Zoom 9002

Bought my unit new in '90, don't know firmware, has not been upgraded, modified, or otherwise altered.

The interface easy to figure out, with or without the manual. Patches are easy to select and customize patches with cursor navigation buttons and sliding parameter bars. No unneeded buttons, basically select, mod, save, cancel. No confusing deep navigation menues or screen selections, a very straight forward design.

One set of preset patches five major banks (0-4) selectable only on main unit w/ four patches(1-4) each selected either with remote or unit, make for 20 preset patches. Plus and additional 20 patches that are user definable (easy to return to factory defaults). Makes for a total of 40 patches, not bad.

Display uses the early LCD screen technology from the late '80s. No backlighting and no brightness switch, but surprizingly it is not hard to read. Make sure you have a pen light handy if you use it in a dark setting. Patch selections have red LED indicators so it is easy to see which patch is selected from the current bank.

Remote control is a nice touch. Only four buttons to choose one of four patches from whatever bank is selected on the unit, each button has an associated red RED. Depending on the instrument I use I would either have the remote velcroed to my breast, or instrument. This way I don't have to stop and muck with the unit to change patch selections.

Little more about the effects. Hope this helps for those who don't have a manual. Up to six effects effects can be mixed together and stored in any of the 20 patches. Effects are displayed on the screen. It really is pretty easy to select and mix effects.

Guitar Effects -
(COMP) Compression,
(DIST) Distortion,
(EQ) Equalization
Modulation Effects -
(PITC) Pitch shift,
(PHA) Phaser,
(FLA) Flanger,
(CHO) Chorus
(DEL1) Delay 1 -
# of echos
Reverb Group - (only one of the following can be selected
(DEL2) Delay 2 (# of repeats)
(REV1) Reverb 1 (large hall, longest reverb 4000ms)
(REV2) Reverb 2 (small room, longest reverb 160ms)
Special Effects - (select only one pattern at a time)
(1) Step
(2) Cry
(3) Metallic

The 22 page manual is layed out very nicely and easy to follow. A quick read with everything you need to know on how to care, feed and operate the unit.

A 12 page patch paramter chart is provided with all the preset bank, and default user bank. Good for the geeks who want to know the parameter settings. It'd be easy to duplicate the format to use for customized patch settings.

I have used this with differnet styles of instruments with totaly different sounds. In all cases the sounds have been good.

Etherwave Theremin - gives a richer almost haunting sound. Since this is a touchless instrument the effects can be very subtle but helps to make the theremin forgiving and more rewarding. The special effects, which sound silly with guitars become quite effective here.

Chapman Stick - Sound is good with any settings. As a hammer instrument effects are not as pronounced unless I notch up the sensitivity.

Steinberger Guitar - This is where the 9002 struts its stuff. It was designed for an instrument that is going to have a sharp attack, be it pick or pluck. Special effects are rather silly sounding here and vendor could have done better.

Sound has always been excellent for me no matter what I've played it through. Very clean with no added noise. Played it through Crate amps of one type or another.

I have the same complaint as everyone else. Battery burn is a bitch. Bought it new and dealer mentioned unit doesn't charge batteries very well, even had someone who could fix the unit for me if I wished. Didn't take him up on it. Stupid me.

Unit itself has been very reliable. Only functional issue is a brief pause (less than half a heartbeat) when selecting between patches.

Has a very nice feel to it. Even though it is plastic it doesn't feel cheaply made, very durrable. Dropped it once on a hard floor, didn't seem to bother it at all.

Other than the battery issue I've had no problems.

Never had to deal with the company.

Bought the 9002 almost on a whim. Didn't know much about it at the time. Store owner recommended it to me. Hooked it up and I was sold. Never regretted buying it.

Taste in music: rock, alternative, progressive rock, fusion, jazz.

Haven't really played much in about a year and was going to sell the 9002. Checked it to make sure it still works. Couldn't stop playing with it then and realized I'm not going to part with it, even if I'm not gigging or recording. Too nice of a tool.

The display and button layout makes a lot of sense. Everything is right where you need it.

I like its compact PDA size.

