Hello Gearheads! Today, I’m happy to return the awesome Long Beach, CA based Stacks FX with their new and very cool Zenor Overdrive. I had the pleasure of featuring Stacks FX’s Acid Cat Fuzz/Distortion in a previous Gearheads Feature, which you can check out HERE… Miguel A. Vasquez, the man behind the artful creations at Stacks FX set out to create something unique and familiar all at the same time with the Zenor, which is at first glance a simple overdrive pedal… except that it’s one that could satisfy any need you may have in the overdrive, boost and distortion world.
The Zenor Overdrive was born out of the idea of offering more than the typical simple and somewhat limited aspects that all overdrive, boost and in general… gain pedals offer us musicians. Guitarists, specifically and almost exclusively are lilted towards the many shades of subtle nuance and minutia that most overdrive pedals offer. We absolutely love to find and fall down those subtle rabbit holes to chase our tonal nirvana’s as well as our own tails. Plainly put, most overdrive pedals are simple variations of themselves and they usually don’t offer that much versatility… so we end with a lot of them. Guitarists LOVE overdrive pedals. Stacks FX came out swinging with the Zenor, basically taking the tonal variance and utility of a wide variety of pedals and simply put them in one box. The Zenor takes that aspect of utility and nuance and gives us the chance to make it our own all within the same box…
The Zenor is in my mind a familiar friend and a studio beast all in one. It absolutely can get you in the ball park of all the overdrive pedals you love and want… maybe even the ones that are currently on your pedalboard. You can get the Tube Screamer, Klon, Bluesbreaker, OCD, Transparent Timmy… etc and so on - if those are the things that matter to you as a consumer of gear. With all that said and absolutely not discounted, I’d like to mention that the Zenor is a highly versatile and great sounding pedal that will work in any musical situation you’d find yourself in. I prefer to look at the Zenor as something new and unique rather than trying to “shoot it out” against the circuits that already exist.
“Most overdrives are tailored for very specific sounds. They give you 3 parameters that mostly get the job done but I felt I needed more flexibility. I wanted something that could cover a wide range of sounds without sacrificing the overall tone. I experimented for months and months on my breadboard. I distilled/re-examined everything countless times and after reaching the brink of insanity, I came up with this circuit. It has six control knobs and two 3-position toggles. With these 8 parameters, you can get a WIDE range of sounds. ”
What makes the Zenor so unique and useful is in it’s feature set. This pedal offers a lot but is also deceptively simple to operate. You don’t have the typical tone controls you’ll find on most drive pedals. The EQ section is more like a studio tool - cutting or boosting with high and low pass filters. You have the usual volume and gain controls but there’s also a very cool and uber musical clean blend control. Miguel mentioned that the blend is actually a version of their awesome ‘The Worm’ built into the Zenor. I’m usually not impressed with clean blend function on overdrive pedals - they often sound fake and feel unnatural. The Zenor’s clean blend however is very musical, open and natural. It’s fantastic and I used it quite a bit.
I found the Zenor really great at dialing in a great sound quickly in sessions and then having the option to get pretty surgical with the EQ to settle it in each track or mix. In addition to having the ability to high or low pass the tone, you also have control over the midrange shelving and the option to choose different versions of clipping in the overdrive circuit. You might be the kind of person who loves the deepness that this feature set offers or you might like the simplicity to get a great sound quickly. I like both of those elements and find that the Zenor isn’t really about trying to sound like pedal A, B or C… but instead it gives you the chance to pull the sound out of your head and into your fingers. The Zenor is intuitive and robust. Stacks FX are using some of the best components available.
“All parts and components are top-notch, Wima and Nichicon fine gold foil capacitors. JRC and Burr-Brown op-amps. Heavy-duty 3pdt foot switch. Solid aluminum knobs. Powder-coated enclosure with control panel overlay”
In my demo, I used the Zenor on all the stringed instruments, including the bass guitar. I also used the Zenor with a very old and cranky ‘Rubber Bridge’ Silvertone Aristocrat archtop, creating some unique and fantastic sounds. The Zenor blew me away in the way I would approach each part and layer, each instrument would require subtle changes on the Zenor, but they were quick and musical. One of the key things I’ll say about this pedal is that in it’s versatility it absolutely shines. There are no blind spots resulting in the “Master Of None” tendencies that most ‘Do-it-all’ pedals tend to exhibit. The Zenor is a killer drive circuit and a worthy studio companion in more ways than one.
Thanks for checking this Gearheads Feature on the STACKS FX Zenor. If you’d like to learn more about Miguel and his work please do check out these sites for more information.
https://www.stacksfx.com/product/zenor-overdrive
https://www.instagram.com/stacks_fx/
Until next time Gearheads, please take a moment to Like, Subscribe & Share this Feature and I’ll see you all very soon!