup, either straight into my amp (Marshall 8080) or through the effects loop, it really muddies up my overdrive channel, makes it far too thick and lifeless, no amount of eq tweaking will compensate. Unfortunately, the units distortions are utter shite, plus the thing is noisy when bypassed, especially when using another distortion pedal or just overdriving your amp. However, the units saving grace is the delay, bloody marvelous. I just feel it's a shame that you can't have flange and phase at the same time, but I suppose that is a bit much to ask for the price.

It hasn't broken yet, I've gigged it once then never again, cause it just sounded terrible. The bypass problem is amplified.

N/A

I wouldn't buy it again, and am attempting to sell it right now. Any offers???

i'm not really sure how i ended up buying it.. i gues i was in a hurry. editing patches is easy.. i had used one with knobs before but i like this one as my approach to sound is quite mathematical. the manual is fine, i read it just for info, i learnt to use it by myself.

it isn't noisy at all, at least for me.. the compressor is virtually nonexistant. it doesnt even work well as a limiter.. the clean sounds are fine.. the noise reduction works as long as you don't overdo it. the overdrives are crap (the one in my SS amp sounds better). one of the distortions is fine.. i'm using it with a ibanez classic metal however, which sounds way better. the eq is fine.. autowah is weird, i use a wah pedal anyway. the pitch shifter doesn't track too well, i don't use it much anyway. the phaser and flanger are fine.. the tremolo too, i guess, although i've never heard a "real" one yet. "step" is really weird, at least for guitar, maybe good on keyboard. the chorus is fine, although the boss i had before was way deeper. i love the delay, both of them.. the reverb is fine.

it's metal and plastic.. i've never gigged anyway, but i guess it'd stand up to it.

i've never dealt with zoom, though when i bought it the box said that the exp. pedal was included and when i got home it wasn't there..

it sounds good on headphones. i wouldn't buy it again, i wish i had browsed a bit more. i don't use it all the time, sometimes i plug direct into my amp. sounds good for recording direct. if anyone has cool patches for trading email me. i have a table in .doc format to write down the patches i like best.

pretty easy to use.

bad distortion.
pretty good clean sounds.
nice delay.

never use it

i would buy it again.
sounds great with the headphones.
i use it with a BOSS metal zone and sounds great
if you want to trade patches e-mail me

Quite Good Sometimes When I push the Upper right pedal I touch the edit button as well!! I'm 6f 2 and I usually play in small-darky pubs where you can't actually see where you're putting your feel (are mine to big for this unit .....?????!!! ) Anyway the effect creation section is fairly good! I've managed making 'almost' the kind of sounds I was looking for from a cheep unit like the 2020.

It did the Job! I must say that I'm not an effects expert. The 2020 was the fist I had , and 'till now It's still there working.... By the way, compression is NOT good! As soon as I'll find some time I'll work on some decent distorsions I've only used the standard ones which are 'decent' for rock (I'm not into metal)

Two Years playing 4 night a week Not one single problem!!!

Never used it

I think it all depends on the kind of music you're playing and WHERE you're playing it. I never considered it a PRO unit, but it gave me a decent amount of different sounds to play Jaz, Rock, Funk and whatever I had too. I really home some of you will give me some advices 'bout better products to buy. Till then, I'll stick to my 2020. (maybe 'cause it's been my first, you know , like you're first strato , you can't help loving it!)

Easy to use and get the best sound possible, intuitive user interface. The manual was very comprehensive, a nice touch was the seperate sheet for the pre-defined patches.