Battery death is the biggest annoyance. Since they don't seem to work anyway and it takes up over a 1/3 of the unit they could have dropped it from the design and made it even smaller.

The on/off button is tiny. Would rather have a rocker switch or push button something you can easily see and feel.

Don't like the slight delay when selecting between patches.

Volume switching between patches can be annoying. Most of the pre-set patch firmware volumes are different so when you switch patches the volume will jump up or down IF you touch the volume slider (so don't touch the slider). Really don't know how they could have designed around this since the slider is a physical switch and the firmware isn't. Alternatives would be to have the volume jump as soon as you switch patches, which would be more annoying, or to not have pre-set volumes, which would be worse.

Yes, I would replace it if stolen or lost.

really easy to use!
the manual is ok

The clean sound is good.
chorus, flanger , delay are ok.
distortion is crap.
special effects (sfx) are funny.
NOT FOR CRUNCH.
All you SRV/Keith Richards/vintage tone fans look for anything else

Never use it for a gig.
It's more like a practice/home recording unit
The battery deads very fast!
There is a second of delay between patch change

If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else? NO.
Pro musician playing for 17 years.
I use Fenders (teles and strats),Marshall and Fender amps and a lot of Boss pedals.
I don't need (nobody needs) a ZOOM 9002 on stage or studio.
It's a practice and home (no professional) recording tool.

It works very well. This unit is a replacement for one that I sold years ago. I don't have the manual however, I remembered how to use it.

When I bought the first one I had a difficult time trying to use it at the first live gig that I took it to. I gotta tell you...using it through my roommates high quality stereo was the best thing that I ever did. I used some RCA adapters and the sound in the house was like heaven. I was playing in an acoustic band at the time...just the singer and I. The sound improved our sound tremendously. So many options. We never needed anything else...just the two of us, a guitar...and a ZOOM 9002. I had the foot pedal and that was pretty cool. Remember...my outstanding rating was through a stereo! Not live shows...just practice...and recording.

I never had a problem out of the original or the replacement. I gave up on it for live performances...you can't have everything...

N/A

I'm a rocker. Works great for practice...I used to take it everywhere.
My replacement one has all the problems mentioned by others...no battery charging...yadda yadda yadda. I have and would replace it again...in a heartbeat!
You can't beat it for sitting around writing music...I use it through the guitar in on the "DR-5 Rhythm Section". The best home recordings that I've made were with this set up. I'm a professional musician and I have all the cool guitars (Les Pauls, Strat, etc etc.) rack mounted effects and Marshal Amplification. When I'm sitting around jamming it's much easier to just flip the switch on and jam through headphones.

I've used other 'stomp' boxes in the past and this one didn't take long to figure out. Don't have a manual, but would love to get my hands on one just to learn what the manufacturer intended.

Having good quality, low noise cables really makes all the difference in sound. Some of the pre-defined patches seem a bit week and a couple of the sliders seem a bit dirty. Adjusting them slightly helps. I'm using a LP studio with DiMarzio Humbuckers running into a Fender Deluxe amp. It's noisy on the clean side, but when I switch to the gain channel and turn the amps gain down, it works great!

Haven't had it long enough to take it to a gig, but I did resolve the battery issue so it's not going to be an issue now. Write to me and I'll tell you what I did to resolve the problem.

Wrote to Zoom.jp and got a response fairly quickly. They made the suggestion about the battery alternative.

I play 70's, 80's rock, some jazz fusion and some heavy metal tunes. I've been playing for over 10 years now and yeah, i'd replace it if I lost it. I like having something light and easy to take along. Plus it works great for running into my Tascam 4 track.

Fortunately I bought one when they first came out so I have the manual (two of them with the cards that show preset #'s and descriptions of sounds for each) even though it's so easy to figure out anyway. I bought another complete unit ( from Ebay auction) just to make sure I'll always have one.

Straight to my sound card or through my Fender Blues Deville. The sound is great through the soundcard with the built in amp simulator. Here it here:
http://www.mp3.com/thebluesking

I dropped it once and it became intermittent. In general, a prety tough unit for a plastic housed item.

Once I found out who serviced them, I got it taken care of in a reasonable amount of time by Samson. A bit expensive though.

