Resolution

  • Thread starter Thread starter Skarekrough
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Skarekrough

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So, some of you may have been following this saga.

The story picks up with me getting home on Friday and seeing a little note on the table that the mailman was here and he couldn't deliver a package from a one "Hermida" because it needed to be signed for.

As Alf said....he sent it.

Saturday morning, as it was starting to monsoon, I geared up and went down to the post office to pick up a very small and very unassuming little package.

It wasn't until that afternoon that I got to plug it in and see what I thought. I hauled out my modified Blues Junior (Billm mods) and my 73' Strat and plugged it in.

One of the reviews said the pedal didn't have very much push to it. I took this to heart and set the amp to be just about overdriven.

...that review was wrong.

There's about as much drive on the ZenDrive as about 3/4 of a standard Tube Screamer. It's no slouch, but it's not an "angry hive of bees" either. It's really, well, warm...and transparent. I think that's what blew me away about it. It's the most natural drive I've ever heard from a pedal. It shapes the sound, but kind of in a way where it makes the amp sound more like, well, an amp. Notes just seem to kind of jump and hang in a way I'd always wanted to hear from an amp. It's hard to describe.

I'd been up in the air about keeping it for awhile. I still am to be honest. But if my ears still keep hearing what they did I'm afraid to say I may end up ordering another one.
 
Re: Resolution

Great review Skarekrough, good to hear that the ZenDrive does all you want it to. When you say it's got about 3/4 the drive as a Tube Screamer, you must mean it's really subtle then right? I've always found TS's to be a really light overdrive, as I guess they were intended.
 
Re: Resolution

Glad it's working out for you. Aren't you glad you weren't mean and nasty to Mr. Hermida now?
 
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glad it's working out there, skarey ... after the hassle, you deserve to dig it

why would you order a second one? cascaded gain?

t4d
 
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Finally !!!it's cool that you like what you where waiting for a loong time.I hope the joy you get will be greater than the "bad mood" you got from the delivery delay.HAve fun Scary!!
 
Re: Resolution

tone4days said:
glad it's working out there, skarey ... after the hassle, you deserve to dig it

why would you order a second one? cascaded gain?

t4d

The short of it, I'm lazy.

I hate carting gear from my house to rehearsal spaces to gigs and back and forth. I'll usually have a rehearsal room rig with a small amp or one with a Master Volume on it and a few minor pedals that don't do as much overdriving as they do coloring the sound to make it sound overdriven. When i gig I'll bring in amps like my Deluxe Reverb or Trace Elliot Velocette and use pedals that do actual overdriving.

For something like the ZenDrive I can see it working well for both scenarios. But another part of me is always aware that when certain things get big, that's when the newer ones start to not be as good as the older ones. Tube Screamers, PRS', etc....all kind of had a drop-off point, real or percieved, from which the older ones made a great investment, but were also a great value for what they were at the time.
 
Re: Resolution

ah, i see ... smart move

so, does the zendrive provide for a more 'touch sensitive' overall feel ... does it provide that 'controllable feedback/bloom' effect that guys talk about?
thanks,
t4d
 
Re: Resolution

tone4days said:
ah, i see ... smart move

so, does the zendrive provide for a more 'touch sensitive' overall feel ... does it provide that 'controllable feedback/bloom' effect that guys talk about?
thanks,
t4d

It's hard for me to tell...I really need to spend more time with the pedal and get a better idea overall for what it's capable of. It's very organic sounding, but really manages to, as I said before, make the amp sound more like an amp. It's hard to describe....
 
Re: Resolution

Skarekrough said:
It's hard for me to tell...I really need to spend more time with the pedal and get a better idea overall for what it's capable of. It's very organic sounding, but really manages to, as I said before, make the amp sound more like an amp. It's hard to describe....

I know what you mean... my fulltone OCD does the exact same thing. Hard to describe, innit? It's like it takes the amp's positive attributes ad accentuates them while adding harmonic richness and clarity.
 
Re: Resolution

NICE.....the 2 pedals I've been wanting to try the most is the Zen & Mosferatu.

Some day I'll take Alf up on the offer & go down for a visit:bigthumb:
 
Re: Resolution

B2D said:
I know what you mean... my fulltone OCD does the exact same thing. Hard to describe, innit? It's like it takes the amp's positive attributes ad accentuates them while adding harmonic richness and clarity.

LOL your ebay item description...
"NO NIGERIAN BANKERS/CON ARTISTS! IF YOU COME TO ME WITH THAT KRAP, I WILL FIND YOUR HOUSE AND KRAP ON YOUR LAWN! ... Have a nice day!"
 
Re: Resolution

neosadist said:
LOL your ebay item description...
"NO NIGERIAN BANKERS/CON ARTISTS! IF YOU COME TO ME WITH THAT KRAP, I WILL FIND YOUR HOUSE AND KRAP ON YOUR LAWN! ... Have a nice day!"

:D
 
Re: Resolution

neosadist said:
LOL your ebay item description...
"NO NIGERIAN BANKERS/CON ARTISTS! IF YOU COME TO ME WITH THAT KRAP, I WILL FIND YOUR HOUSE AND KRAP ON YOUR LAWN! ... Have a nice day!"

Why is it when I do things like that I get called all sorts of nasty names...and I'm even polite about the whole thing!
 
Re: Resolution

Skarekrough said:
Why is it when I do things like that I get called all sorts of nasty names...and I'm even polite about the whole thing!

By people here or people on eBay?

I've been getting rather informal with my auctions lately but I'll still put down all the information you'd need or want to make a buying decision.

I'd write down what I REALLY thought of the scammer operation crowd on eBay (nigerian, indonesian, chinese, gcrep, etc) but I'd probably get banned for it.
 
Re: Resolution

I'm now having a similar incident with a pawn shop on Ebay. Dude is taking his sweet time refunding my money. He asked for the product back and I sent it back packed like it was evidence for a murder trial. He's tested the product and has come to the conclusion that it was damaged in transit to me (he didn't pack it well and it the ears on the rack unit were bent back in shipping). Still no refund a full three days after he said he would give one. I've sent a reminder today to get his attention. If I don't get a refund soon, I'll contact ebay and plead my case.
 
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Count your blessings....you have eBay to work with.

I know if Alf decided to jump ship there's no way I would be able to do anything about it. PayPal is notoriously bad about putting pressure on anyone when deals go bad.

Fortunately I think Alf has much more to gain by fulfilling orders...it's quite a pedal.
 
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Something to remember too: Alf is a one man show (I think...if not, very small ).

His pedals have a HUGE reputation & are in great demand, thus the wait.

Scott F, ya' listening :D
 
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