Zoom 8080 Super Player

Love this unit! The presets were good starting points and gave a good range of basic sounds that you could then edit and store in the user patches easily. I play in a covers band and we play everything from Green Day to the Beatles and the 8080 has been a great workhorse for me for a few years now. Did not find the manual so easy to use but after a bit of playing about I found out how to edit and move stuff around quickly, plus the 2 footpedals are a great idea, especially for me as a left footer! So many newer units only have a pedal on the right hand side but the 8080 lets you have what you want, where you want it.

I use this mainly with my Les Paul Slash and a Marshall and it always sounds great, so much so that I prefer the 8080 distortions to the Marshall's, which I tend to keep on the clean channel. Can't say that I've noticed any weak points in the sound. I just bought a POD XT Live but I never use it as the 8080 has better sounds and features and I can't be bothered to reprogram all of my sounds into the POD. The only effect I don't use much is the wah as I prefer my cry-baby, but otherwise it's unbeatable and so simple to get great patches.

The unit is great but I keep imagining how fantastic it would have been in a metal case. I had a drunk stamp on my output socket at my last gig and he's done some damage so I am seriously thinking about trying to buy another one as a backup as I would be lost without mine. The only other reliability issue I had was that the power supply kept overheating and packed up and I had real trouble finding a replacement until I found a power supply from an old HP 710C printer which works a treat as is miles better than the original!

Never used them.

This is the best multi-FX I ever had. It is simple to use, packed with great features and sounds and has more than enough flexibility for just about any player. If Zoom made these again today with the same guts and a metal case, I'd buy one tomorrow! In fact, I'll be looking on e-bay for a backup now.

I use this unit primarily for gigging, so the most important thing for me is to get to the right sound quickly. For that I would probably give it a 10.
For actually finding the right sounds in first place, that takes a lot more work, and the manuals are very technical - they don't really tell you what some of the settings really do for you.

Lots of trial and error got me to my current setup, which I am very happy with and never change any more!

More trial and error, and I finally got to a setup I am really happy with.

I don't use the internal distortion or gain, instead I use the Zoom in the effects loop of my amp (Fender deluxe 112) - the manual never suggested that, I just guessed it might work and hey presto.

Delays are great, and with high compression and the right settings can give you infinite sustain.

Some effects can really exaggerate string "clatter" at high volumes.

I've gigged with this regularly for 10 years without a glitch or a hitch.

Never used a backup - but at a pinch I could get by at a gig without it.

NA

My pland plays really diverse stuff from Depeche Mode through to Van Halen, via U2, so versatility is key and the Zoom delivers that, no question, with the ability to switch really quickly between radically different sounds.

I've been playing live for 20 years, and mostly use a Fender Strat Plus Deluxe live.

I am in fact moving to a Lin6 PodXT Pro, but I am letting the other guitarist in the band have my Zoom and Amp, cos it sounds wicked with his SG - even better than with my Fender.

I thought about the Boss GT5, but chose the zoom based on the #120 price difference.

My favourite feature is the ability to control and store the amp channel settings. This gives complete control. Putting the zoom into the fx loop also means I can control volume without affecting the gain sound.

I wish it had PC based editing and a sound library (the presets were no good with my amp).

Considering this has served me well for 10 years, AND I am getting some money for it by selling it on, it has cost me about #25 per year to own - fantastic value

Not so difficult. The factory presets are a good start to create your own sound. Just read the manual, and it's ok

Delay mods are beautiful! Great chorus and honest reverb. I used this for years in a crap 100w amp and sounded great. Overdrives and distortions are good, but nothing amazing... INCREDIBLE Eq flexbility! The best I've seen... Even better than Lexicon. Harmonizer is one of the best things here, for a pedalboard. What a great sound! I hated the wha's, it's too artificial. Resuming, clean sounds = 10, dirty sounds = 7

WEAK! SO POOR.... honestly. If you play more than 2 times in a week on a gig, you're in trouble. It's just plastic!!!! The input and output jacks are terrible!!! You can't keep this working without a HARD case.

N/A

Extreme versatility. Honest dirty sounds and beautiful clean sounds. My unit was stolen 2 years ago, in a car jack (DIE BASTARDS!)... The Ext. Dist. in the Dist. module is incredible... I hate so much the fact of this unity is so fragile. The edit mode, based on pages, is intelligent and almost intuitive to use. Delay modes, up to 4 seconds it's great too. In general aspects, it's a good deal for any guitar player of any style.

If you have used Zoom products before you will not have a problem with this. I used it for a month before i had to look at the manual. You can figure everything out just by reading your buttons. The only thing i had to use the manual for is to use the amp "sim". If you haven't worked with processors I suggest you start with Zoom's 505 or something easy. It can be difficult if your not familar with zoom train of thought.

I will have to divide it up.
The distortions are ok, nothing brutal or really great. But Zoom make up for it becuase they have the external distortion effects loop. It allows you to use your fav. stopbox as your preamp and allows you to leave it on and store it with a patch. (this is the reason i bought it in the first place)
As always the clean is great with the the effects. The effects are killer and the control you have over them is the best. It has 2 foot controlers which i find kick ass becuase i always got tired of only having my foot pedal only control one volume,wha, effects. Now you can have one set as volume so you can do swells, and have the other one for wah! It also let's you control the amount of effects with 2 other pedals so you don't have to use the footpedal like other models.
If that ain't enough it also will let you switch channel's on you amp at the same time. The only complaint i have is the wah isn't as good as the rest of the unit.

It scares me a little because its plastic. I bought it used and have beat'n it pretty good. I don't know what it went through before i got it, but i know i have ran it hard and it still works

They are the worst. There web site suck's too

Don't waste your money on "New gear" The technolgy might be better but the more tech that's in the product the less amount of features are in it. I think all multi effects pedals should have starndard things like the external distortion. If you don't like the preamp in the pedal then your stuck! I think the zoom 8080 is better than my zoom gfx-8. The distortions are better in the gfx-8 and construction, but the 8080 has more features that I will use.

Confusing abbreviations on the menu screens at first, but once you're past that it's very, very well designed for easy editing and the manual provides a nice guide through the features. You're up and editing pretty quickly.

I have a strat, and use a variety of different amps, including some higer-end valve ones.

It always goes without saying that the individual effects in a multi-fx unit are never likely to be good as the #50+ stand-alone equivalent. The whole point with this kind of unit is the variety of sounds you can get to quickly without having to tapdance on fifteen pedals.

The reverbs, delays and modulations are very, very good by anybody's standards. The distortions less so - I don't think they're as bad as some people make out, but they're not great and distinctly over-compressed (bit of a zoom trait). Compression pretty good. The wah isn't great, but again it's a good, usable effect and that's the point.

If you want the perfect tone, you won't get it, because the perfect tone is probably lying somewhere inside a beast of a high-performance tube amp and a series of standalone effects. But you get a whole bunch of quality gigging tones in a box here, and the unit has one or two things going for it over some of the competition. . . .

1) Seamless patch changing. Godsend if you ever need to switch from any sound with delay to one without.

2) The external distortion send & receive. As long as you get your levels right you can keep your favourite distortion pedal (or even amp, though I haven't tried the set-up suggested previously yet) sound intact and just add all of the top-class effects around it. The only complaint I have there is that it still seems to compress the sound too much.

NB: Ignore the presets. Ignore them. Always ignore the presets on a multi-fx. 'Programmed by top-class pros!!!!!' Really? Pro what? Pro Deaf Bastards? Yes, I can just see Joe Santriani getting together with Eric Clapton, BB King and the guys and saying, 'We've done OK out of the guitar, but I now know what we REALLY need . . . let's make ourselves sound like R2D2 after a night out on the piss!' You can get some good sounds, but the presets are really, really not them.

