Zoom PS-04

This was my first experience of recording equipment and I've had no problems using it. I'm familiar with pcs but that's about it, so I was expecting some difficulty. I used the manual for specific instructions but I found it easier to learn by experience. The best thing is to mess around with it. The buttons double and triple up with functions so Zoom have been very resourceful with the limited space. The up and down controls are deceptive. You may have physically pushed the volume control up but sometimes the machine doesn't pick it up so you have to push it down and up again.

There is a scroll dial to find exact points in a track, so you can find where you want to edit down to the second. Because it's such a hands-on machine, the buttons are noisy and the mic will pick them up. This doesn't bother me, as I like the roughness, but if you're looking for a professional, clean sound you might have problems.

The Smart Media card is something I overlooked when I bought this. I didn't realise they were so ancient. The 32mb card included will give you 16 minutes of Hi Fi quality and 32 mins of long play. This is very short and it is almost impossible to get a bigger card, the maximum being 128mb. It ruins the extreme portablilty of the machine, as you need to have a PC on hand to store the files.

Be careful: if you delete a track, you are automatically brought back to the previous track, not a root menu. So be careful not to record over the track you are brought back to.

Sound:

I use the mic and the input with a Fender Strat. I just plug in and listen through earphones while recording. The mic is excellent and very sensitive, and there are tons of effects. If you have a good lead, you should get a good clean sound from the guitar. You can choose a "dirty" line effect if you want. I had problems with the send effect, it doesn't work sometimes, but the mic, guitar, master, line and dual effects are far reaching. The guitar effects are from soft to really hard, but you can't record the mic while using a guitar effect. This bothers me because I don't like over-dubbing vocals. I think you lose the spontaneity.

Some of the distorted guitar effects are too strong. You have turn the volume down really really low.

Very reliable. It runs for ages on 4 AA batteries. You can order an adapter online.
It's so portable, you can take it outside and record the passing traffic or make your own effects. It's the small media card that ruins this.

Can't comment on the gig use. It's a bedroom toy for me. It's a great way to play away for your own enjoyment late at night. Using headphones, no one else can hear you.

I emailed with a question about recording a drum pattern and they replied quickly with a no-bullsh!t short answer that did the job.

Never got an upgrade. No idea what it entails or if it's available.

Not sure what type of music I play, but I like lo-fi sounds, thick guitar and good vocals. Suits me.
I'd definitely buy it again.
Love the compactness, the no-frills. The software provided is really basic. Just volume changes and track panning.
Hate the smart media card, the fact you can only record mic+guitar when there is no effect on the guitar.
Helps me make music. I've used Garageband which makes it really easy to get a smoothness to the track, so you might sound better than you do live. This isn't really possible with the PS-04 as it's not a very visual machine (screen is very basic) but you get a very honest sounding result.

you must use the owner's manual, or all is lost. unfortunately, it is 125 pages that aren't very well organized. the canned rhythms and the goofy bass aren't very useful for real recordings. the proprietary format is a pain in the ass and the out-dated technology of an sm type smartmedia card are serious disadvantages. i would go with a boss recorder and leave this one alone. i am returning this and that is the route i plan to take. try getting a 128 mb smartmedia sm card and you are looking at paying seventy five bucks. an usb ported card reader will run you another fifty, or so. do the math. it doesn't make it very appealing.

i have ran this into a roland cube 15 on clean and an old gibson ga-5t. you can't tweek the levels on the effects, or amp models so it is only going to sound like it sounds... which is not great. the bass track is cheesy and a complete waste of a recording track. you aren't going to like it.

if it were stolen, i would kick myself for not returning it and getting my money back beforehand. buy something with touch sensitive drum machine pads, and fully programmable. you would be shocked at how useless the rhythm samples are.

Good sound? It is easy get "a" sound from it.......editing is normal difficulty and the manual is explicative.The dial knob is too much fast but....change the sound live and you mistake easy.....the knob change sound as you touch...it's better if zoom put in two up-down buttom. So 7 for easy editiong and 3 for live use. So 5. For the sequncer in it....don't use! Build own song is very hard and the memory at full capacity finish early.
A help at sequencer limit is a thirdy part program for pc....why zoom not include it in pack?....too bad!

i have said it is easy get "a" sound....not a good sound! Not try to sned the output of this very plastic box at a tube amp! It destroy the amp sound, you don't recognize more your amp. Only with headphone you can hear a decent sound. But alsy in this condition you get basically only two sound: funky 80' sound and a sort of metal sound. The classic amp... muddy or metallic.
More...reverb is isolate from the other effects...only in generally patch.
A little classic pedal is galaxy better.

If i don't attach it is better.
I sure gig without it.

Support for yhe lack of any sequencer editing program is .... zoom save 5 or maybe 10 bucks from the price and you get a useless sequencer.
Give me the misure of professionality of Zoom .... sell and forget the user.

I have said all. I have sold the box and play guitar, amp and maybe a little pedal. Stop. I don't want this little box destroy the sound of my strat and my tube amp. Stay away.

Well, we are talking about a very small unit, the size of an ancient cassette Walkman. So, some of the numerous features (quite an amazing number, by the way) are hidden inside menus. There is just so many knobs and buttons they could lay on the unit faceplate.

But the "getting strated" part of the instruction manual makes you rather quickly an old-hand at recording with the unit. When time comes to ping-pong tracks, mastering your recordings, using V-Takes, adding effects, changing pitch or tempo, etc... the specific sections are also well laid-out and easy to understand. (Based on your knowledge of the basics). So, don't jump the gun. Start from page one untill you get a good feel of the way the beast behaves.

I will still give a score of 7 because using multi-level menus with a limited number of direct controls will always be a pain in the back-side, no matter how. But in light of the obvious physical limitation that they had to face, they couldn't had done a better job.

Quite intuitive, once you know your way around the phylosophy behind the controls.

Never forget that you have a decent pocketable studio capable of delivering surprising quality demos. Team that with a diminutive electric guitar (? neck in a body just big enough to hold a pickup, two knobs and a hard-tail bridge)or a 24 keys modern and versatile keyboard and of course, a good laptop computer, and you are out to write, play and produce anything out of a small breifcase in a hotel room. The good buit-in mike will take care of the signing quite surprisingly.

Being battery operated on readily avaliable AA alkalines is a definite plus. And the battery life is quite okay too. I would still recommend using the AC adapter whenever possible.

There are but 3 severe drawbacks. The sampling rate and frequency limit the recordings to 15KHz. But then again. When is the last time you passed an audiogram? You'd be surprised to learn that you no longer can hear beyound 16 if not 12K. This is life. And bear in mind that 15KHz is the bandpass of commercial FM radio. Do you still enjoy listening to an old Boston or Led Zep tune while driving in your car?

Of course, the worst problem with this unit is the choice of solid-state recording media. At the maximum (128MB) there is room for tens of minutes of recording but as soon as you start laying track after tracks, you realise that this machine is only good to edit a single song. But this is where the laptop computer comes-in handy.

And finally, there is no USB connection. This nice toys will never see your computer. You do things in it and record them on the memory card, and then, take the memory card to your computer to finish the job. They will never see one another and for me, this is a little bit "toyish". Any serious musician's tool should be fully computer interfacable. But again, what do you get for $200?

