Zoom 5000 Hybrid Distortion Pedal

How easy is it to get a good sound out of it?
Very easy. It's a distortion pedal and a pretty good one.

How about Editing patches?
It doesn't really have patches, but it's two channel and that's easy to work with.

How is the manual for it (if there is one)?
I don't remember but you only need it to "program" the second channel and it's very intuitive.

Do you know the firmware revision number? Has your unit been upgraded?
Uh, this question doesn't apply.

What setup (i.e. what guitars and amps) are you using this with?
It's the only pedal I use. I play a strat through it and it goes to a Lee Jackson pre-amp that's heavily modded to sound less metal-ish. From there it goes to an old quadraverb and then to a Mosvalve power amp, and finally to either a 4x8 or 4x12 marshall cab.

Is it noisy? On what settings?
It's a little noisy but it has a gate on it that does a real good job. You'll lose a bit of sustain, though...nature of gates. Noise isn't overwhelming when it's off. I don't usually have it on at all.

Are the effects weak or do they always sound great?
It's not really an effect. It's a distortion pedal. You can make it sound like crap if you want, but it's capable of very nice distortion.

What amp are you using it with?
You already asked that.

Can you get the sound of your favorite artists? Who are they?
I've never really tried to sound exactly like anyone else. There are certain sounds that I want to get that the pedal will not do, and others that it will do. Between my amp and the pedal I can almost always get what I'm looking for.

Are certain effects (distortion, chorus, ...) very good? Very bad?
The distortion is really versatile. Very hot, too. There are a number of modes like 1x12 combo, "stack", and box or something. They generally sound very good once you tweak them. The only one I never had any use for was R&B. It sounds like a metal sound to me. Some people would probably love that but I don't.

Can you depend on it?
Well, I bought it new in something like 1993 and have used it ever since. It's never broken. I've gigged with it a bunch of times and even toured with it twice.

Would you use it on a gig without a backup?
Yeah.

I used Zoom e-mail customer support for a different product that I bought at a garage sale, and they wrote me back from Japan in broken English. They were helpful. A little difficult to understand and a bit slow to respond, but helpful and either very, very friendly or insanely sarcastic.

What style of music do you play? Is this a good match?
It's obviously a good match or I wouldn't have used it for more than 15 years. I play indie rock. It's a little all over the place. Sometimes GBV-like, sometimes Swervedriver like, sometimes Sonic Youth-like. I generally have a heavy sound but not like metal although it can get sort of close at times if I'm doing really noisy stuff with a wah and other effects. My style has evolved over the years and for the most part this pedal has been able to sound the way I want. I may finally be growing out of it as I go more and more lo-fi.

How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?
21 years. This is the only distortion pedal I have.

If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?
Since they're so hard to find, I don't think I'd get another. The way I play these days my amp is all I really need most of the time, and the rest of the time one of those Boss blues pedals would probably work.

what do you love about it? What do you hate? What is your favorite feature? I love the versatility and the reliability. I don't like the way it looks and never have. There's nothing I really hate about it, although some people may had having to use an AC adapter. The thing eats batteries so an adapter is necessary.

Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?

I have had so many distortion and overdrive pedals and amps over the years I can't name them all. I chose this one back in 1993 because the other guitarist in my band bought one and it sounded really awesome. He had a tube amp and I've always had tube amps, so I'm not sure if it would sound as good on a solid state. I'm guessing it would be fine. But it's worth mentioning because I've used stompboxes with tubes in them and they never sounded better than the Zoom. I suppose they may on a solid state because you wouldn't have tubes to warm up the sound later.

Anything you wish it had?
Not really.

Does it help you make music, or does it get in the way?
Well, I have found that for some reason, this pedal keeps me from getting feedback unless I'm playing really loud. Overdriving the amp will feedback at a lower volume and so will other boxes. Really, that's my only complaint...it seems to get in the way of feedback a little.

Anything else you'd like to share?
The pedal does have a certain sound. I clearly like it. My old roommate would play through my stuff sometimes and he hated it but liked it when I played through it. So, like everything else, you just have to try one to see if it fits your taste.

I would sort of like to know what it's worth. I may part with the thing after all these years. I do like it, but I'm using my amp's dirty channel more and more like I said. It's not worth selling for less than a certain amount, though. I'd say if I couldn't get 250 USD for it I'd just assume keep the thing.

Easy to use, some knobs, no fancy digital display memory stuff. just a simple but good working distortion box with a noise gate. a know for the mids would be perfect, but so it still works with bass and treb to adjust the mids.

i use the metal sound and the znr ant this works great for me. the znr is one of the best gates around i think.

build like a tank or how the ppl say. no its a metal box and its been kicked for some years, so i would say its reliable.

this is great! i wrote them for the manual and they answered me with a link to the pdf four days later.