I'd say it's pretty sturdy. Haven't broken it yet, anyway. The power supply looks weedy, but that seems to go for every unit out there.

zoom customer support definitely take the company motto to heart.

"catch us if you can"

I got it for #110. For what it cost new at the time . . . no. Couldn't rate it higher than 6 or 7, not with those distortions. But if you can get one second hand now, it's great value as a standalone unit for small/medium gigs and practice. A bit dated now, but worth picking up.

It's very easy to use this effect board. Menu's are useful so you can easyly edit patches and use them.Swtiching between patches is very easy.

I am using Ibanez Rg370 with Active EMG pickups and I have a 30watt Marshall amp . Sounds are amazing. This product doesnt even look like boss gt-6 or digitech gnx series. The sound is better than digitech and boss. Amp sims are nearly the same as real amps. It has many distortion types from Heavy Metal to Blues.Distortions are really good. tones are smooth. Wah is OK ;not good as CryBabys.

Its made of plastic but it still works=)

If you want an Effect Board with good amp sims and really good distortions Zoom 8080 is what you want. Price/Performance is very good. If its broken or stolen I'd buy it again.

This multieffect is very easy to use but.. the bastards at the store wouldnt give me any manual i think but you get hooked pretty soon

the sound is good but far from very good. it sounds very eigthies and that sucks cuz i play shit like korn and deftones and this sounds is very gigital like. but.. sounds good if you have a good preamp

NOT GOOD AT ALL. the case is plastic so, figure it out for your self... i take good care of my zoom 8080 but if i let drop an amp, the zoom 8080 will be over.

never had to deal with those guys

It its a good effect processor but yet not that good for live shows and recording, but this zoom lets you discover new shit about your playing TRUST ME. there are more good pedals out there but this zoom works fair enough for metal.

It's definitely very easy to use it. Once you are through the manuals it becomes a "A-B-C"

I use a custom Ernie ball guitar but my amp is a fender 20 watt amp but the sound i got was better than most other processors in that price range (32,000 INR)
It's not at all noisy the effects great amp the three amp models are real good to deliver vintage 70's and modern 90's. I could exactly make a patch which sounds like Jon Petrucci's "Erotomania"

Its a dependable processor even in open air or closed auditoriums te only bad thing is control pedal 2 there's a high chance of the patch no 5 to get pressed while using it

Oh that's what i like! I never had a prob so i didn't have to call them.

Bad thing that it went out of production, I had otherwise asked all my students and friends to get it . The Boss GT6 and Korg AX 1500g are hopeless these days

I found it very easy to use after i sat down with it for about 15 minutes or so. Its not reallt all that complicated, just pay attention to what your doing.

I have a not so great guitar are a mediocre amp. With all of this on the bad side, the 8080 really gave it a great professional sound.

I would say it's pretty dependable. The only problem i've had with it was the power supply jack inside the unit cracked and i had to resodder it, which wasn't very hard at all. Also the power supply says it should be running 9v, but when i checked it, it was running 13.6v. That can't be too good on the unit.

I've never had to call them.

I have been in a lot of different types of bands and it seems to just fall right into place with whatever i'm trying to do. I also experimented with it once and it also makes a great vocal processor.

Easy to use straight out of the box but it will benefit greatly from a bit of manual-reading. Patches very tweakable and the layout can be personalised nicely to suit.

I use it straight into the mixing desk on stage and find the amp-sims handy for this reason, noise is minimal. I've been happy with all the effects except the Wah-Wah, which is, of course, digital sounding. A big plus is the ability to set the patches so they run on a bit after changing to a new one, so your sound doesn't get chopped off.

I've gigged this extensively without a back up, the only time I had a bummer was when one of the expression pedals jumped a thread so I couldn't zero it. I fixed it easy but it was tricky at the time. The power supply was crap though, replace it before you need to.

N/A I never needed to contact them.

I've played this on stage for years and never regretted my choice. One thing I really like is the User-defined switch which can be set to put you in manual mode. This turns your set up into something more like a board of stomp boxes, handy for hitting distortion or delays in and out, for example.

the zoom 8080 is very easy to use i never had to look at the manual, well I got it second hand so I didnt have a manual! Its is easy to edit patches but only cool effects on some patches which sucks.

I think it was really good quality personally some of the distortion effects are really good especially if u like a bit of the old metal! There are some realy nice clean sounds onthere aswell and if u dont like them u can change them (to an extent. I run the zoom through my crate 120 GFX on clean and it sounds good. some effects are a bit tame but on the whole its good.

The reliability of this pedal is pretty crap really thats the main fault. As i bought it second hand it wasnt in great condition but after about 3 months i had taken it back to the shop at least twice to get it fixed its been fine for a while now though. I have never tried gigging with it I wouldnt because it sometimes freezes.

Never contacted zoom, but shop that fixed it were nice enough!!!!!

Its a good pedal for me because of the metal distortion patches there is a really good mrshall wah on there but its really tame on the high 'E' . Ive been playing about a year and a half and hopefully going to buy a BOSS GT6 soon as i have been saving up but i will be using the zoom to piss about on. Im annoyed because the zoom had a very good phaser on it but had to be taken off when being fixed for some reason. It (like every other effects pedal) makes u play more guitar because uve got lots of different things to experiment with. Good for your first foot pedalbut needs to be upgraded.

Perfect

I use this effect module just for additional effects on my JCM 2000 distortion. I like it that way. Just works perfect 4 me

This is my big problem
The zoom 8080 is the perfect module for musicians wich don't have to play to often. Otherwise, It's crap.
Broke like 4 of 5 times now. It's all plastic and lowbudget material....

If you bother yourself to read a bit of the manual ,it is surprisingly easy to get into! Like most things , once you know how ..all is revealed ! I have used it on recordings and at gigs and both scenarios get a 10/10. I found some very inspiring sounds on the presets , though I tend to enjoy messing about with particular tonal/effect adjustments to suit my needs . If you are looking for an all-encompassing unit to satisfy all your whims ,then this is most probably the effects unit for you! I commend the dual pedals for their versatility(allowing you to for eg. use one as a volume pedal and the other as a wahwah etc.) Perfect for live gigs in that the seamless patch crossover function allows you to bleed sounds into each other(ie. you don't get that abrupt "cut" sound between two different sounds so typical of separate pedals!) All in all a classic effects unit to stand the test of time ...And I am sure it will !!!!!

I use it with a Marshall tsl122 and although the amp is more than adequate on it's own (!), I find that I can tweek new dimensions through the 8080! I play a Fender Telecaster (custom)/ Fender strat (standard) and a Danelectro( u2) and all sound fantastic with this combination. Enjoy !

Yeh why not ...I have gigged with it and never needed backup!

I haven't had to deal with the company ! As far as I am concerned, if you look after your gear, there should be no reason to contact a company that makes dependable products!

All styles , from rock to reggae to classical.I have been playing for 20 years. If it were stolen I would buy it again! I compared it extensively with other products and found the others "cheap" in comparison. Korg etc.. It helps you make music in that there are that many different sounds you wouldn't dream of..........".when you actually hear them "..........you feel inspired ( not all of them of course !) The ones that count make it worth while!! A1 product.

Editing Patches is simple once you have read the Instruction Manual. I have created some effects that I never thought possible. You won't get them on any other Guitar Effects Processor.

I use a Marshall Valvestate AVT2000 100W amp with an Ibanez GRX720 (7 string) and an Ibanez RG270. Both guitars sound great using this pedal and I have no problems with hissing or anything like that. I can get many different sounding Distortion effects and some great clean sounds too.