Various styles from blues to heavy metal. Been playing for over 30 years. I already bought an extra so yeah I'd replace it if lost or stolen. Easy to use, great presets / sound quality/ options ( headphone use / output options / i.e. stereo / mono. All in all a fine unit for the money!

Simple to create various effects

I use a Gibson The Paul and zoom through a Mackie PA system. It sound excellent, not very noisy, had it 12 years and only problem apart from the battery is it noe takes about 1 hour to 'warm up'

I have always depended on it without backup, but am now getting worried as it does seem to be near expiring

Never used customer support but have emailed with the problem

I have tried other FX pedals recently to try and find a replacement but can't find anything reasonably priced with as good a sound. Has anybody else had the same problem? I use it three times a week, gigging, and when I plug it in there is no sound, ten minutes or so later it makes a sound like a jet plane overhead which gradually rises in pitch for about an hour until it goes out of range and then becomes useable !!

it is perfect

not bad

i had to modify it a little

?

i really solved the battery problem
i had to cut the internal (L) board to provide additional space to a 5th battery (rechargable ) 1.2*5=6 volts
and i added an fm mic to it and i think it's a peace of work now

Very easy to set up and get very USEABLE sounds.

I use a Kramer and a Strat through a fender twin and a fender hotrod deluxe. This unit is just amazing, I have been using it live and in the studio for as long as they have been around ( ten years? ). I have tried many other effects devices and never found one that has the sound that the 9002 has, even at 5 times the price.

Once while on tour, my twin died so I went direct with the 9002 and liked it so much that I used it that way for two years! I would constantly get other guitar players coming up to me asking what I was using and they would stare disbelieving at this little thing. One of these guys was the sound guy touring with ELP, who just loved my guitar sound. In my opinion there is nothing that can compare to the distortion of the 9002.

I had my first one when they were new and had it on the road ever since. It looked like hell but always worked. It was stolen about a month ago, so I bought a new (used) one on the internet. I always depended on it and never had a backup.

Never had to deal with them.

I play everything depending upon who I'm playing with, so Vince Gill to Metallica. I've been playing for 26 years, 20 of those professionally on the road and in the studio. It WAS stolen and I DID replace it.

Absolutely the best effects unit I have ever found. I will stockpile these things now so I always have one.

I just wanted to share my opinion after reading some of the other reviews here, where some people didn't care for it and said it sounds like crap. I understand that everyone will have their own opinion of what sounds good, but start out with a good sounding guitar/amp combination and develop your own sound creations with thing and it will pay off.

Very easy to use. Easy to edit patches due to lack of unessesaary parameters.

As said by so many others - useless through an amp, great through headphones. More than this though, indispensible in the home studio - you can get a great sound quickly. Sits in the mix well, you can spend hours miking up your amp, but the Zoom often sounds better. Distortion sounds ARE samey - but good for a general 'rock' sound.

These are the most droppable items ever made - because the lead weighs more than the unit. Mine has crashed to the floor dozens of times and had a hole burnt in it with a soldering iron - but it still works. Had to change the power socket though. A friend has one that died.

My friend with the dead 9002 said they quoted him a really stupidly high price to fix it.

Wouldn't be without it for recording. Don't buy one for gigging unless you play through a PA. Wonderful piece of kit.

I'M WORKING ON THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THE MANUAL (ZOOM DOESN'T HAVE THE MANUAL IN PDF FORMAT, AT LEAST I DONT KNOW WHERE OR WHO,
I WOULD TANK TO EVERYBODY WHO ARE INTERESTED TO SEND ME ANY INFORMATION CAN BE CONISDERED VITAL OR INTERESTING TO INCLUDE IT AND MAKE IT PUBLIC FOR EVERYBODY

also if you know some valuable preset setting or trick why not!

the biiiiigggggeesstttt problem of the unit is the battery all we know
im working on an adaptation from a cellular telephone and other things in between, i will publicate all the info when i finished but if somebody else is working around let us know.

i just said i don't pretend substitute ZOOM or stole credit only i would like we to share our acknoledge and experience concern to 9002 from and to its own users, i will make myself main responsable for the information requested.