Longterm Test
A few months’ gigging, recording and everything that goes with it – welcome to Guitarist ’s longterm test report
Empress Effects’Zoia has achieved a virtual cult following since its release, with a generous community of users keen to share their patch-building mastery online (patchstorage.com boasts more than 640 downloadable patches at the time of writing). Granted, it’s an unusually hightech device for a guitar pedal – something between a computer system and a piece of Monome hardware – but that takes it far beyond being just another hip and quirky stompbox. It can also be a virtual pedalboard of effects. It can be an instrument in itself. Or a looper. Or a MIDI controller. A couple of years ago, Empress Effects’ founder Steve Bragg told us they were even working towards being able to use the Zoia in place of a DAW. The folk at Empress are constantly updating their firmware with exciting new features, so watch this space for such surprises.
The Zoia might not be able to replace your entire DAW just yet, but it most certainly does transplant the power, ease and flexibility of complex digital effects into what is a more instinctive and tactile format. With a guitar on your lap, there’s something far more decisive and fluid about working with buttons, switches and knobs, as opposed to
“Being within arm’s reach of the gear is where the action happens, particularly when experimenting”
a keyboard and mouse. In fact, several years ago I decided to dismantle my PC-based DAW completely and move from the confines of a desk onto the floor where I’m happiest: within immediate grasp of instruments, amps, pedals and mics. The effortless touchscreen of an iPad paired with an Apogee Quartet audio interface has since proven to be far less of a distraction when tracking on my own. For me, being within arm’s reach of the gear is where the action happens, particularly when experimenting with sound as a guitarist. And with its distinctly hands-on approach, the Zoia slotted into this setup naturally.
The Zoia’s pre-programmed patches and ready-made effects modules already sound good straight out of the box but the ability to design your own from the bottom up has taken my musical vision to another creative level. I’m currently using it to record contributions towards an audio version of American poet Toni Oswald’s forthcoming book Sirens, which is due for release this November on Gesture Press. It’s a vividly imaginative and colourful piece of work that has pushed my imagination into new areas while inspiring ideas for different combinations of effects features, controls and routing etc. By using distinct modules as building blocks for piecing together your own customised effects, the Zoia can transcend the limitations of regular fixed circuitry, allowing such ideas to be easily brought to life.
For example, one of the first things I wanted to achieve (after I’d managed to build myself a guitar tuner, of course!) was a tremolo effect that would increase in speed the harder I picked the strings, and slow down as the notes died away. I was soon able to piece the relevant synth modules together – consisting simply of an envelope follower, LFO and VCA – and test it out in the track. This working logic is based on how a modular synthesizer might be patched together using cables, so it pays to have a little knowledge around this subject, or at least brush up on a few of the basics. In theory, the envelope follower senses the guitar signal strength and ramps the rate of the LFO it’s connected to up or down accordingly. This in turn is connected to a VCA, which decreases and increases the gain as per the LFO rate to produce a dynamic tremolo effect. Using the same approach, I later unhooked the VCA and placed a flanger effects module down, connecting its rate to the LFO instead. The result: an ‘envelope flanger’ of sorts. This is the kind of reasoning that makes experimenting with the Zoia such a breeze.
With no patch cables involved, it’s less fuss than working with a modular synthesizer – the Zoia simply relies on pressing two buttons simultaneously to make a connection. Additionally, you can adjust the strength of that connection (expressed as a percentage on screen), allowing even greater control and flexibility. 64 saveable patches along with the Zoia’s ‘Undo’ function both serve to enhance a sense of experimentation without worrying about losing work or getting lost down a rabbit hole. Meanwhile, the ‘Random’ function provides a springboard for new ideas.
Having worked with the Zoia for a while, it’s easy to see why so many people have become hooked on its endless possibilities. Like all my favourite gear, it doesn’t get in the way and is keeping me inspired.