Featured review by:
ibryant0915, on march 09, 2006
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 70
Purchased from: Musicians Friend
Ease of Use: It is fairly easy to get a good sound out of this pedal. As long as you know what each settings knob does and how to adjust them so that it is closer to the sound you want, it's almost elementary. Now, it also depends on how experienced of a player you are, because a newer player will probably have a harder time figuring out how to adjust the settings according to what they think they want. I'm almost positive that everyone knows how to adjust each individual setting, but to a newer player, finding the right combination of adjustments will probably be a little more diffucult (it was when I first began using this effect). The manual for this effect was great. It told you settings that you should begin at, which in my opinion wasn't the desired sound but the easiest spot to find your sound from. It even says in the manual that you should use those settings and adjust from there. It also tells in great detail what each settings knob does and how it will adjust your sound. // 8
Sound: I'm using this pedal with a Ibanez GRX20 and a Roland Cube 15. The Zombie is a funny little pedal. It IS noisy in both good and bad ways depending on what settings you have. If you have the treble all the way up when the bass is not, then it seems to make a very slight buzz when you aren't touching the guitar strings. It's also noisy in a good way. If you hold a note when the gain (called scream on the Zombie) about 2/3 or higher it makes this very desireable screech. This "screech" is not annoying or painful but rather just like the end of many songs (mostly punk rock and heavy metal). Also, it allows for very high volume adjustment for super loud playing. The effects are never weak. Even on the lowest gain (scream) you can still hear the effect slightly (this setting is good for solos or higher range, single string playing). The Zombie almost always sounds great as long as you use common sense when adjusting the settings (dont turn treble all the way up and bass all the way down or anything like that). Sound of my favorite artists? A few, sound of many popular artists? Quite a few. The sounds I get that are my favorite artists are Metallica, Ted Nugent, Switchfoot (as in Meant To Live), and Black Sabbath. This pedal is also fantastic for getting the classic Green Day sound (like When I Come Around and Brain Stew) and good for Green Day's newest album. The Scorpians and Joan Jett ("I Love Rock And Roll"). No effects on this pedal are bad, unless you turn the SCREAM all the way up and play high on a sketchy guitar. // 9
Reliability & Durability: You can absolutely depend on the Zombie. I've dropped it multiple times and it hasn't been affected at ALL. It is built like a rock, seems virtually indestructible. I would definitely use it on a gig without a backup. // 10
Impression: I play classic rock and a little bit of heavy metal from today's top bands. Very good match for what I play, before this pedal I was very dissatisfied with my sound, and now I'm able to get the sound I want. I've been playing for only 4 months but I've made some good progress and thanks to this pedal I'm able to practice with pride, because even if I completely the song up, at least the tone was right. Anyways, the only thing I wished I would have asked about this product before I bought it is what kind of effect the "stare" setting makes. This is only because it took me forever to finally realize when I should use it to improve the sound. I'd replace this product in a heartbeat if it were lost/stolen and if it were stolen, no hesitation whatsoever. I love that it can be used for punk rock, classic rock, heavy metal, and sounds great on The Star Spangled Banner (traditional not Jimi Hendrix version). I hate that it's pink, but no biggie, just makes it seem that much more pimp. My favorite feature is the fact that the settings are very sensitive and don't just change the sound a little from the lowest to highest setting (like my amp does). I compared this product to the Metal Planet in the store and I personally liked this one better... I [ersonally would not add anything to the Zombie, in my eyes it's almost (not for my style) perfect. I'm not telling you this is the best product ever, because I don't know your playing style, but if you play punk or metal (including classic hard rock). // 10
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