Zoom 4040

I just got this unit and I am very pleased with the ease of use, It is begining to become clear just how simple it is to use.. I have only had it for 3 days... Editing the patches is easy enough, I did not however get a manual, If you know where I can get a copy of the manual on the internet Send me the link Via E-mail, Daeryn001@mail.com I would be much abliged, To my knoledge my unit is stock.. I will check the revision on the firmware

I have an Ibanez RG545, Crate gx60, and Vox tone Bender..It is very quiet and works very well with the rig I have right now, the Distortions on this unit are kinda impressive when used in conjunction with other distortions, the crate overdrive works well with the distortions on the Zoom 4040, I use a Crate gx60, and a Crate Gl20 I can get sounds like Phil Collen, David Gilmore,and James Hatfield.. But, with the Versatility of this unit I believe that if you learn how to use it properly it will become a valuable tool and you will have defined your own personal sound in time, A very short time in fact.. I think the Distortions are kinda weak, the Delay is Digital, Very Digital, but, it works very well.. The reverb is sweet like an old Fender tube champ..

I believe I can depend on this device, I will have to make a Box for it so I can take it with me where ever I go, I would use it on a gig, I have already started storing my User settings and user patches.. I love it already and I don't even know how to use it that good..

I have not had to call Customer support yet, I would repair the unit myself if it should need repairs..

I play Blues, Rock, Metal, Mostly Texas HotPepperStyle Blues.. I like the Blues, I have been raised in an Age of blues music.. It is some good stuff, I have been playing too too long, I have been playing since 1983, do the math.. If it were lost I would probably SH*t, then buy it again, I love its flexiblity and it s pretty compact for what it is and it is very portable, I believe that any musician looking for the effects this Unit is capable of would be happy, Novice or Expert, Either way, Both would have to respect the form and the functionality of this unit, Begining guitarists and even bass players would love the uses of this unit..

Well, I bought this Zoom i think in 1996. At the beggining it isn't really easy to use. But as you get know this effect processor you'll see that it becomes easy to use.

I use a Jackson PS-2 with stock pickups and a Crate GX212 Amp. I really can't get the sound I want with this processor only, so I had to buy a Boss Distortiona and a BOss Metal Zone. The Distortions os this Zoom (only distortions, not overdrives) are the worst sh*t i ever hear, 0 poinits. The Overdrives are wick but good for kind os blues and soft rock, 5 points. The lead distorion is nice, 7 points. The clean sound is nice, 8 points. The Equalizer is nice, the amp simulator too, the wah is the worst wah i ever heard!!! Now the chorus, flager, step, fader, etc are very good,exept for the pitch that is a sh*t. But the other effect than the shift are so goiod and different that you can take some really weared and cool sounds, 9 points. The delay is very good at stereo. The reverb is nice. The great thig is that this processor can work as Amp and has a stereo output. But never buy this sh*t if your looking for heavy sounds. That was my error!!! The worst is that it takes so long to change from a set to anothe that it completly ruins the song!!! Donm't buy this crap!

Huh, very weak. Its only plastic.

Never tried it!

Well don't buy it for heavy sonds and don't buy it if you think you'll need to change sets at middle of songs. Buhh, a crap!

The unit itself is quite intuitive and easy to use. Navigation around the patch settings is quite simple because of the 'map' above the patch pedals. Because of this I didn't have to refer to manual much, which in itself is quite comprehensive.

When I bought this 5 years ago I was using a variety of cheap guitars through an old Carlsboro Stringray Combo with a few old stompboxes, I bought the 4040 to replace all the stompboxes with one unit. I did see an improvement in sound quality when using the 4040 with this setup.

However, as time went by and I became more financially solvent I was able to replace the crappy equipment I had with quality gear (I currently use an American Strat through a Marshall TSL601 combo), this is where I became dissapointed with the 4040. To my ears, the 4040 does too much for the sound and so doesn't leave enough 'room' for the natural tone of the strat. Let me explain by saying that when plugged into the 4040 my Strat doesn't sound any different from the cheap guitars I still own, yet when you play the strat without the 4040 it sounds as it should.

