All user reviews for the Zoom 505II Guitar

I've been playing guitar for about 7 years. mainly acoustic, but I've always loves effects and the countless sounds that can come out of
the tons of pedals out there
my biggest influences are pink floyd and radiohead

I picked up the 505II for about 90$CAD at Steve's in Ottawa



I was just looking for something simple with various mods and amp types
...nothing too fancy
I love the fact that not is it only an easy to use beginner pedal, but with 36 preset effects
and the ability to create your own and morph
the existing ones, it's surprisingly easy

plastic...ugh

see above...you have to be nice to her

again, good beginner pedal for cheap

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

I Got This At Wodwind And Brasswind. I Paid 50.00 Dollars.

It Has Some Cool And Usefull Sounds On It. Almost All Of The Presets Are Pretty Bad. You Can Make Some Awsome Sounds By Yourself Though.

Like I Said, The Presets Are Pretty Bad. It Doesn't Have The "Pro" Sound Of More Expensive Effects. Also The Plastic Casing Seems Like It Could Break Easily.

The Casing Is Plastic. The Quality Is Pretty Good For The Price.

This Would Make An Awsome First Effects Pedal (It Was Mine). Also, If You Are Looking For A Pedal That You Can Use On Tour And Stuff, This Isn't What Your Lokking For. Innless You Are Not Picky About Sound Quality.

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

I am a trailblazin' Iron Maiden guitarist and for that one needs effects for ones guitar.So I did buy one of it for my musical arsenal.I purchased it from E-bay for around INR 3000.

Once you read the instructions,its usage is a piece of cake.Effects are excellent like overdrive to acoustic or from metal to tremolo.You name it,it has it.


It is dangerously delicate looking.

It is made of superior quality plastic.Although you can use it directly,I prefrebly use a separate foot pedal.Its portable and smart looking.

You like to play the guitar?Then it is worth the money you will or may pay.Personally though,I will give it a 4/5.Indeed,a very good product from Zoom.

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

I paid $79.99 for the unit from Alpha Music in Virginia Beach, VA. I also brought a cabinet simulator direct box with this.

The Effect sound very nice. I like how you can set the unit up to Queue up patches instead of changes one patch at a time. The built in tuner is very accurate. I have not started making my own patches yet but it's straight forward and easy to program.

Did not come with an AC Adaptor. Thank God for Radio Shack. It does not have a switch so if you leave your guitar connected and forget to take out the batteries. Count on it being dead the next day.

Construction seems good. Light weight and small enought to throw in a gig bag. Quality also seems good. Only time will tell.

I think for the price and would you get it is an excellent buy. It just needs to come with the adaptor. For my setup it has a lot of potentional and I'm sure I'll get some good uses out of it.

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

I went right online to zoom.com to look for a pedal like my friend's zoom 505 effects unit. What I found was the 505II, the same great pedal with a few tweeks.
After reading about this unit for awile, I figured with the same great performance and the low cost of $79.95, I couldn't go wrong.

I like this unit for the great sound quallity. It has the best verieties of distortion and modulation. The limited reverb effects are perfectly balanced for generic reverb sound.
This unit is extreamly user friendly. Not only does it come with outstanding factory presets, but it is also very easy to make your own. Just set the selector switch to the effect you want to tweak and tweak it. When you get the sound you want, just hit store. Its that easy.

The few downsides of the unit are; the pause between effect changes, limited amount of reverb, limited EQ, and the pedals are a little close together. Also the fact that you have the option to use an expression pedal is good, but expensive.

The unit's housing is durable, sleek, and handsomly silver. Although the pedals are a little close together, they're big enough to see and hit acuratly from a standing position. It has a bright digital display to let you know what bank and efect you are on. The unit also has a master volume control for fine tuned sound control. I think it is a very comfortable effects unit not for the price of accesibility.

This is a very good unit for beginers through advanced players. The price is right for the efficiancy of this unit. And it has the best distortion options I have ever had the plaesure of using. Thank you for the great deal on my Zoom 505II guitar effects unit.

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

After a lot of pestering, I finally got my dad to buy me the zoom 505 II. Initially I wanted the 606, but had to settle for the 505 II later on. I paid Indian Rupees 4500, roughly around $95. I bought this unit after I read a LOTT of reviews and actually tried out the 505 I, 505 II, and 606

The best thing about this unit is its ease of use. Alritey, when u are changing fx and expect a whole load of presets at your feet...sorry brudder o mine, this baby can handle only 2 memory calls to each distortion each time ... only two pedals, so u've got to have the distortions streamlined to your gig in the memory patches. The feel and look of the unit is awesome. The settings are easy to operate.