Decent sound quality, but at the time I was running it into two peavy practice amps, so as a comparison anythings sound quality would be great. I don't like the distortion at all, I found it most unusable at any setting, I really didn't see any "analog sound". The delay sounds were great, as were the chorus, tremelo, and flange. Not too deep, but decent. The reverb was usable, but only cause the two peaveys had none of thier own. I'd never use it in a performance situation with my fender amp

Not at all! A tragic incident happened one day <WARNING> do not try this at home or $240 pedal goes down the tubes. My guitar tipped from it's stand and fell slowly and gracefully onto the Zoom, with the tiniest piece of headstock hitting the Zoom square in the middle of the edit panel. Well the damage was done, once opened revealed a crack in the circuit board, which, even after repairing the traces, still refused to work. I guess some chip was fried, and there ain't no way you're gonna find anything like it at any e-tronics store, much less be able to repair the compact surface mount stuff. I would shudder to buy one again, as a hit like that could easily come from dropping the pedal, or maybe even a tough stomp durring a crazy solo. Buyer beware! This thing is delicate.

Did'nt ever try

I would never buy it again. The box sounded good at the store, but I found it was just not that versitile, or good sounding for me. I mainly chose this because at the time when I bought it it was the only thing in it's price range that could do what it did. About a week later the ART ECC was relased as well as several others that were better for about $20 more!!! Boy was I pissed. That and my horror story with it's durability or lack thereof would make me think twice about ever turning one on again.

About as easy as any other effects processor that requires patch editing.

The noise reduction is excellent. I've heard better distortion but the Zoom's isn't bad - especially since it's so versatile. The compression effect is as bad as everyone says it is. It has 4 settings (0-3) and I can't tell the difference between 0 and 3 on any of the patches. The phase, flanger, auto wah, and chorus effects are all pretty good. The pitch, reverb, and delay effects sound OK and create good stereo signals which is nice if you use 2 amps like I do. Most effects, especially the distortion, sound better through a clean, or close to clean, sounding amp.

It's never given me a problem but I don't operate the selector buttons with my feet and, given that the unit is plastic, I don't think I ever will.

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I would buy this unit again. Like other multi-effects processors, this lets you change between radically different sounds with just the press of a button rather than dicking around with each individual effect. The key to being happy with this unit isn't just to learn how to mechanically program it, but to also learn how to get it sound good. You can get some good heavy sounds by maxing out the distortion and combining it with the pitch effect to throw in an octive down element. Versatility + low price is why I like it.

Easy enough. I set up my own patch minutes after plugging it in. I really wish I had a manual so I could see exactly what some of the settings mean.

Whoah Nelly! Man, when you set it just right, this baby's so crunchy, it almost bites your hand off when you try to change the settings!
The compression and overdrive are weak, like everybody else says, but man, I love that distortion!
The pitch shifting is neat, too. When you set it to 7 tones up, it makes your guitar sound really full, and you can play cheesy soundtrack music.

Well, the pedals look kind of dodgy, but I suppose they would hold up, unless you're Yngwie Malmsteen or something.
One thing that would keep me from using it in a live gig is the slight pause between switching patches.

I haven't needed this yet. I hope I never do.

This isn't the best of units. If I were a feature freak, I'd get a Boss SE-70 or something. But for the price, I don't think you can do much better. I was considering getting a Korg Pandora, but the Pandora wasn't as flexible.
I'm a happy camper. I wanted bone-crushing, full-tilt shred and I got it, along with several other effects.

Very easy to use thanks to the effects map on the top of the unit. I was familiar with programming it within minutes. I didn't get a manual.

I use a Marshall Valvestate stereo chorus combo which sounds amazing on its own. I wanted to use the Zoom to add effects to my Marshall. With the Zoom plugged into it (even with no effects switched on) it colours the sound very badly, it totally destroys the sound of my amp. The only way you can use it is to use the clean channel of your amp and let the Zoom take over. The distortions are terrible and you can forget about the compressor (I think Zoom must have disconnected from the chain and forgot to tell anyone). It is possible to get one or two decent sounds if you spend a long time with the EQ but overall the Zooms just to muddy. Noise isn't too bad so long as the distortion doesn't go past 6 (1-8) Clean sounds are fine. The chorus and delays are good. The reverbs not so hot, theres not much depth there even with the mix on 10.
I also wanted to go some recording. Its okay at getting madly distorted chorused industrial sounds (e.g. Cubinate) but the closest you'll get to a natural guitar tone would be to plug the guitar straight into the recorder! (Thats a bit unfair, the clean sounds are okay).

