# ZenDrive 2



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Anybody here have any experience with this pedal? I'm thinking about ordering this to give it a try. Not so much because it has a tube in it but because it is described as a warmer low to medium gain where as the original zen is described as a low gain pedal.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I haven't used either, but this purports to be the schematic of the Zendrive: http://www.madbeanpedals.com/projects/Serendipity/docs/Serendipity_ver.5.pdf

It is essentially a tweaked Tube Screamer. Of course, that's not saying much since there are a bazillion tweaks possible (hence the large number of "tweaked TS" designs/products out there). Easy enough to make.

The Zendrive uses a different dual op-amp chip (NOT the famous JRC4558D), and a different clipping diode arrangement, as well as eschewing the use of transistor buffers on the input and output (the basis for the "Zen" name, because it pares things down to the basic). But one of the bigger differences IMHO, is the use of a simple lowpass filter for tone crontrol, as opposed to the treble-boosting control in a stock TS, and the use of two means of gain adjustment (Voice and Drive). Those two latter controls permit the higher-gain settings, but also permit warmer low-drive settings, with a more balanced tonal spectrum and less midrange honk. That latter aspect can be easily inserted into any stock TS-9/TS-5/TS-10/etc., as well as any pretender to the throne (e.g., BBE Green Screamer).

You could also implement those into JC Maillet's "SRV Special" if you wanted to. The "SRV Special" Story


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## bduguay (Jul 15, 2009)

Ummm, errrr, guitarman2 was asking about a Zendrive _2_ Mark.
Don't let this happen again.
B.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

yes sir. Sorry. I'll go to my room now.

Actually, I went on ad nauseum about the Zendrive because Gman2 seemed to convey that the Zendrive could not achieve the degree of clipping subtlety of the ZD2, and in fact, if the schematic is correct, the ZD can go right down to unity gain. With Voice set to max resistance, the max gain achievable, with the Drive control dimed, is 46x, which actually isn't all that much, and unlikely to provide all that much clipping.

Now, if the inclusion of a tube produces a different *quality* of clipping, that's quite another thing. But the ZD and ZD2 may well cover a lot of the same territory as far as low-ish gain and mild coloration settings.

I posted another long thing over at the DIY forum about the distinction between "gain", loudness", and "distortion". These three are perpetually confused, both by those striving to understand pedals/amps, and by those who write intentionally or unintentionally deceptive ad copy. "Gain" can result in distortion, or more output level, but not necessarily. So when something is described as a "low gain" pedal, does that mean it _literally_ has very little amplification, or does that mean it produces only modest audible coloration? And if it produces only modest audible coloration, is that because little gain was applied, because the diode-clipping action was softened by series resistance, or because the harshness was simply removed by lowpass filtering?


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

I am one of those person who is mixing all those terms! Count me in!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

You join a VERY long line-up, my friend.


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

mhammer said:


> You join a VERY long line-up, my friend.


That makes me laugh!!! Sorry, can I still play the guitar?


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