The distortion deserves a mention - ok look guys..its not the best distortion out there...but it sure packs a lot of punch in it. Most of the distortions (especially the Fender Clean - fdr, Distortion - dt, and the PVY drive distortions KIK ASS). If u looking at giggin small time - this unit is definitely for u. If u planning on woodstock - forget it. LOL

I've heard a lot of complaints abt the input jacks going haywire..nothing has happened so far - in the first 3 months that is. Try digital recording on this baby and the sound comes out really DIGITAL and sukssss. Even a Creative LIVE soundcard sampled it rather bad on LINE IN. But..the amp pumps out some good distortion though. I feel the Metal Distrortion is great...the plain Distortion does the job pretty well...actually kiks ass.

The construction is well...lets say....the best when u consider the price of the unit. It look durable. Don't be fooled by the company's claim of SPACE AGE PLASTIC....get u'r mama to sit on it...and u goinna have a multitude of a multifx box

I'd recommend this baby to any intermediate / beginner. Good value for money. Packs a lot of tones ... comes close to many signature tones...like Metallica - Black Album, Slayer, Kill em all. Just a wee....a real wee lil bit digitized though.

U goinna have hours of fun with this box i bet.

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

second hand, 62 euro. I wanted flanger, chorus, etc but didn't have the money for all the different boss pedals

There are a lot of patches on the internet, and after trying lots of them and make some of my own, I now have some really good sounds!

To go from one sound to another during a song, you can only go 1 preset down or 1 preset up, so you really have to pay attention what preset you put next to the other so you can make it through your song.

It's second hand and still no damage, but it doesn't look like you can accidently throw it off your balcony.

I think it's amazing that for little money you get a lot of possibilities and super good sounds!

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

I payed 69.99 dollars for the unit and bought it from a Sam Ash outlet in Orlando Florida.

There are tons and tons of customization options on this multi effect pedal. Its got delays, chorus, reverbs, distortions, even an accoustic simulator which isnt half bad! Its a great way to start yourself out in guitar effects.

With 36 pre created effects, 12 distortions, 4 delays, several wah options, harmonies, chorus and etc this thing will give you hours apon hours of just sitting there and listening to each effect, its so cool! Comes with a headphone jack.

Several useless(to me anyway) effects come in the 36 precreated effects, however you can easily replace them with your own customized effect.

Plus you will probably wan't to buy the 16 dollar AC adapter to power the unit unless you want to change batteries every 20 hours, that is an unfortunate limitation. I bought the adapter after a month of wasting money on batteries.

The construction and quality are superb. The unit itself is made of hard plastic and it is very very durable. The pedals never get stuck and neither do the dials no matter how much you stomp on the thing. Its a sturdy piece of equipment.

This unit gives you a great introduction to guitar effects and gives you tons of effect options to choose from.

Its a ton of fun to play around with and I was actually very satisfied with some of the distortions and delays, they proved to be a great alternative to the crappy distortion on my amplifier.

I highly recomend this to beginning guitarists, however experienced guitarists will probably wont something a little more powerful along the lines of the Boss GT6 or ME-50. A great product overall however, I gave it a 4 out of 5.

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

Well I got this unit from my mum who is buying me the "cheapest pedal " in the shop u can get. It is from Hong Kong and I have no idea how much it would cost.

I read the other reviews and none of them mentioned about the Tuner function of this pedal which is totally awsome. Unlike those weird pedals with a gauge sorta looking thing, this one actually can help u down tune to a Drop-C tuning within 20 seconds if u are fast.

And also this pedal has actaully got more funky sounds that you would expect, although u usually play on the same effect anyway, but slowly after u played for a while with this pedal you will find the other effects useful and also start editing your own effects (which is easy).

It is small and easy to carry around, great for beginners, looks kinda cool as well.

The Wah effect in this pedal is not really the pefect choice for using trying to play one of those solos from "metallica".

The changing of the effects sometimes is a pain in the Butt because you can only change effect which is one up or one down from the one that you are using, so you have to make sure the effects are "next to each other" before playing the songs with multiple effects. And when u change, there is a sudden pause in the sound, which is not good for performance.

Well I hav had this pedal for about 2 years now. About a year after i had the pedal the input plug just suddenly stopped responding. You have to push the wire left and right until u get the inputs actually going. ( Now I just used ducktape to wrap it around and it has worked for another year , donno how long it is going to last after that.)

Afterall if you are a beginner or you are looking for a pedal with cool effects at a low price this one is just perfect.

But if you are a pro and looking for something that you can use on stage this is not really the pedal u will be considering.

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

I got the Zoom 505 II pedal of eBay for about 70 bucks. I think it's around 100 in stores so I was happy. I got it because I just started a band and needed something other than the amp for effects.

I like the ease of use! Real easy to change stuff on the fly. (I had to change volume before while playing and that was no biggie) You don't even really need the book but it's a nice reference if you don't get something.