It seems reliable enough. The case and pedals seems solid. If for some strange reason I did decide to use it at a gig the Zoom would be the backup.

At least its not the worst effects unit on the market, its miles better than the 9002.
Final verdict:- Try before you buy.... and then don't!

Sort of a trade off : this is a cheap effect with LOTS of programmability for the money, so all these possibilities have to be dealt with. Considered this it is a eazy machine. But not the the one for "push and forget" type guitarists.

The compressor is weak and the distortions are the worst on the market. I personally know a few seasoned semi-pro's who can't program a good overdrive/distortion with it. So CHECK BEFORE BUY!!! The modulation / chorus section on the other hand is excelent especially the autowah and Phaser effects are very well executed. You got a good delay, a sober EQ-section but the strangest thing is the Reverb wich sounds like a spring-reverb tank?!? I mean, if you got a reverb in your amp you probably don't need this effect sounding the same.... Bottom line : average sound. plan on buying a seperate distortion.

I know LOTS of gigging musicians with zoom-effects and never heard of defects. Altough it looks fragile it apparently doesn't fail live. I DO use it live without backup. Carry it around in the gigbag. No problems.

Never needed CS

Nowadays you have better competition in small programmable effects with more allround capabilities. ZOOM (also the bigger types) doesn't hold it anymore in the sonic department. It is eazy and fairly powerfull, is excellent for funky non-distorted effects. Just don't buy it for compression/distortion! I think I would recomment a entry level KORG or digitech now.

The compressor is SHIT!!! If you want to get some fucking sustain buy somthing else. I liked most of the other mod's and effects. The distortion is a little weak, but i found a cool thing to do with it. First you max the dist. Then you swith on the flanger. Then turn down the peak(strength) of the flanger to zero, so that you dont really hear the flanger. This will make the distortion really FUCKING!!!! BrUtAl.

Well i think i can depend on it, but i want some more fucking distortion without using the flanger.

Simple, just watch the flashing lights, and change the number, the manual is pretty simple too

Not really noisy, the noise reductions works well. So does most of the modulations effects I had some difficulty getting good distortion out of it, but after a while, and messing with the eq, it sounded ok

It seems dependable enough

I doubt i'd buy it again, its not bad for the money, but i guess i should have waited for the 3030 to come out

Very easy to get sounds out. Intuitive operating system. Manipulating patches is easy.

BAD for distortion. Distortion has no depth, no warmth and is too damn thin for a lead sound. Other DSP effects are remarkable. There is coloration in sound even with the distortion block off. I tried coupling it with an XXL. The XXL sounds good alone. But the ZOOM's coloration destroyed the XXL's warmth and depth.

Not dependable alone. Probably have to depend on other distortion boxes. I would probably get by better with an all analog setup of stomp boxes.

Never dealt with them.

Not recommended for those seeking good lead sound. Effects alone are great it you don't mind the whole chunk of coloration in sound from your other effects / distortion that comes before it.

I find it very easy to get good sounds out of it editing patches is a breeze the manual is not very comprehensive

it has a noise limiter which is very effective the effects are powerful all are great especially the dist.

it is very reliable yes

Quite easy to program - the flashing led system works OK and is fast to get to what you want to tweak. No adjustment of effect sequence - less flexible perhaps but keeps it simple. Not enough patch memories (are there ever?). Manual is OK Cant name patches due to limited numerical display.

Generally good sounds - high quality digital stereo processing. ZNR noise reduction works quite well but can reduce attack if overused. Distinctive distortion which can be tailored by the excellent 3 band EQ with swept midband. Chorus phase and flange quite good but not as good as the best analog pedals around. Compression disappointing - I bought a BOSS CS3 to augment the 2020. Pitch shift better for subtle detune than large intervals. Autowah good. Tremolo good. Dig delay excellent. Reverb average. Stereo cascaded double stage stereo delay possible! Wide range of example sounds to modify. I use the amp simulator output for direct to tape recording.

So far so good. Quite robust.

Very good value for money - you could get better individual effects but at a what price?