Zoom 5000 Hybrid Distortion Pedal

You have 4 knobs to control: Output signal, Gain, and Low and Hi freq.
With a knob-switch you can jump from a distorsion type to another. This switch is called color and the distorsion type are: Stack 1, Stack 2, Combo 112, R&B, Metal, Zoom Box. With a footswitch you can jump to one color to another without use the switch-knob.
I don't have manual 'cause I've bouth it used from a friend so I dunno if in it there are hints on how to use this box.
By the way I've found this pedal not so simply to use. You've to get some experience to quickly set your tone on this. first set the gain and adjust Low & Hi consequently as you want. After you have to set out to have a boost on your volume orthe same you have when your guitar is clean. I always use a bit of boost in my set. On color mode this is something really near philosophy. I like Stack 1 and Stack 2 a lot and found Zoom Box completely unuseful, but probably it depends on what you want to do.
Serial number of this thing is 002624.
Somethig I don't appreciate is the unit with batteries in it. It drain energy from batteries quickly and without mercy.
With alimentation there are not great problem if you like the 'noisy' things. I like so it's ok, but this pedal with electric alimentation is quite noisy.

About the sound I've nothing to say but It's great. I like the violence of its distorsions, from stoner to metal, death, grind, if you have a good ampli you can resolve a sound very impressive wit ha lot of loudness.
As I've said before, It's noisy so if you like perfection and cut set in your sounds there are some problem. In the garage when I play with my band the hum is abount a F# and it's present. I've found it fantastic and hugly, but I play something around noise, slowcore, postrock where this things are well accepted. I don't know if a real classic metal player would like it. If you don't want noise use a lot of batteries.
In chain with other effects things do not change much the source of all the noise is always Zoom Driver and the additive noise effects are uneared.
On the back the pedal there is the ZNR knobs to resolve the noise problem but It's quite useful.

I do not depend on it but few songs, in which I like to be so huge with my sounds. In a gig it's fun to use and always impressive.
The one I have it's in terrible condition, I've repaired both knobs and alimentation a number of times but it already in working conditions. I don't think there is an use of this pedal in which it could be damaged.
Fixed on a effects board it probably could be the last one to die.

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In the music I play, postrock-noise, this is an useful things.
I have a big muff (russian release) too as distorsion but this one is another thing. I do not have ever compared the two. Simply they are different. These are the only distorsion pedal I own and they are good at the same level. It depends on what you want to do.
The Zoom have a violence on the attacs that I like really and I love the distorsion in Stack 1 and Stack 2. With my Jim Reed LP Tiger Top which have hump. pickups It' impressive, aggressive and could lead note in one strings well against the other sounds of the bands.
I've no use in the footswitch but this is my idea.

It`s simple to use... Almost like all other simple distorsion units...

I`m using it along with Ibanez PT5 multiFX processor, Ibanez Universe guitar and MESA Boogie dual rectifier amp and it sounds simply great! I must admit that I was a little sceptic about this one `cause I`ve never heard and experienced that Zoom made something worth and I must admit that I owe this company apologize cause they DID this one well (but this is the only FX made by Zoom that I found interesting for me).
Still I miss a mid tones knob but the Ibanez PT5`s EQ solves this problem easily.

As I said before I cannot depend on anything because I had soooo much bad experiences especially with floor effects. So I MUST have a spare "chain" always connected (a set of simple Boss units) but so far (about 3 months it never gave me up and the Boss pedals stayed untouched :)))

I know that this pedal is pretty old so I don`t expect much in the way of customer support.

It`s really great thing although it`s freakin` ZOOM :))) It really works!
I`m playing a Satriani/Vai type of music and it really gives me "the edge" especially when I need to boost up the sollo and crack the speakers and level meters :)))

My comment should be competent since I`ve tried more than thousand various effects and pedals in my life and before buying any one of them I`ve tried it for several weeks. That was the case with this one too.

Pretty simple to dial in a sound to your liking, but the optional footswitch programming isn't too easy to figure out.

I ran this pedal into a 71 Fender Twin Reverb for live use. Combining the gain of the Zoom with the tube resonance of the Twin is amazing. The Zoom is also great for recording, as i used it for many studio sessions going directly into the board. The background noise is there, but for a pedal it's still much better than most.

I bought my Zoom Driver new, and i used it on the road for almost 7 years without a problem. I don't bother with batteries, a good 9v adapter is a better option, not too mention just this year the battery cover latches broke somehow....little bit of duct tape to fix.

Never needed it, but I really don't understand why Zoom stopped making these things.

If you want this pedal from me, you will have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers. As time went on, I've upgraded to a Marshall JMP-1 preamp with a Mesa-Boogie halfstack, and i still use my Zoom Driver/Twin Reverb setup for alot of live/studio performances. My favorite tone is Stack 1 - gain 75%, low 85%, high 55%.

Easy if you know what you want. EI, good crunch with realistic cabilet emulation.

