Not bonding with Zendrive

[LawDaddy]

So I got a Zendrive delivered on Thursday. Here's my take.

Pros: Amazing lead tone that does that one thing.

Cons: I can't get a decent rhythm tone out of it.

I play traditional blues/soul, and typically rely on the guitar volume knob/amp for control throughout the night. I have a Vox Ice 9 that I really dig for TS-style overdrive in a few tunes. But, out of curiosity, I thought about broadening my palette of tones. Dangerous, I know. Being a Robben fan, I ordered a ZD seeing as they are shipping out of stock now.

One thing I dig about the Ice 9 is that it cleans up so well using the guitar volume knob. I can't seem to get a similar result from the Zendrive. I get (and appreciate) the playing dynamics of the ZD for leads and single line runs, but I seem to be having a hard time just rolling off the volume and getting a good comping tone.

FWIW, I can get a (slightly) similar tone from the Ice 9 by setting it in "modern" mode, and running the tone a little hot, and boosting the bass a bit. Not quite the complex, chewy bloom of the ZD, but maybe enough for my needs in a set. So I'm considering returning the ZD.

I totally dig the lead tone for what it is, but am I missing something regarding the versatility of the ZD? I need to decide whether to return this by Monday. Any thoughts? I've never played an OCD, would that be better suited to my needs?

[Nub]

I love my Zendrive, but I agree, it doesn't clean up all that well with your guitar volume knob. The pedal that does it for me in the sensitivity department is the Lovepedal Eternity Fuse... I run it so that with picking dynamics & small volume knob changes, I can go from very clean to decent crunch. I run my Zendrive after it, and kick it in for leads. I also use the Zendrive for rhythm if I need a more medium gain crunch, then use the Fuse as the lead boost. I tried the OCD, but didn't like it... thought it was very unremarkable.

[Agitator]

Originally Posted by LawDaddy

Any thoughts?

Have you considered using the footswitch to turn the pedal on and off when you solo?

[LawDaddy]

Originally Posted by Agitator

Have you considered using the footswitch to turn the pedal on and off when you solo?

LOL. Obvious question. Of course, but I'd like to be able to back the volume down for comping, and raise the volume for fills around vocals and such.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by Nub

I love my Zendrive, but I agree, it doesn't clean up all that well with your guitar volume knob.

Well this is interesting, I wound up with a zen clone and it does this and more quite well. That would be a sell the pedal cause for me, and my zen clone is and has been a keeper.


One suggestion to the OP. Maybe run the zen cooler with a buffered clean boost of some sort, or even a compressor with the attack high, compression low and gain/out hot. Try the zen cooled down and kick in the non buffered pedal in front of the zen for solo work, may get you there...

[eddie knuckles]

It sounds like you want a "Les Lius" type pedal. "set it and forget it" and you get gobs of more grind with pick attack. I use mine for slide primarily.

I love my Zen Drive clone (Fuchs Plush Drive), and I use the volume knob on my guitar for leads, and then back down for rythym - albeit clean. It works very well for this purpose.

[robt57]

Yea, I don't try to get the zen [clone] too dirty. More cranky OD. Dumble0sdh, remember, I use my rust drive to get real nasty when it is called for...

[LawDaddy]

Thanks, guys. The Zen is great for what it is, but I just don't think it's what I need for my current projects.

Interesting comment on the Les Lius pedal (which I have never heard of). For gigs where my Twin in not practical, I have been using a Tech 21 Blonde driving my Jazzmaster Ultralight Solid State amp to reach a similar result. I'll probably stick with that for now.

That's an amazing demo video for the Les Lius, btw.

[robt57]

Les Luis was my fav for taking the bark of my Supers or HRDv212, although it did not take any weight off. ;) Or for making the SFP sound a bit more like a 5E3.... a bit...

[RockerDuck]

I had two Zen drives. Didn't like the first, but got it used so thought maybe something was wrong, so bought a new one. The pedal wasn't a sound I liked. Sold them both. They are subjective to your style of playing and the type of amp used.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by RockerDuck

The pedal wasn't a sound I liked. Sold them both. They are subjective to your style of playing and the type of amp used.

And if you are looking for dumblesque flavor maybe...

[LawDaddy]

Originally Posted by robt57

And if you are looking for dumblesque flavor maybe...

Exactly, except it's the kind of thing you don't know until you try it. I was listening to some Larry Carlton this afternoon, and now I can spot it when I hear it. Very cool, but a different touch.

It was a great experience to taste a new dish, if you know what I mean.

[robt57]

Youtube some Robbin Ford...

[LawDaddy]

Originally Posted by robt57

Youtube some Robbin Ford...

Stop it. That's what made me order the damn thing in the first place. His Blue Line stuff is a fave of mine. :)

[JonyB]

I've read posts on this site where other players haven't bonded with the Zen Drive either... however I'm a little curious if the ZD works better for you when you play through the Twin; I've used a ZD for 6 years with several different amp set ups and I've noticed when playing through my Lab series L5 solid state amp I'm not as satisfied with the touch sensitivity of the ZD. I use a volume pedal and also use a Rat pedal for more nasty distortion when desired..plus the ZD for a smoother overdrive ...less distortion. I've been happy with the ZD now for 6 yrs but still experiment with a variety of other overdrive and distortion,fuzz pedals to augment the ZD. AND I've returned full circle for the umteenth time back to using tube amps for gigging. Haven't sold the Lab series yet tho.....there's still a soft spot in my heart for that amp in certain situations.

[Nub]

LawDaddy- If you can, check out an OceanEFX Pearl Drive; it's got the flavor & snarl of the Zen, but can also get into more Marshall tones, too. It's a fantastic pedal, and by far the most pick & volume sensitive drive pedal I've ever used. Corby recently shut down his pedal shop, but Pearl Drives are still pretty easy to find (for now).

[Tonemonkey]

I now run the ZD a touch cool (less gain), guitar vol dialed off a little and agree that the lead tone is to die for, using the guitar vol as a boost into the lead tones. I initially struggled with the rhythm settings but found that dialling off the guit vol gives the crunch over and above the crunch out of the amp with the guitar vol up.

Don't give up, have a good play with the Voice pot, gain dialled back. I now place mine in front of a modded SD-1. Whilst it won't do everything, nothing else does exactly what the ZD does, to my taste.....keep it and if you can't get what you need for rhythm you may need another rhythm box, get one.

MHO obviously.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by LawDaddy

Stop it. That's what made me order the damn thing in the first place. His Blue Line stuff is a fave of mine. :)

The curse!

I have been lucky with my pedal purchase after getting way to lusty from hearing the youtubes. I think sometime you hear what you want to on the youtube demos, and in your music room or playing out.. less imagination and more DB.

My pedal plan is/has alway[s been] buy high end and used, and you can not loose money if you resell after it does not work for you. Or on the other side of the equation, buy cheap and zero sum it with $25.00 pedals. I think either way you can find usable tones and get stuck with unusable ones...

[LawDaddy]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I did notify them that I intended to send it back, but haven't heard from them yet. If they don't get back to me before the weekend with an RA#, maybe I'll take it to my gig this weekend. ;)

[Paul in Colorado]

I wasn't bonding with mine either. Then I tried it with a Tele and used it in a jam. It came alive. I love it now. I've never owned a pedal that took so much effort to get dialed in. But once I got it there, it made it all worth it. I don't know what to tell you about the rhythm thing. I don't often use pedals for rhythm playing.