software

The FedEx man just left it on my desk, so I'll be giving it a review after fiddling with it some tonight. I love my Zendrive so much I had to try this one. From what I've been reading it's more aggressive and has more gain on tap compared to the Zen, and they apparently sound KILLER when using them in tandem.

the_Chris, I notice a lot of people try to compare the Zendrive to the CJOD, but those that own both often say the CJOD has more gain and is more quot;in your facequot;. I wonder if maybe the Mos is closer to sounding like the CJ than the Zen? Just a thought I had in passing upon reading some comparisons on TGP yesterday.

With the name Mosferatu, hmm does bu any change have a MOSFET clipsection??
Love to hear the review, love pedals as you might have discovered, and our US brethen sometimes cook some very cool stuff
By the way, which version??

That sounds really interesting ... keep us posted!
Post pics, too


Originally Posted by RidWith the name Mosferatu, hmm does bu any change have a MOSFET clipsection??
Love to hear the review, love pedals as you might have discovered, and our US brethen sometimes cook some very cool stuff
By the way, which version??Yeah, it's Mosfet based I do believe. This is one of the early ones with the original vampire in the doorway graphic. Standard sized (not the smaller Phase 90 sized case).


Originally Posted by TwilightOdysseyThat sounds really interesting ... keep us posted!
Post pics, too

Will do, and pics will come as soon as I get off work.

Great


Originally Posted by FretFirethe_Chris, I notice a lot of people try to compare the Zendrive to the CJOD, but those that own both often say the CJOD has more gain and is more quot;in your facequot;. I wonder if maybe the Mos is closer to sounding like the CJ than the Zen? Just a thought I had in passing upon reading some comparisons on TGP yesterday.

You may be very right. What I liked in particular about the Zendrive and the CJOD is that they both offer blossoming type harmonics and a smooth, rich presence. From what I've read up on the Mosferatu (admittedly, not much), it seems like it's rawer (which I wouldn't call the CJOD, although it can get pretty high gain if desired).

The Zendrive 2 which will be coming out soon sounds like it's a bit more open than the original with more gain on tap (and since it's preamp tube powered, a high gain chinese one would probably make it clip harder).


Originally Posted by the_ChrisYou may be very right. What I liked in particular about the Zendrive and the CJOD is that they both offer blossoming type harmonics and a smooth, rich presence. From what I've read up on the Mosferatu (admittedly, not much), it seems like it's rawer (which I wouldn't call the CJOD, although it can get pretty high gain if desired).

The Zendrive 2 which will be coming out soon sounds like it's a bit more open than the original with more gain on tap (and since it's preamp tube powered, a high gain chinese one would probably make it clip harder).

I think people weren't so much saying that the CJOD was raw compared to the Zen, as they were saying the Zen was smoother compared to the CJ. Not sure if that makes any sense, or even if that's a correct statement as I've never played a CJ.

I read a post on TGP today by the guy that just received Zen 2 #1, and says they should be out VERY soon. I guess Alf is also working on a Zen/Mos 2 in 1 box, if that's true that could become a big seller for him.


Originally Posted by FretFire

I guess Alf is also working on a Zen/Mos 2 in 1 box, if that's true that could become a big seller for him.

You're right. I have to admit that I've been intrigued by Alf's stuff from all the glowing reviews. This 2 in 1 box sounds awesome and I know a few people on TGP have a few prototypes that they love.

CJOD is definitely smooth. It can be tweaked to do a lot of different things, but I think it really shines with Robben Ford/Dumble type applications. Clay Jones will be releasing a schematic for his CJOD in due time and to the hopes of a lot of people, will also send them to another pedal manufacturer to produce more (Clay just doesn't have the time or the energy for it). It's a very cool thing he's doing and more people will be able to hear just how great his circuit sounds.


Originally Posted by the_ChrisCJOD is definitely smooth. It can be tweaked to do a lot of different things, but I think it really shines with Robben Ford/Dumble type applications. Clay Jones will be releasing a schematic for his CJOD in due time and to the hopes of a lot of people, will also send them to another pedal manufacturer to produce more (Clay just doesn't have the time or the energy for it). It's a very cool thing he's doing and more people will be able to hear just how great his circuit sounds.

I have heard nothing but stellar reviews of that pedal, and would love to try one out. Basically what I've gathered from all the comparisons I've read is that the tones you can get from the Zen are comparable to a FEW of the tones you can get from the CJ, but that the latter is much more versatile. It's very cool of him to share the schematics, if/when that happens I'll be heavily considering one.

