EarthQuaker Devices releases Zoar Dynamic Audio Grinder distortion pedal

November 2, 2023 · 4 sources

The EarthQuaker Devices Zoar Dynamic Audio Grinder is a medium-high gain distortion built around discrete transistors, the maker says, with an all-analog signal path and true bypass¹². EarthQuaker Devices lists it at $129.00 and says it will be available at EQD dealers worldwide on November 2, 2023¹. Guitar World reported it as available now for $129³.

The pedal has six knobs: Level, Weight, Gain, Bass, Middle and Treble¹²⁴. The maker describes the EQ as a passive 3-band design tuned for modern dirt tones, and says the Weight control dictates how much low end is passed into the circuit, which in turn shapes the character of the distortion¹. EarthQuaker says the Gain control runs from the edge of breakup to high gain, and that the pedal covers clean boost, overdrive and fuzz territory¹. It is described as capable of being articulate or crushing on both guitar and bass¹².

Specifications from the maker:

Guitar World reported that the Zoar tolerates up to 18V and behaves differently at that voltage, offering wider clean tones and punchier dirty sounds³. Guitar Pedal X said 18V gives more headroom, articulation and punch². EarthQuaker says the pedal comes with a limited lifetime warranty¹.

Guitar World reported that EarthQuaker markets the Zoar as its "most tweakable distortion device ever"³.