Zoom 3000S Player

It's very easy to use. Most presets work for me out of the box and unless they build a PC link and editing software I'm not about to fiddle with buttons to get a "perfect sound". I have adjusted some parameters but I hate to save over a preset. why don't manufacturers leave the user patches blank?

Don't know what problems other poeple have had with recording direct. I plug right into my sound card, even dumped the mixer I had this weekend to eliminate extra links in the chain. I run a cheap strat knockoff with single coils and humbucker. It screams onto my DAW and gives me the crunch and searing leads I need. The noise reduction on zooms boxes are great. I also use the newer 607 for bass and its modelling and noise recuction are super clean.

I also had a button stick in and I thought it was broken. Popped it ou with a metal guitar pick and it works fine. I don't like the fact that the pedal is seperate (use your hand dude). and the mic cord for the talking box is super thin. But for a discontinued open box item for $200 with guarantee mail order I can't complain.

There is no point in repairing electronics anymore. Buy a new one or open it up and solder broken parts yourself. They are too cheap, unless dealing with $10k equip, no point in throwing money towards a used item...

I play everything from thrash to funk to blues to etc... this thing sounds awesome. The "talking ox" is actually a vocoder and doesn't sound anything like the heil box, but you can stick tubes in your mouth... how many times can you use that sound? I don't think they make them anymore so I wouldn't buy another one. I like the first preset in the first banks of user and preset. I flip back to straight humbucker and use a metal pick. crunch city. I always squash heavy with compressor on my PC. No plug in crap. Straight post recording processing. I can't think of anything i hate about it. I wish it had seperate banks to store presets that didn't erase one, but I'm probably being neurotic about that. This thing was cheap and has everything i need. the direct sound to my PC, with help from emulator, has all the presence of an overdriven full stack. I need better monitor speakers...

this unit is very easy to use, How about Editing patches? piece of cake,the manual is little confuse may be in the translation the miss something.

i use this uni with a epiphone Genesis two humbuckers and Ibanez Axtar two single coils and one humbucker on the bridge position, is very noiseless probably beacause znr works fine, i use whit too many amps, i really catch my sound, dislikes the distortions are a little artificial and the efects that are on the same block can`t be used at the same time i mean chorus and flanger can`t be used at the same time

very poor

When I first bought the unit, I was disappointed, due to too much distortion on patches. Once I figured out I could change these REALLY easily - the unit became great to use. Programming is intuitive and quick.

I'm using a Fender USA Strat with Bill Lawrence pups, either through a Fender Princeton Stereo Chorus or through my keyboard amp - Peavey KB/A 100.

It took me a while to realise that I had to set the individual patch volumes down to about 42 to prevent a crackling overdriven sound. (I changed amps 3 times before I realised the problem).

I've set up the first 4 banks with all the sounds I need to use and I love the sounds. A warning thoughj - if you set the gain and drive too high, you'll get a lot of feedback - OK if you think you're Jimi - I'm not.

I love the tremelo for that cool rhythm/lead backing.

I use the autowah, rather than the pedal for that funky rhythm and I like it a lot.

I've had it for about 4 years and never a problem with it.

I've gigged with it constantly and never needed a backup unit.

Never needed repair or advice.

I play music from rock'n'roll, country, jazz, pop, and vintage rock styles. I've been playing in bands since 1961, playing bass, keyboards and guitar, plus singing.
I'd buy another, although I might be tempted to look at Zoom's newest product at the time - I like their gear as a result of my experience with this unit.
When I bought it, I compared it against Boss products and chose the Zoom for an overall 'warmer' sound.
I'd love it to have a card storage for user data, just in case...
It really helps me to make the sounds I want in a hassle free way and at a very reasonable cost.

Overall - a damn fine product, Zoom!

You have to spend an hour playing with the settings while reading the manual but once you got a hang of it its a breeze! The factory pre-sets are mostly crap, but you can use them as basis and take it on from there.

I use a mexican Fender Telecaster connected to the unit and then whatever amplifier I happen to have on stage or in a practice room. The unit is definitely not noisy and I could get pretty much every sound I wanted to after playing around a bit. A useful feature is Zoom Noise Reduction which allows you to have high distortion gain with relatively little hum. One problem I thought I had is that you cannot select both Chorus and Flager at the same time which I particulary wanted to play the Cure song but you can compensate for it by either using Detune + Flanger or Phaser + Chorus. The more I learn the unit the happier I am with it.

