Really.

Zoom gear tends towards pro-sumer even in their guitar gear. However, Zoom boldly swung for the fences with the line of analog distortion pedals that this was a part of, and they did well for their slugging average. I understand the original MSRP on this pedal was in the neighborhood of $200, but when this was being blown out it was $59 and you can often get them used for $50 or less.

What most people know about this pedal is that it will do the howling self-oscillation that a ZVex Fuzz Factory will do. It'll do that. You don't need a source--as long as a 1/4" jack is plugged in, it can do this game on its own steam. Plug in a guitar and you can use the volume and tone controls to alter the frequency of oscillation. Kind of fun, and possibly pretty useful, especially in tandem with pitch shifting and/or sampling technology.

The oscillation is controlled by the "Reso" control and can be brought up to a more subtle (or slightly less un-subtle) level so that it adds a ring or goes uncontrollable at the end of notes. The "Gate" control checks this quality, and can also choke off sustain--this also works handily when the "Reso" is down for a dying-battery effect.

The "Color" knob shifts the color and density of the fuzz effect, going approximately from Maestro fuzz to Big Muff (though not dead-ringers), thin and less distorted to thick and buzzy. "Level," "Gain," and "Tone" are fairly obvious in function, but elegant in use.

So it'll do Theremin-wanna-be effects. It'll do classic-ish fuzzes, if not necessarily an exact clone of a specific model. Mind you, though, it's a highly tweakable pedal and can probably get close enough for all practical purposes. IMO the coolest aspect of the pedal, though, is the stuff it does at the bottom of its gain ranges. Tweak the Color, Gate, and Reso right, and you can get very subtle effects. A little torn-paper edge on notes. A little less sustain on stuff printed with a bit too much reverb or natural sustain. Some hair here, grain there, and so forth.

Applications? Guitar, of course, and other instrument-level sources. One neat app is to use it on multi-tracked guitar leads with different settings to give each part a distinct timbre and place very quickly and easily. Otherwise it's great for re-amping previously recorded tracks in its subtle ranges, either in parallel or series. I am not saying it's the same thing, but I have seen others with experience describe the Chandler Germanium preamp (which has some flex itself in terms of the transistor coloration it adds) as being better for overdubs than basics because you get a better sense of the desired coloration once the mix starts to form. The pedal can be either additive or subtractive in behavior, so it can get you out of a jam sometimes.

Bear