I am a huge fan of multi effects units. I sport a HX Stomp and a Zoom MS-70CDR on my board. I enjoy how they offer tons of variety for a plethora of sounds, ability to reroute the pedals (series, parallel), and constant updates that the companies have provided - especially Line6.
Admittedly, I do not believe multi effects are for everyone: Their pitfalls tend to be (1) “menu diving”; (2) decision fatigue leading to creative exhaustion due to the sheer amount of options, (3) and uninspiring drive sections. I am also skeptical about their longevity especially those companies that have been cited requiring DRM-esque requirements for continued usage between owners.
What drew me to the Zoia was the ability to piece together effects. Having spent the past couple of months dissecting the Smallsound/Bigsound F-ck Overdrive, I went down a rabbit hole of voltage-controlled anything and envelope followers. The notion that you can alter the behavior and parameters of effects using analog circuits has become a new cause I’ve become engrossed in. In my search for the basic circuitry of the dynamic sag portion of the F-ck Overdrive, the Zoia has always popped up. This is because the Zoia allows a user to connect and patch together effects using a number of tools that I have barely scraped the surface of understanding.
Approaching this unit as a multi-effects would be a disservice to its full capabilities. It’s part multi-effects unit, part LTSpice, part “sandbox,” and part instrument. If you are a tinkerer, this is one of the most powerful tools you could add to your rig. As a designer of circuits and builder of pedals, the Zoia plays towards my more experimental inclinations.
Buy here from Pitbull Audio. That isn’t a sponsored link either - I just want to support my local music shop.
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