Zoom 4040

it is very easy to use as the instructions in the manual are clear. Editing is therefore obviously easy. I never upgrade my 4040 and i like it the way it is.

I use an Ibanez for this and a YAMAHA amp. My amp is damn lousy but the effect frm this processor makes up for it. The ZNR takes care of the noise and i have no problems with noise.

The distortion may be a little weak but the metal is good. The wah is not so good. Except for this, everything else is good.

I play malmsteen to metallica. The gadget comes with a list of artistes that use zoom and wad settings they use.

I would surely depend on it though i would get a seperate wah pedal for gigs.

i play metal so this is a good match. I've been playing for 4 yrs and i have this for two. I own a dunlop crybaby. I will not get sumthing else becos i'm quite satisfied with this.
I love the modulation part of the gadget.
I juz wish it has better wah.
It definitely helps me make music.

1.very easy...just reach to your nearest sounding patch and make minimum changes to get the best tone.

2.Editing patches is a piece of cake and the comparing function helps you to really judge the great sound change

3.the manual is very good and leads to fast learning.

1.I am using it with an Ibanez Guitar.

2.not yet

3.Noises are due to bad settings and lack of sound equalizing knowledge. As i have been using the zoom 1010 earlier i have become quite good in processing the sounds and so iam always successful in achieving the best noiseless sound.

4.Marshall ofcourse ! cause it's the best as it uses the vintage technology to get the best lead ( distortion ) and crystal clear sound.

5. Yes.. Santana, Bryan Adams, Junoon(Pakistani Rock Band)and any sound of almost any artist can be processed using the 4040

1. it's the only thing i can depend upon.

1. rock and heavt metal
2. Since one and a half year
3. I would never risk to loose it and if "god forbids" it is lost i will buy it sgain and if stolen i would simply kill the theif.
4. i love every thing about it and my favourite feature is the beautiful hall reverb.
5. A big Digital screen
6. yes it does.
7. It's better than the expensive 'zoom super player 8080' and 'GFX'
it's twin pedal is the most convenient thing a unit can have.

very easy to use.
Patches are easy to use.

I use it with a Hughes & Kettner Attax 200, a Fender strat or an Ibanez EX 240.
The sound directly on the guitar input of the amp is terribly noisy. (advised by the manual) But is rather noisefree if used in the loop of the amp.
Amazingly that this setting is not advised.

For years I've used it without problems.
The only minor thing is the screen with the numberLEDS.
If your playin outside in sunny daylight you can't see what patch you're having on.

Extremely easy to use - There is no juju magic here at all, if you have edited patches on pretty much anything at all then you will feel at home here. The manual was terrible - but manuals are for wimps! Anyway, this thing didn't need one - it really is that simple to use...!

I use a Marshall Super Lead (circa 1980) with a Strat - with 2 4x12's. With this setup I use little distortion, unless I want a mental sound - which these days is uncommon, mainly use the "od 1 and 2" so I cannot really comment on the more metal sounds - The eq is adequate, as are all the effects - or at least for live work anyway. The one I am most impressed with is the delay - I've recorded this baby in stereo and it sounded awesome - I love the fact that in real time you can set the delay level by just clicking edit and timing the pedal pushes.... That is a really neat touch I have not come accross before.

I have not really noticed any excessive noise at all with the box.

Almost got a 10 - one small problem with the processor, happened so long ago and had such a little effect on what I wanted the box to do that I have completely forgotten what the problem was! The casing looks too flimsy for words so I have built a stage box to take the adapter - in all honesty I have never had a box I could trust as a standalone on stage (with the exception of the Boss ME-5 which was a total tank!) No real issues with reliabilty though - Good bit of kit used in all sorts of situations!

Score a 7 for having the manual as a PDF download via the website!