Simple but good. the znr makes levels it up for me. actually im looking out for another one, but they are not so easy to find. i dont use it for my live setup, cause i use the distortion of my amp, but i tried it out and it does a good job on that.

I like the 2 programs it has, handy if you don't mind the switching sequence (can't do prog1-prog2, only bypass-prog1 or 2).
I like the znr noise reduction, and the fact that it processes the guitar noise only and not, like the korg od105 I have, the noise the pedal produces by itself...
The distortion circuit is analog, soft and on the warm side.
The character switch is sort of eq with 6 distinct flavours, but alas always on, not to my taste most of the time.
The 2bd eq is not aggressive, respects the sound and is useful.

I am not that impressed, because of the speaker modeling always on. It adds a dark shade, not quite usable IMO maybe except for the metal thing. This is with a guitar amp.
The speaker modeling is better when using full-range speakers, or the line out of the amp, in this case results are good overall.
The distortion produced is not a good overdrive, nor is a good aggressive chunky sound. It's soft, and not that versatile in fact, whatever you do after it (the character switch).
As a result I am not using this thing, is still new in its box.
And for the 9002 sound, I prefer to stick with the...9002 of course.
In fact the 9002 pro (artist edition, serious upgrade) is ten times better than this 5000 pedal, and you can have no speaker sim on, letting it be usable in front of a guitar amp.

Provided you use the proper psu, zoom products are very reliable.
The only problems I encountered with the 70 or so zooms I have/had were the ones I bought second-hand...

Zoom in Japan answered personally by letter to some requests I made, about 15 years old products. If that's not first class...

Strange product I think: with the speaker sim always on it won't do great in the typical guitar-amp application.
And not being a preamp it is even worse straight to the board, or keyboard amp.
The best is to use it with a clean bassman or deluxe reverb or twin reverb, but then you won't miss the lack of dynamics and of clarity of the pedal.
The line6 crunchtone and dr distorto I have sound hugely better, and the korg od105 is the real deal here (in digital pedals) even if it's noisy.
My mini marshall mg10cd (emulated line out)sounds way better than the 5000 too, lively and gutsy. Sure you can buy it, sure it has no eq, sure no programs too, but hell one enjoys playing it.
The 5000 leaves me cold, I seriously can't use it, it is a collector...

Serial Number 000561, I guess that makes it an early one. In my opinion there are 4 very usable selections from the 6 available, the other two may suit players looking for something a little out of the ordinary. Dead easy to set up a good sound from any of the sounds available. I use an additional footswitch so I can have a choice of two different patches, very cool as I don't think that is available on any distortion pedal since this, I could be wrong.

It has been mentioned previously that Zoom broke the mould after they made this. I bought this from new in the short time that it was readily available and wanted something that would better digital effects pedal type distortions and this was it. The sound quality even by todays standards is excellent and I use predominantly Line 6 gear ie PodX3 Live, Vetta 2 amp. Amp modelling the 5000 isn't and it does not pretend to either, it is a distortion pedal and you either love it or you don't and it has not been disliked by anyone who has heard it. Those of us still lucky enough to own a working one is probably a small club indeed.

Can I depend on it? Er Yeh, how many gadgets have I owned and used for 15 years that still work like new? This unit is still in great condition and has never failed. I use rechargeable batteries and use it all the time at jam sessions hooked to the guitar input of the clean channel of my Mesa Boogie Nomad 45, sounds great.

Never had to call them.

I have been playing guitar since 1973 and currently play classic rock in one band and soul and motown in another. Not really suitable for the latter but I would use it in a classic rock band if I did not have the current versatility of Line 6 Vetta 2. This pedal would also suit anyone playing in a metal band as the distortion can get very saturated but still has focus which is what makes this pedal stand out for me. Similar tones can now be had by Line6 and other manufacturers too but there is something about this pedal that is just so unique. The 5000 is something you can throw into your gig bag and get good tone dead easy into virtually any amp or desk. If it broke now, I would miss it but it is not the end of the world. It would be very hard to find a replacement which Zoom should address as this is probably the best product they have ever made.

the 5000 is not very difficult to understand. there are already built-in presets and the only thing you have to do is to tweak the gain, vol and tone controls (bass & high). its very convenient to use and lets you play along while the tweaking

i personally test every guitar gear i buy with the low-end equipments the average guitar player can usually afford. that includes the un-branded ones.

i tested it with a fender-copy strat and a 20-watt practice amp and produced very good, even-quality sound. the presets were very nice and covers a lot of tone musically. i'm sure it would be appreciated by musicians-on-a-budget.