Cant say much. Dont jump on it when you're drunk.

Never needed them!

We're playing both rock/pop and new wave. If it was stolen... Well, maybe get something more fancy from Bose but dont really know what.

Oh yes, the only thing is that personally I find the expression pedal a bit awkward to use. I'd rather have ``up-down'' pedal instead of the rocking type. Does it make sense?

Editting patches is fairly easy, not as easy as turning knobs on an amp, but everything is pretty well layed out and pretty easy to find. You'll have to read the manual to figure out how to do some stuff though...Like using the function switch and stuff.

This will probably get a little lengthy, but this is the most important part and I think there's a lot to be said about this unit. First, my setup: I have an Aria Pro II guitar, unfortunately, I do not know the model of the guitar, but it was made in 1981 and judging from what I've found out so far, I think it's something from the TS series. I think it's a PRS copy, it has 2 Dimarzio Super Distortion pickups with single coil tap and a phase switch, it also has a 6 way varitone switch, one volume knob, one tone knob and a small battery powered pre-amp built into it. I used an Alamo Jet amplifier, which is a 10 or 15 watt tube amp with a 12" speaker from the late 60's or early 70's...Since I mostly do bedroom playing, it suits me fine and when I go live I could always mic it.

OK, now on to the Player 3000s...First, I have to give it two separate ratings, as a multieffect unit in front of my amp, I love it and easily give it a 9 (I always leave a little room for improvement). However, as an ampulation unit I only give it a 4 or 5...If you are looking for something to record direct or to go into a PA, this is not the unit for you (I only let that affect my final sound rating by one point though), but put it in front of a good amp and this thing really shines. It'll pass for headphone practice, but I try to avoid it when I can. Basically, I keep my amp set to a good clean tone and use the 3000s for everything else.

Before I even tried it the first thing I liked was the expression/wah pedal was not attached to the unit itself. It's a separate pedal that connects to the back of the main unit using a mouse type cable (In fact, you could buy the 3000 if you don't want the expression pedal. The 3000s comes with it though). The main reason I like this is because when I edit my patches I lay the main unit on my bed or in my lap, but I could still keep the expression by my feet. I had a Zoom GFX-8 for a while and the expression pedal being part of the main board was annoying. I also found the GFX-8 a bit restrictive as there were only 3 areas to edit from (distortion, effects and reverb/delay). Though I thought it sounded good, I felt restricted with what I could do, the 3000s has 7 areas to edit so I don't feel restricted and I think it sounds just as good in front of the amp as the GFX-8. Though I do think the amp simulation is much better on the GFX-8, but that's not important to me. Another thing I like is there's not a lot of BS effects in the 3000...GFX-8 had step mode, cry and a bunch of other effects that I'd never really use. For the most part the 3000s has all your basic effects and a little bit more. In fact, the 3000s is the first multieffect unit I've tried where I didn't feel the need to add extra pedals to it...It's all in there already. The GFX-8 was very restricted in what you could combine so I ended up getting extra pedals for combining. I had a Line 6 POD which, while good for ampulations, really lacked in the effects area and I also didn't think it was good with amps, which I think is much more important than direct recording. I also found myself constantly tweaking the POD, I was never happy with the sounds so I got rid of it. I'm much happier with the Zoom Player 3000s.

Like I said earlier, there a 7 areas you can edit on the 3000s, I'm going to run down them here and try my best to describe why I like this thing so much...

PRE DRIVE

I really like this section because there's a lot here that you usually don't find in most multieffect units. Here you have 4 things to choose from...
1 Compression (nothing unique, it does the job)
2 Booster (this can be used for a volume boost or use the tone to use it like a treble booster like Brian May uses...a big plus that most units don't offer)
3 Overdrive (this sounds like the overdrive in the drive area which I'll describe later and can be used to boost the gain in the drive area into high gain mode, like Randy Rhoads...again another unique plu

I bought it used and talked them down a bit because it had a couple defects. One of the push buttons for editting was jammed in and the Wah bypass switch didn't work. I opened the unit when I got home and the push button was off the actual button in there, pretty easy to fix. The wah button wasn't working because the rubber button wasn't going down enough to actually push the button. I stuck a small piece of paper in the hole where the rubber sits to extend the reach a bit and glued it in there and it works fine now. If you're rough on your pedals, it probably won't last long, but I'm pretty careful so I'm not worried about it.