I don't like the fact that from one effect you can only go to two others. You have to think ahead about how your song is going to go and make sure that the effects are right next to the one you start.

This would be the part I really don't like. The plastic construction is alright. The actually pedals are fine and stable. The only thing is that one day it stopped working all together. I took it apart and found that the power input broke off from the rest of the stuff. I got it sodered and it works but I don't know for how much longer.

Great little pedal for the guy that does a little bit of travel but it can't gig regularly. Good for the beginner of just poor guitar player. (like me!)

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

I bought this from Electrohill in London, for £65. I needed something that would have a decent range of effects, and would go with my Peavey Rage 158 amp.

Metal, acoustic, clean, distortion, wah, all sound good. You can give it a room or hall effect to it. The tuner is really helpful. Plus it can push up the volume on any amp. When jaming with drums and bass, the metal sound is so good.

You can't jump from one effect to another, without reseting all the digits on each option. The inputs for the leads, aren't practible. When you do jump from one effect, theres a little pause between each one. When you want to change a tone option, you have to do it by hand, which isn't practible when standing up, and using your foot. And you can't adjust the feedback.

It's built quite well. It's not totally easy to use though. However it gives out some really good tones.

I'd save a bit more, and get the Zoom 606, which comes with an actually foot pedal, and more options. The 505II isn't a total loss though.

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

I aquired this because I was using my shitty overdrive in the 10 Wat "amp" (if it is an "amp").

For about 80$ US (in 2002)

I like the choice of the effects.
It does'nt have many but ITS OK.

The Distortions are Good.

I dont like it because it's PLASTIC!!!

You need to mess up with this thing at least for 1 month untill you get the "HEAD"
of this thing.

Its Compact and nice looking Afordable 2.

The first 6 months I had this thig the buttons started not to work.

YOU'R NOT RICH ENOUGH TO BUY CHEAP STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EVERY DISTORTION OR EFFECT NEED'S AND EQUALIZER TO SOUND LIKE YOU WANT IT TO SOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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

I bought this off of some website for $68 a couple of weeks ago. With the wall adapter and shipping and handling, it came to about $102.

This unit is awsome. It looks nice, and plays great. When I got it I thought the acoustic setting would be lame, but actually sounded very nice. It has a very nice range of effects, suiting just about all types of play. After about 15 minutes of a learning curve, you can operate with ease. Customizing effects is very easy, and rather fun to do. It was affordable, even though it cost more than my amp and guitar together (I got my guitar for like $10 ) The best money I've spent in a long time.

The pedals are plastic, but I can live with that. I wish there was a longer cord on the AC adapter. I can't seem to turn it off without unplugging it, but then again I'm not the brightest kid. Otherwise, perfect.

Like I said, the pedals are plastic, but the rest is sturdy.

If you're looking for lots of effects, with out spending a lot, start shopping for one of these.

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

Ordered it from the Zoom company in Japan for around US$ 130 with the power pack and expression pedal.

The guitar amp simulator is quite good. The effects can be manipulated to a very good degree, especially with the expression pedal. What I really like is that the expression pedal is a seperate piece from the unit itself. So you can place the expression pedal a good distance away from the 505 II. It's also good if you are used to using your left leg to control the expression pedal. Most other units have the pedal on the right side making you use your right foot. Lots of good effects and an unusual one called the 'Stepper'. I like the unit's size, very small and compact.

There are about 36 user patches but I feel this is not enough if you are a serious musician. Around 60 would've been ideal. Also, I feel that some of the effects that could be used together cannot be used together in the 505 II or it can be to a very limited or small extent. The two switching pedals could've been a little more further apart because in the dark, you might step on both at the same time (triggering the bypass).

The sound quality is excellent but the construction is a bit weak in the sense that the unit it made from plastic. It'll definitely break if you're not careful with it.

Overall, it's a really good unit for it's price. It's good for more professional players who want flexibility with their effects. A good number of effects are available and I would highly recommend this unit to anyone.

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

Received for christmas gift

Excellent range and combination of effects. Operates clean on acoustic and electric guitar. Can combine several effects and set levels of each, then save it as a new effect.

There is a learning curve and some reading to do to understand the unit. With some practice and experimentation this one pedal can make some great sounds.

The unit appears to be durable and well built yet is very light-weight.

Get the ac power supply. For the money this is the pedal to have

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

Like many people, I could not afford the sound of a two thousand dollar rack mountable processor. I had heard a friend of mine playing through the 505 and I was impressed, only hearing it for the first time. One week later I ordered one through Music Emporium back in 96. Recently I bought the 505 II and was more impressed than its prodecesor.