I think the 8080 is very dependable. The original mains adaptor packed in on mine so now I use a different one. Now and again the pedal turns itself off when i change effects but I belive that is nothing to do with the pedal but the mains supply. I shall get another one and see if I still have the same problem. I would use it in a gig without backup no problem.

N/A

I think that this product is easy to use, once you have got the hang of it. It is important, however to make sure, if you are buying one second hand, tht it ha the instruction manual. Good sounds are easy to get and use, but I find that they are often very simalar.

I am using a cheap 25 watt amp with my pedals, and I am actually using them on a violin, not a guitar. A friend had done this before, so I knew it would work, and I find them grate for making strange sounds. Some effects aren't so good, however I havn't used them a huge amount yet, as I have only recently bought it. I think it is grate to be able to get such a huge amount of differnt sounds, even if I have to edit them extensively.

So far it is extremely reliable, and I would definately depend on it for a gig without backup.

na

i play a cross between the Cause, and normal irish folk music, and I find this is a good macth, 'though I would like to see some very different patches. I have only had it a month. I have been playing the violin since I was 6 (9 years), but I don't own much other gear. I am also a bit of a hifi enthousiast. If it were stolen or lost, I would probably buy a simalar one, if it is at the right price. i have found that it gives me a headache, so I wouldn't like to use it for hours on end. And yes, i really did get it for only #126, from ebay.

It's pretty easy to use, though editing effects is not that straight forward

It's cool, though there seems to be loads of noise with the distortion patch i use

mmm, i had my 8080 for a while now (bout 5 years), though now i'm having some problems. The power lead is now tempermental, and the left/mono output is now very loose an un-usuable :( I need to get it fixed.. But it did fall out my car at 30mph and it hjad no damage done to it

Never used them

I don't know if i'd get another one, maybee look at other products about

After sitting down and mucking around with it for a while, I realised just how easy it was to use.

After only having it for a week and a half, I'm not going to upgrade my guitar anymor due to the fact that there is no need with the amount of affects on there. The sound quality is second to none. I've had a lot of professionals tell me that the hissing in the background of the effects is terrible but i honestly can't hear it at all.

I've only had it for a week and a half but from I've seen so far, it's a very reliable effects pedal and I'm not getting rid of it in a hurry.

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I overall rate the ZOOM 8080 as a great pedal that was a great release and has a lot of things happening with it. Well done the people at ZOOM, you should be proud of such a production.

It is hard to understand the complex parameters first but when you got the system in your mind it is pretty simple to use.There are so many fx and param. to control that it becomes an disadvantage instead of advantage :) joking!It has a varius fx types that you can get any tone from any guitar.Great for live performance.9 banks and 5 presets for each.two controlers for wah or volume or fx.a guitar and 8080 is enough for any gig.

Absolutely perfect.Any fx you want.I'm using it with a floyd-rose strat with dimarzios and no amp (use it in my stereo) !!! did you get it! NO AMP cause it has brilliant amp modeler inside.I can chose from a combo or stact, modern or vintage.The sonud is warm and singing.I would buy it again.

I can use it anywhere without any backup.The amp modeler really works well and the fx are pro-sounding.Maybe it shouldn't be plastic for more strength for travel(If you want to say sth. bad for it - it is plactic - should be metal cased)

Never needed any repair.

I play varius types of music.From jazz sounds to hard rock.I use Fender floyd rose strat with dimarzios.If it is stolen I would find the thief and kick his ass hard and get my prossesor back :) What I love about it is its flexibity.It is hard to carry but can't be less heavy, it has lots of controllers on it.It makes meking music easier for me.I don't have to worry about tone or etc., plug and play :) Easy

If you want a whole lotta effects, buy this thing! There are so many (mostly cool) effects, you could spend week testing them out.
Editing is quite simple, even though i don't do it too often. Always found an effect that pleased me in the preconfigured Patches.
The Manual is O.K., but a little confusing sometimes 'cause of the four different languages on every page.

I play it along with my Samick Les Paul Copy and my Trace Elliot Super Tramp half-stack. The Sound of the Distortions hits ya like a wall!
But on some other effects, like "acoustic guitar" there ist too much niose in the background. If you play Metal or Hard Rock, you'll probably find enough Patches to sound like your idols. If you are more into Blues... why do you need an effect board ? The Wah is O.K.

I woul'd use it on a Gig whithout backup. But well, i haven't played any gigs till now, so maybe i'm wrong here.
Bought it used on ebay and one of the Pedals got broken during the transport. Well, it was quite new, so i got it fixed by the shop, wehre the other guy bought it.

Never had to deal with ZOOM themself. Until now.
Didn't hear anything good about those guys...

I play Pop-Rock to Funk and it's a nice addition to my setup. I could get along with much less effects, but why not have more than u need ?
I think i would by some stand alone effects if it would be stolen.
It definetly helps you to find new styles. The Patches are somehow inspiring. (There are so many indicating a style you never thought of!)

Just to update on my review earlier, I have emailed Zoom about my adaptor because it broke very quickly - the lead came out of the power pack, and I took good care of it. But Zoom never got back to me.

The pedals great, the support isn't.

It's easy to use (didn't use the manual)

distortion: Boss : Heavy metal,hyper metal super distortion ???????
Bye!! bye!!(need to say more)in the rate of 0 to 30 the distortion is set on 5!!(ultra metal mode).
Warm Chorus real ,sounding delay's (only a little short sustain).
I use it in combination with a marshall 9000 pre-amp and a 8008(?)
end amp (both 19")and 2 marshall 1912 cabinets (1*12",150 watts).
The sound is full,rich almost synth like,it puts up a wall of guitar
And in metal(that what is try to play)it sounds great
I play for over 17 years now and finnaly found my sound.

It still works never had a problem with it>

I've got the manual from internet (very easy)though i've never read it thouroughly

I play a combination of power metal,speed/thrash and groovy stuff like korn
I play 17 years,i have(you really want to know this)ok then
7 electric guitars,3 acoustic 1 bass(5-string) 2 guitar amps (peavey,marshall) and a complete( 24 digital tracks / 8 analog tracks)
recording studio With a lot of mic's and processors (no zoom though). I have also a 505.When it is stolen i buy a new one.I love the distortion of the 8080.

Hey, I started playing with it without even looking at the manual, and I got almost everything. It's all pretty much self explainatory.

The sound quality is great, but the only problem is the "hum" that comes along with most ZOOM products. Depending on how much distortion or highs you edit, it makes a bad fuzzy sound.The only way to have all the perfect sounds is to buy the specific pedals, or amps. But considering that would cost thousands of US dollars, this is much better.

It's reliable till someone jumps on it, or drops an amp on it.

N/A

Definetly it's NOT an easy to use device. Most of the presets suck (except for some curious patches that won't work with your band but will allow you to impress some people). The manual helps but it won't give you the sounds you expect unless you spend some months with it.

The good news: after tens of hours working with the device you can finally get what you want. Clean and distorted sounds are available if you find the right combination. Having two EQ's (they can work at the same time) is the most beautiful thing, since I've always looked for tremendous bottom ends. It has a lot of distortions, but I like just a couple of them that give what I need.

It's very reliable. The only thing that I don't like is the need of an external power supply. The Boss units are superior in that sense.

Never had to use it.