And don't forget, it's got a programmable drummer and bass player that are not Krupa and Mingus, but actually very good. There are several ways to "instruct" them about your project and they play what you tell them in the key you want them to. Very good indeed.

Hey! It is just as good as any multi-effect around. I mean those not featuring one 12AX7 or two, of course. But, solid state for solid state, digital for digital, it is up the par. In other words, distortions are not always convincing but time domain and modulation effects are worth using. The presets, as on many other multi-effect units are not always tweaked to one's liking. This is also life...

But, I must admit that I mounted an original blues on this machine and, using the (quite good)buit-in mike, I picked a ready-made voicing that made me sound like Robert Plant. The same goes for presets guitar effects. Not always perfect, but truly interresting.

The nice part is that if you plan on using it as a "cheap" studio solution, you can't go wrong, but if you want to save even more bucks, the thing can be used as a mere in-line effect. Yes, this could be your multi-effect box. There would be no pedal board nore midi-out, but it would do the job while hiding a handy recorder in the back store.

It is, frankly, a limited budget young musician's power tool. Yes, I mean it, and I don't care about Mr. "I play a '58 LesPaul and a '62 Strat into a Blackface rare thing and I don't believe into anything less than 96KHz, 32 bits and one zillion times oversampling."

This is indeed a great sounding and versatile toy for the money. Hey, we are comparing $200 to $20000. Let's get real somewhere...

As far drums and bass are concerned, the slap-bass is the pits, but more conventionnal playing style is quite convincing. Drums are not the real thing, but as it is the case for me, in songs, where singing is up front, the drumming is good.

I haven't opened it and it looks to me, in regard of the price and amazing power offered, like a "one-chip job". What could go wrong with it? I don't know.

Mine has worked fine for 6 months now.

Never had to deal with Zoom. Their site has all the software upgrades and info one could need. They seem like a serious company.

In a nutshell. If you are just starting or even strating over again, if you need all the modern effects plus some range of clean and overdrive sounds (digital sounds, I understand, and you should too)and the nice commodity to play and sing while having a fully programmable dummer and bass player, for the money, nothing comes close to it.

As has already been said, this is a compact device and there is a learning curve in terms of getting started - I had the advantage that I traded up from a PS-02, so the concepts were familiar, but even first timers will pick it up pretty quickly.

I haven't experimented with tweaking the guitar effects yet, mainly because there are 3 or 4 which sound awesome straight out of the box.. I have a Vox Tonelab, and for me the presets are better on the PS-04, through headphones at least. I had a Boss BR-8 for a while, and was very disappointed with the quality of the effects and the virtually non-existent drum models - the PS-04 has everything you need to record good quality demos, providing you're patient. Converted to MP3s and played back through a good system, the sound quality is excellent. Ignore the wimpy demo song it comes with, you'll be able to do much better than that.. oh, and the bass track is pretty much a waste of time.

I haven't had it that long, so this is based more on my 2 years with the PS-02, but generally pretty reliable. I had a couple of issues with corrupted Smart Media cards with the PS-02, and had to download the software from the Zoom site (which is a very helpful resource), but other than that, good. As said elsewhere, this is not something that you want to chuck around, it will break if you try hard enough..

The website is extremely helpful, I've never needed to contact the company directly.

I play rock/blues/jazz and find the PS-04 useful for all styles - the interfacing can be a little frustrating at times, but it does what you need it to do and let's not forget that this little beauty costs relatively little, can run off batteries and fits in your pocket... My old Boss BR-8 gathered dust, this gets used most days.. I love it, and if I lost it I would certainly replace it. An absolute bargain.

Once the manual is read a few times it is ok to find your way around the unit. It is a steep learning curve, and it does take a fair bit of effort to get a nice sound out of it, but it is possible.

Editing patches is roughly the same as any kind of pedal or whatever, most of the sounds are pretty good with a little tweaking.

The drums are o_k. You can add a little reverb or delay to the drums but it involves putting them onto a track.

The bass is useless really. Get a bass if you want to sound good.

However, all the menu surfing with the little buttons and wheels gets a little tiring after a while.

I generally just play straight through the unit, sometimes putting it on the end of a mic stand and recording through the in-built mic.

The amp models on it are pretty good. I don't own a multi-effects pedal so I can't compare to anything like that, but the sounds were all generally useable. Modulation effects were ok, I generally didn't use them that much. Delays are a little lacking, but useful. Similar situation with the Reverb on it.

However, digital recording is really good and handy, and ceratin proceedures can be taken to reuce the noise that occurs. The ZNR or whatever is really good.

It always works really well, although I haven't exactly been using it every day. It is light, but that's the idea.

The thing that was most annoying about the PS-04 was the lack of accessories that came with it. It chews through batteries, so i forked out $35 for a power adaptor.

I also bought a mic stand adaptor which ended up being really useful. This was also $30 for a bit of plastic.

That shoudn't really be in the customer support, but I didn't really deal with ZOOM directly.

The main problem with the PS-04 is that it's an in-between recorder. Sure, you can record a simple demo with it, but with all the effects, drum machine blah blah blah that rarely happens. So the idea is to record a good demo, but the PS-04 lacks the quality to pull off a semi-nice/professional result. It also requires lots of time and patience, so I often scrapped the song after 3-4 tracks, or halfway through programming the drums.

However for $399 it was a pretty good introduction to recording, digital especially.

If/when I sell it, I reckon I will buy a analog tape machine, because having the PS-04 made me realise that I only wanted a sketch-pad so to speak, not a sketch-pad with bells and whistles.

I'm able to get really good sounds out of it on my strat. I was impressed with that. Editing patches is fairly straight forward. So far, I have found the manual to be VERY good. This little thing is a palm-top studio and it MEANS it, so expect to have a learning curve. But once you get the basics down, its a snap and you can then truly use it as a portable device. I record vocals thur the built in condeser mic while in my Hyundai Accent on the way to work! I create the drum/bass track during lunch at starbucks. It really is an awsome, awsome way to get music back into your schedule.

I only use my Strat with it. No amp. I just plug straight in. The unit is very quite and clean. Most of the guitar effects are usable right out of the box. I use mine mainly for blues music, so I just drop the volume knob of the guitar back a bit and I can turn any distorted setting into something I can work with. There are several clean, dirty and heavy distorted patches that are really nice, right out of the box. I just work with those. So there's a whole slew of editing that I have yet to get into....amp models, cabinet types, etc.
Its versitile and just loaded with goodies. I'll give it an 8 cuz its $199 bucks. Put it this way...its $199 effects are pristine and quiet.

Its lightweight and you prolly wouldnt want to drop it. If it fell off the coffee table onto my carpeted floor while I was recording guitar, it would be fine. Drop it at the mall onto the cement...might break it. Think of it as a PDA or palmtop computer. If you have a tendencey to drop shit like a retard?...you might want to re-think your purchase of anything delicate. :)
I'll rate it an 8 only because its not a brick.

never delt with them.

