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Zoom - 503 amp simulator

503 announcement page at Harmony-Central

Official Zoom 503 page at Samsontech -- "Compact multi-effect pedal recreates the sound of classic guitar and bass amps. Ideal for direct recording; playing through a home stereo system or maximizing the sound of a small guitar or bass amp. Amp simulator function provides a wide variety of different guitar and bass amp sonic characteristics and allows control over cabinet size, "ringing" [resonance] and microphone positioning to get the exact sound you're looking for. Two input jacks with different sensitivity levels let you match to any type of guitar or bass, including single-coil and active designs. 10 different high-quality effects including chorus, delay, and reverbs for realistic ambient sounds. Up to 24 memory locations to store user-created patches. Built-in auto-chromatic tuner. Aux input lets you use external audio sources such as CD players so you can play along with pre-recorded music."

Even more official Zoom 503 page - excerpts:

The Zoom 503 has 14 different guitar and bass amp sounds designed specifically to emulate the most popular amplifiers on the market. 32 programs are already crafted to let you instantly get the right tone for your setup. It's great for line recording direct and makes even a small practice amp sound rich and big. The 503's cabinet simulator can also simulate the tone of a miked amplifier. An Aux jack allows input of external signal from CD player or similar -- perfect for practice and learning new tunes. If you already own a Zoom Compact Multi Series product -- the 503 is an excellent addition to your modular system.

Effect programs:

Maximum simultaneous effects: 5

Patch memory: 24

Dimensions: 147 x 157 x 48 (w x d x h) mm

Weight: 480 g without battery (1.05lbs.)

Accessories: AD-0006

503 instruction manual (.pdf)

You can order the 503 and others from American Musical Supply.

Zoom site

sales at samsontech.com

User comments about the 503 Amp Simulator at Harmony Central - excerpts:

I tried the 506 out but found lot's of the "synth" patches to be useless distortions, that's why I chose the 503 -- for a more general simulation of different amps, cabs, mic placement, and for the distortions, chorus, flange, trem, reverb, and delays. Not the greatest thing I ever heard, but quite alot gets covered. The cabinet simulators are pretty good, with adjustable cabinet depths and mic positions. I am very happy with the sounds I've been able to get. The distortions for guitar are pretty diverse - I am quite happy with the metal-ish rythm guitar tracks I've laid out. The lead guitar sounds available seem very good. I don't have any previous experience with bass distortion, but the bass distortion seems a little weak when it is EQ'd toward bass. Otherwise, there is a noticable difference in each level of each parameter for all levels of distortion, cabinet types, mike positioning, reverbs, and modulation effects. I suppose if you try hard, you can emulate some famous sounds. You can also try *less* hard and get some very good sounds that might make you sound pretty original. I think that for a single pedal that provides a wide spectrum of sounds for both guitar and bass, this is a great value. I'm using this unit to provide a decent sound with which to go directly into my mixer and it does a good job. Some of the more distorted sounds are a bit too fuzzy. Only a couple of the presets stand out, one of which is called Liverpool and provides a classic Beatles-esque sound. This unit has a lot to offer for most styles of guitar, although it is a bit limiting in terms of parameter adjustment (9 different settings per effect). I did install the lil 59 and the JB Jr. in the neck and bridge and WOW! What a difference this has made in my sound coming through this effect. More "Balls" are there to really put this unit to the test. I recorded with it today and I was able to get a Roland JC-120 tone for rhythm, A nice fat bass sound, and for lead I was going for the "Woman tone" that EC was so fond of with that SG. T his is great for recording so ya don't have to drag your 212 when you want to tape. I demoed the box through a 50 Watt Crate w/12" and through headphones, with a Fender TexMex Strat, a Godin something-or-other, and my terminally ill Ibanez 570. I also tried it through an old Roland DAC-10 which sucks. The Tex Mex Strat sounded incredible, no doubt due to the Pearly Gates humbucker and the fact that I was staring at the 503's price tag in shock at the time. The Godin sounded great (and played wonderfully, though it looks ugly), the Ibanez sounded thin, but that's just because my pickups suck. For the price, this box is unbeatable. I was flat out amazed by what it could do. The dirtier tones seem to suffer from a bit too much high end, but judicious use of the EQ section helps tremendously. The clean sounds are great. The sounds are sometimes noisy, but they have a very good NR system and you can dial the hiss right out. Distortions are the noisiest. I haven't tried it with an amp yet, because as a simulator, I am using it as an amp substitute. To be honest I've had this for a month and find it has some pretty cool patches to use for my home recording projects. I like the one called(squint) Liverpool a very good all-around 60's Beatles clean tone (RAIN) and a Tremolo tone good for Creedence-type stuff. I have been trying to find that warm sustain from the neck p/u ala The Yes Album but not even the 503 can get me to that place, I am thinking of putting a SD, 'lil 59 in the neck. My least fav. feature besides the manual is the thrash metal sound, just ridiculous. But there are level adjusts to warm them up to be fair. I want to try this with my Fostex X-30 and use it for the bass it gets a nice sounding phase for bass, and not as dry as direct. I would recommend the 503 to anyone that needs a way to practice without an amp wearing headphones. I use Sennheiser HD-420's and the 503 sounds great with them. It makes an incredible practice amp as long as you have an AC adapter handy - batteries last for a few nanoseconds . It's fairly easy to modify patches on the unit, but there's not a whole hell of a lot of parameters that you can change - personally I think that's a GOOD thing. The manual is a skimpy, ugly, hard to read, and very large fold out affair, but since it's a straightfoward unit to figure out, you won't need it much after you play with it for the first 30 minutes. You WILL have to do a certain amount of try-this-and-see messing around with it, but it will reward you in short order. Of course, since it has a small LED panel which imparts no other information than the patch number, you actually have to remember what patch is where, which, for the IQ-challenged people like me, leads to a lot of clicking and swearing.

