EMPRESS EFFECTS

114
GUITARIST JUNE 2020
IMAGES TO BE SHOT
T
he Guitarist team are suckers
for good old-fashioned vintage
gear, but we are also huge fans of
technology. Be it the simplest analogue
application or cutting-edge digital
modelling, if it sounds right and feels right,
the chances are it is. And with Empress
Effects’ “infinite trick pony” – the Zoia –
creating such a buzz in the stompbox
world recently, we couldn’t wait to dive in
and find out why people have been raving
about this quirky little box with what
seems like far too many buttons.
Although it may appear unfamiliar or
slightly confusing at first, that grid of 40
buttons is precisely what makes working
with the Zoia such a breeze. Think of
them as spaces. Press an unoccupied one
to choose a module from the screen menu
using the rotary knob (not forgetting to
pick a suitable colour, of course!) and
a number of buttons light up in a row
depending on how many parameters
and inputs/outputs the module has. To
link different modules together simply
press two buttons simultaneously, like the
output of reverb to the input of tremolo,
and to tweak their parameters just hit a
relevant button and use the rotary knob to
adjust. Easy!
“But what is this ‘module’ nonsense?”
we hear you cry. The Zoia is a modular
synthesizer in pedal form, but that doesn’t
mean it’s off the radar as far as us guitarists
are concerned. Indeed, quite the opposite:
the very same principles have long been
used to design guitar pedals. What makes
the Zoia unique, however, is that with a
little imagination you can easily customise
your own effects. And without needing a
studio full of synth modules, or a soldering
iron for that matter, in order to do so.
Furthermore, with 64 patches available
to save your work and instantly recall
it on the fly using the Scroll and Select
footswitches, or via MIDI, you can create
a virtual pedalboard full of possibilities.
If you have zero experience hooking
up synth modules and would like to start
using the Zoia straight out of the box then
fear not. Empress has included a bunch
of ready-made guitarist-friendly effects
modules to choose from. The Canadian
company has been hard at work updating
the firmware with new and exciting
modules since the Zoia’s release, often
based on recommendations from an ever-
growing online community of users. At
the time of writing, it boasts 20 effects
modules including an EQ, overdrive/
This box of tricks could change the way you think about effects…
Words Rod Brakes Photography Olly Curtis
PEDALBOARD
EMPRESS EFFECTS
Zoia
CONTACT
HTTPS://EMPRESSEFFECTS.COM
MODEL
ZOIA
PRICE
£479
MANUFACTURER
EMPRESS EFFECTS
GIT459.peds_empress.indd 114 16/04/2020 13:33