The Pogo Pedals Zen Ray is a vintage-sounding overdrive that can produce smooth low to medium drive while offering a wide range of tone sculpting. It was the first pedal released under the Pogo Pedals name, launched on December 18, 2020, and it remains the company's flagship overdrive12. For players browsing overdrive pedals, it sits in the transparent, low-to-medium-gain territory rather than the heavier end of the distortion pedals family.
Where it came from
Pogo Pedals launched in 2020, and the Zen Ray Overdrive was the pedal that helped launch the company, described by the maker as its flagship overdrive2.
Delicious Audio's product page quotes the maker on the design brief: "We designed the Zen Ray to stand out from two famed boutique overdrives that are beloved by players around the world."2
What it does
The Zen Ray covers smooth low to medium drive with a wide range of tone sculpting, in a vintage-sounding voice2. Two features set it apart:
- Mid Saturation knob. The small knob in the center of the layout is, according to the maker, the most original part of the circuit. It can increase or decrease the saturation of the critical mid frequencies without affecting the response in the lows and highs2.
- Germ switch. Engaging it brings germanium transistors into the circuit. The maker describes the result as "softer clipping, more articulation, and a smoother / looser feel," with the germanium transistors also adding some extra crunch2.
That kind of midrange control is a different approach from the fixed mid hump players associate with designs like the Tube Screamer, covered in the Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 comparison.
Videos
R.J. Ronquillo
Noise Generator
Mark Hopkins
Sources (2)
- HAVE YOU HEARD OF POGO PEDALS, JHS Pedals
- Pogo Pedals Zen Ray Overdrive, Delicious Audio, 2021-03-17
