Zoom 9000

Easy enough to use and program. You need the foot board for full effectiveness. It isn't real friendly about changes at the last minute. In other words, set the effects how you think you'll need them before you go to your gig or jam because by the time you mess around with it on the spot, the song will be over.

I've used it through my 100 watt Carvin effects loop and straight in the front. Basically it thins out your sound. If you're looking for a warm tube sound then beware! I think it sounds thin and harsh unless you max out the low e.q.
An irritating aspect is that there is a moment of silence as the effects change. There isn't a clean, instant change between patches so if you want to change effects mid phrase forget it. The sound cuts out while it gets its bearings then comes back in on the new patch.
Overall the best sound I've ever gotten has been adequate, not great. Distortion is thin and generic but not digital. If people would read their owners manual they would see it is indeed analog.
I must say though, if you like an 80's type of processed sound (smooth compressed, delayed, it does a fairly good job.

I had to send mine back to the repair place to have it fixed. Cost me $80. Not sure what went wrong other than it wouldn't turn on. That was 3 years ago and it hasn't happened again. Wouldn't spend another $80 to fix it again.

Repairs were done in about a month with no gliches.

The only reason I don't sell it is that I like the fact that I can listen with headphones and it sounds "o.k." I can patch a c.d. player into it and play along. It also lines out to a recorder and sounds pretty good when I make jamming tapes and write songs.
Beyond that it isn't very impressive. Like others in this review I bought it before I knew much about effects and was impressed with all I could get for the money. It turned out to be quantity instead of quality. For the record, I haven't been impressed with any multi-effects processors in that price range either. It think they're for people who want it all for not much money.
I wouldn't buy it again but I wouldn't buy a different multi-effects unit either. Luckily, I don't think they make them anymore.

Mine didn't come with a manual, so I had to figure it out for myself, which was actuall pretty simple. A very straight-forward design and full effects manipulation make it very user-friendly.

Honestly, the distortion is pretty thin. The other effects make up for this defeciency, however. The delay, reverb, and flanging is studio quality. The phasing and tremolo are decent, but the tremolo can sound more like a machine gun than a tone modulation. The wah-wah effect is decent, but you can't shift the pitch without messing around with the tone settings. There is nothing like the real thing. Kind of noisy with some effects, but mostly pretty quiet.

I got a dud. I played with the thing for about two months, then it totally went downhill. It just died. I probably got a dud, and I bought it used, so that probably had a big part, too, but it should've lasted a little longer than two months.

N/A

It's a small unit, which can actually get kind of annoying after a while, since it tends to be pulled over by the weight of the plugs. I wouldn't buy one again, and you can probably figure out why...

It`s Very easy to use!

The sound quality is quite good for the price, a bit noisy though. Distortion is a bit weak for my taste.

It trusted it with my life.

Never talked to them

Good for the price. I sold It. But i Have used for 3-4 years!

The 9000 was my first processor, and consequently I didn't yet have the experience to use many of its features. After a while I began reading the manual and soon came to realize how easily it is programed.

Sound quality on this unit is not up to par with most "rack unit" processors in this price range. It is difficult to elliminate the high level of noise produced by the 9000 on most settings. Many of the effects are useless and/or to noisy to use effectively.

The 9000 is dependable and solidly built. Sometimes it won't boot up right, but this isn't a big problem. The main problem is the unit's size. Although such a small package may seem like a good thing, the 9000 can easily be disconnected if you stretch the cord out.

No need to contact them.

If I had an unlimited cash flow and collected old effects processors, I might consider buying another 9000. Since this is not the case, I would not mess with another. Going for a DigiTech or Alesis seems like a much smarter choice.

This is definitely EASY to use. Without a manual and a couple of minutes you can do what you want with it. It is also quick to use which can be an advantage.

The unit tends to be noisy in some combinations. It has pretty goog chorus and distortions. Pitch and delays are excellent. Reverb is OK. It is also capable of some very weird sounds. I never understood what that Metal effect is for, it sounds awful. I think it's great value for the money.

Never had a problem with it. Practicing or in concert.

No contact ever. Didn't need to.

I would buy it again. It was my first digital processor and I've had it for years. I'm thinking about selling now 'cos I want something more powerful like an RP-12 or something. It's a brilliant first processor.

Quit easy to use. Simply chose a patch, the effect, and the parameters. After setup confirm your settings. The manual is rather short but sufficient for this unit. Once you managed the weak details of this unit its easy to get the sound you want - if possible at all. Generally, the control range of the parameters are very limited. Especially equalizing is too weak. Forget about the enhancer and the mid boost; they only produce plastic like colours.

This unit IS noisy. There is no noise reduction, so you cant get rid of noise once you have it. The problem is, that nearly all settings produce noise. Only if you add very light and smooth effects, e.g. light chorus, you will get results you can accept. Distortion is quite nice if you like the ZOOM-sound. Very bity and present. Also crunchy sounds are possible. Compressors work nice for sustain enhancement. I like the pitch shifter, it allows nice chorus/detune effects. Also the chorus produces nice results. Forget about the reverb, it will sound like in the toilet of a big train station. I use the reverbs of my amp. Delay sounds not natural enough, but its okay for soloing if you add it a little in the background.

Reliable in general. Sometimes it started rebooting after plugging the cable into the input jack. For me it was not too big a problem because i used only 4 settings for gigging. Editing is easy so you can recover sounds in minutes.

