MAGNETIC EFFECTS ZIG ZAG OD A Brit goumet pedal maker that have been under the radar that refuse to make just another OD. They are always are looking for something fresh and this time they nailed it.
The input stage has JFET pre that can push the gain stage.
Yes this can give you more gain and by saturating the input you get that gasp of a real tone stack when the input overloads the transformer and creates a 'thump' through the speakers
Blending the two gain stages changes the characteristics of the sound allowing many different basic voices. Looking for your 'own' sound starts here. The EQ is active as well and since the pedal uses a voltage doubler you get plenty of range. The final touch is a toggle that lets you kick in extra lows or lower mids that can really fatten the sound. Shaping your tone is a lot easier with this little beauty.
This pedal is all about refinement. A lot of pedals are aimed at just one killer in your face sound. Nothing wrong with that I have several. But there are tunes that NEED this even if you are of that mind. In this day of pedal boards and multiple pedals there is room for more then one choice of OD under your feet. I for one have put this one on my short list.
One short point is Thermion Heartbreaker is set up to work in a similar way.
they simple refer to the first gain stage as the pre and the second is the power amp with an ouput level for the signal going out of the pedal. You can get some very, very clean OD with the amp cranked and the pre low.
The Heartbreaker is King of the Strat ...you can set it to never loose it's chime. The Zig Zag is a very warm sound especially in the mids and is very
fat and rich with harmonics and changes which ones it favours with just a nudge of it's knob.
Neither of these pedals are going to give you a Marshall sound that is really in your face. Tonally the Carl Martin Panama starts in a higher gear then takes it right over a cliff in comparison. Like both of the other drives it never gets harsh to do this. In short they live in the same house but they are in different rooms!
You should compare all 3.
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