Zoom 5000 Hybrid Distortion Pedal

I get my tone first time I used this pedal. Editing patches is very easy, there's a drive selector, high and low, gain and volume out. It's like a boss pedal, very very easy to use.

My gear: Fender Strato(hs3 pickups); Jackson JDR;Zoom driver; marshal avt275;dd-3(loop). This pedal get the best sound in the world. It's agressive without lost bright. It's the best drive that I ever used. I use my marshall as a boost(gain on 3 of 10) and "Stack 2" in zoom so I can sound like Megadeth with my strato! If I want to play a vinnie moore song, the best drive is "Zoom Box". For SRV the "Combo" is the best choice. The old Metallica sound can get with "metal". R&B is very similar to a Mesa/boogie head.. but you must equalize the LOW!

I bought this used 2 years ago. I guess it's ok. it's a nuclear atack survivor.

never used

I play all kind of music, most rock. I've been playing for 8 years. If someone stolen this, I'll find the ******* in hell and get my zoom driver back! This pedal have 6 driver pedals inside. I don't know why Zoom stop doing this pedal and start doing all Zoom 505, 4040, 8080 crap. This is a a very simple box, with the best sound!

it's very simple. 4knobs. gain, out, treble, bass. and 6 distortions to choose.

Gibson lespaul studio(EMG pickups)/zoom driver/fender princeton 60/2x12" celestion black shadow speakers, that's my setup. I dont have to use a compression pedal in my gear, cause this zoom got a lot of compression, it's like a tube compression sound. this box got a ZNR that cut all noise without lose gain or sustain. I can sound wild like Zack Wild with this box.

I can try to broke up this thing.. but it's build like a tank. I gig with this without a backup. It's like a simple boss pedal.. never brokes!

this sucks,, i never used on this pedal, but i had a zoom 9050 that broke up and they sucks to help me.. result.. I had to fix the problem b myself

I play heavy metal music. This is the perfect choise for tis style. It's the best analogic distortion in the world. Better than a marshall jmp-1, ADA MP-2, but worst than a triaxis. I dont know why Zoom stops doing this pedal. The new zoom produtcts SUCKS!!! They all sounds like MacDonalds plastic food. This is like a marshall on 10.. simple, but perfect!

It's the best distortion that I ever used. very simple to get a great sound! even a 4 years child can do it

excelent! this babe got the best distortion in the world! It sounds like pantera at all!! And NO NOISE.. there's a Zoom noise Reduction button that cuts all noise... and the distortion is more powerfull than a marshall... it's a marshall + that "dark" harmonics from mesa boogie!
My setup Washburn N4 -> Zoom driver 5000 -> marshall jcm 900 head -> 4x12 celestion speakers

it's build like a tank!

never used

if u want a killer distortion.. u must use this pedal. Im using this setup for 6 long years.. and that's the tone that I want!

Very Easy to get a good tone. just plug your guitar and you got it..
There's a footswitch-in that allows you to record one distortion.. I use this for gigs, so I got one drive to solos and another one to bases.

All drives are excelent! With this unit your amp can sound like a Marshall stack or a Fender Blues vibe. The ZNR reduces the noise without cut the sustain.. My gear-> Ibanez Jem -> Zoom Driver -> Peavey Classic 50/212 (2x 12", 50W, tubes).. It rocks at all!!!

I used this unit at least 5 years, in a studio or at stage it never let me disapointed.

never used

I've been playng guitar for 20 years.. now I got my tone!! I dont use any effects.. just plug my guitar in a tube-amp, I use this zoom to distortion.. and that's all to get a great sound!!!

I'ts very easy to use. no big deal, just move the knobs..

This box is a piece of art of zoom's. It can rock like metallica or get a mike stern sound.. it's amazing how many tones u can get with this box. The ZNR cut all noises without lost of sustain and/or attak. I used zoom's 5000 with a hughes and kettner 40w attax, and it sounds great at lower volumes, but when I plug in a marshall jcm900 my combo... whow, get out of my way!!!!

I bought this box 10 years ago.. and never got any problems

never used

get this!! this box got the best driver tones that u can get in a small pedal.. lots of tones.

Easy as pie. Anyone who has used a stompbox before should have no trouble. There is a cool feature on using two settings (see other reviews on how to do it) and the noise reduction (nice).