Never had contact with ZOOM.

Definitly not! For live gigs its too noisy, not flexible enough and simply more a toy than a piece of good equipment. The unit is very small and fits into every gigbag or something. Its also quite nice as practicing tool. Compared to other units it seems to expensive for the value you get.

easy to get good sounds/edit patches I bought mine second-hand (no manual)

NOISY! Wish I could set mix between "wet" and "dry" sounds I like the chorus, phaser, ring modulator, pitch effects, delay not enough character in distortion sounds

Experienced a problem (similar to that of another user): When power plug is disconnected patches may be erased (I'v had several gigs where I had to sit onstage and re-program the whole thing Bring back-up floor pedals just in case

would probably buy a unit with noise reduction, expression pedals, loops for external effects (thingsI wish this zoom had) I like that it has all these effects in one little box Hate the noise and undependability and a somewhat metallic sound to some effects (reverb?) By the way, where are the 20 factory-preset patches and where are the 20 user-defined ones? There are only banks 0,1,2,3,4 with 4 patches each (5x4=20)

This was my first multi effects processor, and I got used to using it within a few hours of buying it.

Although I am very impressed with the sound that this processor creates for its size, I would have liked it to have a better limiter. But that is easily solved with a seperate one. It gets a bit noisy when in distortion mode.

I have only had the thing for a week, so I'm not a very reliable source

I would definately buy it again. I think they packed a lot of power into this little processor.

The 9000 is a pretty easy to use effects processor that you don't really need the manual for. The manual for it though is fairly good. Editing patches is basically as easy as changing settings on any effects pedal.

I've noticed that people's opinions on the sound quality of the 9000 is pretty subjective and varied. Some love it, some hate it, so if you can, try to hear one before you buy it. My personal opinion is that overall it's a fairly nice sounding little unit. I must correct the previous post, in that the distortion IS NOT digital. It very clearly states in the manual that the compressor and distortion effects are anolog. To me they sound pretty fat, but it's hard to get a real crunchy death metal tone out of it as it lacks a good mid eq. The compression on it also is nothing to write home about. It sustains the notes a bit but doesnt limit too well. The speaker simulator also wasnt too terribly impressive, and sounds better if you run it through a Red Box or Sans Amp cab sim. The distortion also sounds way better if you run it through a good tube amp, or run it through a stereo guitar amp setup. The chorus and flangers are very good. Pitch Shifter is decent, delays are nice sounding, auto wah sounds alot like a talk box, and is pretty nice. The random step filter is a interesting effect but not very useful. Ring modulator can give you very interesting special effects espeacially on vocals. Tremelo is alright. Reverb is well, kinda metallic but still very usable. My main complaint is that it doesnt have the new Zoom Noise Reduction and is a bit noisy sometimes, espeacially with distortion.

The one draw back of something this small is that it is easy to step on, drop, or lose. Several times I've gotten a little a bit too rowdy and have yanked my poor little zoom off my amp onto a hard cement floor. But it kept on ticking. I have though had unrelated problems with the internal memory battery shorting out and a loose input jack, both of which were repaired promptly by Zoom under warranty and it has worked perfectly since then. But because your rowdy bass player or some crazed stage diver may step on your zoom or accidentally yank it clear across the stage or worse yet off the stage, I would recommend taking a backup. Oh also the footpedal that came with mine is pretty tough and highly recommended if your're going to be doing live work.

I dealt with the store I bought it from who handled everything with the company and everything seemed to work out pretty well. As I stated above I've had repaired once but have had no problems since then.

Over all this is a great home studio processor. It fits anywhere on top of your equipment. Mine sits on top of my mixer. I think I would probably buy it again for that reason, but for playing live would probably go for the new Zoom 3030 which goes for a similar price and has a nice expression pedal.

The Zoom 9000 is a fairly good unit. The modulation effects, especially the stereo chorus and flanger, are solid and have good parameter ranges. Reverb and delay are also very good for a unit in this price range.
The Achilles' heel of the Zoom 9000, however, is its distortion and compression. The distortion is digital and weak, and getting a warm overdrive sound is impossible. Its either really fizzy or not there at all. The compression also is too weak and only has three settings.
The built-in tuner is pretty good, though, and the foot pedal easily lets you select one of the 20 programs (but not individual effects). The unit has 20 presets + 20 programmable patches and the presets are of varying quality. The only presets I really use are 23 (chorused dist.) and 41 (rhythm flanger). Programming this thing is really simple once you get used to it. Unfortunately, my unit has a problem with the power and occasionally when I plug in the AC adaptor the unit won't start. It eventually starts working again after repeatedly unplugging and replugging the unit, but by the time it is on again all the user programs are gone. I should stress, however, that I know other people that own 9000's and they've never experienced this problem.
The amp simulator is pretty good and this unit really shines when used with a good pair of headphones. The stereo modulation effects come out clear and deep and it doesn't bother your neighbours! :)
If I were going to buy another multi-effects (which I am) I would go for something a bit more powerful, maybe the ZOOM 9050, 9002 Pro, or the Korg AX30G, although these units are much more expensive than the 9000.
Other than that, this unit is tiny weighs next to nothing so if you travel a lot it is very handy. I would say its ideal for a beginner who wants to experiment with a great variety of sounds and have a limited budget. Overall a good buy.