Zoom 508 Delay

Very easy to use, just NOT while your playing!

8 bit stereo sound, state of the art back in 1987. Sounds great as strictly a 'delay' effect for guitar, bass, or home recording. For some reason, this works really well w/ cassette multi track machines. For a "2 FX sends mixer", Use this in one FX channel, use the reverb Zoom pedal in the other FX channel, and you're set!

I only wish they made these w/ steel chassis. Someone, someday, is gonna cast a buncha metal cases for these in high shcool metal shops class, sell them on ebay for a few bucks, and people will line up to buy them. He'll get rich (and probably start his own plastic-to-metal gtr pedal upgrade business). This series of pedals was (and is) vastly underrated for what it does: multiple programmed delay FX at the touch of a foot. Line 6 came up w/ their version, but it only offered 4 FX programs, and they wanted you to pay $280 for theirs! Zoom sold these for around $50 when they were in the stores. Do yerself a favor; pick one up, especially if you can't afford the Line 6 version. And; you get 24 programs, not just 4!!!

never had to, this never broke. and if it did, I'd find another $25 and buy another...

I love these Zoom plastic pedals. I only wish they woulda kept making them, only w/ better chips as technology got better throughout the 90's. They're stuff now is good, but they're trying to have their pedals do too much at once. They should get back to making pedals that specialized. Like Line 6 learned. Everyone knows you spend the biggest part of yer sound budget (after yer guitar) on an amp. You buy the oldest, coolest tube combo or head you can afford, then start picking up cool "one-effect-at-a-time" pedals. And when you get to a delay pedal, you either buy one that does one effect at a setting, or you go w/ a programmable one. And if you go for a programmable delay, and you got $250+; go for the Line 6. If you got $50 or less, go for this one. Remember: it's only a delay pedal, if you suck on guitar (like me) yer still gonna suck no matter how cool/vintage/boutique yer gear is!

Not too bad to program. It actually has a few different modes that it will run in, so if you goof up it can get confusing. My son has really messed this up before and I had to flash all my settings. Oh well, it's cheap and you can download the manual from ZOOM, so it's no big deal. I have had to completely take it apart before and disco everything to make it work. Static must have built up and rendered it inoperable, but it worked again after rebuilding it. I usually edit the A1 & A2 patch, then use the tap-tempo function w/ a Boss pedal to set the times. It's also my tuner. I have it in an effects loop and bypass it when not in use.

Everything in this category is subjective.

1) You MUST use the Zoom (or equiv.) 300 mA power supply! A Boss PSA-120 or Visual Sound 1 Spot, or Godlyke or whatever will not work properly! I'm not going to argue that a pedal only takes the minimum amount a PS gives, yada yada. I'm saying this pedal wants EXACTLY 300 mA!

2) You must use good quality patch cables. I use George L's for everything. This pedal is ridiculously succeptible to static. Since George L's are "anti-stat" I have not had a single issue with pops, crackles, distortion, etc. using them.

Using the proper PS and Cables, I would give it very high marks. It's clean, solid, flexible, can set tone on delays, can set feedback to 1 or 50. It's just great!

Using the wrong PS and cables, it's noisy, unreliable, will sometimes lose programming (scary) and can really screw things up.

I won't rate this category because of the variables.

I must give it bad marks. Like I said, using any other power supply introduces noise, program glitches, can cause the components inside to get hung up. You have to use the right PS & cables or your hosed. I don't know if this will hold up forever, but I must admit I've had this for probably 8 years and it is still running. Now that I know how to baby it, it should be fine.

I'm not "depending" on it as my main delay, so I won't fall apart if it dies.

Couldn't tell ya.

It's too bad it's so sensitive to static. Otherwise it would get a better review from me. I want to have more faith in this pedal, but it's so lightweight and cheap feeling... I just don't know

On the other hand, it has lasted me 8 years. It does what I want quite well. It has a great built in tuner. If I lost it and found a cheap one to replace it I probably would buy it. I do like it at the end of the day. :)

Not the easiest thing in the world, but if you already had another zoom, or if you own the manual, you can live with this unit and get nice delays.

