Ahead of the 2018 NAMM Show, Empress Effects shared this sneak preview of the Zoia – a compact modular effects pedal.
The Zoia lets you use modules to construct instruments, effects and utilities. Custom effects can then be saved to SD card.
Features:
- Stereo operation (including Empress effect algorithms)
- MIDI i/o
- CV & clock in
- Save patches as supermodules to speed up creation
- Random create function to jumpstart or invigorate your process
- Blocks can all be linked freely to multiple sources & destinations
- Extensive favorites system: even moments can be favorited, to quickly return to a safe place if your patch goes awry
Pricing and Availability
Tentative release date is Spring, 2018, priced at US $450.
Looks very cool, very flexible, and powerful. I’d be a little scared to stomp on it, but really like the concept. My kind of fun.
Totally agree. I was just thinking about how it would be great if something like this existed and BAM, now, it does! it’s kind of like a Novation Circuit for effects. I don’t think I’d ever put it on the floor.
Heard people say they didn’t find the sound of the effects in this demo very compelling. That may be fair criticism. But it’s also about finding new ways to use these effects.
Sounds a bit like the MOD platform. Wonder what’s under the hood, what it’ll accept as patches. Doesn’t sound like it’s Open Source, contrary to the MOD Duo which runs LV2 plugins on a Linux-based system (Intel, it sounds like, not Raspberry Pi like the Zynthian and Pisound).
Been using MODEP from Blokas (MOD Emulation for Pisound). Uses many of the same plugins, though some code needs to be tweaked to make them work. Even that can be fun.
Also sounds a bit like the Organelle, which accepts Pure Data and Supercollider. With a little bit of imagination, one could create very interesting effects, there as well.
What’s probably most interesting with this Zoia device, though, is the combination of tiny pads with the basic “stompbox”/“footpedal” form factor. Could give a new meaning to “shoegazing”.
They didnt show the connections, but it seems it has some CV in/outs to interface with an Eurorack system. Lets see…