It's a great unit for every kind of music, even for the most demanding musicians. I'd buy it again.

this is so easy to get a good sound out of it because everything i=on it sounds good. editing patches is very easy, jus use 2 buttons to switch the effect, and 4 knobs to change the parts of the efect. mine didnt come with a manual, but i got it from the zoom homepage. its 71 pages, but is very helpful for learning how to do everything on it.

my setup is a fender mexican deluxe fat strat floyd rose >> brownsville thug amp, with this on the effects loop. most effects are silent, but with the ones that are a little noisy just find the right level of noise reduction, then its silent. all the effects are great, but i really love the fuzz distortions and wah. i have never seen anything before that sounds this good, even the gfx-8 sounds worse.

it is built solid. i got it used and it is in perfect shape. i would definatly gig with it without a backup just for the reason that nothing sounds this good. my only problem is that it came with the wrong ac adapter and my adapter gets too hot and stops working after 30mins.

never dealt with them

i love this pedal. i play metal, hard rock, and some acoustic stuff. it matches all of it. ive been playing for 3 years and ive had a zoom 505, and tryed out a digitech rp6, zoom 3030, dod-8, zoom 707, zoom gfx-8, korg ax1000g, and a couple other multi effect processors, this thing blows them all away. the only one that compares to it is the gfx-8, but it doesnt sound quite as good. if it were stolen i'd kill the person that stole it. i'd buy it again if i couldnt find him.

Manual is easiest to read I've ever seen... loved the illustrations! It's easier than my old 9002 to edit patches, and there's more variability in the ability to edit... you can make really fine changes. It's great!

I've used this to record 2 CD's now, over 30 tracks on ADAT through a Mackie digital board... absolutely great sounding! The ZNR noise reduction is wonderful, very effective at quieting distortion humms. Typically I used the 8080 patched directly into the PA system, bypassing any need for a cumbersome amp. Perfect portability! Sometimes I'll plug it into my Peavey 212Classic Chorus for kicks, but that thing weighs too much to lug around, so most of the time it's direct-in. I've had no trouble replicating any Van Halen sound you can name, plenty of early 80's modern rock... the variety you can come up with is unlimited.

I don't know how all these other people are having problems with the power cord coming out during gigs, mine came with a little cleat right above the plug that you're supposed to wrap the cord around before you plug it into the back of the 8080... if you DO THAT, it CAN'T COME UNPLUGGED. (geniuses). The only problem I've had is the potentiometer for the 2nd expression pedal gets dirty and you have to take it all apart to clean it, or else it stops working. Just like a temperamental old Crybaby wah. Other than that, this unit has served me nonstop for over a year now without a prob.

Customer support is clueless. They need to learn that the customer is someone who *might* repeat business with them *if* they're treated well. Having no respect for someone who dropped hundreds of dollars for their product is unprofessional. Fortunately I've never had a serious need for service, I've only called with general questions and been disappointed with the lack of product knowledge.

I play a wide range, from 80's pop to postmodern rock, big-hair glam metal, country, blues, gospel, rockabilly, fusion, classic goth, emo, and experimental noise. My main guitars are a Musicman EVH, Steinberger GL7T, 58 Les Paul, 57 Strat, Ovation 6 and 12 string Balladeers, and several Kramer customs. This machine makes each of them sound incredible, and the mute function makes it really easy to switch during a set without loud pops and clicks. Every guitarist I know compares his rig to this unit, and so far nothing else has come close as far as the sound quality, versatility, and just plain utility of the 8080. Everyone is always trying to find an amp it can't sound like, a distortion it can't match, and all it takes is a little editing and BAM! there's the sound matching it! I love it. The only thing I wish it had is a matched foamfilled hardcase for carrying it around! No one makes a case that fits it! DUH! You need to make a case for serious touring equipment like this!

Well ive used this unit in live situations and in the studio,i find it easy to create the sounds i want.The manual covers everthing you need to know to get the best sounds from it.

My set up depends on the situation im in usually im using either a Marshall VST100 head with a 4x12 cab or a Valvestate 265R,as for guitars im using an Ibanez JS100 (Joe Satriani Model) or my Samick which has been loaded with DiMarzio's.The 8080 can be noisy depending on what effects your using,the flanger and pitch programs in particular.Some of the effects are fine the delays are great the distortions & overdrives are fine,the intelligent pitch shifter isn't intelligent at all,it glitches something chronic,however the pitch shifter works fine,the chorus effects are ok but not as lush as i would like neither are the reverbs so i use my Yamaha Rev500 for these duties.I find it rather difficult when playing clean to get a nice sound so i bypass the zoom and use the amp settings with the Rev500 being used yet again for reverb & chorus.

I can depend on this unit when playing live and i have without back up,my only complaint is the power cable it has managed to come out in the studio several times but never live so i fear the next live performance.

I have had no dealings with the company all problems i have had ive managed to solve myself.Manuals are great things ya know.

Overall this unit serves me well,some effects are fine others may let you down,ive been playing for 12 years now,before i brought the Zoom i was using the usuall stomp boxes which are a pain after a while,multi effect units are certainly the way to go.I would say before you buy a unit such as an 8080 look at units by Digitech in particular and the Roland GT-5.As for whats next for me well im looking at going the rack way in the form of an ADA MP-1 pre-amp for clean & distorted sounds,an Eventide H3000 for those pristine lush sounds & my Yamaha Rev500.

Very easy to program. You can tweak your EQ on effects in a mtter of seconds. Once you know how it operates, you can do what you want with it. The manual is also good and easy to understand

The majority of the factory presets are good sounding. But I have had problems with trying to set my wah the way i want it. The tremelo is great, acoustic not bad (after tweaking), distortions are fairly good too. Lots of bizarre effects too to mess around with, great for surprising people! I use it with a 180 watt Marshall amp and a De Armond M75. I always get a good tone from it. The tuner is also very very precise and easy to use.

The adaptor i got with this was absolutely pathetic. The lead just came off and i hadn't had it long atall. I had looked after it very well, and it should not have broken so easily. Now i am faced with the problem with either buying another dodgy one for #25 (!) or using another one which you are advised not to do in the manual. I currently use another adaptor, as i don't want to fork out #25 for one that will last a month or so. The one i am using tends to heat up very quickly, and it is not good atall. The main unit does not seem very tough either because it is plastic, but i have had no problems with it yet.

Never dealt with.

My band plays indie/mod stuff. It is perfect for all my needs. I would buy it again, but only at the price i paid for it, not the full price. It is definitely worth buying, i'd say. Perhaps not ideal for gigging, but still great to use and the sound is ace.

Sit down with the manual and follow the step by step procedures.
Very easy.

I use a kramer aerostar and i phil pro guitar with an old peavey amp.
The sound is good, but as soon as i try hooking this thing up to my
boss metal zone or equalizer it just adds noise, i don't know what's at fault. The equilizer is good on the 8080, the heavy metal distortion is not as good as the metal zone in my opinion.

i love the effects, there are endless combinations of effects to make.

the wah i think really sux, when i use it the sound changes ok, but the volume drops drastically as the wah is increased, kinda makes it useless.

I like the compressors/limiters, makes the notes that are played stand out really well.

i'd give it a 9 but the distortion is not the heaviest and the wah is crap.

I treat this thing like my own new born.
i have had it for 3 months, the 4th pedal feels different
when it is pressed, they all wiggle a little
(the boss gt5 is much more sturdy i think)

when try too many presets before turning it off and on, new ones stop working.

its still doing the job but for how long really worries me.

I play heavy metal and classical the most. You can really set cool moods with all the effects. been playing 5 years, i would probably
buy it again. The pedal offers everything, and you can have many effects at once and still hear the notes.

A screaming eagle wah, with a metal zone and you'd have pretty much everything you needed.