I play blues on this mostly. I'd buy it again, even if it breaks. I really like its portability. The built in drum/bass are why I bought it. I can very easily program with the ~FAST~ feature that it has. The idea was for me to be able to concentrate on guitar and vocals and it lets me do that. I'm still using the 4 Duracells I put in it 2 weeks ago and I'm still using the 32mg Smart Media card that came with it. I record everything on the LONG mode(15khz), just because I'm trying to get back to my 4 track cassette roots. I really wish it had a USB port and a way to easily export straight to .mp3 or .wav file. You ~can~ do this, but you have to jump thru a few hoops.
This little device helps me make music, and thats what I bought it for. Its funny, I'm 40 and finally got to a point where I could afford whatever I wanted...to my hearts content. So I got all this stuff and it was like I didtn know where to start or something. So I decided to scale WAY back.
I've done way more recording now. The vocal patches have some really nice echo and reverb on them that allows me to sing in the car and utilize my drive time. The background noise is much lower than you might think, and I'm in a small car!
The ~FAST~ pattern creation stuff is a big time saver. Once you get it down, its very easy to put in your pattern and then edit it to your liking. you can go back and change the bass type, the drums, etc.
This little guy is a winner.

Don't expect a good sound from it... i dont think anyway...
it's more of a demoing tool !
editing patches... tricky... it's a great unit... lots of learning! i haven't programmed anything!
upgrades... hmmm... i'm is stock haven't upgraded... i bought mine in Nov. 2004.
The manual come's in 3 books (en/es/de) and each is around 200pages.
It's sometimes hard to read but its thorough

I use the stock settings.. it's has an inbuilt guitar fx pedal... it's sounds ok.
amp... mainly headphones.
sound like favorite artist .... hmm i don't think so.. for me its demoing tool.. it sounds dorky but its a good work in progress.
the fx's are very ordanary! but good varity.. you can program them yourself!

very reliable.. even with batteries! which i love.
i don't use it for gigs ... tho jamming it's a great too to get something down quickly and anyway!... i don't use a computer anymore in jam sessions... it's great ;)

zoom... never had to deal with them.
not aware of upgrade

it's smart unit!.. very flexiable.. great features
and it's 100% portable!
I take mine in a camera bag! easy
it's worth the money, i would get another!
compiered to the korg's unit it beats it.. tho i think the quality is abit better.. still the zoom has way more features.
i wish it came with the mike clip haha ;)
it helps making music for sure... the basics are very easy!
yer good forum too!

Not easy at all ... It was easy to begin with but now after four recordings i'm doing exactly the same thing but it refuses to record maybe its broken...

excellent when it works

Maybe if it would work ... i think thats a no

great potential but the instructions are so limited and i followed them 4 times now with sucess on the 5th attempt it just doesn't do anything that i want... very cionfused the troubleshooting guide sucks...

i had neevr recorded before i got this unit and within 5 minutes i already had figured out how to lay down a few tracks. The manuel seems complex but if u set up what u want step by step its e to figure out.

Im using a jackson warrior xt and an old randal 2x12. The effexts are pretty descent n u can set the levels if u dont like the presets. I used the unit with anamp and headphones both sounded great. i dont go for the osund of other artists so that na.

hasnt broke or froze on me yet never know with electronic thing liek this tho

Good website dont go to the smasontech one tho o to zoom.co.jp for the downloads

cant find a cheaper digital recorder and it actually sounds rlly good too.

well its pretty well been said above
i can only give you my experience with it
easy!!!!took me about a week(partime) to get to grips with it,had it now for six months and am just getting into the amazing possibilities!
excellent manual, so much to learn but not that hard
(make sure you write down all your cross references for painless future use hehehe)
the manual says NOTHING about overall volume (its on the side)
and its a wheel, and if that aint turned UP you wont hear nuthin
(that happened to me, and i couldnt figure it out for a day,
after screamin and sayin this is a piece of !@#!@!@ I finally found and felt stoooopid hehehe

i have this sittin beside my bed for "doodling" with.
Signal chain is----- HOHNER G2T(headless for weight, playing in bed hehehe) /
PANDORA PX1(for efx /
PSO4(everything else)/
KOSS TD/65(enclosed) HEADPHONES.

LOVE the setup, gets my ideas down quick while watchin TV.
havent really explored the EFX so i cant comment as yet
but after yove got your track down(after mastering on the machine)
you can just save onto your PC as a WAV file
or into a recording WALKMAN ETC

seems ok
love the way the machine does a self diagnostic when it starts up.
all the leds "go off"
and when you turn it off it says "goodbye" on the screen. hehehe

na

good for any recording (even has techno drum/bass patches)
nice acoustic and voice (very impressed with the mike)
also it has connectors on the back for fitting to a mike stand(very nice)
yep i'd buy it or an upgrade again one of the best pieces of gear in the musicians arsenal
even has its own forum
http://www.2090.org/zoom/bbs/viewforum.php?f=8

this unit is great. you have to understand that it's a keyhole to look at a big board. I'm only writing this because this review panel has helped me to decide to buy the unit. Editing is simple. the manual is available as a download from Zoom Japan. the link is in another review on this panel. the sounds are great.

make sure not to over do the level when recording or else the final mix will be saturated.

only a Squire fat tele with 2 aftermarket humbuckers. that's all. I haven't even tried my acoustic yet. if the guitar is noisy, then the patch with have noise. so far for putting down ideas it's fantastic. realistic.

get the downloadable program from the net to upload your cards and convert the signals to wav format. it's on the Japan site as well.
get bigger cards 128 is the biggest. I prefer to use nmh rechargeable batts.
I would use it to record a live performance

I compose. it's perfect. Once you figure out how to use the tracks it's awesome. Make a track sheet. if not you'll be lost in no time. also make a songboard type section on that sheet. split it up in bars so that you can design your song without going crazy. once you've got it you're set.

YOU DEFFINATELY NEED TO HAVE THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL WITH YOU FOR YOUR FIRST FEW TIMES. I'VE RECORDED ONE SONG ON IT NOW SO I'M GETTING USED TO IT BUT I STILL HAVE TO REFER BACK TO THE MANUAL FOR SOMETHINGS. THE LAYOUT OF THE UNIT IS VERY GOOD, MOST OF THE BUTTONS HAVE DUAL PURPOSES WHICH IS GOOD. THE ONLY THING I COULD SAY IS THAT THE FADERS CAN BE A BIT FIDDLEY IF YOU HAVE CHUNKY FINGERS. MY MAIN PROBLEM WITH THIS UNIT IS ALSO WITH THE FADERS, BECAUSE THEY ADJUST THE SOUND LEVELS THEY SOMETIMES DO NOT RESPOND IF YOU MOVE THEM TOO QUICKLY. SO MAKE SURE YOU MOVE THE FADERS SLOWLY SO YOU GET THE CORRECT LEVEL THAT YOU WANT.

