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MGR/Anonymous « Zoom 505 »
Published on 06/26/01 at 15:00This unit was purchased for $69.00 at the local Sam Ash Music Superstore.
As a "rookie" guitarist I was getting bored with the 2 options I had on my barebones amp; clean and overdrive. So I wanted something with a few more options. Also, since I play simply as a hobby I wanted to get as much of a system as I could with my hard earned bucks. So, this certainly filled the void. More effects than I'll ever use. I find myself playing on the same effect most of the time, but now as I've been playing more and more styles I find myself using more settings. The batteries drain rather quickly so I would advise getting an AC adaptor. Also, the unit is sturdy and can take quite a bit of stomping. I've also purchased the expression pedal which provides a decent wah sound in addition to a pitch shift and volume swell. It does have a wide range of cool sounds. My 5 year old likes to keep stomping the pedals until he hears something cool. The chorus and delay effects sound really good. The detailed instructions provide a good description of what each patch sounds like and I always keep it handy to reference.
The instructions that come with the 505 are very detailed and will walk you through the process of editing and creating your own patches. If you follow the directions it can be done. However, the details and such make the instructions look like the schematic of the A-bomb. Also, I don't really care for the chromatic tuner function. Could be just a preference, but I think the Korg tuner I use comes closer in the tuning category.
The unit is "rock star basic black" and as mentioned previously is pretty sturdy and can take both my repeated stomps and my overzealous 5 years old's as well.
To sum it up: big bang for very little bucks. If you just like to goof around in your basement and annoy your wife with your guitar; this Zoom's for you. It will provide a variety of sounds so you can sound like everything Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughan to Joe Satriani; provided you can play like them!
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
As a "rookie" guitarist I was getting bored with the 2 options I had on my barebones amp; clean and overdrive. So I wanted something with a few more options. Also, since I play simply as a hobby I wanted to get as much of a system as I could with my hard earned bucks. So, this certainly filled the void. More effects than I'll ever use. I find myself playing on the same effect most of the time, but now as I've been playing more and more styles I find myself using more settings. The batteries drain rather quickly so I would advise getting an AC adaptor. Also, the unit is sturdy and can take quite a bit of stomping. I've also purchased the expression pedal which provides a decent wah sound in addition to a pitch shift and volume swell. It does have a wide range of cool sounds. My 5 year old likes to keep stomping the pedals until he hears something cool. The chorus and delay effects sound really good. The detailed instructions provide a good description of what each patch sounds like and I always keep it handy to reference.
The instructions that come with the 505 are very detailed and will walk you through the process of editing and creating your own patches. If you follow the directions it can be done. However, the details and such make the instructions look like the schematic of the A-bomb. Also, I don't really care for the chromatic tuner function. Could be just a preference, but I think the Korg tuner I use comes closer in the tuning category.
The unit is "rock star basic black" and as mentioned previously is pretty sturdy and can take both my repeated stomps and my overzealous 5 years old's as well.
To sum it up: big bang for very little bucks. If you just like to goof around in your basement and annoy your wife with your guitar; this Zoom's for you. It will provide a variety of sounds so you can sound like everything Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughan to Joe Satriani; provided you can play like them!
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com