the zoom-noise-reduction is a plus, especially if you are not so patient with all the tweaking required before a gig. although i somehow detect a decrease in sustained notes.

and yes i sure wish there was a mid-range control knob for more modelling control over your sound, but fiddling with the amp makes up for it.

all that circuitry encased in die-cast metal, the knobs very firmly in place, add to it a rubber base..its very dependable.

i've used it in gigs for 12 yrs now, and not all of them on the best-looking stage, and it hasn't failed me yet.

i choose to power it with the ac adaptor. the batteries were too inconvenient to use (6-AA batteries)

i've tried looking for information at the website but it isn't even listed anymore. correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe the 5000 has a "twin" which was a set of delay/chorus effects. i was intending to buy them but i could not find any information on their website.

i'm primarily a blues player and i do a lot of clapton/srv/page playing for the past 12 yrs. but i also dive to fusion and hard rock whenever i feel like it. it has been a good gear for all these styles.

the zoom box has a very unique sound to it. a lot of people don't appreciate it but i do. "brian may" comes to mind whenever i hear it.
the other presets are very good too. i rarely use the "r&b" setting though.

of course you would still need other effects to augment the power of the zoom 5000, but its a good effect pedal to have plus it isn't picky with what kind or type of amp you use.

i wish zoom would re-issue the 5000 back along with its "twin" delay/reverb pedal. i surely would buy them

Fairly simple, 4 knobs, voicing switch, footswitch jack, ac jack. Eats batteries pretty quick, but so do alot of effects pedals.

I bought this pedal because it was the distortion Steve Baily barrowed for a bass clinic and was amazed by its sound. It was comendeared by my guitarist shortly there after. He use it through his Sovtek Mig 60 for several years. It had a great rock tone, then we went more punk style and the "stack" settings came in real handy for that. He used it until it's unfortunate demise 10 years after the purchase.

The footswitch jack came in real handy when the pedals footswitch carapped out. The pedal had been disasembled many times in the 10 years of its life in order to keep it going. when it could not be fixed anymore, it was replaced with a Tech 21 Sansamp GT2 which is still going strong.

10 years is to young for a pedal to die, especially one that worked (soundwise) as well as this one. It served a short time as a bass pedal where it made for a great heavy distortion (until replaced by a Rockman Distortion Generator), then as a multi distortion guitar pedal.

Tons of sounds choices. There are six different sounds to chose from. Output, bass, treble and gain knobs.

I bought this from a guy that I had originally went to purchase a Keeley modded rat from. I had heard good things about the modded rat and he had it so I went to check it out. Just before I left his house he says "If you really want high gain check this out" I was instantly impressed. I bought both pedals but returned the rat to him the next day because the Zoom put it to shame.

This pedal has a hell of a lot of gain! - Made in Japan. Good components. Very good treble and bass response - you can get a small amp to sound really big. I use this pedal with a old Ampeg V-4 with matching v-4 cab.

There is a noise reduction knob on the back that helps out a lot. It can get noisy but I keep the output level at about 3/3 o'clock which is high but the noise still fairly low

Never failed. It's old built in Japan - it's really solid a tank.

Never needed it..Knock Knock

This pedal is amazing. I haven't tried a lot of pedals out there so I can't say it's the best, therefore it doesn't get a ten but it beats all the other Boss pedals I've tried.

For those of us who play a 100 Ibs violine the Fulltone DP-1 may be the better choise but for real guitarplayers this is the absolute No. 1 in high gain.

Bought my first more than 10 jears ago. Bought an other one two years later as back up but never needed it.

Never dealt with them.

My No. 1 in high gain territory.

very easy... a distortion box!

great sound for heavy metal and new metal players.
my gear-> les paul studio - zomm 5000 driver - marshall jcm900... that's all that I ever wanted.
I think this is the best drive ever made...

never brokes

never used

I play metal stuff and this a good match.
I've been playing for 15 years, and this box is great for recordings and live situations..
great box... If you find one, get it!

This pedal is very easy to setup..no digital bullshit patches to program..the manual is vey straight forward..hell i think i looked thru it once.

the sound is the best i have ever gotton out of anything ..amp or pedal or combination ..ive owned marshalls ,yamahas,classic fender amps,hiwatts, vox...too many to mention here....anyways i also have used many guitars...and right now im only have 12 guits..strats jackson...roland gr33..also a couple of jay tursers..they are fairly good..at work i use a gibson studio les paul...i play most styles of music from mellow jazz to in ur face ramstein..this zoom pedal covers every aspect of my playing.

this pedal i bought in 1995....but now(10YEARS LATER)IT NEEDS REPAIRS THE INPUT JACK IS MESSED UP...HELL I NEED A BACK UP OF THIS UNIT.