Has a late 80's metal vibe going for it. Hint: when at bedroom levels, I find putting the treble between 12 and 3 o'clock brings out alot of clarity but at the same setting at gig levels will cut your head off. When cranking up with an amp I keep the treble at about 9 o'clock, bass between 12 and 3 o'clock, gain between 12 and 3 o'clock and volume at about 9 o'clock. I primarily use this pedal for spice and laughs---not my main tone. I end up using all the settings, depending on the song I am playing and it is nice to have alot of variety in one pedal. This has taken the place of my metal zone on my pedal board (SKB powered job). The funny thing is is that on my fender hot rod deville (w/ 4 -10's) this pedal really pushes the amp and makes it sound more like a stack with a heavy glorious thump than it does on my trace vellocette, mesa/boogie DC-20 or my mesa/boogie 50/50 power amp. Through those amps it just sounds like any other pedal (noway near as good as the amp's true distortion (except with the power amp)) but with the deville it really pushes. That in itself is cool that you can take a "blues" amp and make it behave entirely different. The tones themselves are synthetic in nature and not as good as a really cranking amp, but decent in and among themselves. I've tried briefly the new analog pedals from zoom and they sound ok (I kinda dug the new fuzz, we'll have to see if I pick that one up) but the older pedal has similar sounds and can do alot more (although it can't do the "scooped" mids---which is ok since that tone to me has always sounded like crap. I prefer a fatter sound that you can play power chords 'and' leads on. Scooped mids sound fine for power chords, not good for leads. The zoom 5000 all in all is pretty impressive. It does however, make me spontaneously break into bad metal riffs. That, of course, brings frowns to my band mates which makes me even more happy.

I had one crap out on me (the switch went) and I sent it out to a guy to fix and it hasn't come back yet so I got another one. Since I only use it from time to time and not for my main tone, I would (and have alot) gigged with it w/o a backup.

I e-mailed sampson (parent company to zoom) once, never got a response. Make your own evaluation here.

Been playing 18 years. It's interesting---alot of comments on Harmony Central are from either bedroom players with practice amps or guys like me that have done a ton of gigging and have/have had tons of gear. I think that's great having all those perspectives (although I do admit to readily dismissing the people that say anything "rocks" through their crate practice amp). Is this the greatest pedal ever made? To some people, yes. To others, a strong no. It's a high gain pedal that has a wide variety of tones and depending on the rest of your gear, it can make everything you own sound like junk and synthetic or awesomely huge. If you see one, try it out with your own gear. If you see one for sale, I would say pick it up and try it out. If you don't like it, there will always be someone who would buy it since they are no longer made. People look at my pedal board and say "Zoom"?!?! along side with a bk butler tube driver, cybaby, rotovibe, rocktron hush pedal, boss chorus, pro-co rat, nobels overdrive, and a zoom choir (another cool pedal from the same era as the 5000---if you see one of those, also check it out). But when they hear it, they dig it. To me, if a piece of gear is inspiring, then it's done its job. I don't care if it's a fulltone or a danelectro, if it sounds great to you, then it is great---no matter what anybody thinks. For adding something to my tone that is not my 'bread and butter' and having a high 'fun/cheese factor' in doing so, makes this a great pedal.

Ok guys I don't know what you mean that the R&B setting sucks. I use it with a Marshall Valvestate RH100 and it was so heavy. I could get that Tommy Victor (Prong) Static-x sound. I mean FAT!!! Set the bass and treble at 11 and 1 o'clock and you are ready to break stuff. :) Overall I really like it and although it has limited options you can really play some heavy music and get a good sound with this. :)

As a straight stomp box, it's pretty simple. six way knob to determine the type of distortion you want plus a knob for gain, level, treble and bass. On the back is another knob for noise reduction which without knowing Zoom the marking "ZNR" may confuse a person, but no big deal...and that's all analog. It has a foot switch in and the whole green light, red light thing can get very confusing if you have no manual (which I didn't) and that is where the lost points are. Luckily I was able to figure it out by reading through these reviews and if you don't have a manual, I advise you read these reviews to help figure it out.

WHOA...this little box has gain and plenty of it. It can and will make a simple 12" amp sound like a stack. Amazing. I crank it up on Stack 1 and put the guitar in drop D and I swear I had Zakk Wyldes rig in my 12" Alamo Jet. As you probably already know from previous reviews, there 6 distortion models...Stack 1 (Zakk Wylde), Stack 2 (EVH), Combo 112 (weaker than the stacks...not really sure how to describe) , R&B (a big surprise considering the reviews...No it does not have a blues tone, but it does sound nice...ignore the name and it is usable), Metal (Soldano) and Zoom Box (Newer Brian May type tone). I think Combo 112 is my least favorite and I expected Zoom Box would be my favorite as I love Brian May, but I think I'm way more impressed with the Zakk Wylde tone in Stack 1. I've noted many people think they hear a little modulation on some of the distortions, but what I think they're hearing is Zoom emulating the sound of a stack pushing a lot of air. If you've ever played in front of a stack, you know what I'm talking about and I think Zoom emulates it pretty good. Oh, and the sustain is awesome...10 seconds easy.