Getting the basic sounds was very easy, most of the presets come near to what you want anyway , with only a slight bit of tweaking to be done.editing patches seemed fairly straight forward,and the manual was clear enough , only the midi section seemed confusing.

I use a 97 Fender strat plus into a HH100 watt combo.i found that it was nessecary to apply a lot of amp simulation to the sound ,the unit is quiet,although i turned of the ZNR , i found it limiting .I found the distortions good , particulary the univibe sound which gives a commendable hendrix tone.I personally dont see the point in having two or three chorus effects when one is sufficient , likewise the flangers and phasers .The wah sound is very good , although i didnt like the small pedal to use it with , you can change it if you want , as long as your left footed that is !.The unit pops when turned on and off which is annoying . The tuner is exellent , even stevie wonder could see it .........

Well im afraid the unit is badly let down by the output sockets on the back panel . In a gigging situation they can be easily knocked ,in time they become loose to the point where the signal cuts off.My own machine has sufferd this fate and i looked after it with kid gloves.The plastic case is strong enough , but you tend to treat it like a new born lamb , because of its flimsey construction. In my view this unit is not a gigging tool .One more thing , the power pck is far to flimsey mine broke after two months , also when powering up the unit refuses to light up until after about five minutes.?

Ive never had to deal with them as yet, but i will be selling my zoom before it finally packs up ,i wont be getting anything floor operated , made out of plastic , and with outputs connected directly to the sound board .Its a pity because i really like the sounds of this machine, a rackmount version would be ideal....

I play rock ,and pop in a gigging club band .The unit supplys all my tones commendably.I have been playing for about 25 years , and i have my own studio , which the zoom comes in very handy . I like the distortions and the univibe the best , oh and its real good when di,d into my pc.I hate the sockets on the back panel ,very bad design,At the time i was considering a digitech , but the zoom had it for me.I liked the overall choice of sounds on the zoom , the midicould be better though.I really like the zoom , but its going because its just not built to last .Gigging wise that is.......

Very easy to use. I had no problem, mind you, I can't say how I would have coped if I didn't have the zoom 4040 before.

I used the zoom 8080 thru my marshall JCM 100W 2X12" send and return. I also use a 95 standard usa fender strat. I thought that a tad more attention could have been paid to the pedal pitch shifter and the wah effect. They did sound a tad digital. At the same time I was kinda wowed by the delay and reverb effects and the fact that the effects can be combined (although it would be nice if the effects weren't seperated into 3 modules. Did I mention that the distortion was crap anywhere except for in the bedroom? Mind you i bought it not for the distortion but for the other effects so it didn't piss me off.

When I read about the zoom 8080 I thought that the material it was made of was going to be a vast improvement. I must admit when I took it out of the box I was kinda dissapointed. I thought after the 4040 they would have gone all out and totally gig proofed the 8080. I thought they would have had "live" musos in mind. I hoped they would have taken a look at the boss pedals and learnt a bit about construction. Boss pedals you can throw at the wall and they'll still work. hmmm. I had the gig from hell one nite. The zoom 8080's input and output sockets crapped themselves. It sounded like a broken lead.. I didn't have a backup. Our drummer walked offstage.. NOT A GOOD THING LEMME TELL YOU!! I've since learned my lesson, although it probably cost me about $500 in pedals (I had to get a backup). If I were to bring it up on stage again, I must say it wouldn't be without some full on modifications!!

I got it repaired no problem.

I play in a cover band and as such kinda have to have a diverse assortment of sounds available at my beck and call. I thought it was a great idea... the idea behind the 8080.. it's just a pity it didn't totally pull thru with the goods. I'm commited to not using it live ever again until I can get it to the stage whereby I feel comfortable with it in the reliability department. That means a full on metal road case.. decked out with some full on protection for the thing. It's a vast improvement from the 4040.. but they still have a bit more work to do if they want to make it do better in the construction dept.

It seems like a good unit. The manual I have is no good as it tells me to turn to page 68 for trouble shooting. Problem is my manual only has 64 pages.

I use the unit with an H&K Triamp. Its fine although you can hear break up when sound decays.

I thought I could depend on it but It let me down at a gig the other night. The unit seems to be powering up getting to the point to sit ready after the start up procedure. When it gets to that point it is as if its lost mains power and sarts to fire up again.
This is happening all the time so at the moment it is useless. Any body got any ideas. I have tried a different adaptor but it is still the same.

I am trying to find there e mail.

Its fine if it works at the moment mine does not so I am very unhappy.
Is there anybody out there who might be give me an idea to fix it.

Well its Japanese , very compact, But the ease of use is ok , but i advise you to to keep the instruction manual in your pocket whenever you are playing it.

Well about the Sound quality ,I guess i was dissapointed after a while .
I played this babe thru a Valvestate Bi chorus, and i must say it sounded pretty good.Till i started to use a big phat Tube amp, and then i reached the Saturation point with this thing.It sounded soo messed up and louzy. No distortion can compete against the Distortion channel on The Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier.Plus all the effects sound so dull on this amp .. i am truelly dissapointed.. plus i tried to use to EXT control out , meaning to use an external Distortion , by using the Send and Return loop level and the sound gets soo compressed that u need Bionic ears to hear the sound that comes outta of the amp.
Anyways , Now i only use the Zoom 8080 as a volume pedal (pretty expensive volume pedal huh).I have 3 other eeffects connected to my guitar, MXR Phase 90, MxR Flanger and MXR analog delay...and like i said the Zoom 8080 as volume pedal.

well as long as your adaptor remains sain you are safe

Well i guess i explained a lot on sound qualities.
Actually if you have reached a professional level and are serious about music .. i suggest you spend more money but buy better stuff.
I play a Gibson Les Paul Classic, Ibanez U.S.A Custom , Fender Strat and a PRS Santana .. i guess my guitars deserve the best. I think i need to go look in the price classes of gear like : eventide , and Bob Bradshaw.. now that kicks butt.

Very easy to use and understand.

Wah Pedal effect is pretty lame, but I still use it.

I play in a band that plays country, rock, and blues thus flexibility of the ZOOM 8080 is greatly appreciated.

I play a Peavey Wolfgang thru two Peavey Renown 212s.

Had no problems, though the plastic case worries me.

WORST CUSTOMER SUPPORT I'VE EVER EXPERIENCE IN MY 39 YEARS!!!!!!

I discovered a bug about a year ago. The problem is the STEP effect in EFF3 and the UTILITY AMP COL = 3. When a patch uses the STEP effect and UTILITY AMP COL = 3, it will cause the unit to get much louder on that patch, and all the patches used until the unit is powered off. As long as I remember this when playing live, it is not too bad, but sometimes I forget and I wind up playing louder than then entire band.

I pestered ZOOM and Samson ( US distributor ) for 6 months before they would even try to reproduce it. They claimed my unit was faulty. I emailed every ZOOM 8080 user I could find, and found that "ALL" units have this problem. ZOOM and Samson tech support for this product DOESN'T EXIST.

This is a great unit, with lousy customer support. Ignoring customer support I would give it a 9. Will probably try to by a used one for backup. Right now is use a Digitech RP-6 for backup.

Great sound I love this thing editing the patches is soooo easy because you can make the sounds so exact and the manual is great.

I am using a boss distortion, two cry babies a whammy and a pod with my seven string and standard strat. It is quiet if it does get noisey just edit the patch I am using a tube amp with it and for stuff like rage agianst the machine this thing is pefect for duplication sound. The only sound I don't like is the distortion which is why I use my boss

You can defanetly depend on. I use it for a gigs

I dunno never tried

I am only giving this a 9 because I have seen better but that is only if you wanna pay 1,500 dollars. For the money I think this is the best you can get.

