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Post by 62stratdoc on Sept 11, 2015 11:02:52 GMT -7
Ok, so this may be a completely inappropriate comparison but I can't help but wonder about it.
I'm on the waiting list for a KoT but the Z-Drive has me really intrigued.
Does anyone have an thoughts on the comparison? I have the Prince of Tone now but can't help but be drawn in by the seductive powers of the Z-Drive...
John
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Post by doctorice on Sept 11, 2015 11:33:47 GMT -7
Haven't had my KoT hooked up in a while, but I'd venture that the Z Drive has more gain -- I don't have the high-gain option on my KoT -- on the MosFET side and much greater tone shaping with the three-knob active eq. Of course, you can't run both sides at once on the ZD, which you can do on the KoT.
Fwiw, I'm currently using just the Z Drive and the RYRA Klon Klone for dirt boxes with my Z-Lux. The Klone is set as a clean boost.
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Post by 62stratdoc on Sept 11, 2015 12:04:21 GMT -7
Oh no!! No stacking!!! I didn't realize that!
Doc, in v2 add stacking please!!!
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Post by nmz on Sept 11, 2015 15:32:32 GMT -7
Z-drive>KoT.
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Post by LT on Sept 11, 2015 16:19:33 GMT -7
Oh no!! No stacking!!! I didn't realize that! Doc, in v2 add stacking please!!! My guess is the Doc didn't design the ZD with stacking ability as it's primarily a way to add channel's to single channel amps (of which most Z's are). I've owned many multi-channel amps and none had the ability to stack channels. Just my guess though. Mike...do you, or any of the Z-bros, know for sure?
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Post by DRZ on Sept 11, 2015 17:30:34 GMT -7
The whole enchilada of the ZD is its active EQ. The active EQ along with two separate gain and drive options.
Stacking the gain stages along with an active or gained up EQ caused excessive oscillation at higher settings, just too many stages in the signal path.
Tried it and the pedal became too compromised , all for a bit more gain, just drive the ZD with an input drive device if you must have that much gain.
The ZD was designed to be a transparent, touch sensitive addition to expand a good single channel amp.
Z
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Post by simpleton on Sept 11, 2015 17:34:09 GMT -7
The whole enchilada of the ZD is its active EQ. The active EQ along with two separate gain and drive options.
Stacking the gain stages along with an active or gained up EQ caused excessive oscillation at higher settings, just too many stages in the signal path.
Tried it and the pedal became too compromised , all for a bit more gain, just drive the ZD with an input drive device if you must have that much gain.
The ZD was designed to be a transparent, touch sensitive addition to expand a good single channel amp.
Z Can I order it from my local Earthquaker Devices dealer or does it need to be a Z dealer?
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Post by doctorice on Sept 11, 2015 17:43:34 GMT -7
The ZD was designed to be a transparent, touch sensitive addition to expand a good single channel amp.
Z And, boy, does it deliver!
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Sept 11, 2015 19:27:35 GMT -7
The whole enchilada of the ZD is its active EQ. The active EQ along with two separate gain and drive options.
Stacking the gain stages along with an active or gained up EQ caused excessive oscillation at higher settings, just too many stages in the signal path.
Tried it and the pedal became too compromised , all for a bit more gain, just drive the ZD with an input drive device if you must have that much gain.
The ZD was designed to be a transparent, touch sensitive addition to expand a good single channel amp.
Z Thank you! Not everyone wants so much gain their guitar sounds like a dead chainsaw.
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Post by 62stratdoc on Sept 11, 2015 19:42:57 GMT -7
I'm not looking for gain on top of gain (I'm playing in the P&W band at church primarily). I'm looking for a boost on a driven signal; a boost for a lead line for example.
It will certainly be worth me checking out but isn't going to be the all in one solution I was hoping for.
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Post by nmz on Sept 11, 2015 22:43:06 GMT -7
The whole enchilada of the ZD is its active EQ. The active EQ along with two separate gain and drive options.
Stacking the gain stages along with an active or gained up EQ caused excessive oscillation at higher settings, just too many stages in the signal path.
Tried it and the pedal became too compromised , all for a bit more gain, just drive the ZD with an input drive device if you must have that much gain.
The ZD was designed to be a transparent, touch sensitive addition to expand a good single channel amp.
Z Can I order it from my local Earthquaker Devices dealer or does it need to be a Z dealer? I go mine from Brent at Guitar Riot and I could not recommend him and his store enough!