I USE A CUSTOM MADE ACOUSTIC AND A FENDER MEX STRAT WITH THIS. THE SOUND QUALITY IS EXCELLENT. THE BUILT IN CONDENSOR MIC IS SUPERB, I LOVE THE SOUND I CAN GET WITH MY ACOUSTIC. I CAN JUST REST THE UNIT ON MY LAP WHILE I PLAY AND IT PICKS OUT THE TONE OF MY GUITAR BRILLIANTLY. YOU CAN ALSO ADD BUILT IN EFFECTS TO ELECTRIC GUITARS SUCH AS DISTORTION, REVERB, CHORUS. I HAVEN'T USED ANY OF THESE YET AS I USED MY BOSS ME-50 MULTI EFFECT PROCESSOR FOR THE RECORDING I DID. I WOULD ASSUME THE EEFECTS ARE PRETTY DAMN GOOD THOUGH. I AM BASING THIS ASSUMPTION ON THE FACT I USED TO OWN A ZOOM MRS-802 AND THE EFFECTS WERE GREAT. THE BUILT IN DRUM MACHINE IS REALLY GOOD TOO. THERE IS ALSO A BUILT IN BASS EFFECT TO THAT YOU CAN CUSTOMISE, I HAVE PLAYED WITH IT A BIT AND IT SEEMS VERY GOOD.

I'VE HAD THIS ABOUT A MONTH NOW AND HAVEN'T HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH IT.

ZOOM'S WEBSITE IS GOOD. YOU CAN DOWNLOAD A PROGRAMME WHICH CONVERTS THE DATA ON THE MEDIA CARD INTO WAV FILES SO YOUR SONGS CAN BE STORED ON COMPUTER AND EVENTUALY BURNT ONTO CD (IF YOU HAVE A CD BURNER OBVIOUSLY)

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR NEARLY 5 YEARS NOW AND MY MAIN MUSIC TASTES ARE 70/80'S ROCK AND METAL BUT I AM A TURNING INTO A CLOSET COUNTRY FAN TOO. I HAVE A STRAT AND LES PAUL COPY ASWELL AS MY MAIN STRAT AND ACOUSTIC BUT I HAVE JUST BOUGHT A LINE6 POD2 SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO USING IT WITH THE PS-04.
IF IT WAS STOLEN I WOULD DEFFINATELY THINK ABOUT GETTING ANOTHER ONE. IT WOULD BE THIS OR THE MRS-802 AGAIN. LIKE I MENTIONED ABOVE I LOVE THE CONDESOR MIC BUT THE FADERS LET THE UNIT DOWN. ALSO THE MEDIA CARD THAT COMES WITH IT IS PRETTY USELESS, IT HAS ENOUGH SPACE ON IT TO ALLOW YOU TO PLAY AROUND ON IT BUT YOU WILL NEED TO BUY A CARD WITH MORE MEMORY ON IT WHEN YOU START RECORDING PROPERLY.

With a little help from the user manual (came with manuals in german, english, french, spanish, and some more) all works fine. Its really easy to understand, and you will learn all the most important steps really fast. BUT, dont lose the manual, there are a lot of "fine-tuning" and not often needed parts which you cant remember all.

Well the drum and bass-patterns sounds very good. i ve used a boss "dr. rhythm" years ago, and hell, the ps04 drum and bass-sounds a much better. The Effects for Guitar, Mastering, Line-In, Mic, and Bass are good too. I prefer to play Death Metal, Metal, Punk, but also slow accoustic songs, and Electronic stuff, and i have all the effects i need on this little thingy. Just the 12-String effect, and the auto-wah sounds not really good to me, all the other are more or less good to use.

The EQ is fine too, but i prefer other programs for the mix/mastering.

I own the ps04 now for about an half year, and sometimes i am really rude with my equipment (dropped it from the desk or bookshelf, beer run over it, and stuff) but it still works as good as on the first day i turned it on.

Dont needed one. But i downloaded the File Manger from zooms homepage, because you will need it to transfer your files from your ps04 to your pc and to convert the .aud-files to wav.

Well, i use the ps04 for prerecording songs for a pc-game, and for demo-recordings with my band (punk, metal). Its really great, because its so small and has such a good sound. Its perfect for making demo-cds, rehearsal-room-recordings, or just for fun, playing along your prerecorded music. i love to record first my rhythmguitar and than jam along solis.

I think its the best palm-recording-stuff at this low costs.

User Interface: The user interface is a bit complicated with some important functions buried under several layers of menu picks. This is necessary due to the size of the unit and the resultant need to "multiplex" the functionality of most of the controls. However, a read-through of the manual and some experimentation using the Quick-Start guide should have you laying tracks within an hour or two. Download and read the manual prior to receiving your PS-04 and you'll have a great head start. Creating / editing patterns for the drum/bass machine is particularly cumbersome -- again, using the Pattern Editor tool on a PC is a reasonable solution. The built-in patterns are quite good and the QUALITY of the sampled sounds is excellent (I was "jamming along" after just a few minutes w/ the box!)

The included drum and bass machine is excellent, albeit difficult to program (get the Pattern Editor tool from the Zoom site). Better yet are the range and quality of the built-in effects. Except for an external Crybaby pedal, I need NO other effects. The biggest plus is the price; 44.1KS/s, 16-bit A/Ds and D/As and 20-bit internal signal processing are the equivalent of the best there is (yeah, there are some 24-bit sampling units out there, but digital is digital; 16-bit is "CD-Quality" -- what you put in IS what you'll get out. Period.)

I've only owned the unit for a few weeks, but based on Zoom's reputation and past experiences with Zoom products, I suspect the PS-04 will hold up well. It IS incredibly small, so it deserves to be handled gently! I carry it around inside the padded box it came in.

Be sure to download and use the free File Manager software from the Zoom site. You'll need SmartMedia read/write capabilities on your PC -- if your current PC does NOT support this, you can purchase a USB-based reader/writer for ~$20 (US) at Staples.

The Pattern Editor software (also linked on their site) is a very useful tool for more easily programming the drum/bass machine, but it's NOT free and you will need to be able to read/write the SmartMedia card to use the software.

For the price, this lil' wonder cannot be beat! I also own a Roland VS-840gx and a Fostex MR-8; except for record time (you WILL want to purchase a larger SmartMedia card -- I found a Samsung 128MB card for $19 on-line; be SURE to check the "compatible card" list on the Zoom website -- certain manufacturers' cards will NOT work in this box!), the PS-04 is as good and in some ways BETTER (the built-in effects and drum/bass machine) than either the Roland or Fostex offering.

Minuses: Zoom SHOULD include: a bigger SmartMedia Card; a USB connection (you need to have a SmartMedia Reader on your PC -- they're cheap but a USB port would have been an excellent, very low cost addition); MIDI in/out; padded carrying case; AC adapter (IF you elect to get an AC adapter, be CERTAIN to check polarity -- the unit uses a bizarre "center-negative" polarity!); XLR mic input (THIS is my biggest complaint -- I use an external TubePac pre-amp and a CS-1000 mic; seems to work great.) I've seen other reviews that claim the built-in mic is excellent, but I have no experience with it and therefore will not comment on that feature. While there are indeed 40 "virtual tracks", only 4 tracks (plus the drum/bass tracks) can be played back at a time. Ergo, you'll need to create sub-mixes on some of the v-tracks for multi-part compositions. Not a big problem, but it DOES exacerbate the "short total record time" issue related to the size of the included SmartMedia card (You'll have to erase the included "demo song" to have ANY decent amount of record time on the provided card).

