software

Well, here is my initial review of the Zendrive after jamming with it for a couple of hours last night:

The gain from this pedal is probably the quot;cleanestquot; I've ever heard. I first used it in front of a clean channel on my amp, and for a few minutes I thought it was acting more as a clean boost. I had everything set at noon and was convinced it was a very subtle effect. After switching it on and off several times I noticed that simply wasn't true. The trick with this pedal is that it builds on what your gear already sounds like, rather than being a totally different character or what I call quot;an amp in a boxquot;. It's a very transparent OD, and sounds fantastic.

Volume: This one is self explanatory, it's the volume control. Seems like 9 o'clock is close to unity, use around noon for a nice solo boost. Plenty of volume on tap.

Tone: This one is also self explanatory, it controls whether the higher frequencies are dampened or allowed to pass through. Very useable throughout the sweep, it doesn't stick you with either muddy or harsh and bright like some other pedals I've played.

Gain: Yet again, easy to figure out. While there's not as much distortion (for lack of a better term) as I expected, there's still plenty here. With it set to about noon single notes still sound very clean, but when you hit a chord you can hear there is really more dirt there than you thought. Lows do not fart out, they stay tight and defined. The mids cut well, and have a nice singing quality to them. Highs don't get ice-picky either, which I like. Think about the level of gain Larry Carlton usually plays with, that's about how the 12 o'clock position sounds. The nice thing is that cranking the gain all the way up is still a useable sound, so there are plenty of tones available. The COOL thing about this pedal is how the gain knob interacts with the fourth knob...

Voice: This is the heart of the pedal. Turning it clockwise takes you from what I'd describe as a Fender-ish tonality, to a more gritty Marshall bite fully counterclockwise. From about 11-1 o'clock gets a very cool quot;Dumblequot; type tonality that I love. Everything sounds incredibly thick, but still sparkly. The low notes speak but don't ever flub out (even on the neck pickup!). Sustained notes will slowly drop into harmonics and feedback. Fun fun stuff .

There are really a lot of tones available in this pedal, I need to sit down and really experiment for a while to figure out my favorites. If I had to pick one minor gripe, I might wish for a bit more gain but it's not a biggie really. I've heard this pedal likes to be pushed by a boost or another OD, and it also sounds fantastic in front of a dirty channel on my amp. I should note that it worked equally well with humbuckers and single coils, in fact turning the voice knob to around 2 or 3 o'clock (bringing in a slight spike in the mids, giving it more bite to my ears) gave the pedal a tubescreamer vibe, just a bit smoother.

Overall, it's a keeper.
Apparently there's a tube-driven version of the Zen in the works, could be interesting.

Glad it's working out for you


Originally Posted by the_ChrisGlad it's working out for you

Thanks for the help you provided bro .


Originally Posted by FretFireThanks for the help you provided bro .

You're welcome I just hope you're going to be really happy with it. I know it doesn't have as much gain as some pedals. To my ears, it definitely sounds like it delivers Dumble like territory to clean amps.


Originally Posted by the_ChrisYou're welcome I just hope you're going to be really happy with it. I know it doesn't have as much gain as some pedals. To my ears, it definitely sounds like it delivers Dumble like territory to clean amps.

Yeah, it gets several of the qualities I was after. The cool thing is that if I want to use it with more gain than it has available, I can dial up a nice rhythm tone on my amp and then engage the pedal. With the gain at noon on the vintage channel of my amp, and the gain on the Zendrive set to about 3 o'clock I was getting some pretty nasty feedback . So there's plenty of gain on tap when used with the amp.

I'll admit I am curious to try a Mosferatu, I'm a Hermida convert now .

interesting. how much that baby cost?


Originally Posted by pac112interesting. how much that baby cost?

$150 new, they seem to go for $125 or so used when they pop up.

Great reviews Fret! Sounds like it's worth trying out. I really want to check out the Grinder Distortion first.

This pedal LOVES being pushed! I just stuck it on the pedal board and ran my Spina modded DS-1 into it, what a tone . In front of a clean channel they yielded a very thick higher gain lead tone that was very defined even for chording. I could play with that tone all night .

Settings are:

Zen - Vol 11 o'clock, Tone 12:00, Gain 1:00, Voice 1:00
DS1 - Vol 9:00, Tone 12:00, Dist 11:00

I'll bump this once or twice more, there were some people interested in hearing about it. Jeff_H for one if I remember correctly?

Last bump.

Nice review, thanks.

How long did you wait to have it delivered?


Originally Posted by MarinbluesNice review, thanks.

How long did you wait to have it delivered?I actually found a guy that had bought 2 brand new and offered to sell me one. The last time I emailed Alf to see how long the wait would be for his stuff, he said a couple weeks. He's a university professor and that was right around finals time, so he was probably pretty busy.

nice review....I've been curious about the zendrive as well as the mosferatu....I swear I read something about a combined zendrive-mosferatu pedal somewhere as well as the tube zendrive...


Originally Posted by drp555....I swear I read something about a combined zendrive-mosferatu pedal somewhere as well as the tube zendrive...

That could be the M2?
Originally Posted by Old GhostThat could be the M2?

I think the M2 is just 2 mosferatu's? The thing I heard about was a mosferatu and a zendrive in one pedal.....it's probably just a rumor though, I'll have to see if I can find something about it....


Originally Posted by drp555I think the M2 is just 2 mosferatu's? The thing I heard about was a mosferatu and a zendrive in one pedal.....it's probably just a rumor though, I'll have to see if I can find something about it....

A Mosferatu/Zendrive combo in one pedal, that could be one sweeeet pedal Woohoo!! Please let us know if you hear anything about it drp555, thanks


Originally Posted by drp555I think the M2 is just 2 mosferatu's? The thing I heard about was a mosferatu and a zendrive in one pedal.....it's probably just a rumor though, I'll have to see if I can find something about it....

The good news is that it's no rumor (I know a person on the Gear Page has one of the promo ones).

I'm tempted to pick one up when Alf releases them. I have a feeling they'll be selling like hot cakes


Originally Posted by the_ChrisThe good news is that it's no rumor (I know a person on the Gear Page has one of the promo ones).

I'm tempted to pick one up when Alf releases them. I have a feeling they'll be selling like hot cakes

Scott Lerner also told me he's testing a tube-based Zendrive prototype right now, and posted a clip of it on guitar.com.