I was a little confused when i first got it just because it looked complicated, but after playing with it for a while, there was no problems

There is little to no background noise and its very quiet. I use a fender copy and it still sounds good. The effects are awesome but Im still looking into getting that bluesy sound. But its very easy to make sounds for Metallica and 70's songs.

Very dependable, never gigged, but its sturdy and reliable

Don't know yet

This plays very well to my style which is like Metallica. I've been playing for 3 years and I would recommend this pedal for anyone. But I've yet to try the boss gt5.

when i first got this it was a lot more confusing than it looked in musician's friend, but ten minutes out of the box, and reading the manual for about 5, it was like i'd had it forever. the distortions on this pedal are good but i reaaly can't get a good bass undertow on them but i read on this page about how to fix it to your marshall preamp. i didn't understand why the zoom corp. used delay on 99.9% of all the effects i edited them out so it would sound to my taste. editing has this really cool thing where you can just press the little button where it says eff1 or delay and it goes off so you can experiment without the mess

i am using an ibanez s-series custom, with flame maple/mahogany, and a floyd rose edge trem. i am also using the new marshall vs-100h watt head. and a jcm 900 cab. the clean really sounds good on that amp. but the distortion has no bass undertow for heavy rock. but i know how to route it so it does

i have bought lots of zoom products like the 505, and the 510 and 3030 but there is a signifigant differance in quality.

n/a

i play heavy metal. it works good with all types though except for blues. its blues were not good

On first getting the unit I spent the evening reading the manual and got myself really confused, but when you actually have a go, it's dead easy to edit, apart from a few little niggles that the manual doesn't say how to do (rocker pedals, fading in an effect e.g. chorus, have the effect mix in the module set to zero, and the pedal action inverted). Some of the distortions sound pretty good but I can't really comment on these too much as I have connected the unit up to use the preamp of my Marshall combo for the distortions. If anyone wants to do this it's dead good, you can get effectively 3 channels out of a 2 channel amp (more gain variations possible if you vary the send level on the Zoom). What you do is plug the guitar into the Zoom input, then connect the Zoom's ext. send to the amp's input, the amp's effect send to the Zoom's return and the Zoom's output (L/mono) to the amp's return socket. Hey presto! Compression & wah, real valve distortion and then all the weidness/delay/reverb afterwards. Use your amp's clean channel for a dirty crunch and the Zoom only (distortion module off) for clean sounds.

I use my home made custom guitar (maple/mahogany/maple through neck with poplar body, fully sheilded pickup & control cavities with a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge, Little '59 in the neck and an alnico 2 pro single coil in the middle) and my Marshall Valvestate 8080, connected up as described. I find that if I have the master volume on the Zoom up more than halfway I get digital noise coming through, this, given the slightest bit of string squeak quickly becomes a nasty squealing feedback that goes on regardless of what you do afterwards, the only way to stop it is if you play something & switch to a cleaner or quieter patch. The noisegate has no effect on this, also I dislike these things as they tend to make the note cut off at the end, even if set quite low. To combat this I have the Zoom set at half volume, and the amp's master volume flat out. this is fairly loud, enough for most bars/pubs etc. but it would be nice to have some in reserve. I have tried reducing the treble of the reverb/delay on the various patches afflicted with this problem, but this does not work either. It may make a difference if the Zoom master volume is turned down a bit more but the patch level boosted, I will probably try this later. The effects themselves are great, some good Brian May sounds possible using the 2 part delay, Thin Lizzy type sounds also available using the pitch shifter (Eff 1- haven't tried the intellegent harmonizer yet). One point that annoys me is the control switches, in my opinion you should be able to set these up as the master volume, then you could leave it about halfway & adjust it as necessary. Sadly this is not possible, you can only turn the volume down with these as it starts off at maximum when you select the patch - Argh!!

The unit itself seems very solid apart from the data wheels & master vol & presence controls. Power supply is pretty poor though, I may get a mains extension lead, plug the PSU into it and mount the whole lot on a wooden board. This means less stress on the plastic earth pin ( Urgh! ) and less flexing of the crappy wires. Paint the board black and it will look OK, mount the unit with heavy duty self adhesive velcro ( from Tandy ). It would be advisable to use a padded bag or case for transporting the unit in. Yes, I would use it without backup.

Don't know - never needed them.

I mainly play rock covers, anything from The Beatles to Blur via Queen & Guns'n'Roses, the unit is pretty good for this sort of stuff, I particularly like the slow gear effect, I use it for the intro on "I Want To Break Free." I've been playing for 6 years now, this is the best unit I have tried, better than a friend's ME8 and a different league fom my old 1010. The wah is a bit honky when in the fully dark position though, and will probably wear out in the end, not like my old Morley. I love having my amp's channels change as part of a patch - Dead Good!!! I hate the volume/control switch thing as mentioned above - major dissapointment. It is the only unit in this price range with 2 rocker pedals, that's why I bought it. I do wish there was less noise but I admit that using the amp as I do is probably not the quietest of ways to use the unit. The only other thing that bugs is the delay (only slight) between stomping & the unit changing patches, not as instant as the amp's footswitch. Apart from that it really helps the music making process.

Before buying the unit, I thought that it would be hard to use it. It seemed complicated with a lot of leds, footswitches etc. One hour after I took it out of its box, I used it like I had it for ten years. Very easy to use. There are programmed pre-patches on it and I don't think that you will need to make another patch, everything is on it. However editing is fairly easy with four control knobs. I didn't like the manual much to tell you the truth. I think it should be enhanced to help the user. Troubleshooting section is very limited.

I had a Boss MT-2 Metal Zone pedal before, It had a quite good sound, but there was a humming sound, even though I had a humbucker in the bridge position. Now I use Zoom 8080 with a US Fender Strat Floyd Rose Classic and a Korean 20W Ross amp, the noise problem is gone. Even try it after you crank up the amp. ZNR(Zoom Noise Reduction) really does the job. Most of the effects are awesome (especially distortions, delay and chorus), however Pedal Wah and Autowah should be improved. Also Pitch Shifter doesn't sound natural. I get really good Deep Purple and Malmsteen sound out of it. But you can play any style with 8080, from Heavy metal, grunge to the softest tones.

I don't think that zoom 8080 is going to break, if it's used properly. I would definately go on stage without a backup. However the LCD screen can be scratched easily, beware! :)

I never had customer support, I never needed it. 8080 works good as the first day that I got it. I don't know about the guys in Zoom dealers, never seen them.

I play hard rock, sometimes grunge and metal. And Zoom is definately the choice for my music. I've been playing for four years now. Before Zoom, I used Boss products and I think Zoom effects are better. If I lose 8080, I would buy another one. I would be happier if it had a better wah effect. Crybaby is far more better than Zoom pedal wah. The delay effects are marvelous, especially the hold delay, which holds a lick of 4 seconds and repeats it over and over again. You can easily write a solo over a rythym sound this way. Go and buy this unit.

You need to read the instruction very good to handle this artwork but when you understand the basics it is very easy. The 4 knobs that control every effect are very useful, accurate and easy to use.

Killer distortions, flangers and chorus and every effect sounds perfect and you can control many things that are unusual with other multies like if you want the wah-wah before or after the distortion and the volume of each effect. These things help to create your own special sound and to create magnificent patches. One thing I really loved is the option to adjust the input according to your guitar pickups like humbocker and single coil to get the best results I have never seen this before

So far so good, massively built and I am really satisfy of this machine.