It really sounds like a big Marshall stack, on 11! Even approximates the growl and even order harmonics, sounds like there' actually speakers distorting and a real spongey amp section. Sounds different than any other Zoom pedals, which should come as a relief to most ppl. The best thing about this pedal is that it can take the jangliest stock single-coil strat and turn it into a Les Paul through a Marshall Plexi Full stack by just touching the button! magic! I wish I knew who designed this pedal for Zoom, as he no doubt doesn't work there anymore!

I bought one when they first came out... in the years gone by, it fizzled on a few oocasions, but returned to life after being dried out, or replacing the odd input/output jack, or DC power supply. Lately it died, though, but only after being puked, bled, and spilled on for about 7 years. pretty reliable. Again, unlike anything else Zoom has ever made.

OK, the reason I re-submitted this form, the people at Zoom are very nice, courteous, attentive MORONS! The power supply went out on it and I sent it back. This time it was serious and would probably need attention inside.
Sent the unit off, and FOUR MONTHS later I'm calling them. They apologized and said it would be fixed and off in the morning. Some weeks later I called back. Talked to the head tech. He doesn't remember even making this pedal. He didn't work there when they made it. They make different pedals now (modular, easy to fix, crap) and they don't know how to fix this pedal. Also, it looks as though it had been at the business end of a shooting range, and wouldn't I prefer a nice newer model? 4 1/2 months for this. They are sending it back, after all this time.

I play in a variety band and the pedal was very useful for the multiple tones I would use. Everyone in my band plays guitar at some time in the average night, and they ALL wanted THAT sound. (of course they couldn't handle the power... they used too much gain and volume, etc). There was only one pedal that compared to this one in terms of that GREAT sounding valvy tone, and that was the ART artist rack mount preamp. Zoom has this tendency to move on and fix that which isn't broken. In My opinion (and many others) most of their stuff is pretty much junk. Not road worthy, not toneful, not pro-sounding. This is a shining light in the midst of mediocrity, that only shone for a year or two, before it was discontinued in favor of some other crap that was easier to manufacture. Zoom Doesn't care that this pedal was cool. Zoom doesn't even remember making this pedal. They will be in the business of making new pedals, not ressurecting the old ones, even if it would benefit their financial outlook and help their reputation as makers of second-rate transistorized crud. Ibanez made a fortune out of re-issueing the TS-9, the Zoom corpotation probably fold in the next few years, wondering how it all happened.

Takes 6 batteries so I use a 9V adaptor.

Theres lots of options with the different voicings available. The bass, treble and gain controls work over a very wide range. You can seriously rattle your speakers with the amount of bass on tap. The treble can get extreme. I find the best tones are moderate settings. Zoom noise reduction knob is easy, just turn it till the noise dissappears.

I have the Zoom HyperLead pedal which was the nicest hi-gain, singing, distortion pedal I've ever heard - I was using the PodXT and other devices and the Hyperlead just blew them all.

I use the 5000 on the Metal setting with treble on 0-1 (turned right down), bass 5-6, gain about 5-6. This gives me a tone somewhat similar in character to the Hyperlead but *totally smooth*. When I plug in the Hyperlead again to compare, the tone is harsher and less ballsy.

Just like the Hyperlead the unit is very, very quiet - even with bags of gain - I dont know how them make such a low noise circuit. But on the 5000 you can turn the noise reduction knob and the small amount of noise disappears with apparently no artifacts or loss in tone/sustain - the best noise reduction system undoubtedly!

I am not keen on all the other settings (Stack1, Stack2, Zoom Box) etc. All the other settings sound like that have some kind of cabinet emulation on them eg. Stack1 and Stack2 are the same distortion but with different cab filters. I recognise this from playing with modelling devices. The Metal setting is the only one that sounds like a basic DI, preamp distortion - but what a tone!

Btw, it cleans up very nicely to medium gain when you roll off the volume on the guitar, just dont expect crunch or low gain tones. This box is hi-gain/rock all the way.

This is one heavy chunky pedal, I cant imagine it breaking in a hurry.

I have contacted Zoom twice and got helpful responses from them quickly.

I bought the Hyperlead based on the great reviews here and mentions on the forum. It lived up to its reputation - a fantastic inspiring hotrod Marshall tone, but with the option of scooping out the mids and getting a Mesa tone - love it. Then I started reading about the 5000. I bought it on ebay and I think it sounds even more polished and beefy than the Hyperlead. The only thing I would say is the Hyperlead is more flexible with the mid Q and level controls. Like I say, the Hyperlead can get a Mesa Recto tone - the 5000 doesnt really get the same vibe. I'd compare the 5000 more to Soldano, hotrod Marshall.

The 5000 on the setting I detailed is the best hotrodded Marshall tone I've every had the pleasure of owning, it pours with harmonics. The bass content is spot on and the treble has tons of clarity but is not harsh.

I play Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Dan Huff, RoyZ, Rammstein, gothic music etc. Been playing for over 10 years.

I am an fx lover and have owned AX2, Pod2, PodXT, GSP21, Zoom 505, Zoom 1010, Zoom 9002, V-Amp2, Boss GX700, Boss GT6, Valvetronics, various pedals, Marshall DSL50, Laney TT20, LC15...