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Post by simpleton on Sept 12, 2015 8:28:40 GMT -7
Can I order it from my local Earthquaker Devices dealer or does it need to be a Z dealer? I go mine from Brent at Guitar Riot and I could not recommend him and his store enough! I was just wondering if I COULD get it local at a Earthquaker Dealer....but if I order I will take your advice with Brent. I've been wanting to get something from him ever since he opened up. I've mostly been trading these days...and have some credit at a local shop left over from a recent acquisition.
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Post by LT on Sept 12, 2015 16:14:59 GMT -7
I got mine from Brent at G Riot as well. SUPER FAST shipping!
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Post by mickey on Sept 20, 2015 23:57:47 GMT -7
The ZD was designed to be a transparent, touch sensitive addition to expand a good single channel amp.
Z Now that has got me intrigued. The King Of Tone has been my goto pedal for several years, but clearly I need to try the ZD......
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Post by david62 on Dec 18, 2015 7:45:01 GMT -7
Just got my Z drive about 4 days ago. I have a Prince of tone and feel that it is way better sounding then my Z drive. I am playing a fender Deluxe Stratocaster with Lindy Fralin vintage hot pickups, into a Maz 18 head and a 1 x12 cab, loaded with a Celestion Heritage 30 70th anniversary speaker. The Z drive doesn't' really sound much like an overdrive except when turned up past 4 o'clock then it gets muddy and harsh with the drive turned up that much. Acts more like a boost pedal, both sides about the same. I know I am going to get blasted for saying this, but I feel the Z drive is way over priced and not that great. I have other lower priced pedals that do the same if not better for less money. I guess I will be looking to flip it soon.
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Post by zaddn on Dec 19, 2015 20:29:22 GMT -7
David, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. With that being said, I had a prince of tone and ab'd it with the z drive. I had the prince of tone up for sale in less than an hour.
Glad you found an overdrive you like. For me, the z drive is a better option.
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Post by harry on Dec 21, 2015 10:31:12 GMT -7
I have a KOT and a Z Drive, I lov'em both but have to say the Z Drive has a few more tricks up it's sleeve for my playing. Whatever works best for you...
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Post by Stephen on Dec 21, 2015 11:11:44 GMT -7
It takes time to get used to the Z-Drive. The most important thing I've learned on this forum is that you should set the controls with your ears, not your eyes.
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Post by david62 on Dec 21, 2015 13:54:42 GMT -7
Thanks Steven for that reminder. I an now off work till the end if the year and plan to work with it a lot over the next two weeks. I am wondering if having three EQ's on the Maz 18 and and three EQ's on the Z drive is just to much going on. Maybe it is meant more for one of Z's that only has one tone knob? Merry Christmas to all..
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Post by doctorice on Dec 21, 2015 15:21:41 GMT -7
Thanks Steven for that reminder. I an now off work till the end if the year and plan to work with it a lot over the next two weeks. I am wondering if having three EQ's on the Maz 18 and and three EQ's on the Z drive is just to much going on. Maybe it is meant more for one of Z's that only has one tone knob? Merry Christmas to all.. I've got the ZD paired up with my Z-Lux presently. I usually have the amp running with the eq bypassed, Vol and Master both around 10 (o'clock). I've got the ZD eq set to trim the treble and the bass a bit and boost the midrange. It works great, for me, to lift a solo onto center stage. Imo, the magic is in the midrange. Also, with my rig and style, the pedal seems very responsive to guitar volume, i.e., it is "amp like" with the tone and OD varying with input signal level.
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Post by mickey on May 24, 2016 9:53:46 GMT -7
So what about the comparison with the King Of Tone? Yes the two sides of the KOT will stack and the ZD won't, but my KOT (with the high gain mod on the red side), is a nicely touch sensitive and fairly transparent pedal, it's my main overdrive, and I like it a lot. Has anyone compared the tones and, importantly, the feel of the ZD to the KOT? I'm asking as I have an option on a Z-Drive, but it won't be there for long!
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Post by doctorice on May 24, 2016 17:56:28 GMT -7
So what about the comparison with the King Of Tone? Yes the two sides of the KOT will stack and the ZD won't, but my KOT (with the high gain mod on the red side), is a nicely touch sensitive and fairly transparent pedal, it's my main overdrive, and I like it a lot. Has anyone compared the tones and, importantly, the feel of the ZD to the KOT? I'm asking as I have an option on a Z-Drive, but it won't be there for long! I recently put KoT back on my board in place of the ZD. (This likely is a temporary thing as I like to switch ODs.) So I don't have a head to head detailed comparison. I will say both are touch sensitive. I need to do a more thorough side-by-side listen, but the MOSFET side of the ZD feels and sounds quite different to me than either side of the KoT, whereas the green side of the ZD is somewhat similar. ZD red has a lot more gain than my (non high gain and set stock on the DIP switches) KoT. The ZD is "better" at tone shaping with its full-range active eq, which is very useful for having a solo tone that will separate out in a band mix. I can say for sure that both sound great through a Z-Lux I suppose the solution is to build a larger pedal board and keep both....