Ease of Use was probably my biggest issue with this unit, until I got used to the button pushing, as great a box of tricks as it is. Due to its compact size, some buttons have dual functionality and this caused some initial confusion regarding selecting either the mic or input as source and assigning to a track and then applying Insert and Send(Reverb) effects to that track. In fact, I felt like throwing it out the f**king window with this nonsense. I previously had a Boss BR8 which was brilliant in its simplicity, although was lacking in sound quality I thought.

Havent edited patches as yet, havent felt the need as there are several inbuilt that I love and use for Electric guitar and mic effects for recording acoustics. Not keen on any more button pushing than I need to.

The Manual is very precise - it has to be, since you would never figure out, for instance, how to Bounce(compulsory) to a Virtual take using a mastering effect before commencing the process of transferral to computer. Once again, this involves more than what is reasonable button pushing if you ask me. And it is not intuitive.

So far I have used a Yamaha Pacifica 112(Alder body) electric, mainly with the standard humbucker direct into the Ps04 and a Takamine Koa acoustic mic'd with the bultIn condenser set on Hi gain.

I don't find this unit noisy at all but actually very clear right thru to mixdown. One must pay attention to input/mic levels and individual track levels which can prove fiddly to set before getting it right. The sliders are tiny and if you have fat fingers, well, good luck there!
One thing not commented on by other users is that in order to use the builtIn mic, you really need to stand this unit upright(not possible on its own, due to a curved base, go figure..) to get a decent signal. Zoom ideally should supply a little frame/stand to accomplish this but I have made do with a cheap substitute and am frankly amazed by the clarity achievable with this mic. It is a miracle of technology if ever there was one.

As mentioned, I have used the effects without editing. Guitarists are a bloody fussy lot, aren't they? At the end of the day, a decent clean sound and decent dirty is plenty for me. For clean, I use mainly the Arppegio patch(no 18?) and for dirty the MS Stack(no 10?) with lovely slapback echo, just perfect for the strat humbucker. There is 1 other patch for dirty which amazes me as it makes me sound like a sweep picker, and I am definitely not one of those. How it does this, I am still trying to work out as there is no noticeable delay. OK, for a lot of the Insert patches, I would pass on 'em.

The Preset mic effects applied to the built-in condenser mic will make an average acoustic sound like a million bucks thru a half-decent set of cans. The unit is worth it for this bit of trickery alone! There are about 20 mic effects, half of which sound very good to brilliant for acoustic guitar applications. Mind you, I may be spoiled as I am using an all solid spruce/koa wood Takamine Dread, regarded as 1 of their best. I have plugged my Martin Backpacker in to good effect and plan to use it into the PS4 more on my next vacation. Compact or not?

Next is to to select a Send effect which is where Reverb exists - and once again, there is a staggering selection to choose from. My fave is the Dome type which I have to say, does it for me every time! I apply this only to the guitars and not to bass or preset drums.
I planned to program the builtIn Bass track but couldnt be bothered with the button pushing , so I just use the Bass simulator Insert effect applied to the rhythm Strat pickup and am surprised at the result. Once again, better than the Boss BR8.

Mastering Effects are yet another brilliant feature of this little box, to be used for final mixdown bouncing. I cant see the need for ever editing any of these, the biggest problem is deciding which 1 to use as many do sound very good indeed. In any case, you can do a a dozen mixes, virtual tracks and memory permitting.

I have had this unit 1 month and it has locked up on me once, which left me far from impressed. The LCD screen froze and no amount of button pushing would unlock it! Even turning the unit switch to off didnt do a thing! Thats BAD. The only way around was to physicaly remove 1 of the batteries, obviously posing great risk to losing the last 2 hours work on the card. Amazingly, there was no loss of data, so I was thankful for that at least. I offer No Opinion for this category. I suspect it ran out of memory - I was using a 64mb card with only 1 3minute song on 4 tracks when it happened.

I dont think this device is designed for gig use. The maximum SmartMedia card size which can be used is 128Mb, according to the manual. I would have thought the idea of this box is to get ideas down reasonably quickly and for transferral later to CD, via the downloadable software from Zoom's web site.

Not needed.

Been playing on and off for many years now. This unit will work for any music style, as indicated by the multitude of inbuilt drum patterns to choose from.
At the end of the day, the features in this device encompass everything needed to get a darn decent sound onto 5 tracks, including the built-in drums.
Digital distortion is not really a problem , provided careful attention is paid to Input/Track levels. The only issue, really, is if 4 tracks(plus drum machine) will be enough. If it were lost or stolen, I would seriously consider it again, for its size, features and sound quality. Then again, I may go for the Zoom MRS 8 for those extra tracks. I had far greater success with sound quality using this machine over the Boss BR8 and I say, Zoom sounds better.

I had the PS-02 before this, so it was pretty easy to use for me. NEVER LOSE THE MANUAL, you will need it close by at all times. Patch editing is nothing & if you screw up, you can always just restore it.

This thing sounds great to me, either line in or with the built in effects. I line in with a Behringer V-Amp & on the recorder I use an empty setting so it's all amp. I do all my final editing on the computer ( using soundforge ), which eq's the sounds I get from the ps-04 perfectly. I've recorded many songs with this thing & have never had any problems ( except when I accidentally do something stupid )

Pretty reliable, although I never move it from my room. I would have put the smartmedia card somewhere accessible ( it's in the battery compartment ), but no biggie.

n/a

I've recorded acoustically using the condensor mic, straight up metal & punk, & everything in between. I love the ps-04. It's the perfect size, gives me all the options I need, you can bounce track after track after track ( at first, it's a little confusing, but once you get the hang of it, it's way easy ). The only thing I would change about it is editing the drums. It's a pain in the @$$, so I stick with most of the presets. I will eventually get a real drum machine to accompany this thing. I loved the ps-02. I really really love the ps-04.

Very simple to use. You can easily enter in the Rithm menu, in the recorder menu, in the effect menu ecc.
the menus reproduce the logic of analog recorders.

The quality of recording is good, you can have very clear and hi-fi sound.
The quality of amps simulations is not great at all but you can have good simulations to write and record ideas.
The quality of effects is good.
I use PS-4 as a multitrack recorder, or as a amp simulator to study with phones, or as a real time vocal effect in live performance.
Everything in the palm of your ends.

The sound is generally quite good. I can get some recordings that sound better than many of the pre-70's albums. On some songs it will sound great before the final bounce and then it comes out sounding like it was recorded through a pipe. I'm sure this problem can be overcome. But I haven't mastered it yet.
I haven't tried editing patches except for simply stopping at some point and re-recording the lead. Not a problem. The editing stuff is in there.
Not a bad manual. What you have is a fairly complex system in a relatively simple configuration. I think they've done great. Japanese ingenuity.

