Empress Effects ZOIA

+ Really innovative user interface. It might seem very alien at first, but once you get it, you won't be missing that software editor that you initially thought would be useful...
+ Great sound quality.
+ Lots of modules, and more modules are coming with future updates. Its essentially an infinite modular rack in a small box that you can fiddle around with on your couch.
+ Lots of youtube tutorials for how to use the pedal and to learn about the various modules. Being new to the world of modular synths, I have learned so much from this device.
+ Easy update process. No need to fiddle with drivers or annoying computer programs, -just download the update file put it on an SD card and insert the card into the pedal. (I wish all companies had a similar less computer dependent update process...)
- The button panel became unresponsive on my unit after a few months. However, I contacted Empress and they told me that it is a common problem with the initial batch of units, and they were kind to send me a new button panel for free which wasn't too hard to install myself. I feel confident that this button panel can last longer.

I use my ZOIA in two ways:
1) an all in one sound design pedal.
- whenever i need something special for live performances and can't be bothered with lugging 3 pedalboards with me for just 20 seconds of sound ---> ZOIA

2) my modular's best friend.
- very nice reverb, delay, granular, amp sim etc... with the possibility to accept CV and 2 separate inputs which can be internally routed and mixed. ((let's say input = synth, input 2 = guitar) = FUN).

it's a bit unwieldy at the beginning but once you get used to the fact that it's not just an fx pedal but also a sound design machine you'll be creating great sounding patches in no time!

if you read this, you probably somehow learned that the zoia exists. welcome to the club.
after i saw my first videos about the zoia, i knew that i have to try it out. usually i buy my pedals used and i sell them as easily. i like to think, that they're traveling from musician to musician to help them find their own unique sound haha i guess that makes me feel a little bit better about the fact that im spending too much money on pedals :D
so i sat down and waited for a used zoia to pop up in my area. i waited and i waited. nothing. once i was tired of waiting, i decided to buy it online from a very big music store in germany. in case i hated it, i could still send it back, right? or sell it to somebody else who then could hate it instead of me. and what can i tell you. it came quickly. i tried it out, got addicted to it and never hated it for a second!

i gotta be honest. this pedal has a steep learning curve. there is a lot of menu diving, blinky buttons. to put it simple: the whole system is confusing as f***.
BUT as confusing as it might seem in the beginning: this is more than a simple multi effect. what empress effects built here is a very powerful tool, that can be used for almost anything that has to do with music. plus there are very good tutorials on youtube and even a platform where the very active zoia community shares their "patches", thoughts and ideas with each other. if you dont want to build your own custom effects, you can browse and download patches there - but let's be honest again, the charm of this pedal is that it urges you to understand and to be creative with it.

the zoia can do so many things, here are a bunch of examples of how i use it:

mainly i use it as a guitar multi fx stomp box. you can build your own effect chains, and experiment with building your own sounds - mono or stereo, everything is possible. the only limit here is your imagination (and the dsp that maxes out at some point but until then its so much fun). i personally love that i can build my own delays, reverbs, loopers and modulation effects and in terms of sound quality everything sounds really good.
i'm not really a fan of the zoias distortion effects though, they sound kinda cold and digital (i guess thats because they are).

as outboard gear for studio mixing or live sound purposes! again, the sound quality is super sweet and it can be set up to accept line level inputs to avoid clipping.

you can use it as a synth! it has everything you need to build your own modular synth inside the box. you can build a 4 voice synth (thats what i managed before it maxed out on processor power) and play it through your favorite midi keyboard, or use one of the many analysing tools to build a guitar synth!

it can be a midi controller. you can build sequencers and other midi control devices and hook it up to your favourite synth.

it is even capable of putting out cv voltages to your modular synth system.

so if you're still reading this, and you're curious and fortunate enough to be able to afford it, you should probably go and try that thing out. i have it for quite a while now and i am still mind blown by how versatile the zoia is - if you take the time to learn your way around it! :)