DONT HAVE AN OPINION ABOUT CUSTOMER SUPPORT...HOPE TO BE ABLE TO FIX IT MYSELF.

I BELIVE THIS TO BE THE BEST OF THE BEST...ZOOM SUCKS FOR STOPPING THE PRODUCTION OF THIS VERY FINE PRODUCT.

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.

N/A

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!

It's so simple to get the right Sound out of it! Thank God, it's no Preset Monster like other Zoom Products. The Manual is as easy to use, as the Pedal.

I work with it on a Yamaha DG100 Combo Amp with Fender Strat (Texas Special Pickups, Seymour Duncan JB SH4) and Telecaster but I tried it on various Amps - (try it on a Marshall and you will freak out). I sware, it even sounds great on the smallest Amp! It simply blows off the skin from your bones. The Zoom Driver 5000 makes even a single coil Pickup sound like a hungry T-Rex. It can be used for everything that needs a real fat and Tubelike Distortion Sound, specially all kinds of Heavy Rock Orgies. I prefer the Combo and the Stack 2 Preset. The ZNS Noise Reduction is great but the Preset "Zoom Box" sounds like playing in a crypt. But who needs a clean (?) Sound from a Distortion Pedal...

As solid as pure Steel! You can shoot it with a Pump Gun and it will still work like nothing has happened.

I never had to ask for.

I mostly play Rock and Blues since more than 25 Years and also use the Line 6 Axsys 212 Combo and the Toneworks PX3 for Recording. I have seen many Pedals in my Life, but this one is the best I ever came across. For Example, I played the Zoom 4040 some Time - it's sheer Plastic Junk! Like many others I can not understand why Zoom quit building this Model. They must be crazy...
So it is very rare, but if you can get one - buy it!!!!!

peice of cake

I have to say that its very impressive, this is the best amp simulator/distortion effect you can find in a stomp box. but all distortion pedals have some inherent noise, but the Zoom features built-in NoiseReduction, which helps a lot without cutting off attack or sustain. I'm using a Ibanez JS/Zoom Driver 5000/Digital Delay/ Roland Jazz Chorus, and all drives are great!

This is a very reliable unit, it always works, it always sounds great, no problems..

they send me a user's manual..

I play jazz fusion.. scott henderson/mike stern stuff and with this stomp box I get my own sound. This pedal is the best choice for my sound..

This pedal is easy to use. 4 knobs + 6 selectable colors. Has a footswitch input and a noise reduction knob.

Very silent(Zoom Noise Reduction) and all drives kicks asses! I'm using a Les paul studio, a crate gx-15 amp, and between both this pedal and a boss's digital delay. The sound is very powerfull and covers all frequencies that a powerfull guitar sound should cover.

Only had it 1 year, bought it used. No problems so far.

never used

I was wondering why zoom discontinued this product and start 1010/4040/505's production. This pedal is simple the best, I dont need anything but this pedal(ok, a digital delay is fine too!). I play Guns & Roses/Zeppelin/Sabbath stuff and this is the best choice for this style.

just plug and play.

All drives(6)are excelent.. this is the best distortion pedal in the world.

It's build like a tank.

Zoom's customer support sucks!! they are very rude on the fone. I'had called them about the 4040 and they said me to hang up for a while, and they let me in the fone waiting for 30min.

I play rock(all kinds) and this is the best choice for this style. but the customer support sucks! I''m giving a 10 here cause the sound of this babe is very powerfull, and I never have to deal with the people from support because this pedal.

It's very easy to use and get a good sound. It's like a boss pedal, just go turning the knobs until you get your sound. The manual is ok, it shows how to use the memory-footswitch distortion.

I'm using a Washburn N4, a Fender Roc Pro 1000 and this Zoom between both. For efects I use a rocktron intellifex(delay reverb, chorus) There's no noise because this pedal has a ZNR(Zomm Noise Reduction). the distortion is powerfull and brutal, but it can sound like a Vinnie Moore sound setting to "Zoom Box". In my opinion the best drive is "Combo" and "stack 2". I used this in studioin-line, before a JMP-1, and it's more powerfull than a Triaxis. You should try this before spending 1500 bucks..

It's like a boss pedal. Never brokes..

never used..

I play most Progressive rock and heavy metal stuff, this is the best choice for both styles.I've been playng about 13/14 years, I got this zoom in 1994 and that's the drive that I'm looking for. If you like a good warm and loud drive.. you should try this pedal.