I usually record with a Martin 12-string directly into the mic while singing. Then I use the other 3 tracks to add leads, bass, and occasional keyboard stuff. I have also added vocal harmonies with good results. I have not tried to go beyond that, but the device offers the capability of bouncing indefinitely.
You have to take real care not to exceed the warning that comes up on the screen. It can distort. But even if you don't you will still get a pretty good recording. I adjust it again when making wave-files.
I used to use a Tascam tape 4-track and this is way superior. Once you get your effects down they are quite awesome. And you can tweak them. There are also lots to choose from. If you don't like some you will find others that you will.
I occasionally use a cheesy Peavey Pacer that I've had forever. But, with a V-amp I can make it sound like a tube amp. I tried that instead of the 12-string and sang along and it came out fine.
My favorite artist is Bob Dylan. I even write like him. My voice is better than his, but I like his better. My style sort of combines Bob and AC-DC, but using the acoustic tames down the songs. I want my lyrics out front. They're good. Can I sound as good as Bob? Who can't?
Have you heard some of his worst? Can I sound like AC-DC? People try but fail. This little dude has amazing potential. I've been in situations where I just plugged a background CD recording I made on the PS04 into a P.A. system and karaoke'd because my band was not available. It came across great.
Some of the effects, I think, excel. I like the ones with lots of sustain. The higher distortion ones come across on all tracks. I play them usually with a Strat. And you can tweak them a lot. I haven't used other devices yet but a wah. You can also get some really cool mellow stuff.

Been using it for over 6 months, no problems. As I said, I have used it as a backup. A CD I recorded myself and sang over it to about 30 people.
It's a bit of work of course, but I'll do it again if I have to.

Zoom is in Tokyo, I think. I e-mailed them. They were prompt and solved my problem. There was not info in the manual to get you to CD. They do provide the software, though.
It has not required repair. That could be a bummer, I don't know. I upgraded the sound card to 128. That gives you about 15-20 mins. of recording. 2 or 3 songs for me. Then I move it to wav-file and clear the sound card. I do this all very quickly now.

I record my own songs for people I know. My daughter played them incessently and loved them. My influences were folk-rock, blues, acid-rock, and metal. For the size and portability of this thing, there are no peers.
I've been at this as a sort of hobby for about 40 years, dude. My gear is pretty much described above. I have not invested a lot.
I would buy this baby again. In a heartbeat.
I love this thing's ease and space-saving features. I can record anywhere, even the bathroom or garage, on the spur-of-the-moment. It has more potential than anything I've ever seen, in that regard. Let's call it a super personal recorder. I plug it into this stereo thing I have that's like a BOSE radio, and it wipes me out.
I did compare it to other digital 4-tracks. It doesn't have CD capability in it (it's smaller than a CD). They are probably a little better, I don't know. But this small package is dynamite.
There's probably something missing, but I can't think what it is.
It is a magnificent little music maker. If you can't make music with this, you're in the wrong business.
I think this is cutting edge, in a way. I mean, you can't get much more compact. Bob, if you're out there, fork over a couple hundred and get your ideas down with this.

I'm doing research into this device, I found the pdf version of the manual 1 hour later.
http://www.zoom.co.jp/archive/English_Manual/E_PS04.pdf

Pretty easy to use, just take the time to read the manual.

This is where the PS04 fails miserably. I bought it not expecting miracles, but the sound wasn't even good enough to listen to. The tone is very elctronic, no warmth at all, I couldn't bear it.

I'll say 5 because I returned it after only one day. Feels very "plasticky."

No idea.

I like to play 80s hard rock, had been playing for a few months only, so I'm not very experienced. I can tell a good sound from a bad one however. After returning it, I bought a Korg PX4 (no recording), and it sounds ten times better.

Easy to learn the basics, difficult to learn some of the deeper parts of it.. Overall I dont see how it could be any better though. The only reason it can be confusing is because of all the features

Not 44.1 but it does sound great. Lots of effects (vocals, guitar, mastering). Theres a lot of effects beyong the presets also.. the drum machine is amazing for such a small/inexpensive device. The sounds are especially nice when channels are setup for linked stereo(using 2 channels for 1 recording)

Hasnt failed me yet.. Reminds me of a palm pilot. Froze 1 time but didnt cause any lose of data. Goes forever on 4 charged batteries

no clue, no need to contact

IMO its the best guitar accessory on the market for someone who dosent have big $$$ to spend on professional equipment.. its the only device i use with my guitar besides an amp/headphones

I normaly use a gameboy and do tracking using LSDj (www.littlesounddj.com) and this was just as easy to use.

i owned it for less than a month and the backlight went out. I tried to bring it back to Music Go Round and they didn't honur their month long waranty.

I can't find a page for the WAV EXTRACTOR that exists for the ps-04 ... does anyone have a link, or know where to look on zoom's official site (http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1705&brandID=4#servsupport) ???

a good, useful fourtrack but the build is shakey and zoom is a hard company to get ahole of.

It's not that simple really, as for ps-02. However a quick tour with the manual and you're on the run.
It took a bit to figure out how to use the line input and the manual does not cover this function much clearly to tell the truth.
The thing I REALLY HATE is the fact that THERE'S NO POSSIBILITY TO JAM OVER AN AUX INPUT, unless you want to use the Input+line in and have BOTH THE SIGNALS EFFECTED.
Also not always the insert send diference is user friendly: for example if you want a guitar with delay AND chorus you have to set a delay in the insert effects (or a chorus) and a chorus (or delay) in the send effects with the result that if then you want a reverb for the entire song you cannot do it because the SEND part of the effects has already been used.
I still have my PS-02 and I find it great for jamming and a great overall unit, the ps-04 is amazing for recording but has its faults.
ALSO the software provided is better than the one provided with the ps-02 (in this case you can mix all the v-takes to one wav while you couldn't before) but then agai there is a step backward: the rythm section of your song goes screwed (I haven't tried yet "recording" a rythm song rather than using the drum machine in accompaniment, we'll see).
Dealing with PEAKS and CLIPPING is a real pain in the ass (worse then PS-02)
The mic is simply GREAT, but the unit is a bit noisy (there's a simple electronic mod that can easily be made).

I use: PRS 24, fender am std strat a Jim Reed Brian May red Special and a custom shop Telecaster with Lindy Fralin plus a Larrivee DVC09 and I must say that the sounds are really good, they're difficult to manage but are really cool.
I plug the ps-04 in my PA since the amp compresses a bit the sound (and does't give the spazialization of the pan settings).
The Brian May sound is achieved quite easily (fundamentally the sound of the old 9001), the distorsions are full and rich but, again, in the PA, I don't really use it as a multieffects processor.

Well it does't seem to be really tough, after all Zoom is known for the cheap quality of the plastic used, don't make it fall unless you want to glue the many pieces, PS-02 was FAR TOUGHER and more compact, the battery bay cover is a bit loose in it's socket

They answer, that nowadays it's a real miracle. I've argued with them about the stupid lack of an AUX plug (I'd have paid more than 70$ to have it) and they answered properly.

I play:
Hard Rock, Blues, Jazz, fingerpicking, funky and pop. The ps-04 has a sound for them all but you REALLY HAVE TO SQUEEZE IT in order to get what you want.