Zoom should add the input jack to everything they make in this 500 series. I'm sure it would be useful (one of the reasons I traded from the 506). My fav feature is this is the only Zoom unit that has an input jack so you can jam with another source, cd, cass. etc. Zoom should install that aux. input jack on everything, so musicians have something to jam to.

It's a bit inconvenient to use in my tiny studio. A rack-mounted version would be heaps better. For the price, this is a great unit with some good features and for somebody in my situation (ie big ideas, small wallet) it can't be beaten. I already own a 505 and 506 and was put off ZOOM gear for life but after playing this unit, I changed my mind completely. For the price, this wee box will get you anywhere you want to go (assuming you have the patience to play around with the patches) very quickly. Don't expect to use ANY box like this for computer based recording, unless part of your compositional process is to play with new and interesting buzzing noises. My wife 'allowed' me to buy a Digitech 2120 VGS [very high-end preamp/processor] and now she's set a precedent as to how much money I can waste on toys.

Zoom product announcements

DejaNews query: 503 and zoom

Messages 1-34 of exactly 34 matches for search 503 zoom: 

        Date   Scr        Subject                     Newsgroup           Author

   1. 98/12/17 036 Zoom 503 Amp sim             alt.guitar.effects    Wayne Joyce    
   2. 98/05/09 032 ZOOM 503 & 510 PEDALS        alt.guitar.effects    Jeremy Deats   
   3. 98/03/22 032 Zoom 503 Amp SImulator advic rec.music.makers.guit JPowers460     
   4. 98/05/11 031 Re: ZOOM 503 & 510 PEDALS    alt.guitar.effects    Matt Weintraub 
   5. 98/07/29 030 Re: Sansamp Classic vs Zoom  rec.music.makers.guit john_thrush    
   6. 98/07/27 030 Re: Sansamp Classic vs Zoom  rec.music.makers.guit Matthew Ivaliot
   7. 98/07/27 030 Re: Sansamp Classic vs Zoom  rec.music.makers.guit Matthew Ivaliot
   8. 98/05/25 030 Zoom 503 - Headphone out?    alt.guitar            Chip Zempel    
   9. 98/05/12 030 Re: ZOOM 503 & 510 PEDALS    alt.guitar.effects    Lion           
  10. 97/11/16 029 Zoom 505 FS                  alt.guitar.amps       Rich Clinton   
  11. 98/07/27 028 Sansamp Classic vs Zoom 503  rec.music.makers.guit Craig Deubler  
  12. 98/07/27 028 Re: Q?: Sansamp Classic vs.  alt.guitar            Brian Rost     
  13. 98/07/24 028 Q?: Sansamp Classic vs. Zoom alt.guitar            Craig Deubler  
  14. 98/11/09 027 Re: Processors?              alt.music.4-track     Statto         
  15. 98/09/27 027 Can You help me Identify an  alt.guitar.amps       Ron Bridgemon  
  16. 98/05/10 027 Re: zoom 504 acoustic        alt.guitar.effects    Lion           
  17. 98/04/18 027 Re: SansAmp Classic or GT2 a rec.music.makers.guit Stratoman      
  18. 98/04/17 027 Re: SansAmp Classic or GT2 a rec.music.makers.guit Justin         
  19. 98/04/14 027 SansAmp Classic or GT2 as he rec.music.makers.guit Alex Chamberlai
  20. 98/06/13 026 Re: ZOOM                #1/2 alt.guitar.effects    Lion           
  21. 98/09/28 025 Re: Can You help me Identify alt.guitar.amps       Lord Valve     
  22. 98/06/16 025 Re: ZOOM                #1/2 alt.guitar.effects    smgolden at iname.
  23. 98/06/09 025 Digital recording            alt.music.4-track     Lion           
  24. 98/02/21 025 Re: NEED SECOND GUITAR OR AM alt.guitar.amps       RJT NW, Inc    
  25. 98/11/20 024 Re: Guitar Sound Record >>>  alt.guitar.amps       Michael      
  26. 98/04/03 024 Re: Direct Guitar Recording  alt.music.4-track     JohnL16506     
  27. 98/10/27 023 Re: Amp emulators, speak#1/3 alt.music.4-track     Michael      
  28. 98/10/27 023 Re: Amp emulators, speak#1/3 alt.guitar            Michael      
  29. 98/10/27 023 Amp emulators, speaker sim,  rec.audio.pro         Michael      
  30. 96/09/30 023 Re: Noisy Rig                alt.guitar.amps       Lindsey Smith  
  31. 98/10/25 022 Re: Low-watt power-tube devi alt.music.4-track     Michael      
  32. 97/05/17 022 Re: Blues tone.              alt.guitar            skip elliott bo
  33. 98/10/27 021 Re: Amp emulators, speak#1/2 rec.music.makers.guit Michael      
  34. 98/10/27 021 Re: Amp emulators, speak#1/3 alt.music.4-track     Chris Gieseke

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