I didn't have to deal with them but for Israelis here is a tip: The guys in Kley Zemer don't have a clue about it and cannot help you with problems but I believe that any one who can read English will be able to mange with the 8080

I play especially rock and jazz and this effect gives me many hours of enjoyment, I am playing guitar for about 4-3 years and I had Digitech RP-1 and it's sucks comparing to variety of effects and effects sound, I really like the idea that I can control three different variables like flanger depth distortion and volume with three different controllers the thing I hate the most is that I cannot get to a specific patch by its number (like the RP series) I have recorded one song with it and the good thing I didn't use my amp I use my guitar through the 8080 and straight to the console the sound was great and even through my amp fender performer 70W it sounds great. I wish it would have a gig bag (I don't if there is but in Israel we don't have) it would make my life easier

Takes a few minutes, but is fairly easy to use. Would have liked the Group button to be footswitch accessible however.

This is just a general notice to potential buyers of this effects unit. After receiving the 8080, and playing with the effects, I found the unit to be very nice. However, when I attempted to use the Pedal Pitch Shift, I found that the sould was really 'robotic'. Not smooth, but choppy. I also did notice that when pitching up rapidly, the sould seemed to jump around a little.
Bottom line, you need to spend a good hour at the store with this unit before you make a decision.

Seems pretty good so far. There are nine effects modules and once you know which effects are contained in each of them, putting patches together is easy. Another benefit over say the 4040 is that there is a good LED text area display, and once you figure out how to use this, you don't have to keep referring to tables or charts all the time. The manual is well laid out and even though it is irrestible to start playing with it straight away, it is better to go through it properly with the manual. There are 150 presets already in there, but if you're like me you'll want all the sounds you use live to be custom, and therefore these presets are only raw material for making your own patches. There are 50 user patches available. I've always thought that manufacturers should make all the patches user programmable, and specify the factory condition in the manual, but no one seems to do this. However, 50 user patches is probably plenty, and another advantage that the 8080 has (for example over the 1010) is that it is possible to use Manual mode to switch selected modules on and off live.

I play a Charvel CX291 (which is a strat copy) through a Carlbro Stingray 100 watt. This is a mediocre set-up and I can't wait to use the Zoom with my ideal set-up. Still, the sound quality of the current set-up is pretty good. One problem with the Charvel is that the pick-ups are quite noisy, but the Zoom has certainly helped here. The noise reduction is excellent, and does not seem to but off the guitar sound too badly as the last fx unit (a Korg A5) I had did. There are some quite weird effects possible out of this thing, though this is possibly just because I've never used them before. The delay is excellent. First of all you've got up to 4 seconds delay time. The mix can be made plenty strong, especially if you use the analog delay (which has only up to 1 second, but this is fine for most of what I do). You've also got separate reverb and delay modules, which is excellent. One thing which I've been longing for is tap delay, where you tap a button along with the rhythmn, and the unit works out the delay time for you. Well, the Zoom has it. Once you figure out how to use it, it works very well, but you have to tap exactly the delay time you want. I've seen some other units capable of dividing the tapped delay, and this would be useful. There are too many other effects to go into here, but briefly the distortion is miles better than what I had previously. Clever use of the equalisation as well can produce some classic sounds. Even with the Charvel, I can get what I think is an excellent metal sound (though admittedly this is not what I play). The pitch shifting effects are a bit strange. One effect is a three voice straight pitch shift, and this works fine. One really useful application is to detune the guitar up and down on the voices just a little, and this produces a chorus-type effect. Another effect is the intelligent pitch shifter, basically you tell the Zoom what key you are playing in, and it works out any two intervals you like. I'm not sure if I've figured out this one entirely yet, but it seems to warble a little and has difficulty tracking the notes. Most of the effects are capable of being used with what Zoom call Real time modulation, which means that you can change the level of distortion live, for example, by using either the control switches, or either of the two pedals. There are several little things about this that are annoying. Some effects only have one of their parameters controllable in this way, with the result I feel that some interesting sound possibilites are being missed out. But I'm just being picky. There are an infinite number of sound variations to come up with.

I've only had it a little while (about a month - so don't take my word as gospel) but I can't see any obvious problems with it apart from the external power supply. This is one of those mickey-mouse 9V transformers with a very frail-looking jack lead, similar to what you'd find on cheaper keyboards (or the Korg A5, for that matter). An internal power supply with a kettle lead to the unit would be much better. I would not like anyone from the audience to step on the back of the unit. However, apart from that, it is fine. All the knobs are recessed, and the stomp buttons seems quite sturdy, as do the control pedals. I can't afford a back-up, but I am still trying to get my hands on a spare power supply. The one used is not standard, and the shop where I bought it did not have any spares.

Have not dealt with them yet.

I play in a band whose influences come from all over the musical spectrum, and the best thing about the Zoom is that it can match a lot of styles. In the blurb they say many of the effects are vintage and that they incorporate the original feel, but I don't know what they mean by this. I'm still getting used to it, but I definitely like what it can do. It definitely has improved the sound, but at the back of my mind I wonder are these kinds of things really value for money. Time will tell. Have not yet found any net resources with patches detailed, so if anyone knows, please tell me.

As always with this kind of equipment the factory patches are over the edge. You have to edit them in order to get your sound. Nevertheless, I find extremely easy to use, it's easy to edit the patches with the different knobs. The manual is extensive but quite clear and offers good tips to new users.

I use the pedal with a Marshall Valvestate 100 and i run it through the clean channel. It works out great, far better than it did with the Zoom 4040 i had earlier. It is much less noicy, too. The effects, and primarily the distortion, seem to know no limits. However, there is a bug in it. Fortunately only on the effect noone, hopefully, uses, i.e. the step effect. When you use it, the overall output is raised. I'm into heavy metal and the thrash sound is definitely awesome.

It seems sturdy enough and so far it has given me no trouble. I would use it on a gig anytime.

As i said, I play heavy metal and this machine does the job. The seamless patch changing really works, and this was one of the reasons I got the 8080. I've been playing for 10 years and I think I've found what I'm looking for now. A friend of mine uses a Boss GT-5 but I think I get a better sound with the Zoom. I would probably buy another one if this one got lost.

Very easy to get very good individual sounds. Becomes slightly more complicated to make all the individual sounds blend together. Editing patches is pretty straight forward, thre are 150 presets to start building on as well. Because much of the effects are digital, and the pedal is driven by DSP chips, the range and quantity of actual settings is pretty overwhelming, but many can be left at some intermediate value until you know what they do. As well as being able to switch from any of the 5 sounds in your bank containing say blues type sounds, each individual patch can be manually altered using the manual footswitch; this gives you the oppurtunity to turn on or off 5 different effects for each patch, which is pretty handy, especially as you can't possibly save enough patches to get every single desired patch you might need.

My setup is normally through two marshall 100W valvesate amps, and I play BC Warlock or ESP KH2 (Kirk Hammett signature) guitars. The only other effect that I use with the 8080 unit is a separate wah pedal, for the feel if nothing else. Generally speaking its very quiet, with its own noise reduction system. It can be prone to outside interference like if its close to a computer, dimmer switch etc. , but nothing that your likely to come across in normal circumstances. All the effects have very strong characteristics. Playing with numerous effects can hide some sounds, but can be adjusted easily by the level parameters found in most effects. Getting the sound of your favourite band is possible. I have the ultimate alanis morrisette sound, it took ages though, and i'm continuosly tweaking it. Its probably alot better not to try and emulate your favourite artist, because you may never be satisfied like me and just keep on twiddling those nobs. After that I have been programming much more general sounds, which takes no time and works well. At first effects like the distortions and wah may be seen as not being very good, but its all down really to experience, combinations of effects and the correct settings.
Also I own a zoom 4040 and I thought the sound was pretty excellent there. The 8080 blows it away in every department, effects combined sound streets ahead. Its mainly down to the DSP chips, which is the big thing in digital signal processing and us in happy electronic engineering land just love dsp. There are 10 user banks with 5 patchs each. I use each bank for a seperate band/genre type, with patches containing various sounds from clean to distorted to highly effects driven sounds.