THE FACT IS: ps-02 WAS a killer application, in my opinion it was a milestone in the portable gear universe, and was a fantastic surpassing of the old 9001. PS-04 isn't really the top of the top FOR LITTLE STUPID THINGS that really upset me let's summarize them:

-NO AUX JAMMING (just forget it)
-NO AC ADAPTER (they must be really stupid, everybody knows that buying PS-04 AND THEN the adapter would cost more than PS-04+adapter in the same bundle)
-EFFECTS ARE BOND TO THE PROJECT AND ARE NOT BROADLY USABLE (you have to copy them and there is not the distinction between USER and PRESETS allowing you to keep the factory sounds)

Zoom would you please use more brain? Try to catch up with yourselves prior asking "catch us if you can"

I found the selections were not intuitive and it took some careful readings of the manual to get it right. After about a week, I was able to work around the device without a problem. The project organization was a plus for me,as I found selecting different tracks for different songs in the same project problematic. The drum machine settings are global, so if you tweak them, you can be out of sync with your recordings making it a challange to get it back together.

The Smart Media used is going obso according to my local big box electronics store. I immediately bought a 128 mb card from another store on discount. I recommend a reader and downloading the (free) reader / writer software from the Zoom site. With this, you can backup your work to pc and export it to wave files.

This is not a pro device,and it does not need to be. The 31.25 khz sample rate is the limiting factor. It does a very adequate job for a portable device. I view it as an audio scratch pad, and it is perfect for this application. I plan on re-recording my ideas using my PC based system (Delta-1010 / Sonar).

The microphone does good job. I overdubbed a harmonica track with some echo and it was fine. Be careful not to engage the mic when plugged into an amp (ouch!).

The headphone amp could use a tad more oomph. Get a decent set of phones.

I found the wave file exporter did not seem to give as clean a sound as direct out of the PS04, even at the highest quality setting. I was upsampling to 44.1 khz rate, and things sounded muddy.More investigation is required in this area, as I want an all digital transfer.

The plastic case is a bit cheezy. The back panel which covers the battery compartment could fit a bit better. Overall, good mechanics for such a portable device. I am using an old cellphone case for it and the spare flash card (32mb) that came with the PS04.

I am running on alkaline AA cells, and they seem to last 5-6 hours. I have a set of super NiMh cells that I plan to use which should double this time.

Have not needed it.

This device is fantastic for what it does. I wanted a portable effects box for travel and got a 4 track digital recorder + effects + drum machine. I highly recommend it for that purpose. You could also use it for:
- a two track digital recorder
- as an effects box into an amp
- as a simple rhythm box for jamming
- as a paperweight (no .. not really ;-) )

The PS-04 is Fun on the Run ....

The interface is well thought out, but it will still take you a little sifting through the manual to "get it". Once you get the swing of things, however, you'll find manipulating your sound a sinch.

The pre-set effects are pretty good, doesn't have a wide range of versatile effects but it's enough to get you by. The drum machine adds a whole lot of value to this gadget. The quality of recording is perfectably acceptable. Remember what your paying!!

I've never had any problems with it. I probably wouldn't use it for live recording applications, its definately better suited towards doing private recording work in your living room. But it does everything its suppose to.

Never needed it, the manual is very well written and has awnsered all my questions.

I use the ps-04 just to mess around and but down some ideas so that I can improve upon them. This machine is great for this because it comes with a tuner, effects proccessor and drum machine all in one. The four tracks and the virtual tracks give you plenty of space to work with. Even has a bass machine too but i haven't figured it out yet. I sometimes wish the interface were a little simpler but i don't have any major complaints. If you're looking something to use as a musical notepad to sketch with, this is what your looking for. Plus, at this price you won't get digital quality like it anywhere.

I am used to the PS02 and needed about a week to fully understand the PS04. The manual is well-written. I was able to record acoustic and electric guitar with nice sounds out of the box.
The PS04 can sound much better after some tweaking.
Compared to a PC or Mac program I would say 6 but for the size I give a 8.
Because of my additional PatternEditor I give a 9

Again compared to a PC or Mac 192Khz sample frequency and 24 bit resolution I would say 7 but for the size I give a 10.
The sound quality is much better than with the old PS02 or the boxes of other manufacturer.
I was able to do very nice sounding recordings with the PS04 and a guitar only.
Check some of my songs:
http://www.soundside.de/audio/12BarBlues.mp3
Check also songs from other users here:
http://www.2090.org/zoom/bbs/viewforum.php?f=6
I expanded the factory drum samples with some of my own drum samples:
http://www.soundside.de

I really love the sound of the PS04.
It's nice out of the box - and better after some tweaking

Can't tell you after a month - but no problems so far.
My PS02 worked for 3 years without hardware problems.

My emails were always answered - the Zoom people are very nice and helpful !
The best information & support will be found in the user forum:
http://www.2090.org/zoom/bbs/viewforum.php?f=8

I hate to use a laptop, a soundcard, a guitar preamp, a drum computer software, a mic preamp, mic ... in a hotel room.
Where ever I am - I can switch the PS04 on - and play - and if I like to play than I like to play not to configure.
I like to tweak, program and configure too - but that's another story.
The PS02 was the first unit to switch on and play - and the PS04 is even better.
If you are looking for a replacement for your tube amp the PS04 will not be the right thing nor if you compare it to Cubase SX or Logic....
But if you like to have a tool to motivate you to make music - without any hassle - than the PS04 will be right for you.
Other guitar stuff I use:
Fender Custom Shop Strat, Line6 Variax, TheBone travel guitar, Godin bassguitar, Washborn acoustic steal guitar, Musima acoustic nylon guitar
Fender tube amps, Yamaha DG-Stomp, Beringer Bass V-Amp
I use Steinberg Cubase for about 10 years.

I cannot think of any device, musical or otherwise, that does so much for $200. When there is so much that can be done, there is a lot to learn. The manual is very good. It starts with an overview of use, and then develops the topics of recording, mixing, rhythm track editing, and effects editing in detail.

I own a PS-02 and love it. I spent a while asking myself whether I really needed the PS-04. My advice: If you like the 02, you'll like the 04 as much. However, they are considerably different devices. It is much easier to work with the four tracks of the PS-04 than with the three tracks of the PS-02. While the 02 had almost audio editing capability, the 04 has as much as any table-top four-track. The 04 has a considerably better rhythm machine with 350 preset patterns and the ability to record your own patterns. (However, I find the advertised FAST pattern input method to be of little use unless the entered pattern is very simple.)

Effects are a toss-up. Microphone and mixdown effects in the 04 are excellent. The new ARRM effects are somewhat gimicky. The separation of effects into insert effects and send and return effects takes some getting used to. There is no reverb module in insert effects; reverb must be added as a send and return effect. My biggest complaint about effects is that important stereo effects like autopanning and ping-pong delay are not included as insert effects. (It's possible to devise a ping-pong delay by combining properly timed delays using both insert and send and return effects.)

While the 02 is organized by songs, the 04 is organized by projects containing songs. Each project has its own set of up to 60 insert effect patches. While this organization has the advantage of allowing a huge number of user patches to be stored, I would prefer the simplicity of a one set of user patches universally available to every song.

If you have a PS-02, you can use the same power adapter with the PS-02. The included SmartMedia card is not sufficient for recording. With an adapter and a 128 Mb card, the cost of the unit is more like $280.