Recently, I checked the Zoom site (the link above is for the Samson site and they're no help, The Zoom site is here http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/index.html )and they finally added a direct E-mail address there so it should be easier to contact someone now (before there was no E-mail there and Samson kept bouncing me around for three weeks before directing me to someone at Zoom who could help me). My past experiences with Zoom leave me skeptical though.

I've been playing for about 15 years now (but only 6 years of taking the guitar real seriously...before I was more of a keyboard player with the guitar as a side thing to mess with.) I play many styles of music and I feel I could get virtually any sound I want between my guitar and this thing. If it were lost I'd certainly look for another. It's the first unit I've owned where I don't feel the need to add extra pedals to it. If you're looking for direct recording, than you're not going to like this, but if you want something to take the place of a dozen pedals in front of your amp than this will do the trick. If you want to hear some of the results I've gotten from it using a mic in front of my amp, check out the Zoom 3000 section at http://www.hotlicks.co.uk

well i just love this multi-effect cause it is quiet simple and i
dont like stuff that too complicated.It has a very simple editing patches cause there arent much parameters on it, and besides that i
used to have a zoom 3030 multi effects so it has been a trademark
for me. The manual is just simple as it is just like a couple stompboxes that combine in one machines.

well i used to have alot of stomp boxes pedal in my set ups about 7 pedal that iused to had and now i just get rid of them cause it isnt
efficient at all. so i just use Godin g 4000 with zoom 3000s trough a Fender stage with crybaby and and an ernie ball vol pedal.but sometimes in the studio i still prefer to use all the stompboxes cause they had better sounds than the multi ones.well i never really explore sounds of those my fav musso. yes i can get those red hot chillis peppers sounds, but i love creating my own sounds ,so i have my own character of sounds.

well yes i can depend on it
i never use a backup for the effects
but i always and always bring an extra adaptor.once i gig at the
school party the adaptor just went on and off and it made me sick

well i have been playing in the band for about 3 years
i played all stuff from pop,rock, funk to acid jazz because i gig in the cafes and pubs but for my own individuals i played funk and souls a lot so the effects didn't really used a lot because i am more into clean sounds.i had alot of those BOSS boxes and that really satisfied
me,but it doesnt mean that zoom didnt satisfy me. i just love it's expression pedal and off course its talk boxes. i played around and
make noises a lot with it hahahaha...and if it get stolen or something
i might want to buy other effect Korg ax 1000 g night be the one. cause im just a curious guy that love to try everything just like i did in purchasing guitars .this effects has been with me for quiet long time it helps me around in gigs ,songwritings and making new sounds. it has been a good buddy for me.

I bought this system a few months back when I wanted something that could put out sound and not take me forever to program or cost too much. I got the 3000 out of the box and immediatly began playing it. It is not hard to use at all. A few of my friends have the DigiTech RP-7 and though it is a beautiful pedal, being as though it has the tube, it is harder than heck to figure out. I spent a whole night once trying to figure out the RP-7 without the manual and I will tell you, the Zoom is incredibly easy to use, even if you don't use the manual that comes with it.

I use a Epiphone LesPaul Special and a Vintage Strat and I run through a little Fender 15w practice amp or a old Shure head with a vintage Sunn Model 3 cabinet and the pedal basically sounds good. I have a few little things that I don't like about the sound. First thing is the Pedal-Wah affect, it has alot of noise in the high range of it. It tends to start buzzing at about 3/4 of the way to the top. be it that the sound is a little off is almost made up for by the fact that it is the smoothest pedal action i have ever seen. The pedal it's self is incredible smooth with just enough resistance. The other effects are all pretty nice. One thing that Zoom should have done though is made it so each of the effects had the ability to be controled more. Like with the phase, it is either fast or slow and it is either to deep or to shallow. The pedal has it's flaws but for under $300 who can complain. Over all the pedal has great sound and the double distortion and chorus are incredible. If you play grunge or heavy rock this pedal will give you the deep cleans and stagering distortions. For a totally digital pedal it is awsome.

Well it is plastic, and that scared me when I first got it, but it has been almost a year now and it has held out fine. I have gigged with it numerous times and it has stood up against (gental) abuse. I use without a backup because I don't have another. I think it is a very dependable lilttle plasic box. It hasn't broken yet.

Never had to deal with 'em.

I play heavy rock and light ballad like music and it works great. The dual distortion makes it perfect for getting just the right sound. and the chorus and just great milky reverb is great on the clean side. So yeah I Give it a 10. But, if it broke or got stolen I think I would upgrade to the new ZOOM GFX-8 or the BOSS MT-3, but for now it is great.