I wouldn't like to scratch that lovely screen its got, and i think the whole external power supply isn't the best. But the thing itself is rock solid, the pedals are tougher, made of metal etc etc, the sound once saved is there forever. I've never had any faults with it reliability wise, but i do have backup in case, but dread the thought of having to use it.

I bought it in the US, so I needed a new adapter when I returned to europe, and the support group dealt with all my queries very quickly and effectively. That was via e-mail from their website

I play a wide variety of music from dance (!) to metal, and it really does the job. The potential for all sorts of wierd and wonderful sounds are there to be exploited, two expression pedals fully programmable, and a control footswitch. Realtime control is pretty excellent. Using good quality accessories like 2 amps really is cool just for the stereo effects alone. I'd definately buy one again.

Getting a good sound is so easy. Get to any patch any patch anywhere in seconds. Editing patches has never been easier. You can easily uncheck certian effects while in play mode and store them. Everything about a sound is editible. Heck, I get confused about all the settings you have to choose from. There are so many. The manual is excellent.

I use mine with a basic (peavey bandit 112) solid state amp and a American Fender Stratocaster. The processor produces no noise at all. You can easily adjust the level on a patch. On the back of the processor, you can select high gain, low gain, or humbuckers to get the right gain. All effects on it are great.

This is real reliable. The only one thing that is not reliable is its plastic construction. The plastic is like the plastic SKB uses on their road cases. I have jumped on it many times, never broke it.

Customer support has never been easier. If you have problems, you can call 1-800-3-samson (samson makes zoom, behringer, mixers, wireless great all around) and get help. They are realy excellent. You have a 1 year warranty parts/labor.

Great all around. I play alternative and metal and it works great. Even for country, punk, oldies it works good. This is my first effects processor and it works great compared to others in its price range. If it was destroyed, I'd definately buy a new one. I compared it to the RP20 and found it 40,000 times better because editing effects is so much easier. It even has a built in fine tuner above the display. The best thing is you have THREE ways to edit the patches real time. 2 wammy's and CSW buttons. Check out the 8080's homepage at http://www.samsontech.com/zoom/8080.htm

Using the sounds is generally easy. The 2 control pedals are a bit strange in that they are put the wrong way around!! The larger pedal is used for volume, which I don't use much, & the smaller is for effect modulation, which I do use. The smaller pedal is placed in an awkward position, so it's more difficult to use than the larger one. As far as I'm aware, there is no way to swap these 2 pedal allocations around globally. The only way seems to be to edit each patch individually. This means that you then und up using the 50 user patches to store some of the 150 preset patches just to get the pedals around the right way.
The unit needs at least one more footswitch button. There is one button assigned to a user-definable function. Of these, it may be used to switch manual mode on & off, or select which preset bank will be used. Unfortunately, I'd like to have _both_ these features available at once. Not good because it can't be done.
Quite easy to use & edit the patches. Unfortunately, I've had some trouble getting the exact sounds that I was looking for. This could be my problem rather than the unit's as I haven't had much experience editing patches on other units.
The manual is _excellent_. Very clearly set out & easy to follow.

My setup is a Ibenez RG270 & a small 35W Peavey amp. Alternatively, I just go straight into my Yamaha MD4 multi-track recorder. (Yes, I know, not the best for sound quality, but when people are sleeping in the house, it's quite useful.)
Noise: yes, there is some obvious hiss associated with the distortion effects. But then again, I'm just picky, having come from a classical music background & always picking up little things that don't bother other people.
There are some weird effects, but on the whole, they are quite good.

Seems reliable enough. The power supply is quite dodgy, running off an external transformer rather than a built-in power supply. Not only that, but if the supply unit conks out, there's no hope getting another one in a hurry: this Zoom box needs _1000mA_ at 9V to work. (Most transformers that I've seen are <500mA.) Having said that, I've had no problems so far.
The control pedals flex a little under weight. The whole unit is quite strong, but doesn't seem to quite match a Boss level.

N/A.

So easy ! If you follow the manual, you won't have any problems learning it. The incrising and decrising pedal patch helps you a lot to surf into the 200 patches.

I use my Zoom with a Fender Stratocaster and a Marshall Amp. I liked a lot the sound. The Auto Wah is not so good as the manual, and the HMS Pit has a little bit delay. But you can get a very gooddistorted sound or a clean and pure when you need it.

I've never dealt with it

My first product by Zoom was a 2020 and I liked. So I've trusted on Zoom and have got the 8080. I'd buy it again and I'll continue trusting on the Zoom products. "Cath us if you can"

All the controls are quite well set out. After accessing a preset patch you can tweak settings easily using four dedicated rotary knobs, all changes are shown on the LED display. The manual takes you through operations quite well. There are a *LOT* of different parameters to deal with, so getting a GREAT sound does take a lot of experimentation. But with 150 presets to start from, getting a good sound is very easy.

The noise reduction/gating seems to be very well designed - I've tried it on a few different amps and it's very quiet. Effects quality: distortion/overdrive/fuzz - lots to choose from, all cool, especially fuzz. Phasing/flanging - excellent. Chorus - good, but not exceptional. Delay - excellent (up to 4 seconds!) Reverb - good, although not massively versatile. Compression - fine. Pitch shifter/harmoniser - worked well, occasional tracking problems but these were eliminated by changing volume/tone settings on my Les Paul. Using the built-in control pedals to change parameters (e.g. wah-wah, pitch shift) also very good. Some wierder effects too e.g. auto-wah, ring modulation, "vintage vibe" (kind of a Robin Trower sound), all of which work as they should.

Seems to be very sturdy - this sets it apart from the lower priced items in the Zoom range. All metal casing; the control switches and pedals are also partly metal and feel rock solid. My only quibble would be with the external PSU; the lead connecting it to the DC socket is very thin and I am not sure whether it would survive rigorous live work. I would use the 8080 without a backup but would have to take a PSU along. It's a bit duff that at this price Zoom don't provide an internal PSU!

Never had to deal with them.

At the price I found it at (which was considerably cheaper than the (then) list price - shop around!) it's a very good unit which compares well with the Boss GT-5, for example. THe best things about it: a lot of different usable (and good) effects, patch changing really is virtually instantaneous (a great bonus live), easy to use. Wish it had AN INTERNAL PSU. It's a great help making music - some of the patches just make you want to sit there and create some *new* music with them. Overall - top notch!

If I could do it so can you---Darn simple!!!

OK here comes the tricky part---I used mine in two different ways---thru the FX loop on my Peavey Ultra head and and direct into it---the latter sounds much better! When used in a loop it is hard to tweak your original sound. The biggest beef i had with this unit was the Reverb--it was really dark and gave my sound a distinct ZOOMY touch. Modulations(phasers/chorus) are very good.Distortions are very good too--it is hard to get a Pantera sound from this , but if Shredding is your thing it will be awesome. The dists are almost like a Metal Zone---the EQ is effictive and sensitive but not too diverse---Noise is not there at all----MIDI stuff is simple and effective.

Built like a tank--does everything on the floor--i cant afford back-up--but even if i could i would trust the Zoom!

Definitely a killer unit for all styles--i would buy it again---use it to go direct into an amp or power amp but not in an FX loop. Great midi controllers--assignable to all parameters---KILLER SHRED MACHINE!!!