It's possible to get excellent sounds out of the PS-04. As with any multieffects device, doing so means spending a couple of days, suiting your own tastes, not driving effects over the edge, and paying a lot of attention to equalization.

This all-plastic device would feel much more substantial in a metal case. I would have gladly paid an additional $50 for a metal case.

Right now the PS-04 has one big deficiency. Unlike the PS-02, it doesn't come with any preprogrammed songs. I find it takes about an hour to create a satisfactory rhythm track for a song of any complexity. With its 50 preprogrammed songs, the PS-02 is great for jamming. By comparison, the 04 is awkward for jamming. If online software (for BOTH PC's and Macs) eventually allows the loading of a library of songs lines like that for the 02, the usefulness of the 04 will increase tremendously. People at Zoom: I hope you are reading this!

With excellent effects, a good buit-in condenser mike, a flexible drum and bass machine, and a versatile four-track recorder, this tiny device is twenty times the value of the first table-top digital recorder I bought about six years ago. All nitpicicking above aside, you want this thing!

This device is about as easy to use as it can be, understanding that it offers a staggering array of features in a very small form factor. I downloaded the manual when I ordered the device and read the physical manual it came with a couple of times as I tinkered with it, along with getting great advice from the user forum at 2090.org. I needed all that help to use it. I never did figure out how to program the bass patterns to what I wanted them to do (very simple, Judas Priest/AC-DC style bass lines). I just gave up and recorded my guitar run through a pitch transposer and pretended it sounded like a bass. :)

The layout is very logical, and the manual is well-written and generally easy to understand. Editing patches is kind of hidden, which is a shame, since the factory guitar presets are absolutely horrible, but you can get some nice sounds out of it AFTER you tweak the presets. Also, your tweaked presets are saved with your song and, thus, lost when you record over the song. :(

This unit is not easy to use. However, it is about as easy as it can be, considering the breadth of its abilities and its small form factor.

One big flaw, though, is getting the sounds from the device to where you can use them, e.g., in an MP3 or on a CD. Zoom uses a proprietary format for the files and requires a card reader (not included) to transfer them to your computer. If companies can make MP3 players/flash memory that double as a keychain, Zoom should be able to equip the PS04 with the ability to save files in standard MP3 format and a standard size USB port, so you can upload them to any modern computer - and you better believe that includes Macs!

I tried it with several electric guitars, using the unit's presets, and also using a Digitech GNX1 for sounds (pitch transposer engaged to fake a bass track) and a Behringer V-Amp Pro (sounded much better than the Zoom's presets, even after they were tweaked). I played my songs back through Sony in-ear Walkman-style headphones and through an Altec-Lansing ATP3 computer speaker setup that included a subwoofer. It sounded okay, but I don't think I could've fooled anyone into thinking it was a song off the radio, even with a good story about how this is a poor recording of some uknown band, but give it a listen anyway and tell me what you think (I was trying to conjure up such a tale to get reviews of my work anonymously). :)

The Zoom's preset bass and drum tracks are okay but not great. I ended up giving up on the bass track and just recording my own (as noted above), since programming bass into this puppy is difficult to say the least.

Vocals sounded pretty nice using the Zoom presets, and gave me more confidence in my singing voice than I normally have. The PS04's effects are limited. I got better effects sounds with my Zoom 505 II and my Zoom 606, even though those are really low end devices from the same company. Go figure.

I only had it for a short time before returning it, but I had no problems. It is not a gigging device. It is for recording and, to a lesser extent, practice, though my Korg Pandora PX4 (not PXR4) makes a FAR superior practice partner, as it is much easier to use and to get some basic backing sounds going with in short order.

Don't know. Never had to use it. Zzounds was good about the return, though.

I play hard rock/metal. This is good for that. You can tweak it to create some nice, heavy guitar sounds. I have been playing for about 20 years. I own several Jackson guitars, a Custom Shop Strat, a Peavey V-Type and a Kramer EVH Replica, along with some acoustics, a Behringer V-Amp Pro, Behringer Ultrafex, Marshall ValveState rack-mount head, Marshall 1960A cab, Digitech GNX1, etc.

I returned this device because for the money (PS04 @ $199 + rechargeable batteries/charger @ $45 + 128 MB memory card @ $60 + card reader @ $20 = $324), you can do better. In my case, that means Apple GarageBand software @ $49 + M-Audio USB interface @ $149 + SM-58 mic & cord @ $109 = $307. For PC users, I know there are other options, e.g., Cool Edit, etc., but I'm a Mac user. Incidentally, this device is not particularly Mac-friendly, with Mac software promised (where have I heard that before?) to convert Zoom's proprietary sound files to MP3 format.

>How easy is it to get a good sound out of it?
Very easy once you've been through the manual and played around with it. The manual has a quick start guide that's good for getting your first tune down, but the more advance features take a while to learn.
>How about Editing patches?
Editing patches is fairly easy once you drill your way down through the menus. Again, the manual will be your best friend for a while.
>How is the manual for it (if there is one)?
Well written, fairly well laid out.

The sound quality is generally very good, although it's not "CD quality" A/D conversion is 20 bit, 64 times oversampling
D/A conversion is 20 bit, 8 times oversampling
Sampling frequency is 31.25 kHz.
>Are the effects weak or do they always sound great?
The effects are generally very good, although the preset patches are a little over the top, but you can quickly edit them to taste. This unit would be worth buying just as a multi effects unit, even if you didn't use the other features. I would have given it a 10 for sound quality if it were 44.1 kHz sampling

It is very dependable, but I wouldn't want to drop it. I owned the PS-02 for a long time and it never failed me. The PS-04 feels even sturdier, plus they wisely moved the SmartMedia card inside the battery case to keep it away from nasty dirt.

Never needed it. If you want support, stop by the PS-04 forum at http://www.2090.org/zoom/bbs/viewforum.php?f=8

Overall rating is I love the PS-04; it is the most powerful and versatile piece of gear at this price and size. It allows you to get the ideas from your head into a decent demo without breaking a sweat. Every guitarist should get one, or anyone who wants a versatile digital four track recorder with tons of extras.

The PS-04 allows recording of 4 tracks with 10 virtual tracks for a total of 40 available tracks, plus a built in bass track and stereo drums. The bass and drums can be recorded to a free audio track, then all audio tracks opened on your computer (with software) and mixed there. Or you could mix on the PS-04 by doing a bounce. You can program your own bass lines and drum patterns, or use the presets. You can use the built in mic with effects to record vocals, acoustic guitar, whatever, or plug in a mic. You can copy, cut, paste bits of audio to any measure or beat you want, making looping possible.
In summary, it's a 40 track digital recorder (with 4 tracks playable at a time) with a builtin drum machine and bass, multi-effects for guitars, vocals, bass, and synth, mixdown effects, unlimited cutting and pasting and editing of audio, and a guitar tuner thrown in for kicks. And the whole thing is selling for $199! I'd say that's pretty good.
Full Disclosure: I got mine for free from the wonderful people at Samson Tech, but that did not affect my opinion of the PS-04. I would have bought one if they hadn't sent me one to check out.: