Here's my review.
I had to buy it because of curiousity. I'm a big fan of the Dumble tone ...specifically Larry Carlton and Robben Ford's tone and this pedal is said to do those tones easily. For a pedal that can do those tones that cost only $179( ...if you are patient enough to wait.) that is pretty cheap for a boutique pedal. My ZD took 10 to 12 weeks . It's worth the wait.
All knobs function as what they should do except for the VOICE knob. I think this knob that sets the pedal far apart from other pedals. The voice knob IMHO is like a mid boost/treble boost.....it definitely reacts to the gain knob . The type of gain I get is probalby the smoothest OD I've ever heard....even dimed....its still smooth. Just for kicks, I tried copying the tone I got from the pedal with just my amp only. I can get close but the Zendrive I think has more mids than what my amp is voiced for.
Zendrive and HB pickups:
I played it with a HB...for my taste, if I play with HBs the Zendrive would definitely sound awesome when it's in the bridge position. It's more sensitive and defined. At different pickup position...I would rather lower the gain and get decent OD tones....not really spectacular...but I like it with the bridge pickup.
Setup for this clip :
Gibson ES335 (Gibson Classic 57 pickups) (bridge)- Zendrive(Volume 12oclock/Tone 12 oclock/Gain 12 oclock/Voice dimed- probably one of my favorite setting)- Brownote Dlite amp (flat EQ / clean channel) 1x12closed cab GS1265
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6541607Zendrive and single coil :
I wasn't really expecting a tone that I would like until I played it. Yes, it sounded smooth as usual and if you use the bridge pickup it actually sounds really defined, smooth, and sensitive....well like the HBs but a bit thinner. (its a single coil so what do you expect.) I like it. Played it with the neck and neck/middle pickup.....you can get that certain classic strat neck tone but it's a bit smooth. For my taste, I like the tones I get from a strat neck pickup in the edgier side.
Setup for this clip :
strat SCN pickups(bridge/neck/neck&middle)- Zendrive(Volume 12 oclock/Tone 12 oclcock/Gain 11 o clock/Voice 2 oclock - Brownote Dlite amp (flat EQ / clean channel bright switch on) 1x12 closed cab GS1265
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6541622BTW...I also like the size ...it's smaller than a BOSS pedal.
Summary:
If you like super smooth OD tone ....you should check out this pedal.
All in all. If I can only bring a guitar and a pedal to a jam (coz I don't gig).... I would be comfortable and confident having my guitar and the Zendrive pedal only.