Zoom 7010 Fire

I just purchased my 7010 used on ebay and have found it to be very easy to use. Each effect has only a limited number of tweakable settings. So, there really isn't alot of complex configuring involved.

Sound quality is about what you would expect out of a unit like this. This really isn't meant to be used for professional recording or even live gigs. I bought it because I work on the road and it has all of the effects I want plus a built in speaker. Its a great portable practice amp. Thats it. Dont expect much more. However, it does have many good effects. The chorus is nice. Compressor really brings out the sound. Nice 'verbs also. The distortions need tweaked tho. But you never get the sound you need from any unit straight out of the box.

The built in speaker really doesn't deliver much sound. Clean patches tend to sound best, but dirty patches lose alot of lows.

Although the built in speaker doesnt offer much in the way of sound quality, the unit really shines when plugged in direct to an amp or through good quality headphones.

Built in speak i rate a 4.
External amp I rate a 7.

I would not gig with this unit. It is made of plastic and the speaker is hinged. I wouldn't count on it taking too much abuse before something snaps.

Dont know... Never dealt with them and probably never will.

If you have a 7010 and are in need of an owners manual, you can find one online here:

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/zoom7010/

I like the 7010. Its very portable and does everything I need it to do. I wouldn't gig with it, but that fact that you can use speaker emulation and run it direct through a board really adds to its usefullness. Overall i give it an 8.

Super simple. Patches are easy to create/edit with or without the owner's manual (which is quite good).

I use this processor mainly with a Epiphone Birdseye LP, a Dillion Gold Top and an ASC Tele copy pushed through a Crate amp. Great sound when ran through the amp. But the little on-board speaker isn't bad either, and it comes in VERY handy for practice when I'm on the road.<p>Distortions are really good for a unit in this price range, and most of the other effects (chorus, flange, comp, etc.)are decent with the exception of the wah options (hey, who doesn't want the pedal, huh?). Limited amp modeling effects are available, and while they aren't Line 6, they do the job.

I wouldn't gig with this, as it's made out of thin plastic. The footpedal cord is about the diameter of a walkman headphone cord, and this wouldn't hold up under the lights any better, IMHO.<p>With that being said, this is an excellent unit for practice or for goofing around with friends. I haven't recorded yet so I don't know how it would sound on tape.

I bought this off of eBay and needed the FC-02 footswitch made for this unit. Thanks to Keith (on this review thread), I was able to purchase a B-stock FC-02 from Samson for $35 (shipping included). Tom Conte at Samson was extremely helpful and answered my request rapidly. The customer support staff at Samson was also helpful and I had my footswitch within 7 days.

I've been playing for over a year and did quite a bit of research into processors before landing this one from eBay. I play mostly classic rock with some blues thrown in, and this unit can pretty much do whatever I need it to dish out. The only thing I wish it had was a wah pedal.<p>The 7010 is great by itself, but having the footswitch makes a tremendous difference (DUH). I considered buying the POD or a Behringer V-AMP but decided to go with this unit based on reviews here at Harmony plus the built-in speaker made it a perfect practice unit. <P>Bottom Line: Great unit for beginners/intermediate-level players. Pick one up if you see it on eBay or wherever.

Relatively easy. Didn't come with an owners manual but was intuitive. I didn' understand effects very well but this was an excellent learning tool. Switching patches is a pain by hand but alot easier once you get the foot controller. Would like th abilty to use a Whammy/Volume pedal with this but I guess you can't have everything.

Effect quality is amazing. Sound through the built in speaker is louder than you would expect but it is still only a 2" speaker so you lose the Bass, but this thing wails when put through an amp or PA system. The cool thing is you can mike this thing really easily. I have even played around with putting this little thing in closets or cupboards with a mic in with it. Cool reverb and ambient sounds.

So far I haven't had a problem but I don't gig. If I had to I think it's downfall would be the fact that it is cheap plastic cover and the controller cable is pretty thin and flimsy. Excellent for recording though. I plan to buy another for backup in case this one breaks.