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Post by mickey on May 24, 2016 23:10:50 GMT -7
So what about the comparison with the King Of Tone? Yes the two sides of the KOT will stack and the ZD won't, but my KOT (with the high gain mod on the red side), is a nicely touch sensitive and fairly transparent pedal, it's my main overdrive, and I like it a lot. Has anyone compared the tones and, importantly, the feel of the ZD to the KOT? I'm asking as I have an option on a Z-Drive, but it won't be there for long! I recently put KoT back on my board in place of the ZD. (This likely is a temporary thing as I like to switch ODs.) So I don't have a head to head detailed comparison. I will say both are touch sensitive. I need to do a more thorough side-by-side listen, but the MOSFET side of the ZD feels and sounds quite different to me than either side of the KoT, whereas the green side of the ZD is somewhat similar. ZD red has a lot more gain than my (non high gain and set stock on the DIP switches) KoT. The ZD is "better" at tone shaping with its full-range active eq, which is very useful for having a solo tone that will separate out in a band mix. I can say for sure that both sound great through a Z-Lux I suppose the solution is to build a larger pedal board and keep both.... Thanks for this, I got the impression from Gearmandude's demos of the ZD that the green side may be similar to the KOT, so it's useful to get your confirmation. Also the touch sensitivity is important; my KOT has that in a way that, for example, my Full drive and Xotic AC do not, two pedals which would probably go if I get the ZD.
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Post by Easyrom on May 25, 2016 4:12:32 GMT -7
I've found that the KoT gives you a kind of softness the Z-Drive doesn't, at least to my ears. And of course softness can be a good thing... or not! Depends on you gig and aspirations. For my personal use, which is mostly at home, the KoT seems unbeatable. To me, the green side of the Z-Drive is closer to a Klon than a KoT. And I do love Klon(e)s. But it may more useful at high volume on stage rather than in you living room.
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Post by doctorice on May 25, 2016 5:04:26 GMT -7
To me, the green side of the Z-Drive is closer to a Klon than a KoT. Imo, it depends on the eq setting of the ZD, i.e., you can adjust the ZD green to sound similar to a Klon or KoT. Both excellent pedals.
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Post by mickey on May 25, 2016 5:20:07 GMT -7
Thanks again, if I had to choose between my KOT and my KTR I'd choose the KOT any day. Both have their uses but are quite different. Still debating whether to go for the ZD; I've had so many drive pedals over the years and settled on the ones I now have as being my favorites, particularly the KOT, I don't really need another one and I have several which hardly ever get used, just curious really, though the ZD does appear to have a lot going for it.
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Post by Easyrom on May 25, 2016 5:27:30 GMT -7
To me, the green side of the Z-Drive is closer to a Klon than a KoT. Imo, it depends on the eq setting of the ZD, i.e., you can adjust the ZD green to sound similar to a Klon or KoT. Both excellent pedals. I guess you're right, cause the eq is quite suitable on the ZD. I did compare the ZD to my Archer ikon when I had it, but not to my quite new to me KoT. Still, I got a impression of some softness in the sound and in the feel with the KoT (compression I guess?) which I don't remember as an option on the ZD.
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Post by dergit (Markus) on May 25, 2016 5:32:23 GMT -7
I guess that's it... I can get the green side very close to my Klone and I can also get it very close to what I'd want from a KoT, if I ever made it through that waiting list. The EQ completely changes what the pedal does so you can just set it to what you want it to do with your amp.
For me, I push the mids a bit to get a solo boost somewhere between a tube screamer and a KoT but with a lot more drive than I use from the Klone, where the gain will usually be almost completely off.
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Post by doctorice on May 25, 2016 13:08:24 GMT -7
For me, I push the mids a bit to get a solo boost somewhere between a tube screamer and a KoT but with a lot more drive than I use from the Klone, where the gain will usually be almost completely off. Same here on the ZD and Klon(e).
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Post by doctorice on May 25, 2016 13:11:31 GMT -7
Still, I got a impression of some softness in the sound and in the feel with the KoT (compression I guess?) which I don't remember as an option on the ZD. Yes, I feel the ZD is a bit more hard-edged than the KoT. Could be compression, could be how transients are handled. I seem to recall Dr Z saying something about the ZD circuit that led me to the "transient" comment.
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