My signal chain is Ibanez Sabre goin thru Dunlop Cry Baby -> TriAc (please, read my review) -> Zoom 509 -> Zoom 508. Honestly I'm not a professional player. I just like to around and record some stuff. It's no noisy at all, but eat some signal. The facotory effects are just a "showroom" and hardly will fit any real situation. You'll have to create your own effects to truly enjoy this unit. But remember: it still a cheap and not professional unit, but better than a Boss DD-x or Digitech DigiDelay (my opinion. I'll explain later).

Well if you take good care and don't put all your weight when you step to change the preset, you can trust the pedal. I don't think plastic is a good box for an FLOOR unit but it will do the job fine. I don't like to gig without a backup, but I'm without one right now.

I have no idea.

I like to play Vai, Satch, Hard/Heavy, etc... I won't write a lot in here. Just like to say the following: This is a good solution if you have the following pre-requisites: 1. Don't want to spend much money, 2. Want to have more than one or two delay effects, 3. Care for your stuff, 4. Are OK to lose a little of your sign.

Remember this is not a Line-6 Delay Modeler or a rack unit, but is very usefull. I was thinking about buying a Line6 Delay Modeler, but i don't thing it's worth the price. If you play at home, or do some gigs with your band and play at night just to have some good time, then this is all you need and for an awesome price.

Please feel free to contact me if you want to share your toughts about these unit or another one I've commented in this review. Will be a pleasure to help and be helped! ;)

Easy to use once you read the manual. acetually, I already had the 507, so this 508 wasn't that new for me

Well, so many years after purchasing the 507, I decided to give this one a try. I knew it had been discontinued so it was " get now or never " and since the DigiDelay of Digitech was 2 times the price of this one and didn't had patches, I immedialtely snnaged it. I felt for a long time that I wouldn't need another Delay unit since Zoom 507 is ALREADY a Delay unit, so for 5 years, the only source for Delays I had was on the Zoom 507 and I used them most for solo stuff. But one day I just decided that I was needing a independent Delay so my Reverb unit ( 507 ) would be concentrated to work on Reverbs and I could have a wider range of Delay + Reverb possibilities. My first impression about this pedal while testing it on the store wasn't good, but then, I think it was because of the amp they where using there. the delays on this unit are quite satisfying, and even better than those on the 507 unit. I rarely use anything apart from a basic 480 MS Delay, because I am not that fan of this effect, but to create a wide, spatial " trippin' " atmosphere to your sound Delay is indispensable, and you have infinite possibilities with this one, just edit the stuff. The Ping Pong Delay is a funny fearture. I still use some of the Delays on my 507 , but for the basic Delays this is the one pedal use

Not really reliable, but if you take care of it, it will last. I have mine for a bit more than one year. I have my 507 since late 1997 and it has worked perfectly.

Zoom is helpful

Its a great Delay unit with infinite possibilities, unfortunately Zoom have discontinued this and have not re - issued a " II " version ( not yet at least ), so I wouldn't search for another one like this if it was stolen or lost. I'd probably get a DigiDelay of Digitech or a Zoom 606, I don't know. But If I found this one used for a good price I'd give it a try.

On the whole this unit is fairly easy to use. Keep or download the manual. You will need it. The presets cover a large array of sounds and with a little tweeking you can usually get the desired effect.

OK, lets get one thing straight. This is not a 400 pound dedicated delay. You get a whole lot of toys for very little money and it does show. If you wand crystal clear 'digital' delays this is not your unit. But is does do a very good 'analogue' impression, even in the 'Digital' modes. The access to multi-tap delays and (Yahoo at last!!) tone controls on a foot pedal delay was brilliant. The only real down side is that even when on bypass the there is a slight loss of signal quality. This unit will not give you the true warmth of a real analogue delay but the versitility and the ability to use multiple delay patches in a pedal setup is brilliant.

never had any problems, even using batteries.

Never called but its good being able to download the manuals easily.