I play music in the style of bands like Tool, STP, and Live so when I decided I was going to look for a multi-effects pedal I wanted the whole deal cheap. I saw an add for the 3000s in a Sam Ash mag and ordered it. It's fairly easy to use. I doubt I know all the little tricks but if I want distortion with flange and delay I can dial it up.

Its got mediocre sound quality. If you want a processor that you can sound like your favorite player with this will do the trick (provided that your not too picky). I usually like to sound like Eddie or have a metal sound for solos and this baby usually comes through. The only gripe that I would have with it is it really squeals if you play loud. I play through a Laney 120 watt amp and I play somewhat loud. Another thing if your looking into this pedal: DON'T THINK THE TALKBOX IS GOING TO BE COOL! Because it really isn't...it sounds like a cow yawning. Over all it is good for the basic sounds, not Limp Bizkit or Korn bullshit.

I had the power connection break once and I took it to an electrician to fix it for $20 but other then that its been cool. I use it for gigs and recording. I have acually put microphones through it and added delay and reverb to my acoustic on recordings. Its really a good box if you don't were boots and beat the shit out of pedals.

Never talked with them

Ok I'm being 100% honest. The talk box is nothing exciting, just don't think your going to be Peter Frampton. It Squeals if you play really loud (Randy Rhodes used boxes and had same prob). And it won't make you sound like shit (i.e. Wes Borland or those Korn nerds who depend on noise instead of melody). Its a decent pedal that you can sound decent with. Face it if you are thinking about bying it your not a great player, or you would have the money for a better pedal. This is the best pedal for under $400 in my opinion and I've played a hell of alot of processors and boxes. If you have any questions about this pedal and its feature feel free to e-mail me with any questions. Hell I'll tell you the patch settings for anything I play!

It's quite easy to get the right sound, but not for getting the right accoustic guitar sound. Editting the patches is very easy, & there's a a manual mode. & U can some real time editing too. There's 2 manual, 1 in english & the other 1 is in other laguages.
I'm not aware of the upgrade version!!! Tell me please!!! Anybody knows???

I use it with a Epiphone Les-Paul & a Squire Affinty + a lousy Prince amp. The overall effects R very nice..but the distortion is not that good compared to MT-2(Boss). So I often use the unit with my MT-2. I can sound like Setve Vai, Nuno Betterncourt & I'm still working to get some very raw & powerful sound.

I would say this baby is very reliable. I often hit the road with only this baby + my MT-2. That's all I need to get all the sound.

Never tried it

I play rock, jazz, heavy metal, grunge. I've been play'n for 10 years. I had a 3030 but it's not that good. I'll consider to buy the same 3000s if it is stolen. Because I like the "Talking Box" feature. I wish they could have a LCD display rather than a LED version, better Distortion. It helps a lot.
Anybody has some very cool pathches to share??? Mail me please.

I have the unit for over 1.5 years now and it takes a little practice to edit the pathches but whenever you get the hang of it it becomes easy. The sounds are great espesially the Chorus but some distortionpatches and modulation it seems like the unit cant't keep up. By the the way the factory patches like a V8 engine or Fx laser gun is nice for computergames but not for a guitar unit.

I use a Japanese Strattocaster and Gibson Les Paul Classic through a Hughes And Kettner Amp or a Fender Side Kick amp. I can get the sounds I want. But it would be great if there would be a guide to building patches for certain famous guitar players. But a lot there is a site on www.hotlicks.com which has pathes for the 3000 and others.

It's realy dependable but be careful with cable for the RPO1 unit.
It's easaly damaged if you plug in in the wrong way by accident. Zoom is also asking a redicualous price for it. If your cable is damaged, go to a computer store, it's the same for a computer mouse and the sell it a lot cheaper then Zoom. I use it during the rehearsals with my band ans so far it hasn't let me down apart from the cablestory.

Never dealt with Zoom.

I play in Guitarband, and we play mostly rock like Queen, Pretenders, Radiohead, Thin Lizzy etc. The unit is a good match but unfortunately you cant use through a poweramp connection, The output level is to low to use on stage. If stolen I would like to try the GFX 8 a read that it's a better unit and also I'm interested in their new Amp Simulation. Also the GFX has a learn a lick trainer where you can record 25 sec of music and slow it down to your desired speed whitout losing pitch.