Zoom ST-224

I purchased th unit cash from Mars music in the Metro Detroit area. The reason I purchased the unit was to enable me to sequence songs.

There are several thing that make this unit special. First and foremost the user interface is probably the most freindly of all the other units I have played with. I definitely like the fact that the unit is small enough to transport anywhere and set up. The smart media card also add some spunk to the unit allowing you to store alot more info without clogging up the internal memory. Another great thing about the unit is that it comes with built in effects. Unlike some of it's bigger brethren " Akai's mpc series", There are no after purchase upgrades to drain your bank account.

There are very few things that are undesirable about this machine. The only real kink in the unit is it's appearance. "How can a unit so small and unassuming be so versatile and easy to use?" Don't let the looks fool you though. This unit rocks!

Construction is great! The unit withstands hours of use a daily. The buttons and knobs are beefy and take quite a bit of abuse. I refer to the unit as "Little Big Man". Zoom had a great idea by lighting the pads on the unit. When a pad is in operation it is lit. This makes editing very simple because you don't have to fumble around to find a particular pad.

My personal feelings are quite simple: Zoom has trough a curveball at the competition by creating a unit at a third of the price of comparable units. If these big companies don't watch out Zoom will soon corner the market for pre-production equipment.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

For the price(especially what they sell for used)the features are fine. So I base the high rating on the features to value scale. It has the capabilty to create complete tracks all on it's own,but sequencing these songs with good results takes time to master.This is of course if you plan to use the internal sequencer.Most will opt not to. For trasfering samples to your computer via smart media this is a very good sampler to get because of it's nice full sound. Midi is pretty bad though.

Price paid

$300

UTILIZATION

Very easy to use.Very intuitive user interface,and the manual was a breeze. The sequencer is easy to use,but very basic.If you resample sequences you can retrigger them as the song mode is recording,and you can make songs that way.

I don't gig,but it's very reliable,and pretty robust for such a small machine.

SOUNDS

It's a sampler,but one with character. Nice warm punchy sound.Probably the most slept on sampler for drums. Spend some time resampling with effects,and you'll see what I mean. Highest sampling rate is 32khz,but that's fine for drums,and in most cases I don't need more.

OVERALL OPINION

I like it's grittyness,and ease of use so I can't part with it.

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: Unknown (January 2-, 2002)

The features are great. I can still get around its lame sequencer. I have created a certain style making beats on it that I cant do with an MPC or anything else I know of.

Price paid

175

UTILIZATION

Easiest thing to use. And a million secrets that you will learn on your own.

Its good for the price. Its less than 2 pounds and lighter than an ES-1 and built about the same quality as an ES-1. Its good.

SOUNDS

Sound quality isnt the greatest for samples. But But messed up high pitch resamples come out in great quality. Its good enough for me.

OVERALL OPINION

Its very close to my heart! I just fried it so I am getting a new one very soon. VERY fun to create on. But its not for everyone. Some people dont like it. If you like strangeness at a budget cost, get it. If you want hip hop, trip hop, electro, get the ES-1. But know that the Zoom has 22 effects and alot of secrets that the ES-1 doesnt have. BUT the ES-1 has an awesone sequencer.

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: Unknown ( 7-, 2003)

Price paid

150EUR (used, but w/ ac adaptor)

UTILIZATION

I just tried it without looking into the manual when i got it home, i found that theres nothing i needed the manual for.

the in-/output level and the edit 2 knob could have been better. rest is fine.

SOUNDS

Well i think with the flanger more quality and less range would have been *something*. but nothing to complain about the rest

OVERALL OPINION

Well im a reggae selecta. i was looking for something to fill with lickshots and use as effector. and maybe for to start producing some riddims later on. i think thats about the device i wanted.

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: arsonist (January 2-, 2005)