OK, so it's great for high gain stuff...but is it perfect...no. Try turning the gain down, and it does not respond like you'd expect it too. You can't really get a simple low gain crunch out of it and forget blues. So, I give it an 8 here...for high gain stuff it's perfect, but it doesn't really respond the way you'd expect it to when the gain goes down and that's the reason for the two lost points. If you're only interested in high gain, I'd give it a 10, but it does lack a bit in the versitility area.

It's metal and extremely durable. I think it could take a major beating and I'd trust it.

Zoom has always had bad customer support IMO. When they didn't have any info on their site, I Emailed Samson and and got sent around for about 3 weeks till I finally got any kind of answer. Now the actualy Zoom site does have an Email address that I've used to ask questions on twice before...Before I got this product I was searching hard for it and Emailed Zoom to see if they'd ever consider reissueing it since it got such great reviews and after I got it I emailed them to see if I could get the manual. The first email was about 2 monthes ago and the second about a month and a half...neither have been answered. They seem to have made improvements in the site that help with newer products, but they could be better.

Here I just averaged the above and got a 7. If you are looking for a high gain pedal that will make a small amp sound like a stack, this is it. Great for that. It does lack a bit in versitility though. No blues and no simple crunch...just high gain. I like a lot of different styles, so I really don't use it as much as I'd expect. I've got a Zoom Fire 7010 that gives a lot of the same distortions and more that I use more than anything and to be honest, if I lost it, I probably wouldn't look for another like I looked for this one, but I don't think I'd want to part with it either. It does what it does extremely good, but as I like more versitility I give it a bit of a lower rating than most.

4 small knobs and one large knob. Easy! I only had to check the manual on how to set the two programs on the green and red channel. I really love the fact that you can switch between two types of sounds; perfect for a change of tone or a lead volume boost.
I never tried using batteries for this unit as I bought together with the wall wart.

Gibson SG thru Zoom 5000, Boss GE7 and Marshall tube amplifier. Not really noisy (has a built in Zoom Noise Reduction). I had to ease off the gain on some settings so as not to lose sound definition.
Stack 1: Lots of midrange with an open vowel distortion. Not bad, but I don't use it much though.
Stack 2: My personal favourite! Very tight bottom with less mid. Especiallly good for heavy metal and rock. I got a "Seasons in the Abyss" & Kill Em All" tone with the help of the GE7.
Combo: Similar to Stack 2 but more open with more midrange. I use it to play Iron Maiden and Dio again with the help of the GE7.
R&B: Sucks big time. A misnomer. Too much mid with even more bass.
Metal: Ok if used with GE7. Still no match when compared to the Boss Metal Zone just by itself. Then again, still usable although a bit too trebly for me.
Zoome Box: I just love this distortion! It sounds more like a high gain overdrive. But its the tone that really got me, it has a kind of twangy-ness (not Strat like though). Kind of hard to describe... I use this to play blues.

Very dependable, but I would never play without a backup.

Never dealt with them.

I play mainly heavy metal and rock together with a bit of blues. I think that it is a very good match for those playing these kind of music, although I'd recommend that you get a separate overdrive pedal for blues.

Been playing for 12 years. I've owned practically all the multi-effect units such as Pod, J-station, Zoom GFX8, Korg AX100G and more. However, I've gone back to individual stomp boxes as I find that they give me the sound that I truly want.

If lost, I'd definitely get another one if I can find one. But I strongly recommend using it with a Boss GE7 to get a multitude of sounds at your disposal (the unit does NOT have a Mid control knob).
Comparison? Personally, I don't think any of the Boss or DOD stomp boxes can compare to the Zoom 5000 in terms of distortion, with the exception of a Metal Zone. Look elsewhere for overdrive though.

This unit really helps me with my music although I wish that it had a mid control knob and a better overdrive sound to replace the R & B setting (maybe a Boss Turbo Overdrive?).

In terms of features, sound quality and value for money, this is the best distortion stomp box out there. I'd recommend this unit especially to those playing Rock and Metal.

Extremely easy to use

I play live & am using a strat into a PV Classic 30 & the Zoom only for dirt. No noise at all. Very strong distortion (wall of sound etc). Recorded with this the other day & sounds like 10 Marshall Plexi's in series, huge sound.

Yes, very dependable, using it now for 3 months no problems & yes do gig without backup.

N/A

Cover band stuff, playing for 22 years (and boy am I tired). If stolen I would try & get another but rare as hens teeth around here. Just a good strong distortion, I tried it with e.q. and it's very versitile.

very easy to use...the only thing is the bypass modeand progrm that u need to read in the manual.a baby could understand it...

Ibanez 550->Zoom gfx-8->Marshall vs15r
i use the zoom 5000 as an external dist through the zoom gfx8.both zoom products contain the noise reduction which is very helpful.im not a pro zoom user but just happen to like these two products.i gave this a 10 bcos for its value it is AMAZING.if u want the best dist get a fucking Mesa/Boogie triple rectifier MAN!it will blo your mind away.

it is extremely sturdy .everything seems metal except for the battery compartment which is understandble.GET THE ADAPTOR.THIS DAMN PEDAL SUCKS BATTERY LIKE A MOSQUITO.

never dealt with them

i play metal and this is a great pedal it gives u a good tight dist when you want it and a smooth overdrive when you turn down the gain.if your budgt is cheap and u want a godd heavy dist,get this i got a MT2and realise that it can only give one kind of dist.with the 5000u can vary you heavy dist.
i have compared this pedal to a korg104ds hyper distortion which i had intended to get. at the shop as i tried the korg then switch to the 5000i was impressed by the difference of the tightnessthat the 5000gave.
Overall it is a great value for money

This thing kicks!!! Great for heavy distortion, and also pretty good for classic rock sounds. The manual is very clear and concise. If you read the directions, the green light/red light thing isn't so confusing. Overall, it's pretty easy to get a good sound, but it's well worth the time to mess around with all the amp simulations.

I use an Ibanez S540 with an x2n in the bridge (super hot!), and I run it all straight into a Fender Hot Rod Deville. This pedal is very quiet, just set the noise reduction where it sounds best, and forget it. This is a very reliable unit, it always works, it always sounds great, no problems. As stated before, the R&B feature isn't very R&B, but that's not really what this pedal was designed for... But if you HAVE to get a blues tone, turn your guitar volume down, the pedal gain level down, and the output up, and that should get you pretty close.

Are you kidding? one of the most reliable pedals I've owned. Had it almost a year, used it at least 4-7 days a week, every week, for at least an hour. Gig without a backup? Excuse me? Does anybody gig without a backup of some sort? Yes, I trust the pedal, but no I'm not stupid enough to gig without a backup.

They discontinued this model, and I've never dealt with the company, so....

I play everything from vai style stuff, to petrucci type shred, to hardcore/speedcore, to punk, to jazz and experimental stuff a la Mr. Bungle. Between the Ibanez and the fender amp, I can get most of the sounds I need. If it were lost, I'd buy the other one the music store has. I live way out in bumfuck, and stock doesn't move very fast around here, so I could get a replacement easily (those pedals have been there for seven ears). I'd be kinda upset about losing $100, but yes I'd get another one. I kinda wish it had a midrange control, but between all the amp simulations, I don't think I got shorted. Besides, you could use an e.q. pedal, and that would be fine, so no big deal there. If you can find one of these things, snatch it up, and don't let anyone try to buy it off you. Yes, they sound better than the boss mt-2 (metal zone). I compared them for about an hour or so, and the zoom is just so much more versatile. It can get all the metal zone's sounds and some that the mt can't come up with, so....

Simple pimple. A huge knob to change the distortion type, and a gain control for the amount of distortion. Easy enough - but it takes a while to find the right amount of gain for the song you want to play.

I'm using a Squier Stratocaster and my 2x100watt Panasonic Hi-fi, and the only noise I get is a silent buzzing, which goes away when I switch off my PC. Plus, there's a Noise Reduction option, which helps a lot. I use the Stack 2 setting or Combo 112 as I play Oasis, Radiohead and Manic Street Preachers music, and I can almost always replicate the sound. The R&B effect isn't brilliant, though, and sounds way too muffled.

My adaptor's broken, so it keeps switching off, but it's not the pedal's fault. It hasn't let me down once yet.

Never needed to call them.

For indie music it's excellent, and it's just as excellent for Harder rock (e.g. Nirvana). While there are only 6 types of distortion, the high/low/gain controls can produce a completely different sound, as can the pickup switch on the guitar. I would buy it again if it were stolen or lost, because I've yet to find such a convincing Distortion/Overdrive pedal.

This dist is very easy to use. In a minute I can customize the sound for any song I play... Only thing I still can't use is that potentiometer on the back. What the hack is it for??? :)

I use this dist with Ibanez guitar, and I also tried it with Fender Stratocaster. I used many amps, and sound was always very good. I used it with hand-made amp, and it gave a life to my amp :)

I used zoom 5000 on many gigs, that were very important, and it done it's job. I only damaged it once, when I tried to improvise foot switch (the lesson is: don't try this at home).

I am now in Yugoslavia, Europe, and I still didn't try to contact the manufacturer.

I am satisfied with this dist, I bought it to get melodic-punk, blues, and rock sound, and I got even more. It is great, and I am happy that I got one.

piece of cake

kick ass, very powerful, though not as crunchy as fabtone, but it sound very complete.

consume too much battery power even on alkaline...but it's a titanic

very much suits my style

This is a great pedal. Just plug in, turn it on, and start playing. Thats all you need to get a good sound. I gave it an 8 because of the external footswitch. I'm going to get one or make one for it soon. I can't comment on the manual (bought it used.)

I'm using a Yamaha guitar into a little 10-inch Yamaha amp, and I sound HUGE with this thing. I love it! I also own a Digitech Xp-100 Whammy wah and they sound great together. Putting the distortion before or after the XP-100 gives me totally different tones. I get a lot more white noise putting it before the whammy, but its cool because I use the noise to discover weird sci-fi like effects. The effects always sound great. Stack 1 and 2 are my favorite, extremely heavy. Combo 112 is also sweet. R+B is very bassy, I use it sometimes. Metal is pretty cool but not as good as the stacks, and zoombox is not as heavy as the rest, and I am already finding many places to work it into my music! I listen to bands like Tool, Deftones, Fear Factory, Spineshank, that whole genre, but also some other genres of music, so I play some very heavy, fast stuff, and also some slower songs, and this has worked for everything thus far.

Well, I am trying to get a band put together, and we're not gigging yet, but I would use it on a gig without a backup (but only if I had to, because I don't like being unprepared.) I have had no problems yet, but I've only had it for a week.

Never dealt with ZOOM.

Well, like I said, I am basically a metal guitarist, but not always fast and heavy, a lot of slower moody stuff, too. I give this bad boy a ten. I just wish it wasn't discontinued. And I need to get a footswitch for the "red/green" mode.

Not too hard...it's a little different then most pedals as it gives you the ability to save a setting for later access with an external footswitch. The manual is straightforward as well and easy to understand.

AWESOME. This is hands-down the best distortion generator that Zoom has ever made in my opinion. Well...at least for heavy metal music. I own the Boss Metal Zone, the DOD Grunge pedal, the SansAmp GT-2, and I've used a Danelectro Fabtone. This pedal so far is my favorite with the SansAmp GT-2 almost as good but very different sounding. Actually depending on the guitar sometimes the GT-2 will sound better in my opinion. Again I'm mainly using these pedals for extreme metal sounds for black metal, death metal, and gothic music. I mainly only use the Stack 2 setting which is a heavily mid-scooped distortion that sounds very rich and heavy with a beautiful crunchy sound when doing palm muted "Chugging". Occasionally I also use the Combo112 sounds as well. One of the settings that suprised me was the Zoom Box setting. It basically simulates the cab simulator and distortion of the old Zoom 9000 and 9002 mini-effects processors. While it's not all that great sounding, that setting is very cool for getting a very unique sound on recordings. Kind of a special effects type sound. Stack 1 is so-so...kinda trebly (I hate overly trebbly metal distortion sounds). The R&B setting doesn't sound like an R&B sound...more like a superbassy metal sound but with alot of mids. If you roll back the gain and use your neck pickup you can get some fairly decent blues sounds on most of the settings though. The Metal setting is also decent..but again kinda trebly. Stack 2 pretty much is it for me, giving me a huge rich Mesa Boogie type sound that is very rich and powerful for downtuned death metal sounds. I use this pedal mainly with a Guild Lance (Burnsides) Flying V electric and a Washburn Dime333 Dimebag Darrell signature series electric. The Guild I have downtuned to B#. Very very low, and using heavy gauge strings.

Most of it is a made of metal with a big rubbery footswitch. Overall it looks like it can take alot of abuse. But I don't abuse my pedals (except when I accidently step on their knobs or trip and fall on them) so I'm not too worried about that. Backups? I always take backups to gigs. You're stupid if you don't.

I've never dealth directly with them. The only time I've dealt with them was when I used to have a Zoom 9000S effects processor that needed a repair. It took them quite awhile but that was probably because I dealt mainly with the store and they warned me that If they shipped it, Zoom would take their time, where as if I shipped it, they would be quicker. I wasn't in a hurry so I just had them ship it off to Zoom for repairs. They did a fine job repairing it (it had a tiny crack in its board) and changed the battery as well. So overall I think they'll do a fair job if I ever need them.

Overall, this pedal is definatly a must-have pedal if you're into extremely heavy, but quality distortion sounds. On the stack 2 setting, there is no trace of that trebly harsh sounding stuff most other heavy metal type distortion pedals produce. This pedal also blows away the newer Zoom 500 series distortion pedals and effects processors when it comes to heavy metal distortion. The new Zoom pedals sound very artificial on their heavy distortion sounds and tend to get lost in a mix when playing live at high volume levels. Where as the Zoom 5000 has big deep sound that really fits in nicely in a live gig setting (if you have a decent soundman with half a brain(or ear). The 5000's direct descendent, the Zoom 510 Dual Power Driver, doesn't even come close. Neither does the Zoom 503 guitar/bass amp simulation pedal. I've tried them both and they were both rather disappointing to me though still ok sounding for some purposes (other opinions may differ). I really have no idea why they discontinued the Zoom 5000 Driver pedal. Hopefully they'll be smart enough to reissue this pedal before it starts becoming "vintage" and very expensive for a used one. They are already becoming extremely hard to find. The only thing I wasn't too impressed about was this pedal's direct recording prowess. While it does a reasonable job, it's not as good as say the SansAmp GT-2 pedal. However it does a great job when I combine it with my Ibanez VA-3 virtual amp simulator with a custom programmed clean patch that I use for running distortion pedals into for direct recording purposes. But usually I just mic my amp (a Peavey Stereo Chorus 212) with a SM-57 and WALLA! A big massive guitar sound. So in a word...awesome.

Without the manual it took me a couple of days. I think that I might still not have a 100% grasp of the red/green LED functionality. The way I use it, the red is for creamy Boogie-esque distortion, while the green is more crunchy like an old Marshall with a Power Soak.

One of the best distortion boxes I've owned, and I've owned a lot!

Heavy duty, but it definitely eats those six AAA's pretty quickly. Just imagine the look on your bass player's face, "Yo', you got 6 extra triple A batteries I could borrow?" ;-)

Great distortion. Killer tone. Balls in a box. The heavier distortion sounds is where I find this thing really shines.

i would say that it is easy.....with a manual of course....

The best distortion i've ever heard.from warm to heavy...yeahh only the r&b doesnt sounds like one..i like to use the metal sound most of the time..with the hi and low cranked down to 0.stack 2 is my second favourite setting...it has the rock sounding.... and r&b itself is better off to be relabel as core or heavy...cuzz when u palm mute while playing...the sounds is very powerful>> i dont really use the other settings like stack1 ,combo,zoombox.im using this 5000 with a roland solid state 10w amp...and a telecaster. it sounds good.

yeahh......i have this thing for almost a year..no problem for the time being...i use an adaptor most of the time cuzz the this baby consume a lotsa batteries.

good......cuzz they reply ma question via e-mail...i was wondering why zoom discontinued this product...and the explain why..but it is not that detail...and im still wondering.......

i would buy it again.i like the sounds.i used to have a boss ds-1 and a dod fx69 grunge...unfortunately....i've sold it,,,cuzz it doesnt suits my taste..and metal zone as well. i think its a great stomp box....only wish that it has another color like grunge and another knob for midrange .

This pedal is easy to understand. 4 knobs (bass, treb EQ, gain and output level) + 6 selectable colors (distortion + amp simulation). Has mono input/output and footswitch input. I bought mine from Daddy's Junk Music used and it came with the AC adapter.

I'm using a Yammaha Pacifica (Strat copy with S/S/H) into the Zoom 5000 out to my Fender Princeton Chorus (2x12 solid state). I've also tried it though my friends Crate GT-80 combo. In both cases this pedal has it's own sound and it breathes new live into whatever amp it wetens.
This was (still is) the best amp simulator + distortion effect you can find in a stomp box. I tried one of these out about 4 years ago and put it on my "things to buy list", then Zoom discontinued it. About two months ago I was in a local guitar shop and I tried out the new version of the Zoom driver (Zoom Dual Driver 510) and was very disapointed in the sound. Thanks to Harmony Central I was able to find a good used gear dealer and buy a used unit though mail order.
To rate it's sound quality I would have to say it's amazing... makes my little solid state combo sound like a tube driven stack... not kidding! Having 6 different colors/amp simulations to pick from is very nice. because they all sound very different. Stack 2 & Zoom box are my favorites. Does it give me my favorite artist sounds? Sure:
Stack 1 - David Gilmore Stack 2 - Eddie Van Halen ( modern VH sound like off their live album ) Metal - Pantera Zoom Box - Brain May All the effects (aside for maybe R&B) are very very good and unique.

Only had it 2 months, bought it used. No problems so far.

I went looking for this babby, not about to sell it, if I lost it I would quickly replace it. Haven't found any other stop box pedal that can do what this does. The newer Zoom pedals (500 line) are mostly crap in comparison.
Wish they would have put a head phone jack output in additon to the standard mono output. I've actually used a mono spliter cable (Radio Shack) and ran head phones into that... the sound was so incredible I'm going to try and (gasp) plug direct into my Tascam Portastudio soon.
Great heavy distorion + amp simulation, get one while they're still selling cheap.

very simple to use- 4 knobs, output, gain, low, and high. There is also a knob on top for zoom noise reduction, I don't even bother messing with it. plus there is the color selector for 6 different distortion types.

I have to say that its very impressive, I've used many multi-effects devices by zoom and usually there distortions leave something to be desired but not here. there are 6 settings- Stack 1, Stack 2, Combo, R+B, Metal, and Zoom Box. The first 2 obvious mimic stacks, the second setting having more midrange. combo is similar to stack 1 but with more bass I'd say, more rhythm souding. R+B? Yeah right. Its more like a very bassy, low mid distorition. Metal gives you lots of midrange like you'd expect, and Zoom Box is very impressive, kind of like old style tube distortions from the past. Overall they all sound good, like getting 6 good distortion pedals in one convenient, compact box. You really don't need to tweak the sound, I always keep the gain on full to give a rich sound. Currently I play it through a fender 2x12 solid state combo, I've yet to try it with my marshall 30th anniversary, I'm sure it'll sound 10 times better.

I've had it for about 3 months, its never given me any problems what so ever.

Since nothing has ever gone wrong, I saw no reason to contact them.

I have to say that its very impressive, only thing is its discontinued and I find I see it very rarely, but I'm sure I could find one again if need be. Orginally a friend recommended it, and I'm glad he did. It's got many different distortion options, most seemed to be geared towards hard rock or metal, but its good for any style really. Its great to have all these sounds in one box instead of buying a million different pedals, so its definitley a plus. I recommed buy one if you get the chance.

This is hands down the best distortion stomp box I've ever used. I got mine used, so I don't have a manual, but I figured it out pretty quickly. It has a jack for an external footswitch which you should connect to a pedal with a momentary contact switch (I forget if normally open or normally closed) With the external switch tapped ON, it gives you a green light. You can "program" this to any setting (rotary switch, gain, volume, bass and treble ) Then tap the built in switch. This gives you a red light, and you can then set the controls "live". (these settings do not store, so if you change the green settings, you have to reset the red settings when you are done.)

This has been a relatively quiet distortion box, for the way I set it. Most guitars pick up some noise (Flourescent lights, TVs. etc...) but it has a very effective threshold point. It has a "noise reduction" potentiometer, but I rarely mess with it. Between the rotary switch (color), Gain, Volume, Bass and Treble, you can get a wide variety of different distortions. Also, you can crank the gain on it and back off on your guitar a little, and it will give you a full sweet nearly clean sound when you pick or strum softly and total grunge when you slam the strings a good one. Of course, if you want nearly infinite singing sustain, crank the guitar.

I've had mine for about two years without any glitches. The case is very rugged, and hasn't even scratched although I can be very hard on my gear. The one I have eats batteries ( 6 x AA ) in about 4-6 hours, so I generally use it with a dreaded wall-wart (DC converter) amazingly, with no AC hum as a result. I trust it implicitly, and use it about 97% of the time.

Since I got my Zoom Driver used, I have no manual. When I first got it I was a little puzzled about the external footswitch, and concerned about the battery consumption so I contacted Zoom to request some info on it. They were very nice to me on the phone, but when I got my anxiously awaited envelope from them, instead of specs/instructions on my Zoom Driver, I received literature on some of their new products. Since I had figured it out before the package arrived anyway, I didn't pursue the matter any further. At the time they had just undergone some corporate structure changes and were a little disorganized. Since my day job is in a electronics company, I can really understand this type of confusion. They probably have a handle on it by now.

About a year before I bought mine, I knew a guy who had one and really loved it. At the time I was more interested in getting a multi-effects unit. Maybe something in a rack mount package, so I thought, yeah sure another damn stomp box. But I just happened to see it in a store that was going out of buisness, and figured what the heck, I'll plug it up and see what it sounds like. Well, once I heard it I had to have it.

Very easy to use, I mean, you can't miss anything. No particular setting give you bad sounds. Mind the red-n-green light programming mode, though. It doubles the fun.

A good distortion box, period. You can choose from combo (my favorite), Stack I & II (simulate stacks of different sizes and settings), metal (hard distortion, fancy but usable), Zoom (weird out from hell cool distorted sound!) and oops, R&B (the weakest part: not the bluesy tube tone as it may sound...)
The sound is great and you got a lot of power when you chose stack, crank up the drive and the low filter: blows your head off on a Marshall. Noise is very limited (it has got build in NR), and you get a great variety of sounds out of it.
The only minus is you can't get no bluesy tube sound from it.

Build like a tank in sturdy aluminium casted box.

A good deal (I bought it in a sale two years ago). It is hard to find, though. I kicked out the thin sounding Korg G3 and I want more variey than Boss Overdrive and MetalZone. This pedal delievers what I wanted.

Extremely easy, if you read the manual (some people have trouble with red-green-off- this is the coolest thing about the pedal- you can plug in an external switch pedal and have two different distortion sounds as well as clean). Other than that, the pedal is intuitive and fairly standard. The manual is thorough and clear (I hate bad English translated from bad Japanese translated from Korean).

ALL distortion pedals have inherent noise, but the Zoom features built-in NR, which helps a lot without cutting off attack or sustain (it's well-tweaked for guitar). All the settings (there are 6) work very well, though R&B is a bit of a misnomer. My favorites settings are Stacks 1+2 (David Gilmore), and Zoom (Brian May). The Hi and Low EQs really are useful to fine tune the effect to individual guitars. Switching between on/off or setting 1/setting 2 is very quick and silent (no pops or scratches).

It's built like a tank. It's all metal and is heavy enough that I don't kick it around on stage. I've never have it crap out on me yet.

Never had to.

I own 3 of these, and I'm always looking out for more. (Just in case they discontinue it. I LOVE THIS PEDAL!

Easy as pie. If you're into using your feet for "real-time" settings changes like me, this one's a little tough because the knobs are smaller than most pedals. It's got a really big selector-type knob that also doesn't work too well with your feet...you might need to play barefoot! I didn't receive a manual for this. As a result I don't know why it goes from "off" to "red" to "green" and then "off" again.

I could hear a little noise....and then I discovered the mysterious "ZNR" knob on the side. I assume that stands for "ZOOM Noise Reduction". If it doesn't, oh well, because that's exactly what it did. There are 4 control knobs: out, gain, low, high. The fifth knob is a 6-position selector-type thing. The first selection is STACK 1: thick Smashing Pumpkins sound (like from Cherub Rock). This is my second favorite sound. 2nd is STACK 2: kind of a weaker version of the first, but a different tone. 3rd is COMBO 112: a little "softer" than the first two, but more mid-range, and thick sounding, like a combo amp. 4th is R&B: not the old kind...more like John Butcher of something. There definitely seems to be the slightest hint of Chorus in this setting, because it has that squelchy sound when you do rhythm. This might actually be a bit of compression. 5th is METAL: the tinny Smashing Pumpkins sound (like from Rocket). I don't really like this sound, but it's great for cutting through rhythm while doing leads. And last, but definitely not least, the 6th setting is called ZOOM BOX: this SHOULD have been called BRIAN MAY HEAVEN, because it IS that classic Brian May sound. When I was looking for a distortion pedal, and I tried this pedal out at a music store that had an in-house model that they wouldn't sell, that 1st and especially the last selection motivated me to search the world, high and low, fore this pedal. It is worth it. They say a used pedal is worth about $11 per knob (in general, of course).

I can't wait to use this live. I've used it in the studio with nothing else...there's so much "color", and it's never caused problems. Just bring a lot of batteries.

Haven't had the experience.

Well the way I look at it is you get 4 controllers, 6 settings, and a noise reduction controller. That's 11 knobs. Folks....get this pedal! I would definitely pick one up if I saw one. They are VERY hard to find, unless you search on the 'net for about a week like I did, and I have a feeling that they might go down in effects history (like the TS-09 that I've heard so much about). It definitely doesn't give you that tube sound. My only wish on this pedal is that it had a mid range tone control, but hey, we always want something more, don't we! It's definitely helped define my recording sound (I have yet to use it in a live setting). Also, I don't think this pedal could break, either. I mean, it could be considered a dangerous weapon if used for that purpose!