Well this is a mixed response. When I first received it (bought it off EBay) Zoom and Samson tech were somewhat helpful. After emailing back and forth and getting forward to just about every department head they finally sent me a photocopy of the manual. (I'd already mapped out and figured all the effect settings at that point.) Looking for a foot controller was harder yet. I finally emialed Zoom corporate headquarters in Japan and they told me that SamsonTech did have B-stock foot controllers in their warehouse inventory. After much emailing they finally admitted to having "a couple" and they sent me one for $50. My advice.....be persistent. I gave it a 6 because I have emailed other companies and never got a real response.

I play Blues and Classic Rock. This thing is indispensible. I can practice anywhere. I play in my bedroom or living room with the family there and can play without getting dirty looks. My wife is able to sleep with me practicing right next to the bed. With the CD line in and the Headphone output it's perfect. It's portable so you can take it anywhere to Jam and when with friends I don't have to lug my amp around. I just plug it into their mixing board, Amp or Aux line in and go. I've shown it to friends and one of them just got one off of EBay and the others are still looking. I haven't found anything out there to compare when it comes to portabilty, nuber of effects for this size. I feel I need to give it a 10 just because there is nothing out there like it. If there is something else out there like this post a message so I can check it out.

I've had a Zoom 505, 503, 508, Player 1010, Player 3000s, and a GFX-8 so it wasn't hard to figure out at all. You've got to jump through a lot of pages sometimes to get what you want, and to someone not familiar with multi effect units, it can be confusing, but the manual explains it all. I give it a 7 here, because dials would be much easier, but it's really not bad.

Geez...this little box has a lot of great points about it, but it also has a lot of bad ones too. I'll just run down the list and see what kind of average I get...

1 The speaker...It's got a little 3" speaker and pushes about 10 watts....shot, technically you could put this thing in the amp catagory...Now the speaker does have a certain charm about it...almost a cheap vintage sound, it does not give the same quality you get with the headphones. It's nice for a quick practice, but not great, it gets a 6.

2 Compression...Both normal and bright. I really think the compression in this little unit is better than any other multi unit I've tried. It really seems to do the job. It's worth an 8.

3 Distortions...I'm not going to run thru all of them, there's some good ones and bad ones, but I will say that this thing actually has analog circuitry for the distortions and it does make a huge difference in sound. I had to rethink the way I programed this thing, what worked on all the others, did not work here. For good sounding, I've gotten sounds ranging from Zakk Wylde to an old 60's style fuzz to a Fender Champ out of this thing and it's great. So far, the best distortions I've ever gotten out of any multi-effect unit. Only one problem that I can live with, but can be annoying, sometime when you change from one digit to another on the gain there's a major drop that's a bit annoying, it's not horrible, but it could be better. I have a general rule not to ever give a 10, because there's always room for improvement (like that drop between digits on some of the gains) so I'll give the distortion a 9.

4 WAH...there's 4 things in this catagory, auto wah, phase wah, enhancer and step mode. Step mode is really cool, kind of an arrpegiator for guitar and I do use it sometimes. I haven't really figured the enhancer out and never use it. both auto wah and phase wah bring this thing down. They just don't sound right to me. phase wah sounds like they combined wah and phase into one effect...I suppose that could be interesting, but I'd much rather have a regular phase shift. I'd say both the auto wah and phase wah deserve a 3. but the step mode deserves an 8, so pretty much a 5.5 in this area.

5 EQ...it works, not really much to mess up here. You do have two EQs to choose 4 band or 2 band...The 2 band lets you adjust the frequency of each band, so in some ways it's more flexable than the 4 band. A 9 for eq.

6 Modulation...The effects are Chorus, Flange, Tremolo, Ring Modulation, Doubling and SFX-T. OK, the Chorus, Flange, Tremolo and Doubling are all nice sounding to me...just what I like out of them and simple to edit (not a lot of extra things to edit, like wave length and stuff like that...I hate that). I gues the ring modulator works fine, but I never really got into that effect much, so it's hard for me to rate and SFX-T is just plain weird. It's kind of a synth type effect for guitar that so far I've found no use for. Overall, if I ignore the two odd ones, the effects are real nice and deserve an 8.

