Hermida Zendrive: Who Has One? Opinions?

[thebluesbarn]

I have one and like it as a solo boost and for slide. My main Strat is a mohagany one W/ P90s

[b3john]

No question, the Zendrive nails that Dumble ODS sound. I love my Zendrive with 'buckers. It absolutely kills with my ES-339!

OTOH, with my Strats I actually prefer the FET dream (cepedals.com) because IMO it seems to mate up better with the sound of singlecoils and it's more versatile than just the Dumble tones (due to the "girth" knob). YMMV.

I'm slowly developing separate signal chains for the Strats and Gibsons, but if I could only have one Dumble-type pedal on the pedalboard, the Zendrive would be it.

[Breen]

Zendrive has stayed on my board and will never leave. It sounds so different from tonnes of ODs.

[TreRocker]

I'm convinced that the zen drive was made to go between the telecaster and a clean 6l6 type amp. If that was an accident then it really is the zen drive.

So if you have a telecaster and a clean 6l6 type amp, then get it. You'll love it.

For anything else, not so much. I'm not sure how it sounds on the od channels. Still really good with a tele, just not quite as good (to me) as on the clean channel, but really anyother guitar would sound not so great. But if you have a tele, then you pretty much owe it to yourself to at least check it out.

[Breen]

I played my Tele into a Marshall JCM900 today, just like I do every week.

Stomped on the Zen.

It still made me exclaim to anyone who bothered to hear, Man, this pedal is lovely.

[Kingpin]

I use the Zendrive when I'm looking for a thicker OD sound. It's great for "singing" leads.

[b3john]

Originally Posted by TreRocker

I'm convinced that the zen drive was made to go between the telecaster and a clean 6l6 type amp. If that was an accident then it really is the zen drive.

Alf Hermida made the Zendrive specifically for Robben Ford and his Les Paul into backline 6L6 amps (Super Reverbs) for shows when Robben doesn't (can't? won't?) tour with his Dumble amps.

Since Robben also plays a (pretty damn sweet) '60 blonde Telecaster on a bunch of bluesier numbers, I'm not surprised that the Zendrive sounds great with that as well.

[csapo]

Originally Posted by b3john

Alf Hermida made the Zendrive specifically for Robben Ford and his Les Paul into backline 6L6 amps (Super Reverbs) for shows when Robben doesn't (can't? won't?) tour with his Dumble amps.

Since Robben also plays a (pretty damn sweet) '60 blonde Telecaster on a bunch of bluesier numbers, I'm not surprised that the Zendrive sounds great with that as well.

Oh and I love mine...

[Tonemonkey]

Don't get hung up on the 6L6 thing, it sounds great pushing a Tele through 84's aswell.

[winny pooh]

Who is Robben Ford?

[Impulse]

No Google in South London?

[winny pooh]

Haha, I'm kidding of course. But we all know he only exists on guitar forums and it's funny that he is always brought up as an indicator of the zendrive's validity/quality, yet who actually listens to him and is his tone so amazing that it makes a zendrive essential? I would say no IMO, especially as more players possibly know about the zendrive than Ford himself.

[Impulse]

Originally Posted by winny pooh

Haha, I'm kidding of course. But we all know he only exists on guitar forums and it's funny that he is always brought up as an indicator of the zendrive's validity/quality, yet who actually listens to him and is his tone so amazing that it makes a zendrive essential? I would say no IMO, especially as more players possibly know about the zendrive than Ford himself.

Ahh right. I don't hate his music, but I don't find his tone all that unique either. Same goes about most of the famous Dumble users too.

[11 Gauge]

Originally Posted by Tonemonkey

Don't get hung up on the 6L6 thing, it sounds great pushing a Tele through 84's aswell.

I agree. I just pulled out my SD-1 that I modded into what is more or less a ZD, and it sounds really nice thru my Blackheart Little Giant.

[b3john]

Originally Posted by 11 Gauge

I agree. I just pulled out my SD-1 that I modded into what is more or less a ZD, and it sounds really nice thru my Blackheart Little Giant.

Really? I have both pedals and I would've said that two pedals couldn't sound more different than the SD-1 and the Zendrive.

[castpolymer]

No ZD coming my way. The gentleman decided to keep the pedal. Too bad, I was getting psyched to own one.

[Larry F]

I have a ZenDrive and a few good amps. My Dumble clone has such a good OD sound, that I don't really have to work on getting a good sound. I can easily get a lot of sustain, which is something I like. But I also like a cleaner sound just by backing off with the pick. That kind of effect I get better with a ZenDrive into my other amps: Victoria 35310, DRRI, and Trainwreck clone. The Trainwreck will not give me any OD at all at bedroom levels. But with a ZenDrive, I can get a very wide range of sounds just with my picking hand. It takes me a few days, no kidding, to zero in on a good sound out of that, but then, boy. Such detail.

I use the DRRI and ZenDrive for gigs. But I am moving into an amp head switching scenario with the DRRI and Dumble clone and a 12" Tone Tubby.

The Hermida reverb pedal kicks butts.

[cuzzinmark]

Originally Posted by Larry F

I have a ZenDrive and a few good amps. My Dumble clone has such a good OD sound, that I don't really have to work on getting a good sound. I can easily get a lot of sustain, which is something I like. But I also like a cleaner sound just by backing off with the pick. That kind of effect I get better with a ZenDrive into my other amps: Victoria 35310, DRRI, and Trainwreck clone. The Trainwreck will not give me any OD at all at bedroom levels. But with a ZenDrive, I can get a very wide range of sounds just with my picking hand. It takes me a few days, no kidding, to zero in on a good sound out of that, but then, boy. Such detail.

I use the DRRI and ZenDrive for gigs. But I am moving into an amp head switching scenario with the DRRI and Dumble clone and a 12" Tone Tubby.

The Hermida reverb pedal kicks butts.

Two heads and a cab? That sounds like something that would work for me-please post an update when you get it sorted out. Which Dumble Clone do you have? Is it a Ceriatone?

[11 Gauge]

Originally Posted by b3john

Really? I have both pedals and I would've said that two pedals couldn't sound more different than the SD-1 and the Zendrive.

That's because I modded the SD-1 to basically match the Zendrive. I added the Voice control, changed the tone control to match, changed the second op amp (chip) stage to just a unity gain buffer, and swapped out the SD-1 diodes for the mosFET/BAT41 array in the ZD.

...To finish it off, I changed the input and output caps to .47uF, just like the ZD. Since the SD-1 runs buffers, I switched the output caps after them to .47uF as well.

It sounds like a lot of changes, but it saves a big pile of skins to spend on something else. And no one will snag my SD-1 off my board. Even if they do, I can make another one for about $60.

I know that Hermida sanded the markings off the op amp chip, but that was actually fun - I just socketed the chip and started experimenting. I ended up with a NE5532 as sounding closest to the real deal. Whether or not it is just comes down to personal judgment.

As far as Son of Screamer variations go, the ZD is a pretty basic one, so it's easy to mold the SD-1 around it.

[Jaxson612]

My Rivera M-60 loves my Tele & Zendrive!