Robben Ford Discussion

[Buzzy]

I saw Robben this past Saturday at Music Player Live in NYC. A question came up in the session about the Zendrive. He said that he only uses it when he can't use his Dumble, and he only uses it with a Super Reverb.
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JT

[nineacres]

I have a question for all you Zendrive users with Strats: how would you say the Blues OD compares with the Clapton mid-range boost sound?
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"Creativeness often consists of merely turning up what is already there. Did you know that right and left shoes were only thought up a little more than a century ago?" - Bernice Fitz-Gibbon 1894-1982

[diatonicdude]

Hi nineacres,

I personally don't have a strat (I use musicman guitars), but I have friends who have both a ZD & strat, and have heard the combo.

Firstly, the ZD does excel in achieving clear (non muddy), full mids and lows (great highs too), and essentially it is voiced towards more mid range. I think, IMHO, the answer is yes. There are many great sounds in the ZD that I do not believe that you will not be able to dial in anything you are trying to find. Infact, using the voice knob, you can really make single coil equipped guitars come alive (it's also the same for humbuckers, too!).

Hope this helps.

DD
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Music is the universal language; speak it with emotion, listen with a passion.

[nineacres]

Thanks DD

I have a Zendrive on order (I expect it to arrive some time after the annual Great British Postal Disaster, and a Fender Strat Plus, and look forward to hearing the combination for myself. What prompted my question was the sound of EC's guitar on the Cream Albert Hall 2005 DVD which got me wondering whether the Zendrive could contribute to the same versatility in a Strat's sound. By what you say, this is indeed the case.

The only problem is that my band split up two weeks ago after the drummer left his wife and went off with another woman. However, things might not be so bad, since the bass player and myself have started looking for another drummer and singer. So hopefully, by the time the Zendrive arrives, I'll have some gigs to play it on ...
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"Creativeness often consists of merely turning up what is already there. Did you know that right and left shoes were only thought up a little more than a century ago?" - Bernice Fitz-Gibbon 1894-1982

[diatonicdude]

That's rock and roll for ya nineacres!

Good luck with the band, and I just know you will love the Zendrive. I would be interested to hear what you think, so please post back here with your comments.

Cheers,

DD
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Music is the universal language; speak it with emotion, listen with a passion.

[JohnnyZ]

[diatonicdude]

Johnny,

quite simply Johnny, if you post something during this current festive period it either won't ever make its destination (or parts of it won't), or if it does, it'll reach it after a delay similar to that when sending a holiday post card from outer Mongolia to your loved ones back at home.

It is horrendous, and a real gamble to send something, unless you pay extra for something like a Military escort . I am sure the British contingent of this board would have a story or two to tell of their Juletide postal woes.

Cheers,

DD
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Music is the universal language; speak it with emotion, listen with a passion.

[AndyR]

Speaking Juletide woes, Sir Henry Cooper has a bad Boxing Day:


Man, That's GOTTA hurt!!!
(Theme from "Rocky" plays in the background...)



Andy

[roadwarriorfortheblues]

[roadwarriorfortheblues]

[enrico]

sorry guys, just going back to the Zendrive...

I'm really tempted to order one myself, from your reviews I think it would probably create the tone I'm looking for

Problem is, I've always had some sort of adversion for guitar pedals, specially ODs, feel like they take something away from the amp tone.
Is it just me?

I use a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, hardly a Dumble, but still I like its tone. Now I tried some ODs and although I can appreciate what they add to the overall tone, I feel the fat tone of the amp dissapears.
Will the Zendrive feel different?

Also, can I use the Zendrive in combination with the drive channel of my amp (drive dial say @3), cos I really like its crunch tone, or has it got to be the clean channel?

By the way my guitars are: Esprit, Gibson SG and Strat (with humbucker at bridge). Which guitar do you think would play better with the Zendrive?

Many thanks for any advice

[diatonicdude]

Hi Enrico,

firstly what i and many others have found is that the ZD actually does not alter the main tone of the amp being used, it kind of adds further dimensions, i.e. that Dumble type bottom and mid chirp (I hope that makes sense). It really does act like a top end pre amp, and it does not sound or react like a solid state device! I don't know how it would sound on the lead channel, but I think you will love it on the clean channel.

I, like you, used to steer clear from any OD pedals, using only delays, wahs, and volume pedals. I didn't want anything to alter the tone of the amp. In some cases, on some nights, I would just plug straight into my Boogie and go for it! However, the last couple of years has allowed me to sample most of the boutique pedal range as I have a few pedal crazy friends. The ZD is the only one that has done it for me, with a couple of the others nearly getting there.

A Fender amp like yours (clean channel) with a single coil or humbucker equipped guitar is gonna be great. The ZD just makes teles, strats and Les Pauls etc, just come alive thanks to the adjustment of the ZD's voice knob. So in answer to your question is that they all will sound great, IMHO.

Wait to the end of the month if necessary, and get an unbiased review of the ZD in the UK's Guitarist mag (my actual ZD, no less used for the review ) as they usually give everything a real going over. There is a great review also in Jan 06 Guitar Player too!

What I will say is that regardless of what any one else thinks, or uses, I have found THE sound I have been longing for thanks to the ZD, and Alf. And the sound I am talking about is the RF Dumble thing.

As for clips, there are some nice ones about (check out http://www.hermidaaudio.com/ ), but there is no substitute to actually trying out the pedal for yourself (the player, amp and guitar play a big part), but Scott Lerner and Garth Webber (especially Garth's) clips are very acurate to what tones I am getting. Listen to the RF "Handful of Blues" for other clips

BTW, I believe Alf has caught up with orders so you wouldn't have to wait too long now, something like 4 - 6 wks I believe.

I hope that helps a little.

All the best,

DD
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Music is the universal language; speak it with emotion, listen with a passion.

[enrico]

Many thanks DD for your comments and recommendations on the ZD

Anybodyelse willing to cure my OD pedal phobia?

[chalky]

I also have a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I love the clean tone, but find the lead channel tones a little harsh and thin when used at reasonable volume. I didn't have an OD pedal until recently, but I did have a few other pedals. These pedals were relatively cheap models. I found that even the clean tone of the amp suffered when I put them in line. So I started looking at pedals with 'true-bypass'. That is, they are wired so that the signal goes right past the effect circuitry when the pedal is not activated. This makes a huge difference. Whether or not you like the particular effect is down to personal taste, however, having your basic amp tone suffer just to plug the effects in is not aceptable. I tried a friends Tube Screamer and had the same issue. The OD sound was 'OK', but it sucked the life out of my clean sound.
I recently purchased a Voodoo labs Sparkle drive OD pedal with true-bypass. I set the lead channel to just overdrive and then use the Sparkle Drive to boost up for a warmer and more sustained lead sound. The clean tone of the amp is pretty much identical with or without the pedals in line.
I'm fairly happy with the Sparkle Drive, but it sounds like the Zen-Drive would be a great addition.
My main point is that whatever pedal you get, it's worth paying extra for a model with 'true-bypass'. The Zen Drive will definitely have true bypass, so the only thing you need to be concerned about is whether or not you like the OD tone you can get from it. This is a difficult one when we can't try them out before buying. However, based on the tastes and talents of the people who contribute here, I think its a pretty safe bet!

[edpesco]

Got my Zendrive yesterday, first impression: best OD I ever had, it really provides you with that concrete creamy crunch that we RF afficionados all love.