Empress Effects ZOIA

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! :)

This is a good modular device with a fresh concept of interface and Empress did a good job with this idea and implementation.
This is a nice multi-purpose toolbox, the biggest features for me are the ability to add any kind of modulation to the effects (which is missing on many expensive stompboxes) and granular/looper/env-follower/pitch-tracking-shifting madness.
And unlike similar modular devices you can program it in place (or at least without monitor and keyboard as with Organelle or iPad with H9).
Unfortunately this comes by a cost of lesser quality of sound. Maybe I am wrong but initial impression was that the same effects sound a bit worse than reverbs and delays on other Empress boxes and overall sound is a bit muddy. But I haven't seen anyone complaining about that...
Another "con" is a difficulty to figure out what is going on in the current patch, the types of boxes and connections are not visible until you click everything. The bigger screen or ability to use external screen or tablet would be great, but looks like not in the current hardware revision (and this would contradict with the whole idea of Zoia buttons interface, why not touch screen then?)

I use Zoia connected to my synthesizers so much that it has become part of my sound.
Not sure if it's a bad or a good thing, but this thing is smaller than it appears on product photos. Although small, buttons are big enough for even bigger fingers.

Pros:
- good sounding
- lots of modules to use in your patches
- active and helpful community
- many downloadable patches
- no need for a computer to make patches
- looks nice and colourful when in operation :)

Cons:
- difficult to navigate in patches and understand what's going on
- screen very small
- no earphones out
- needs more physical knobs to modify sounds on the fly. Can connect expression pedal, but that's not enough. Also has midi in, so you can add buttons via midi.

Overall it's a really good sounding effect pedal/modular synth box. you can sculpt any sound with it and extend it any way you like. Excellent community publishes patches all the time on patch storage if you're like me and not interested to make your own patches.
Making and tweaking patches is somewhat difficult task and you have to know exactly what you're doing. It has happened that I download a large patch and mess it up by disconnecting modules accidentally.
Nevertheless, I really love what this pedal can do. I have it connected to my synthesizer setup and it really adds to all the sounds I'm generating.

The Empress Effects Zoia has become a core part of my setup, seamlessly integrating with my Fender Lead III and Keith McMillen Softstep. This unit also two inputs, one of which I choose for a mic through a transformer, enhancing its utility by allowing vocal effects alongside guitar processing.

User Experience: Its interface is surprisingly manageable, despite initial concerns. Quick taps to add or modify effects streamline my creative process, making it straightforward.

Performance: The Zoia's reliability is one of its standout features. It consistently performs without issues, a crucial factor during prolonged use.

Sound Quality: The effects, from reverb to delay, are polished and enrich the guitar’s output, providing just the right ambiance without distorting the original tones.

Setup and Integration: Direct connection of an expression pedal and the Keith McMillen Softstep via a custom MIDI setup showcases the Zoia's flexibility. This setup, involving a Raspberry Pi for MIDI interfacing, illustrates not only the Zoia's adaptability but also its capability to mesh seamlessly with complex configurations.

Overall: For guitarists who thrive on detailed sound manipulation and wish for a central unit that's both performant and integrative, the Zoia offers a unique solution. It fits neatly into my setup, proving its worth as more than just an effects unit but a crucial part of my musical expression.