Another problem I have with the sound quality is that a lot of the patches are designed for the rock/metal guitar player, and I tend to play a variety of styles ranging from psychodelic pop/rock & indie to reggae and funk. I was able to get the sounds I wanted out of the 4040 to a certain degree but I always felt disappointed because of that computerised-unnatural feel they always had. The chorus and flanger effects were quite good, as was the delay and tremelo effects.
I was dissappointed with the phaser as I never seemed to be able to get the kind of sweep I wanted on phaser. The distortion and lead settings were good as well if you want to play a rock style, but they're limited if you want to branch off into other genres.

My biggest disappointment with the 4040, and also the reason why I'm switching back to analog stompboxes, is that with my setup I found an unacceptable amount of hiss when playing at moderate to high volumes in rehearsals.

To be fair to the 4040, it did a lot of good to my sound when I was using cheap gear, but let me down when I switched to quality stuff.
For that reason I give it a 5.

The 4040 is very reliable, perhaps too reliable. Even though I may have issues with the sound it makes I can't fault the build of the 4040, especially when you consider the fact that its lasted 5 years of not-that-careful-handling from me (I've even used it as an ashtray on several occasions!). Verdict : very reliable.

Only time I had to deal with the Zoom was when I lost my manual and needed a replacement. I was able to download a PDF format manual for
free from the Zoom website.

My overall rating for the Zoom 4040 would be 7.

The Zoom 4040 is the most versatile, customizable, and enjoyable foot board i have ever seen. You get multiple choices of distortion and overdrive, 8 different effects including delay, fade ins, phas, and flange, wahs and auto wahs all which are customizable to your liking.
I have three years now, it is sometimes cutting out in the middle of playing but with some tinkering i have it working like new again. Something that a buyer might not want in a foot board is the fact that it is made of hard plastic, but I abuse both the expression pedal and the volume pedal and they have held up nicely. It is worth every penny. I paid like 350$

Iuse it with a Fender Deluxe hot rod with an ESP Mirage Custom.
Not noisy, I get the sounds of PHISH, U2 , oasis, pretty much anything perfectly.

I have owned it three years and there are some wiring troubles.

I tried to contact the company but never heard from them

you coudl play anything through it

zoom 4040 is quite easy to use out from the box.if u have those "itchy-cant-wait-to-get-a-hold-fingers" then this is the effect for you.the manual also helps a lot and tells you something about the presets and which artists it emulates.
editing patches is easy but sometimes it doesnt really get the exact tone u have in mind.

i can say all the effects in this processor are good except the wah-wah.it really sucks.no control at all! i specially like the reverb and delay systems. mostly i play steve vai and joe's pieces and i can say its quite decent. i play it with a jcm 800 marshall amp or a peavey valve state combo. sounds great.

i could really say this baby is all you need! u just have to preset and calibrate all the effects u need b4 the gig and there u have it.
every show is stunning.doesnt fail.maybe the led lights, coz u cant seem to see it when ur playing in an open area specially in the morning.

id use this effect for a long time specialy during a "vaisque" style of playing.it really helps me create music rather than only play.ive been using it for 6 years now (can u believe?) and i still love it.but i wont use it as a crunch metal effect or blues. i rather lean on mesa boogies products.this is a good buy for your money compared to complicated and expensive multi-effects such as digitech.

It's extremally easy!. I learned how to make my own patches in the first day. The manual helps a lot, but I never really need it.

The reverb and chorus it's ok, the wah sucks, it's terrible, such as some others effect. The cool thing about this pedal it's the twin pedal, wich you can control the effects range, volume, very easy to configure. The distortion and delay is good but not enought.

Dispite of beeing built in a plastic shell, it's very hard. The only fragile part it's the pedals, it seems will break every time you use.