You get a lot for the money you pay and I have never since seen anything like it. No the sound quality is not 100% but with a good guitar and decent amp it wasn't the end of the world. I do a line in 80's goth and it was exelent for that. I have lost mine and am realy quite desperate to find another one.... Which has to say somthing.

Not bad. I don't do anything fancy with it other than some basic delays, but I need to get times and feedbacks right, and it's easy enough to do that. I'm not a huge fan of the friendliness of Zoom's 5xx range when you want to edit things, but they're bearable.

The tap delay ups the ease of use, although having to get an extra foot (piano-esque) pedal on the stage can be annoying because they're too small and kick away too easily.

I'm not a huge audio-phile. I play pretty noisy stuff so I've taken much time to get beyond 'is it hissing?' checks. Anyway, I've got:

DeArmond can't remember -> Akai Wah -> Zoom 508 Delay -> Zoom 509 Modulator -> Boss OD -> Ernie Ball Volume Pedal -> Akai Headrush -> Fender Twin (with a Korg KAOSS Pad in the amp effects loop)

The 508 sounds fine as a basic preset delay unit -> never had any problems. I can use for Edge type delays, but generally use it for low-volume atmospheric stuff. Sounds great.

I had a problem with a Zoom 509 once where I lost one of the rubber pads on the bottom, so the pedal was always a bit wonky on stage. Months of uneven use then managed to wear out the pedals so that one of them no longer hit the switch inside. It's predictable with a plastic pedal, but it's made me realise you've got to check plastic pedals regularly 'cos any wear in one place is going to wear it out in others.

As for the 508, with a weekly check for the badly glued rubber feet (and a bit of superglue), it's been fine! Gigged without backup for years.

n/a

I bought this pedal because I was bored with my Ibanez delay, and I wanted something with tap tempo. It's been ideal and although it looks a bit fragile, it's never broken, even when I'm being less than careful.

I've tried other potential replacements e.g. Line6 delay, Boss DD-something etc. but it's the presets on this that do it for me. It's got some weird delayed-delay effects which are pretty special, and the normal delays are fine, but I always need one delay pedal filled with per-song presets, and one with lots of dials to muck around with ad-hoc on stage when the last chord is spinning around and noone's got a headache yet. This is great for the former....naff all use for the latter.

This follows the patterns of all Zoom pedals, so if you've used any, it's a breeze. Manual is concise and easy to read with nice diagrams.
Patch editing is only confusing until you figure out the parameter routine, not too bad.

I use this with all my gear, guitar, keys, drum machines. For the price this is hard to beat. I use it to experiment with loops. What other cheap delay offers 4 seconds of delay time plus hold and tap tempo and stereo out. I love laying down 4 second loops and playing over them. I have an Akai Headrush which I use for more precise loops but this is the poor boys alternative.

All the Zoom gear I've ever had has been surprisingly reliable, plus they always come with the adapter and all their gear run off the same adapter type so I'm never at a loss for being able to plug in.
I would gig without a backup but if I find another one cheap I'd love to double them up for some bizarre delays.

Good customer support. They have several manuals online and I've never had a problem dealing with them.

I love this little box and for $35 I'll never dump it. 4 seconds of delay is great, hold and tap tempo are the frosting on the cake. Oh and stereo output for great ping pong delays as well. How can you argue with that. One of the great unsung heroes of the Zoom clan.
If this somehow broke I'd be on the prowl immediately to replace it.
I've had many delays, all the Boss pedals, Korg 301dl(exceptional in it's own way), Danelectro, DOD, etc. I've only ended up keeping the Zoom and the Akai, though I want my Korg 301 back.

Its tough to figure out. Not some simple dial up the sound pedal

I think its a good sound for the money. Tinny. Metallic sounding but that is digital for you. It can do some cool stuff that makes it worth the price but the big problem is you can't adjust the tempo on the fly so everyone in your band will have to play around you. I think its made for people who just wank around at home.

My buttons stick. It hasn't broken or anything but i'm not tough on it.

Well its good for experimenting at home but hard to use in bands because of the set tempo thing. Patches are hard to adjust. I've kept it for 2 years so I like it but its not great.

