Hamstead Zenith

The Hamstead Zenith, sold as the Zenith Amplitude Controller, is an EQ, compressor and boost pedal in one box, made by UK builder Hamstead Soundworks. Hamstead calls it "a powerful EQ, Boost, and Compressor delivered in one compact and incredibly flexible package"¹. Guitar World's Trevor Curwen described it as a studio-grade building block: "Fully versatile as an always-on tonal building block, a switched-in variation, or a combination of both"².

The signal path is all analog, but the switching around it is digital. Hamstead describes it as "an all-analogue circuit with digital control designed by Peter Hamstead"¹, and that digital control is what lets the EQ and compression circuits be brought in and out independently from a single footswitch³.

What it does to your sound

The three circuits cover tone shaping, dynamics and level. RockBoard's PedalPedia says the range runs "from subtle tone shaping and compression that is felt and not heard, through to extreme sound sculpting and sustain beyond the natural realm"³. Delicious Audio called it "an EQ/Compressor/Boost designed to be a functional building block of your core tone"⁵, and reported it was "designed to work with any setup and remain very transparent"⁴.

The three EQ knobs each offer 15dB of cut or boost². In Guitar World's review, "the Bass knob rolling off unwanted weight or adding girth without sounding flabby" and "the Treble knob adjusting the natural airy top-end"².

The controls

The Middle control is where most of the EQ flexibility lives. Hamstead says "the Middle control offers a huge amount of flexibility with its three-position 'Q' and Frequency switches"¹: the Q switch sets how broad or narrow the mid band is, and the Frequency switch sets where it sits, so the same knob can work as a gentle midrange tilt or a surgical cut.

Switching: one footswitch, five modes

Everything is accessed through one footswitch, The GigRig's OptoKick, which uses silent optical switching for reliability¹. Hamstead calls this "Secret Switching," the company's first pedal with independent control of the EQ and Compression circuits¹. A programming mode offers five options¹:

• Standard: both circuits on or both off¹
• Flip/Flop: the footswitch alternates between EQ and comp, which Guitar World found useful when the pedal is used with a separate switcher for bypass²
• Comp Always On: the footswitch brings in the EQ; the Level knob is inactive until the EQ is switched in²
• EQ Always On: the footswitch brings in the compression²
• Cycle: repeated presses go from bypass to comp on to EQ on to both on²

There are also three selectable routing options: you can set the serial order of EQ and compression, or run them in parallel². Independent switching of the EQ and comp circuits is also possible via an external footswitch², and the pedal has a control input for switching via an external controller such as the GigRig G2 or G3⁴.

The compressor

The compression circuit has a very fast attack and a medium/long release⁴. Guitar World's reviewer found that "the very natural, smooth compression will even things out and add sustain with a pleasing note bloom at higher settings"². Because the Blend knob is a parallel blend⁵, you can keep some of your dry attack while still getting the leveling and sustain, which is the same approach studio engineers use with parallel compression.

Where it came from and what it costs

The Zenith opened for preorder in November 2020, with Delicious Audio reporting it as a boost/EQ/compressor pedal designed to work with any setup and remain very transparent, with a low noise floor⁴⁵. A 2021 guitar.com review listed the Hamstead Zenith at £289⁶. Hamstead Soundworks also builds the Ascent clean boost and the Odyssey overdrive.

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