Robben Ford Discussion

Millibobs · Senior Member Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 291

S'okay, I found it! Also, I decided to sell the Zendrive and after some furious biding, it sold on e-bay the other day and is now in the hands of a very happy camper in NE UK.

In the end, I realised that between a modded DS1, a Fulltone OCD and a loverly Mesa V Twin preamp, I have everything I need and a heck of a heavy pedal board to boot......the Zendrive was a beautiful pedal but a luxury nonetheless and better off in the hands of someone who can utilise it.

I'll put the money from the Zendrive towards the overdraft or maybe I'll get a Line 6 delay unit, or perhaps put it towards that PRSE SE Custom semi hollow that just came out......or...........

Strongpersuader · Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 3:53 am Post subject:

Hi Millibobs!

I definitely can understand your mixed feelings about the Zen. The Zen is undoubtebly a superb pedal when used with 'buckers equipped guitars. With this kind of axes you can pretty much nail the elusive Robben's tone that we all here keep craving for.

I, myself am most of a single coil guy and up to now, as I have mentioned in my last post, feel satisfied with the tones I get from my Strat and my BB Preamp. However, we guitar players are always looking for something different in our rigs and in our tone.

I have just received a mail from Alf saying that my Zendrive II is ready for shipping. I will procede with the purchase because even if the pedal don't make it for me I can easily sell it on e-bay withoiut any losses.
I will keep everyone informed as soon as I receive the pedal and test drive it.

yebdox · Member Joined: 04 Apr 2004 Posts: 38

Hey, Strong Persuader!

Good advice - the BB is next on my list, actually. I love the RC but mostly use it on single coils - wonderful pedal! The AC is not getting me excited and I've had it for a few months, now. It is pretty mid-rangey, gets fuzzy sounding past 10 o'clock. It will probably go on eBay. Not sure why people get as excited about it as they do, but looking forward to trying the BB.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else out there has ever tried the Marshall Shredmaster. My friends are always trying to steal or borrow mine!

I found the OCD pretty close to it, but still a bit bright for my tastes. My personal theory is that Mike Fuller might be suffering from high frequency hearing loss, as nearly all of his pedals that I've tried are bright to shrill in their voicings. Or, maybe I have low frequency hearing loss (?). Fulltones definitely have a characteristic all their own, for sure. I've found the Shredmaster much more versatile, with minimal tweaking from amp to amp, as opposed to how much I have to tweak an amp to get a sound I like out of a Fulltone pedal - definitely do-able, but just more work. All I have now from Fulltone are an Octafuzz and Dejavibe and I'm not certain I wouldn't like a different brand of those pedals, either. But, they are built well and very popular, you have to give Fuller a lot of credit!

Strongpersuader · Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 4:53 pm Post subject:

Hi yebdox!

You have definitely figured out the AC Booster's character. I had known, after talking to some friends of mine that own this pedal, that it had such a fizzy aspect and was a low gain pedal. After checking the Prosound site out, and watching almost all demo videos I decided for the BB Preamp. It has more gain, is completely transparent to the stock tone of your guitar am amp, and doesn't lose any bottom end. It is excelent to be used with single coils.

I strongly recommend you to test one of them.

lemonjefferson · Senior Member Joined: 16 May 2007 Posts: 83

I heard Robben used a Pacifix SOV - 1 for a while (I know Bill Morgan really rates these pedals!)
I own one and personally (in my humble opinion) think they are better than a Zen Drive.

edpesco · Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 11:13 am Post subject:

Sure, there a lots of great sounding pedals around and in my 40 years of playing guitar believe me I had quite a number of them all. But for me the Zen is the best OD pedal on the market. It's not a high gain device and there are pedals that may sound brighter, more volumous and more brutal as long as you are alone in your bedroom but when it comes to play in a band context, especially with keyboards and horns etc. it makes your guitar cut through without sounding harsh and sound full without getting muddy and it reacts very sensitive to your pick and the volume pot. And it's very small and handy. That's good for me.
_________________
www.soultingo.at

yebdox · Member Joined: 04 Apr 2004 Posts: 38

Hey, Hey, Hey! I just received an email from Alf Hermida - I've been on the list for so long, I thought I'd been lost and decided to forget about the Zendrive, but I made it to the top of the list, so, payment has been sent and I should be seeing my pedal in a few days!

I will post a review when I get it, particularly in contrast with my beloved Marshall Shredmaster! Here we go.....

DaveH · Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:23 pm Post subject:

Buckle your seat belt.

bongofury · Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 1:09 pm Post subject:

Millibobs · Senior Member Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 291

Hey fellers

having sold the Zendrive, I was wondering where to go next and then recalled the posts mentioning the BB preamp. I took a flyer and ordered one which was a very good move indeed. I can get a slightly more edgy sound to my OCD but stacked together, this is one heck of a combination.

The BB is actually one of the most responsive and transparent pedals I've ever played through and I have tried most of them. Definitely a 'keeper'. Mind you, that's what I said about the Zendrive (which to be honest I am missing and will probably replace before too long). Board is now well sorted and a picture follows.

many thanks for the BB recommends - it's a monster!

http://www.fenderforum.com/userphotos/index.html?recid=48899

frank0936 · Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 5:40 pm Post subject: nice layout

Nice board! I have the Sonic Stomp also. It's been on my board for a while, but I am going back to the Aphex Guitar Exciter because it is a bit more versatile. It has four knobs - lo and hi tune ( filter) and lo and hi blend. You can select active or passive pickups and in addition to the hi-imp out it also has a balanced D.I. out with source selectable for wet or dry and a ground lift. I already use the Acoustic Exciter and run direct to the board. They are great pedals. The Exciters stay on at all times.
Frank

yebdox · Member Joined: 04 Apr 2004 Posts: 38

Hi, bongo!