7 Reverb/Delay...I do wish they were seperate, but they do sound good. The delay is nice and has a bit of an analog feel to it. I do use it for U2 or Marillion type stuff, but since it only does 420ms, I can't do Brian May stuff that I like with it. I also think there should be more to adjust the feedback on the delay. It seems it goes from a little feedback to a lot in pretty big jumps and maybe being able to adjust from 0 to 20 instead from 0 to 10 would fix that. Overall a 7 here.

8 Amp Simulation...You've got combo, bright combo and stack. They work very well and I think they're very convincing. Maybe not perfect, but I find myself playing this thing through my headphones more than I use my tube amp anymore. Good amp sims that deserve an 8.

OK, when I average all that I get a 7.5 and I think the good qualities are worth much more than the bad so I'll round up to an 8. It's superb for headphone use or

It's plastic and I don't think it very durable if you plan on abusing it. I've already had a small problem with the volume knob crackling when I use it, but I sprayed it with contact cleaner and it's better. I don't think I'd trust it without back-up, but I might trust it AS back-up. It's really designed as a practice unit, and I think it's great for that, but I don't think it would handle much more than that.

Zoom seems to have made improvements with their site, but past experience really holds me back here. I'll give them an even 5 here.

Probably one of the best practice units I've ever bought. I have no intention of getting rid of it and would search for another if I lost it. I do wish it came with a foot controller, they say on was made, but it's harder to find than the actual unit itself. I do kind of wish there were a few more effects, like pitch shift, and a better phase and longer delays and an expression pedal for wah, volume control and modulation control. Right now, I am considering another unit that does all of that (probably a Digitech RP-300), but even if I get that, I will keep the 7010 and probably run it before the unit. Well see. Overall, I rate this unit with a 7. It doesn't do everything I want it to do, but what it does, it does more than good.

Although none of the preprogramed patches are usable, I found that it only took minutes to program several GREAT patches.

I was amazed at how loud this little monster screams. It is like a marshall stack and rack effects miniturized to the size of a tri-corder. Not only is the distortion incredible sounding, you have several different, incredible distortions to choose from. The only limitation is the small 2.5 inch speaker, but the zoom makes it sound like an 8 inch speaker.

I do not think that I could use it as my main effects for gigging. But you would be hard pressed to find a better backup.

What the zoom does is make playing anywhere, anytime, much easier and more enjoyable and that is what good equipment should do. I would definately buy another if mine were lost.

I got this used on ebay. Plugged it in, popped the speaker, and was instantly happy. Saw them when they came out and thought they were too $$$$$. But my ebay price makes me smile. Editing patches is relatively easy (a breeze compared to a digi RP10 I have). Easy to turn effects on and off, and change their settings.

This is what it is - a practice amp. I am impressed with the small speaker. The effects are great for the price.

Would not use to play out, but sure takes up no space in my living room. Kind of light weight. But think it will hold up with care.

I have been playing for 40 years, so my styles range from old James Burton (Rickey N.) through Foo Fighters. Throw in everything else. Seems like I can find something preprogrammed or easily tweeked to get close to what I want. I am extremely happy with the unit, especially at the price. Will bid on another for a friend at that price. Would like to know what the foot switch gets you.

not a bad little unit.I got mine from guitar center in cleveland oh.for only $40 used.never had a manual but so easy to use.I loved it some much I could get any sound out of it I wanted.from oasis to svr. I even used it for my vocals delay and reverb.but I had it for six months and the inputs for the cables got very loose and finaly gave out plus the power cord shocked the hell out of me.but the sounds that came out made up for it.last week I picked up the new 707 by zoom.and now i'm really happy.but if you ever can buy a 7010 used pick it up there really good.but don't pay more than 125 at the most have fun ROCK ON

damn good so many sounds you can dail any thing you want with this thing

not made for giging but it is verstile even for vocals

not good when i had a problem whit the input hole the hung up on me

it's very good for home use but don't take it on the road. great for a first time effect buyer.make sure you buy it used

Very easy to use and configure. I've never seen a manual for it and it was still pretty easy to figure out.

Amazing sound for a unit this size! With enough playing around, you can dial in just about any sound you want to.