Never need it

Making patches is simple and manual is ok. Get good sound is
impossible. I use it as midi pedal.

I use it as midi pedal.
Chorus and reverbs are ok.
Others weak.
This is good for learning purposes

I've fixed 2 buttons and input jack.

I play metal/Heavy/rock and it doesn't fit.
If you want metal sound, get a Boss Metal zone. it's good.
Or buy mesa/boogie stuff. Triaxis rules :-)
I would buy midi pedal if my 4040 were stolen or lost.

It`s extremely easy of use. i figured out how you make your sounds in about 15 minutes.

o.k. i have used it for about a year and i can say it`s pretty good. i use it on stage and i have 10-15 presets(my own) that i use . Reverb,delay tremolo and slow effects are really great.also phaser is really good distorsions too. i use fender super reverb with it. the pitch shift effect are bad but who uses them at all?!?!

it works fine for now,but its made from plactics so....

well i havent contact them yet.... but web sites are ok .

i play progressive music and i have a lack of strange effect like harmonizers and stuff so i`m considerind to buy some new effect, but i havend decided yet which one. i use it studio also and there i experinced no trouble with it.

It was easy to use and the instruction manual was well laid out

Sound was very good except for wah wah and pre-set sound samples

No probelms for the last four years except last sunday when the sun was shining and I had to play outside in it with no shade. I just couldn't see the display, it should be mutch brighter and there should be a dimmer switch for indoor use.

N A

Shadows, Santana, Hendrix, Clapton, Free, Credence Clearwater Revival, Beatles, Stones, MUD, Elvis, Orbison, others

This one's is a very practible unit, not very versatile, but useful. Nearly all of the patches are made to show the abilities of the 4040, but I'd propose you'd create your sound all by yourself. The effects are easy to use, and the manual is well written, so everybody should be able to customize his guitar tone.

I use this device with an Ibanez JEM7VWH or a Gibson Les Paul Studio. The output signal enters the effects return jack of a Samick 60RC. Although this is a pretty cheap rig, the sound quality is surprisingly good. It isn't really noisy, because the noise reduction is quite functionable. The clean sounds can be varied from warm to shiny, although it doesn't have too much treble. The compresser does a good but subtle job. The 4040 is delivered with 6 distortion types, but in my opinion only one or two a really useable - especially the "lead" type sounds very nice. The other ones have lots of ugly, high trebled harmonics and cut like a saw (check out "Metal": this is crap!). Fortunately, my Samick Amp does have a very warm character, so it matches pretty good.
The most important effects, chorus, delay and hall are of good quality, but no lexicon or eventide quality of course! Some effects, like the pitch shifter, suck, but the 4040 is cheap, what do you expect (and who always uses such an effect)?
If you run the Zoom directly into a mixing console you'll have to do - regardless of the amp sim - some EQing. I sometimes make homerecordings, and the result is quite audible.
I think that the artist sound the most reproducable is Brian Mays, with his Vox AC30.

I own it for 5 years now, and the only thing I fixed were three buttons, which didn't work well anymore this year. It cost me 2$, and there isn't any other thing to complain about. I mean it's not built like a tank, but I haven't had any problems yet. If it broke during a gig I'd use my amp alone (but I hope it won't, 'couse my amp sounds awful :-)

No contact yet.

Playing all styles of music (yep, I'm in a cover band), but mostly rock, this is a workhorse for me. It's certainly not a piece of hi-end equipment, but it's a good value. If it was stolen i'd probably buy a device of the next category (I'm interested in the Digitech GSP 2120...), because I owned my Zoom for five years, and my demands increased, but for the medium-leveled guitarist this does the job. It has amp switch capabilities (MIDI and by normal cable), two pedals for real-time control and is easily controlable. Guitarist, what do you want more? ...especially for this price...:-)

-Christoph
Check out my band's homepage:
http://on.to/scotty