I thought Mosferatu was a Pharoh in the 2nd Dynasty?

Yeah but the first three letters are MOS

Here's a nice quote by Mr. Hermida I stumbled across:

quot;How did your Mosferatu pedal come about? What all pedals have you had a hand in desining?
AH: The Mosferatu took a long time to develop in part because I was working full time and involved in so many other things that I really couldn’t put all the time it deserved. Eventually after moving from Maryland to Florida and having some time to think the pedal came together. I was working for the longest time on developing a pedal that would be more dynamic and that was soft when distorting without being fuzzy. I also started listening to Robben Ford and wanted a specific sound. Eventually while working on the pedal I was able to get a tone that satisfied the goals I had set for it. After a while, people liked the distortion/gain/sustain of it but also wanted a larger range for the clean and clean with an edge section. That’s when I started working on the Zendrive.quot;

Where does your Zendrive sound best, on the clean or dirty channel of your Rectoverb?


Originally Posted by GearjoneserWhere does your Zendrive sound best, on the clean or dirty channel of your Rectoverb?

I like it the most on the clean channel, though it has its uses in front of the gain side. The Zendrive doesn't have gobs of gain available, in fact it really doesn't have a whole lot. The name beside it on the Hermida website is very accurate IMO, quot;blues overdrivequot;. It does a great quot;slightly broken upquot; dirty tone, but the coolest thing about the Zen to me as that after about 2 o'clock on the gain knob you don't notice more dirt as much as you detect your tone getting thicker and fatter (but not getting muddy somehow). The voice knob also adds a good deal of versatility, as fully counterclockwise it has a smooth Fender-y quality while all the way in the opposite direction gives it some bite and snarl.

I'm uploading some pics right now and will type up my first impressions of the Mos. I played through it for about an hour, and it's pretty clear already that I'll be keeping it. Simple pedal but it works .

Alright, time for my first thoughts on the Mosferatu. First off I fired up the amp and played through the Zen for a bit (haven't played in a few days, needed a refresher). When I switched over to the Mos, I noticed that they are voiced similarly which I expected, but that the Zen is a bit warmer and fatter. Not to say the Mos is thin, but it's more aggressive sounding, more cutting and in your face. Plenty of gain here for any of my higher octane leads. It sounds great when chording as well, you can hear every string and it doesn't flub out.

A bit on the controls:

Volume - simple stuff here, 9:00 - 10:00 seems to be just about unity volume, so you can get plenty loud.

Tone - still simple, very useable throughout the sweep. Down to zero isn't mud-city, and full blast isn't icepicky, I like it around 1:00 so far.

Gain - last knob, another simple one. 9:00 on the Mos feels about like the Zen's gain at 3:00, so there's a good amount on tap (though not as much as the Spina DS-1 I have, for comparison). The Mos is more compressed to my ears and has some killer sustain, leads can scream and chords still say nice and clear. I can definitely hear why people make comparisons to Robben Ford's tone, though if it was in front of a Fender blackface amp it would probably be even closer. The thing I really like is that it doesn't mess with your EQ that much or sound like a pedal, it sounds like your guitar and amp (and the settings you've dialed up on each) with gain added.

The REAL treat was when I turned both the Mos and Zen on at the same time. The Zen doesn't just add a bit of gain here as much as it takes the signal in, smooths is out, and fattens it up. When I first turned them on, I wasn't touching the strings at all and got no howling or feedback. But the first note I played and held stopped sustaining after a couple of seconds and bloomed into feedback (controllable feedback at that). The two working together yields a very thick, creamy, fluid tone that still retains clarity and dynamics. Exactly the fusion type lead tone I've been looking for.

I'd be totally confident running these two pedals and a single channel amp for a gig. I'd have clean, slight OD, crunchier rhythm, and blistering lead tones all covered.
I love the graphic of Nosferatu on there! I hope they got a limited license to use that very trademarked image!!


Originally Posted by TwilightOdysseyI love the graphic of Nosferatu on there! I hope they got a limited license to use that very trademarked image!!

They don't have that image any longer, I'm not exactly sure how long they looked like that. This is what they look like now.

Like the small Hammondbox.
Sounds like you got what you wanted here
And that is always a great thing, congrats.


Originally Posted by RidLike the small Hammondbox.
Sounds like you got what you wanted here
And that is always a great thing, congrats.Sure did. I played it a lot more last night, and stand by my first thoughts. The pedal just does what it does very well.