It's never let me down. In my opinion, this is strictly a practise toy...but the best practise toy I've ever seen.

I e-mailed them for a manual and they gave me a run around (never did get a manual).

I think this is the best practise amp available. It'll fit in a gig bag (I use it mostly with my Steinberger clone so you can just imagine what a small package that is :-) . I would by this again in a second. They crop up on eBay every once in a while used for $100.00-$150.00. IMHO at that price they are one of the best values in guitardom!

Decent functionality, manual is pretty self explanatory. If you can't figure it out you probably can't tune your guitar anyway.

Chorus is awesome, others are good. Distortions are limited and very difficult to find a driven sound that will cut through on leads. Auto wah is surprisingly good. Built in speaker is, well, a built in speaker. Bought it for travel and that's about all I use it for. I've got an RP-20 for the real stuff. Will get you through some low level rehearsals though.

Seems fine. I'm waiting for the speaker hinge to give.

Haven't needed

Works for travel or if you can't afford a real effects unit. Better than the DOD tech line. If I'd have known how little I woud use it I wouldn't have bought it. Recommend to non pro's looking to get quality digital effects at budget prices or anyone who wants a practice amp that only takes up the same room as a pair of shoes in your suitcase.

Fairly easy to use. I have a Zoom 9002 and the Fire is pretty close in it's editing methodology. One very nice feature of the Fire is the ability to turn individual effects on/off in a patch. This cannot be done with the 9002.Good range of presets. It has a very good Black Sabbath and a very good Stones preset, believe it or not. They can be tweaked to get some good sounds. Always use them as a starting point.

Excellent sound quality for a small package. It has a built in speaker which is good for practice. The sound out of the speaker isn't quite as good as my two 4X12's but it's good enough for my living room. Excellent with the headphones. The effects are all good. Not up to the level of my Digitech 2112 but that's not a fair comparison. The 7010 stacks up well with the 9002, plus it has a noise gate which the 9002 does not. I like all the effects and have got some very nice sounds out of this thing. I even put it's output into my Marshall Valvestate 8008 power amp. I was pleasently surprised that it could drive the amp quite hard. The sound really opened up in the power amp. I think that all of the effects are good and the editing is easy and straight forward. You can get a nice sound out of this thing. I'm using it with my PRS Custom and Artist IV.

I'm not in a band but do play out occasionally, (EVH if you read this, I'm available for rhythm guitar immediately) with friends. It doesn't appear to be indestructible but I think it'll hold up well.

Have never had to use them in the 4 or 5 yrs that I've had my 9002, have had no problems in the three months with the 7010

Overall, I think this is a neat little unit especially given the price I paid for it. It is the cheapest I have seem anywhere for it. Great value. The pop up speaker gives some more versatility, (great on the back deck of the house) than the 9002. Great enrty level processor but has enough to be used with a power amp. Would by it again at $179. Not sure if I would have at $239-$260 that I have seen it elswhere for.

Better than the average Zoom pedal, and this one has a manual (thank God!) instead of just a fold-out tip page. The multiple buttons are self-explanatory (bank up/down, patch 1-4, switch from user bank to preset bank).
Programming patches is more intuitive, thanks to the nice LED screen. Bypass is easy to achieve (click the patch button again).
My biggest complaint is that the flip-up speaker that comes with this unit isn't easy to open at all. Press the somewhat flimsy latch button in, grip the unit firmly, then swing the speaker up and away from its sides. I can do it, sure, but it's kind of annoying. One spring, Zoom. One spring and I'd be completely happy!
(Er, well, okay. One other complaint: this thing looks like a cheap portable CD player that's pregnant, when closed. But opened up, it's nice enough.)