I play indie/pop/rock in a band in London, UK. I have been playing for about 15 years, I own a Zoom 505 (mainly as a headphone amp!), a Squire Strat, which was brought as a spare and which I use more than any other, a Fender Strat, excellent guitar - really mellow sound, a Westone Spectrum III, probably the most versatile guitar I have ever played, 2 split humbuckers, a single coil middle PU, all with a 5-way selecter - every major recording I have done I've used this one. Amp wise I have a Marshall Super Lead II (which incidentally used to belong to Brian Robertson ex Thin Lizzy and Motorhead) with a Marshall 4x12 cab and a home built 4x12 - which I am in the process of rebuilding as we speak...

If it were stolen I would have no real worries about purchasing again, probably go for something a bit more up-to-date though.

Did'nt really compare with any others - I know what I like and I tried it and like it.

Anything I wish it had?? Yeah a 6 foot Swedish Blonde Female Roadie to carry it!!!

Definitely helps me make music!

If you see one and it works (and the price is right) then buy it - it does most things well - I've had mine over 2 years and I have no complaints at all!

Very easy to use in terms of editing/storing patches, although when you want to use 5+ patches you have to mess about quite a bit.
Love the volume pedal as when playing live the sound can be improved if my lead sound isn't coming over the rhythm guitar.

I find a hissing noise happens when its plugged into the input of my amp (marshall valvestate vs100r)or any other amp for that matter.I solved this by putting it in the effects send at the back but then the controls of the amp dont work.Other than this prob the patches i ve created sound very good but the preset ones sound dump.e.g the wah sounds awful unless tampered with.

Used on about 5/6 gigs.Holds up very well although the plastic casing makes me worry.The patch buttons are perfectly spaced so you hit the right one.

N/A

I play mostly metallica stuff and the distortions work well.I also like the delays/weird effects etc.Played for 3/4 years.Own an epiphone les paul std in green, marshall valvestate vs100r,and yamaha MD4S 4 track.If it were stolen id prob get something sim to 505 and invest in loadsa stomp boxes.
I would DEMAND a better wah

It's very easy to use, you don't need to use the manual, it's all obvious.

I'm using the 4040 with a Ibanez RG 550 and a evolution pickup on the bridge, a dunlop wah ( the wah of the 4040 is the worst sh*t I ever used in my life) and a Laney TF 300. The 4040 when used with distortion in loud volumes , it's very noisy, with feedbacks that is painful to a dog ear. Thats why I use the Laney for distortion, and the 4040 become just a footcontroler for the Laney, and control on/off for the wah-wah. I like the Modulation of the 4040, but the pitch and the step(????) are terrible.

I didn't throw it on the trash because i'm going to start to built a rack and the 4040 will be good for midi control.
Moral of the story:
If you need a footcontroler, Midi controller, Wah on/off controller, a volume controller, and a expression controller; the price is good enought. But if you want good FX, get more money and start to look for the right one.

I play Heavy, Rock, Blues and Classical, It didn't work on any one.
When I bought this 4040 ( about 5 years ) it was the best multi-effects in the business now... take your conclusions. But for controler I just Love it, because if I didn't have the 4040 I would have to buy a volume pedal a midi pedal a footswitch and the Cry-Baby is very hard to turn on/off when you are sitting, and I still got some extra effects.

I upgraded from a ZOOM 505 to this, editing patches on the 505 was a piece of piss compared to this. True, I have only had it for one day and I suppose I'll get use to it, but the 505 was easier to use straight up.

Some good, some bad here. The distortions and wah definately chew some major ass, the distortions and wah from the 505 kicked ass over the 4040 and that really dissappoints me. The other sounds are good though, haven't really used the amp sim. yet, pitch shifting options are pretty handy, tremolo could be better as could the phase and flange.

To early to decide here, the old 505 held out pretty well so I think this should go all right so long as you look after it.

n/a

I bought this because it was near impossible to play live with the 505, I got a trade in on a second hand and only had to pay $250 (not bad eh?) so it looked like a good cheap option. If I had my time again I would have started building my effects rack from scratch last year instead of continuly going through the crappy ZOOM range. I may like it more once I've been using for longer, but as first impressions go, this is a piece of shite, if only for the budget wah and distortion.