This pedal (along with the Hyperlead) is staying with me for a long long time.

It's easy to get a good tone if you know what a good tone is.

What I like about this pedal is that it doesn't have the usual high frequency harmonics like on the metal zone or any other hardrock/metal pedal. It sounds like a high quality overdrive/distortion. The only problem with this pedal is the total lack of control on the mid frequncies. The eq is too scooped. I have to put the mids almost all the way up on my eq to have the right tone. Stack 1 position reminds me of the tone on the first slipknot album witch I don't like particularly, like a mesa rectifier. Stack 2 is my farorite position because it has more mids and clear highs, like on a mesa combo(mark 2, 3). I use Combo 112 setting when I use the direct input on my computer. It works fine if you eq it well. R&B and Metal settings are not good for me. Zoom box is ok. The noise reduction is also high quality. Lots of gain, bass, high and fun. For rock and metal players.

Seems to be well built.

Don't know.

I think the secret to a good sound with this pedal is to use an equalizer to adjust the tone to your taste. This is one of the best pedal I have ever used. A little like a GT-2 but with a much better tone (3D, brightness and harmonics). Sorry for my written english.

Excellent... I love anything with knobs... I can't believe they made this pedal and went back to their patch-work digital readout crap! Grab a knob, turn it until you hear what you like... perfect!

Great sound quality... the low end resonance is very pronounced with valvy high end gain, and internal EQ filters help even strats or single coils with wimpy nasal tones, get great fat chunk tones. I hear a lot of talk about the Blues setting being too bassy, and I have to agree, I've only used the small and large stack and combo 1 12" settings... The blues setting has exaggerated bass response, which could be really cool in a marshall or other amp with actual overdrive characteristics, as these amps can handle the extra bass and compress it in their own way, whereas a high-fi or solid state amp would FREAK out with that much bass program, and even when you cut out down, the overall EQ seems to suffer.

MINE JUST broke! I've had it for about 10 years, and in that time, I've spilled drinks, had drunk chicks hair on it, it's been covered in biker chicks' hair, syrup, dust, beer and it's been rained on... but one week ago, Mine stopped lighting up. I called the repair shop today and just mailed it off... I will post when and if it gets fixed. Overall, it's been a good run from the pedal... an instance comes to mind, in Lestervill Mo, in which two half naked chicks were dancing on my pedals as I was across the stage hamming it up... I ran back and grabbed them... undulating sweaty boob flesh hanging over each arm... and from behind my shoulder I see some guy with two cans of Busch Light (the vision of the cans still burned in my memory) and emptied both cans on the chicks... which fell down on my pedal board... causing everything to die instantly... EXCEPT the Zoom Driver which I quickly patched in as the only pedal for the rest of the night... it appears to be pretty much beer-proof.

I just sent it off... we'll see...

I'm like other guys here... I would go as far as to put a sattelite locating chip in this thing to find AND kill whoever might try to swipe it.

read the other reviews. easy enough, but alot of scope for each knob

This is an awesome little pedal, but it is a distortion, not an o.d. That said, its awesome. As I see it, stack 1 and 2 or marshalls, the combo is a fender (midrangey and bright), zoom box is LIKE a vox ac series, r&b could be a mesa, as could metal (soldano like, anyhoo). The range on this thing is awesome. Tons of bass, tons of treble, and within one disto setting a hundred tones, all depending onwith guitar you use. I wish they had an od version of this. Metal, rock, use your imagination. I push this iwht a roland beebaa fuzz on the stack 1 (marshall) setting and its awesome. if you see one, try it. Your mind will change about zoom stuff, I did.

its still kickin, so i guess so

I play rock and spacey stuff. I was looking for something to beef up my fuzz pedals and take the harshness away from di recording, and this baby is anything but harsh. Its a zoom, too. unbelievable! Its huge!

very easy. It's like any boss overdrive/distortion pedal, in a couple of minutes I get my sound.

This box has the most powerfull distortions in the world. If you are a heavy metal guitar player.. this is your pedal! I use this with a Ibanez JPM, a Mesa's 50/50 power amp and a 4x10 cabinet .. simple, but powerfull! This unit works better than a Jmp-1 as a pre-amp.

build like a tank. never brokes

never used

I have this unit about 3 months, and I'm very impressioned with the sound. I had a Jmp-1 pre-amp, and I sold it. If you play heavy music, you should try this, but first you must find one!

It's a microsoft pedal(without the bugs).. just plug and play!

Ibanez JPM -> Zoom Driver -> Mesa Boogie Triaxis-> (Behringer Virtualizer DSP 1000)-> 2:90 -> 4x10 Cab.I don't know any pedal with this punch! This is more powerfull than a Metalzone, but it keeps your original guitar sound.. it's a Triaxis in a pedal!

I can depend on it. I use this without a backup for 10 years. This ins't Zoom's new crap shit.

never used

I play shred stuff.. 12 years playng several hours all day..and this box is very, very impressive.. It's very difficult to find one to buy.. I don't sell mine for any money in the world!