The 505 II has a wonderful warm clean tone sound. If you want more delay or reverb, it gives it to you. The distortion is great! I love the wide range of variety that can be chosen. I like the fact that the tuner is so accessable. Its attractive and portable. Built for quality! I like my equipment to allways look brand new. This unit can be cleaned with ease! Most of all and most important,anyone will get what the payed for. A wonderful, portable, affordable guitar effects processor.

There is only one fault with this unit. It is not in real time. When you get used to it, you will not notice!

The construction of this product is very impressive. It looks great, it is very durable, and can be cleaned very easily. There is no small gaps or pores for dirt to adhere to.

The bottom line is this unit surpasses all others. I recomend this product to any guitarist that cannot afford a rack mountable processor. This unit will earn every cent paid for it!

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

under £100 with adapter and connection cable.

Good wah, pitch shift (down only), good flanger, phase, Equalizer, contour, delay/reverb.
This item has zillions of effects. DO NOT USE HALF OF THEM!!
The noise gate is very good.

The distortion is crap. the one called blues is ok but the rest are very poor. that is what your amp is for. the upward pitcshift is poor as it leaves a component at the original frequency so you get the ghastly diatonics produced.

GREAT!

Good if you dont overuse it. Get a volume pedal and use that as a control then ull be azay. remember to put the patches in order to use them when playing live or u'll spane forever cycling through them during gigs.

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

I got this on sale around Christmas for about
$90. I wanted several effect but hated to buy
several effects units.

I like the unit OK. I wouldn't gig with it (well
I would, but then the folks I play for are too
drunk to matter), but it's great for fun playing
and messing around.

I like the built in amplifier simulations. It
also had a lot of effects that someone may not
want to buy a dedicated unit for; like flanger,
phaser, etc.

I like the ability to create and save your
own effects also.

I got some noise when switching from a "talk
box" simulator to another setting. Weird. Only
happened on that one change. This unit is not
nearly as good if you don't have the "expression
pedal". The "pedal pitch down" is awesome,
but you'll need the expression pedal for it.

Seems to be fairly well constructed. No problems.


I like this unit fine for the price. If you
are going to buy it, I would greatly recommend
buying the expression pedal also.

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

Mail order, about £70. I needed to do some experimenting so i thought that a multi effect unit would be the way to go.

The sounds are great. You can create some outrageous sounds, utterly brilliant noises! The unit is unbelievably easy to use, the manual is pretty sh*t tho, just flick about yourself and you'll find yourself working the unit within 5 minutes. the pedal also makes my amp sound a hell of alot louder. Also the option to bypass the pedal, good for a strong, basic sounding verse, then hit the pedal and kick in to a crazy, loud solo.

The construction seems really weak. I've not gigged with it yet, but i dont think the unit could take much hard handling. The distortions are all quite similar, but you can over come that by mixing them with other FX. If you wanted to use alot of different FX in concert that could be a problem, the selection is quite difficult to get used if using many patches.

12 distortions, contour, reverbs, delays and echo, compression, wah, flanger and a hell of alot more. Easy to use, but looks quite flimsy.

A great unit. Fantastic purchase. Excellent sounds. Yeah, that sums it up.

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

I never had the pedal myself it was my freinds and I was thinking of getting one myself.I think he paid about 38 dollars. But it was on sale.

I thought the pedal was great. It had many different effects you could mix and and change to find the exact sound you wanted.

The biggest dislike towards the pedal was that it drained batteries real fast. and the power supply cost 20 dollars itself.

The pedal was all plastic and didn't seem to sterdy. But for most that wouldn't matter much.

I think the pedal is great.

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

I read about this unit in guitarplayer magazine. I had been looking for a smaller effects pedal to use on my pedal board because I was trying to fit everything on an the small SKB pedalboard. I also was looking for a unit that I could hook up through the power supply cord on the board instead of having to plug in another power brick. I paid $80.00 for it.

I love the size of this unit. It is SMALL! It fits easily on my board. I can also plug it to the board with the supplied power cable so no need for an external power brick. I like the amp sounds. They can be tweeked to almost anything you like. It gives me a wide varitety of sounds from heavy distortion to clean and crisp with a nice chorus. It has a lot of effects on it. I like the noise reduction feature. Elimates my external noise gate unit. Lets me compact even more. I have also used it in my home recording studio. The amp simulator works well for that purpose.

The flange and phase effects are not as adjustable as I would like. You can only do so much with them. They seem overpowering for the most part. I use an external phase pedal most of the time. You can only use 2 effects at once- 3 if you use the phase with other effects.

It seems to work like a champ. It is not constructed with the best quality material (plastic) but for the price I think it's pretty good. It has held up live so far. No problems. Zoom is quite reliable.

If you are looking for a low price, small effects unit this is the one. A lot of people wouldn't dream of using it live but it fits my use for now in the band I'm in. It downsizes my gear and since I don't have a roadie any more that means a lot to me. The unit also works great in my home recording studio.

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