I'm more or less happy with it, but I have to say, NONE of its effects are up to par with the pedal counterparts. Sure, they're nice, but the reverbs aren't quite as nice as the 507's, the overdrives aren't as pleasant as the 510's, etc. Not bad, and there are a few cool (if gimmicky) new ones added, but while it's a jack of all trades, it's really a master of none.
On the other hand, as a practice amp that's portable, it delivers some sweet tones for a fairly low price. You're not going to beat its versatility unless you invent a pretty penny, and it's not _bad_ by any means. If you can deal with the somewhat limited range of programmable options and the frustratingly small (24) number of user-definable presets, you can easily hand-tweak values that please your ears. And for its portability and all-in-one package, it's a nice little unit.
Serious multi-effects rack it ain't. The ideal portable mini-amp with effects? Definitely.
Just like you wouldn't buy a Fender Mini-Twin and expect Marshall quality, don't buy this and expect it to be a top-notch rack unit. But for light gigging/jamming/carrying around, it's one sweet unit.
I haven't tried running this one out to an amp, so I can't vouch for its line out quality.

A bit flimsier than a typical Zoom, in my opinion. Speaker is much too flimsy, and scares me -- I think it might break if handled roughly.
I wouldn't gig seriously without a backup, but then, I see this unit as really just a practice amp with major perks.

Don't know, never called them.

I've got to say, I'm a tiny bit disappointed with it, but it wasn't a bad purchase at all. It's a nice practice amp, the effects aren't bad, and for portability, it can't be beat.
Zoom, if you're listening -- please, hear me here. You did a great job with the concept, and targeted a much-needed market niche. But would it have been so hard to give us, say, a hundred presets, ALL user-definable? That, plus a slightly sturdier case and better speaker hinge, and I would be completely satisfied with this unit as a versatile multi-effects processor. As it is, I'm not unhappy, but it's my least favorite Zoom product. Throw in a slightly more versatile processor with a wider range of values, charge $300, and I'd be ever-happier.
Consider it, please. If the Zoom Fire II (or whatever you call it) is all these things, I'll happily praise it to high heavens and back again.

This unit is extremely easy to use. Although, when editing, you are unable to go back to a parameter (select thru parameters for an effect in a loop)... it is very intuitive to use (the buttons do what you expect them to). Another nice feature of this unit is that you are able to turn off/on an effect after editing and storing _without_ going back to editting mode.

It's amazingly great sounding when you consider it's size. The build-in speaker, though, is practically useless in extreme situations with a lot of lows... in fact, those speakers do _not_ sound like what it would sound like when going thru an amp or a PA system. The Zoom-Noise-Reduction works great... really cuts the noise down. Unit also sounds good using headphones (so you can practice and write with effects right at your finger tips).
However, each parameter for individual effects have limited range (usually 0 - 16). You might find that you really want a sound between 8 and 9... this can be very annoying as you can imagine! And also, the CD-in comes in very low levels... almost impossible to hear the CD when playing along.
Some of it's good points: Distortions are nice, you get a few different kinds (slightly dirty rhythm, 2 over drive, 2 distortions, 2 leads, and metal). Good sounding chorus and reverbs (hall and room, both with adjustable mix level)... delay is also nice (again, with adj. mix level) - delay and reverbs cannot be used at the same time though. Amp Similator really changes the tone of your sound (though I don't know if they really sound like what they're suppose to, nice to use anyway). 2 types of compression, works okay... flanger is cool... different types of wah (never cared for auto-wahs anwyay). 2 types of EQ - both extremely useful when shaping your sound. And you _must_ check out the "Enhancer" effect... great for clean, terrific for acoustics!

so far, no problem with it what-so-ever. I would definitely gig with it... great for simple effects when you don't need a full rack. Take it with you and practice/write with it when traveling.

Haven't found a need for support. The manual is very good (see ease of use)... didn't even really need it.

You can get very good sounds from it for the price you pay. If you're looking for some basic effects all in one unit, this is great. Very useful for practice and writing using headphones. I found that I'm able to get better clean sounds than distorted ones. I would definitely buy this unit again it anything happened to it.
I haven't used the unit with batteries yet... nor would I... get the adapter! :) You can imagine what it would be like if your batteries die on you while performing!
Nice feature: speaker can be on or off (push button) when using headphones or regular output. There's a master volumn knob on the side to control the output (for speaker, headphone-out and reg out).
24 user presets, nice... 40 _unchangable_ factory presets (which we all know are useless), dumb!

