Zoar is a medium-high gain discrete distortion (using only transistors; no opamps or diodes in here!) that has that touch sensitive amp-like quality to it that everyone craves. It has been finely tuned to create a highly tweakable hi-fi and modern sounding distortion, but with the ghosts of old school circuitry to deliver a grind that is both instantly familiar and delightfully unique. Want that defined sparkle and tightness of an overdrive? This has it. Want that low-medium gain fuzz that’s perfect for drop tuned guitars and basses? This has it. Want to be able to dial in and control every nuance of your tone from jangly on-the-verge of break up to blowing the walls out heavy saturation? Then this is the pedal for you.

This meticulously crafted box has six knobs that allow you to truly customize your sound with the Level, Weight, Gain, Bass, Middle, and Treble controls. The red LED light indicates when the distortion is activated by the Flexi-Switch® enabled footswitch.

The Gain control on Zoar goes from the edge of break up all the way over the cliff into the crunchy, grinding abyss. The character of the distortion is heavily dependent on the setting of the Weight control as well as your guitar’s pickup type, and it is further fine-tuned by the EQ section.

Touch-Sensitive Controls

While having its roots in a very familiar past, the passive 3-band EQ has been finely tuned for modern tones. While this style of tone shaping seems simple on the surface, it is deceptively complex and highly interactive.

The 3-band EQ and Gain controls give you nearly unlimited options with great focus and sensitive precision, but the real powerhouse of Zoar is the Weight control. This control dictates the amount of low end that is passed into the circuit, thus controlling the entire character of the pedal. From a mere clean boost to a high gain distortion to overdrive to the crispy Hi-Fi fuzz territory, this function gives you everything.

The Level control hits unity gain around noon, but this is dependent on where the other controls are set. In addition to controlling the output volume, it also plays a small part in the controlling the voice of Zoar. By adjusting the Level control with any combination of EQ (boosting the frequency bands and cutting the output volume), you can achieve drastically different curves that have the feel of the more traditional low pass filter type tone control.

Running Zoar at 18v

Want to elevate your sonic spirit to a higher level? Try running Zoar at higher voltage! Zoar can handle power up to 18v DC. Higher voltages will yield a different frequency response with more defined dynamics and a faster response. When powered at 18v, the range of clean tones are widened, dirty tones become punchier with better note articulation, low frequencies are tightened, the Treble control will cover a broader spectrum without becoming harsh and the output volume nearly doubles! The experience is not unlike plugging into a wall of high wattage tube amplifiers!

Controls: 

Level: Adjusts the output volume.

Weight: This is an input frequency control that changes the voice and saturation of the distortion. Turning Weight clockwise allows more low frequencies to pass through. This increases the gain, allows lower frequencies to clip faster and can shift the tone of the pedal from tight distortion to a loose fuzz.

Gain: Turn clockwise to increase distortion. This adjusts the transistor bias. A little static sound when turning is completely normal.

Bass: Passive bass control, adjusts the low frequency content between 0 and 800Hz +/- 15dB.

Middle: Passive middle control, adjusts the midrange frequency content between 500Hz and 3kHz +/- 10dB.

Treble: Passive treble control, adjusts the high frequency content between 1kHz and 10kHz +/-15dB.

Why To Buy From Rock City!

Established in 2015, Rock City Music Company is an independently owned music store for players by players. Located just outside of Detroit, Michigan, Rock City Music Company is a music mecca that encompasses everything from guitars and lessons, to vinyl records and t-shirts, to posters, accessories, our music-themed pinball machines and more.

Rock City has earned its rank  as one of the top places in the country for in-store events. Rock City has hosted legends such as Geddy Lee (Rush), Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Gary Holt (Slayer/Exodus), Blackberry Smoke, Nita Strauss (Alice Cooper) and many many more. Rock ’n’ Roll is our passion, and we strive to provide excellent service, and a great experience, both inside and outside of our store.

Ready to Rock, Right Out Of The Box: All of our guitars are maintained by our FMIC (Fender Musical Instruments Company) Certified in-house guitar technician, to ensure any guitar that leaves our hands is ready to play as soon as you receive it!

Fast Shipping & Communication: Our top priority is making sure that your gear arrives safely to you as soon as possible. Our staff members strive to pack and label your items for shipping within 2 hours of placing your order (During regular business hours). Items never take more than 24 hours to leave our possession.

Guitars, Basses, Amps, Cases and select other items ship via UPS Ground

Pedals & Accessories ship via USPS Priority & First Class Mail

Have a preferred shipping method? Let us know and we will do our best to accommodate

We appreciate your business more than you know and we show it! Our communication is second to none and very important to us.  You will have a dedicated and educated staff member overseeing your order, that can assist with any questions or concerns.

Is My New Guitar Protected During Shipment ? : All items are packed with extreme care and although we do our best to protect items from damage, sometimes it happens. Have no fear, all of our items are shipped fully insured at no additional cost to you.

Rock City Music Company is an official dealer of:

Reverend, Ibanez, Taylor, Martin, PRS, Gretsch, Fender, Charvel, Jackson, Epiphone, ESP/LTD, EVH, Takamine, Rock N Roll Relics, Sterling/MusicMan and Echopark Guitars.

Electro-Harmonix, Earthquaker Devices, Boss, MXR, Dunlop, Pro-Tone, Strymon and Catalinbread Effects Pedals

Orange, Fender, Boss, EVH and VOX amplifiers

Any questions? Feel free to contact us during store hours!

Monday - Thursday 11AM-7PM

Friday-Saturday 11AM-6PM

Sunday 11AM - 4PM

(All Times are Eastern Standard Time)

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