Extremely simple, if you have the manual that comes along with it. The presets themselves are pretty varied, so if something catches your attention, but you feel like it could be tweaked just that wee bit, it won't take you long before you have. Simple

The sound quality is actually very good. I have a noise problem with my set up, but i strongly believe that it's because of my adaptor, which is badly grounded. My current setup is Squier strat -> Monarch Octaver -> homemade Distortion -> Nobels Overdrive -> Small stone -> Sansui Stereo graphic EQ -> Zoom 508 -> Snsui stereo system, but i used to use this with a Peavey Rage 158 before I sold it. Will be looking at tube amps sometime soon, i hope.

The effects are pretty good. you can switch patches either directly or opt for a sound-on sound mode, which i accidently discovered and wasn't sorry at all about it. I'd sample and hold some phased mutes (which sound like mutes played through a narrow-freq. range wah), switch patches, sample a bass riff and... instant one man funk.

You can make a lot of ambient music with it.... 4 seconds of sample time isn't really that much if you plan to do moreambitios Fripp/Belew style stuff... you'd prob. need an Akai Headrush or EHX Memory Man for that... but till 4 seconds, this one works jes' fine...
Oh, it has stereo output. So on your stereo tap modes, you have two differently timed delay lines, which is useful for people with two amps. I don't have any - yet. Sounds good through headphones though.

I can dial in a lot of pink floyd settings (e.g. One of these days - normal delay, 296 ms, approx 65 feedback, 30 tone, 30 mix... also for run like hell, happiest days of our lives, coming back to life, and a couple more), some u2 settings, micheal brook's "ultramarine" setting.. the echo mode is very nice, very lush, open, like you were playing on a mountain top or something. Mail me for settings if you want/have any.

Very low noise, practically none while i was using it on batteries.

Follows my other effects pretty well, good reproduction. doesn't react to perversely to any effect, though the octave is a little funny on delaying....

Hmmm. Its made of plasic, tough plastic, but still plastic.

I baby my equipment, so it shouldn't be a problem... if i ever gig at all.

Eats batteries. Well-grounded AC adaptor use only, please.

One of the buttons gets stuck at times, which is irritating.

Never had to....

All in all, a nice pedal. Extremely useful to people using a lot of different delay setings on the same song. Changes patches very nicely. Remote controllable too.

My only complaint is that the sample time is too short. I can't complain for this kind of perormance from a pedal costing $50 used though.

If I lost it.. I'd buy a headush or memory man if i could afford them. Otherwise, I'd buy this immediately. I wouldn't even look at the boss DD-5.

I play blues, funk, ambient, noise/art/heavy rock/psychedelic etc...
and this rellay helps in almost all of these areas. Not the most vital tool for metal, but then, I don't play much metal.

Was up and running in 5 minutes without looking at the manual. Led an menu text are small but readable. Editing is easy and being able to store 24 of your own presets is great. Manual is useable and tells what you need to know. VERY easy to get great delay sounds of all types.

Using in the loop of a Tech 21 Trademark 10 and sometimes before it. Sound quality is great and unit has a stereo output(!) that will power headphones!! VERY cool for late night looping. Very quiet with most settings. Tone Control allows you to add or remove high end. You can dull the repeats in the echos to get a nice wash and warm the sound up. If you are doing looping and set it at it's full 4 seconds repeats sound pretty identical to the originals. Offres a number of different ping pong and multitap patterns. Amazing that this sounds so great powered by a battery. Incredible really...

Hmmm...not made of steel and if I was a fat drunk maniac and stomped on it it would probably break. Since I am not and treat my tools with care I expect it will last. No much to break. Foot pedals do feel a bit flimsy but acceptable. Nice size pedals though.

I play lots of different styles from metal to ambient. This box fits everthing and with 24 persets I can have something for every style. In fact I acnnot think of ANY style that would not benefit from this thing. It is flexible, sounds great, has a bulit in tuner, presets, stereo, has multiple typrs of delay, works off a battery, drives headphones and is cheap. I'd be a little cautions live and at this price would have a backup. I acnnot think of another dalydevice that does anything near what this can for anywhere near the price. HIGHLY Recommended!