Easy to use, one button to turn effect on & off, and the manual is pretty much not needed.

I like the Flanger, and the distortions are pretty good.

I use it regually for preformance with the foot controller and have never had any major problems, other than the singers accidentally stomping the box. The foot controller could do with a "patch down" pedel.

Had nuffing to do with them.

Great, love it. I got it for nz$399 with the pedel, which was nz$249. Good for practice and performance. Really nice clean fx.

Initially it is a little confusing, and you have to scroll through all the different effects and features until you find what you are looking for, the stomp box simplicity is missed here, but once you get the hang of things its pretty easy to use

The quality of the effects is good, however you cannot adjust the output volume of the preset effects(which are either way to loud or too quiet) , unless you want to move it to a user bank, therefore using up two banks, as you cannot edit the preset banks. However most of the effects are great sounding and much better than stomp box quality. It comes with a built in speaker and the quality from this is poor, so use it through your amp for best sounds

As it comes with its own power supply you don't have to worry about the batteries running out at a crucial moment. There appears to be nothing that looks like it is going to break down, however time will tell.

When I ordered a footswitch to go with the unit, the zoom people knocked 50 bucks off the price of the foot switch, which was good. There is a one year warranty, which is ok

I'd buy it again as it does what I want. I wouldn't insist to anyone that they must buy one as personal tastes and needs vary, however i'm happy with it

This unit is super simple to work with. The interface is quite intuitive so you are rolling after a cursory read of the documentation. I have had the unit for a bout a month and it does precisely what I need easily and without undue bloodshed

The effects are solid. Sound is what you would or should expect from a tiny speaker. Through a Marshall or Fender valve it sounds surprisingly good considering the price you pay. The presets are actually useful although there are some readily trashable. Nice flexibility though.

Too early to tell, I suppose, but the unit has been flawless thus far. Nothing against the ZoomFire but I wouldn't do a gig without a backup period.

No experience

I would buy it again. I also tried the more expensive Zoom (9000, I think), and found the two comparable. The speaker is fine for practice but is great through headphones. I also tried the Korg Pandora, which was quite unique but way too quiet through the cans.

The sound possibilities are numerous, unique, and excellent quality. Editing patches is straight forward and self-explainatory. The manual is only necessary to get started, and covers all that beginners need to know. Overall ease of use is excellent

Sound Quality through the popup speaker are sufficent for practicing, and the sound through an amp plays betterl than any other processor within a comparable price range.

The Zoom has proved very rugged and reliable. I've been using it for three months now, and never had any trouble with it.

I chose the Zoom after much research and testing, and I have yet to be disappointed with it's use. I'd buy it again in a second, and I've recommended it to many of my friends.

I've been playing on the Zoom Fire for only a couple of hours and I already how to use all of its functions. The manual is very easy to understand and will probably take only one time through it to be able to navigate the Zoom Fire. The patches are easy to edit and its very easy to get a good sound out of this machine.

The Zoom Fire comes equipped with a small pop up speaker. The speaker doesn't sound very good and you may be paying for an option you'll never use. Most of the effects sound really good especially the chorus, reverb and the flange. This machine comes with 8 types of distortion and 3 different amp simulations so you are bound to find that crunchy sound you're looking for. I've only played the Zoom through headphones so I don't know what it sounds like through an amp.

I've only had the Zoom for a couple of days so I don't know what to tell you.

N/A

Although it looks are hideous, this machine makes some beautiful sounds. I would definitely buy this machine again for all of its features.
Here is a list of features: 64 patches (24 user/40 preset) guitar tuner 7 effects modules (eg.compressor, wah, distortion, eq, reverb/delay) 5 watt amp 10 watt speaker stereo mix in line out headphone jack
I compared the Zoom Fire against the Korg Pandora's Box. The effects quality is comparable and each has a feature that the other doesn't. The Korg comes with a built in metronome while the Zoom has the pop up speaker. My decision to buy the Zoom was based on the fact that the Korg's volume level wasn't loud enough for me when I listened to it through headphones. The sale guy didn't know how to use so it could be that he wasn't doing something right. The Zoom cost $270 while the Pandora cost $240.