It's quite easy to use. You don't have to study the whole instruction manual, you just make a patch and rock on. 40 user and 40 present patches are on the board and when you buy it, the user's are already saved, but of course if you build another patch, you have to delete one. To build own patches is very simple, just choose the effects, turn the sound out you want and that's it. Really simple!

Well, the modulation effects are really amazing, except the pitch shifter - if you want to get the sound lower a whole step (in fact, I tried it to get a sound like Metallica's 'Sad But True' which is downpitched a whole step) it really doesn't sound like a 'guitar', more like a way of an effected steel-string acoustic... There are 2 clean and 6 distortion effects, but 4 of the distortions (OD I + II, and DIST I + II) you cannot use for getting a great sound, you have to be really good at playing guitar for using a distortion of them and then you must get a really good equalizer patch. The equalizer is perfect! It sounds freat if you turn on that thing with a good distortion, and also the amp-simulations are really amazing! It really sound like an amp or so. There are also a wah and an autowah, but the wah is full of shit, you cannot use it for any solos or so! If you want to hear a bizare sound and get freaky it's okay... But not to play guitar on this way. The autowah is acceptable, but not very good! A disadvantage is that the wah's, the amp-simulations AND the equaziler is on one parameter you can choose, so, you cannot get an asmp-sim WITH EQ. So, if you wanna hear a wah you cannot use a distortion with EQ - it sounds terribly. All the rest - modulations, delay and reverb - is REALLY amazing! You can get every sound you want to get and every patch you wanna make.
All an all, the effects are very, very cool (except wah, some distortions and the pitch shifter) but you only can use 5 at the same time! A distortion/clean - EQ/wah/ampsim/autowah - pitchshift/flanger/tremolo/chorus/step/phaser/slowattack - delay/pingpong - reverb/hall/room/delay. For 'normal' users - perfect!

I got the 4040 more than a year and it's like a new one. The pedals work perfectly and I never had any problems with effects or potis or any other things. The buttons are very good, and still work perfectly. I never played a gig on it, but I'm very certain, it would do its work.

N/A

It's very good, most sounds and effects are great and it's very helpful for users, both beginners and advanced.

This thing rocks. Editing the patches are really easy. What I do is just edit existing patches, make it sound deeper or more trebly. The manual needs some attention for a user to be able to fully use the 4040 - three days of actual testing will do. There is no need to attach extra pedals to it becuase it comes with a built in expression and volume pedal which can be used for wah and volume or delay.

I use a variety of guitars with it, namely a Yamaha RGX821d, Marina (strat-style), and a Maya Les Paul. I use a Marshall 8020 amp at home. The presets are done by some famous artist like Eric johnson, George lynch and a lot more. The chorus and flange effect sounds almost the same. I also use it for recording, you can go straight to any track recorder. I use a Fostex 28-h and a Spirit Notepad mixer for recording.

The casing looks tough enough but still I suggest that you take extra care dropping it. Since this is powered via adaptor I still use Boss stomp boxes for backup.

Never needed one!

I play Thrash/alternative music with it. It will still sound good it you play slow solo's on it. I also own a BCB3 carrying case for my Metal zone, digital delay DD-3, and Flanger (all Boss pedals). For my Yamaha bass guitar I only use a Boss GE7b EQ and A chorus pedal which i plug in a Fender Bassman amp.

Being used to program keyboards and sound modules, I didn't have any trouble programing the 4040. I liked having the display of paramater values on the front of the pedal.

I thought the sound quality was decent. It was good enough for playing in a screw around band (a few private parties and the such). I found it to be some what noisy, even with the noise reduction. I just recently replaced it with a Rocktron Chameleon, mainly because I didn't think the sound was profesional enough.
One thing I did like was having the variety of effects right at hand. The volume and expression pedal were very helpful when playing live.

I used this for outside gigs one summer. It held up OK, but at the end of the summer it was hurting. The input jack is starting to give me problems.
The plastic feels to weak for my taste. I was always concerned with trying to not break it when I was playing live.

I play a variety of music from speed metal to classical to country. This unit was good for getting me decent sounds that fit. This was my first multi-effects unit for my guitar. I thought it served that purpose well. But now I'm ready to move on to something more professional.