Zoia

This box of tricks could change the way you think about effects…

- Rod Brakes

The 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!