Don't quote me, but I think I've been on it since spring of last year (?). I wrote to Alf again in april or may and asked to make sure I was on the list, but he didn't respond to that email. I was just about ready to order the BB ( which I will still get in a month or two) when this came up in my email this morning - as Gomer says, sur-PRIZE, sur-PRIZE!!!

I think every one with a strat or Tele would like the RC Booster, I'm looking forward to trying the BB - I still have an AC Booster, but to be honest, I only really like it when I use it after the RC... otherwise, I think it's too buzzy and a bit mid-rangey. I let my OCD go when I decided it had too much of that Fulltone shrillness to it. Don't think I've ever fallen in love with Fulltone stuff and I've tried most of them ( I did keep the Octafuzz and Deja-vibe, but not convinced I should, really.) But, many people absolutely love everything about Fulltone and they certainly deserve a listen. For a while, I thought the OCD was about as close as I could get to the Shredmaster ( looking for a backup) but eventually I decided it wasn't close enough. Chaining the RC and AC together is actually a bit closer, just not as versatile for me.

Ok, enough pontificating.... just buy one of everything!

Ian Hurtt · Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 8:07 pm Post subject:

yebdox · Member Joined: 04 Apr 2004 Posts: 38

Okay, it came today, I've just put it through it's paces on my pedal board, between my RC and the Shredmaster. Conclusion: Shredmaster wins by a good margin. ( I knew it, dang it!) I was really hoping for something different, as I don't like being reliant on a pedal no longer in production for my best overdrive tone, but the Shredmaster can do everything the Zen Drive does, with more available tonal range... can go deep if needed, and can lose the bottom end to sound just like the ZenDrive, which seems like a fuller sounding TS-9 to me... definitely in the more mid-range category of pedal-dom.

I think I can see why Robben likes it, as it probably cuts through on stage pretty well, especially if his cab or the room gets boomy. It's like the difference between a closed back and open back/combo tone, on all the same settings - the bottom end is altered - not quite missing, but definitely reduced. The Zen is pretty smooth in the gain response up to about 2 or 3 o'clock, then it gets a bit buzzy with some slightly unwelcome ghost noting. The Shredmaster is smooth all the way to the top (6 o'clock), although I usually have the gain around 1 or 2 o'clock. It can get a bit bassy in a large room, but that's quickly remedied by rolling off the bass ( separate tone controls, plus a contour control.)

Single coils sound great with the RC Booster going into the Shredmaster or bypassed straight through to the Shred itself - lots of fullness and bottom end without getting woofy, kind of like turning on the loudness control on your receiver - both great sounds (RC and non-RC) but with the Zendrive, the midrange quality makes a strat sound a bit buzzy and the RC doesn't seem to help much. The tone control makes the Zen a bit woofy when it's rolled off, rather than adding bass, it seems to subtract the higher frequencies, still keeping the mids prominent. Even my wife walked through and thought the Zen didn't sound as full on a strat - "more buzzy" she says.

I will play with it some more, and all of this is perhaps a bit premature, but I think it will be heading to eBay soon. It's also possible that the Zen simply sounds better on a stage at performance volumes where some punch is needed, but I don't gig that loud very often and the Marshall adapts just fine with that, anyway- kind of like, you can turn the loudness off if you want to really crank your receiver up.

The Zen is a very good pedal, better and smoother than most TS-9s but in that same vein, in my opinion. It is easily twice as loud as the Shredmaster, but that's not a concern for me. The OCD is perhaps a bit fuller, from what I recall, but had a shrillness to it that I couldn't completely eliminate, so it's been gone for a few months, now. I had waited 8 months on a Banzai Fireball last year and only kept it for a month - similar issues, although it was incredibly loud, again , not a plus - voiced a lot like the OCD, a little lacking in warmth. EBayed away.

I really need to find another Shredmaster on eBay before no one wants to part with them anymore. Oh yeah, uh, "the Shredmaster is the worst piece of junk, highly over-rated, unreliable and horribly voiced for junior high metal heads!" ( that's my official story - I shouldn't be writing these positive reviews until I have two or 3 stashed away! Smile

)

For the record, I A-B'd the two pedals on a Pedal Pad powered board into a 40 watt Allen Old Flame 1x12 combo with a Celestion Lead 80 and a 50 watt VHT ST-50 with a closed back 2x12 cab with Celestion Lead 80 and Weber Alnico Blue Dog. Guitars used - 335 Dot RI with Van Zandt Trubuckers, Lone Star Strat with Van Zandts and a Pearly Gates and a 57 Goldtop RI LP with Burstbuckers 2 and 3.

In summary, I think most people would like the Zen, but as mentioned earlier, no pedal can really make you sound like Robben. (The fun is in the trying, though, huh guys?) I would encourage anyone to try several other pedals while waiting for a Zendrive, including the OCD, BB, Maxon 808, etc. - there is a lot to have fun with, while waiting for ( or instead of waiting for) a Zendrive. Very nice, but not really what I'm looking for.

PierreL · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 12:31 am Post subject:

Nice review. Now you got me interested in the Shredmaster Wink

I loved my Zendrive (which I had to sell to help finance my Fuchs), but I also found that it was not really suited to single coils, anyway for my taste, although it did sound a lot better when played at higher volumes in rehearsal.
It was really sounding great with humbuckers imho.
Anyway, I regretted selling mine so much that I got on the waiting list as soon as the sale was over, and I have just received the confirmation email from A. Hermida that it was ready, after "only" 5 months.
I still don't know if I should proceed or not, as it might prove redundant with the Fuchs.